Investigación Tiburones México A.C, La Paz, Mexico.
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, La Paz, Mexico.
J Fish Biol. 2023 Aug;103(2):448-452. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15457. Epub 2023 Jun 6.
Despite being the world's largest fish, many questions remain regarding the ecology and behaviour of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). We present the first direct evidence of whale sharks engaging in bottom-feeding behaviour and provide potential explanations for this foraging strategy. We suggest that whale sharks actively feed on benthic prey, either predominantly in deepwater environments or where the abundance of such prey exceeds that of planktonic food sources. We also highlight the potential for ecotourism and citizen science projects to contribute to our understanding of marine megafauna behavioural ecology.
尽管是世界上最大的鱼类，但关于鲸鲨（Rhincodon typus）的生态学和行为学仍有许多问题尚未解决。我们首次提供了鲸鲨进行底栖觅食行为的直接证据，并为这种觅食策略提供了可能的解释。我们认为，鲸鲨会主动捕食底栖猎物，主要是在深水区环境中，或者当底栖猎物的丰度超过浮游食物源时。我们还强调了生态旅游和公民科学项目对我们了解海洋巨型动物行为生态学的潜在贡献。
