Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Field Observations of the Behaviour of Blackfin Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus)

Version 1 : Received: 5 August 2022 / Approved: 8 August 2022 / Online: 8 August 2022 (09:44:57 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 13 January 2023 / Approved: 18 January 2023 / Online: 18 January 2023 (08:49:34 CET)

How to cite: Porcher, I.F. Field Observations of the Behaviour of Blackfin Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus). Preprints 2022, 2022080139. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0139.v2 Porcher, I.F. Field Observations of the Behaviour of Blackfin Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus). Preprints 2022, 2022080139. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202208.0139.v2

Abstract

The chondrichthyan lineage diverged from the osteichthyan line around 440 million years ago, resulting in a vast evolutionary gulf between modern elasmobranchs and other vertebrates. Though this has supported the assumption that sharks are ancient, dangerous, and binary-minded, intelligent actions including social interactions have been noted in the field, while laboratory studies have confirmed a variety of cognitive capacities. Yet, due to fear of sharks and the difficulties of observing them in their aquatic environments, few ethological studies have been done, so their natural behaviour remains little known. On noting that Carcharhinus melanopterus displayed complex actions during incidental meetings, a long-term ethological study of the species was carried out on the north shore of Mo’orea Island, French Polynesia. During the 6.5 years of the study, new behaviours continued to present. The 35 context-specific actions identified as comprising the behavioural repertoire of C. melanopterus are described.

Keywords

blackfin reef shark; Carcharhinus melanopterus; shark behaviour; shark ethology; shark ethogram

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 18 January 2023
Commenter: Ila France Porcher
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: Reviewers found the  paper to be too long and suggested publishing it in shorter articles. So it is now an ethogram of the species C. melanopterus.
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