Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks

Sharks are a globally threatened group of marine fishes that often breed in their natal region of origin. There has even been speculation that female sharks return to their exact birthplace to breed ('natal philopatry'), which would have important conservation implications. Genetic profili...

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Main Authors: Feldheim, K., Gruber, S., Di Battista, Joseph, Babcock, E., Kessel, S., Hendry, A., Pikitch, E., Ashley, M., Chapman, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49830
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author Feldheim, K.
Gruber, S.
Di Battista, Joseph
Babcock, E.
Kessel, S.
Hendry, A.
Pikitch, E.
Ashley, M.
Chapman, D.
author_facet Feldheim, K.
Gruber, S.
Di Battista, Joseph
Babcock, E.
Kessel, S.
Hendry, A.
Pikitch, E.
Ashley, M.
Chapman, D.
author_sort Feldheim, K.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Sharks are a globally threatened group of marine fishes that often breed in their natal region of origin. There has even been speculation that female sharks return to their exact birthplace to breed ('natal philopatry'), which would have important conservation implications. Genetic profiling of lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) from 20 consecutive cohorts (1993-2012) at Bimini, Bahamas, showed that certain females faithfully gave birth at this site for nearly two decades. At least six females born in the 1993-1997 cohorts returned to give birth 14-17 years later, providing the first direct evidence of natal philopatry in the chondrichthyans. Long-term fidelity to specific nursery sites coupled with natal philopatry highlights the merits of emerging spatial and local conservation efforts for these threatened predators. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:42:12Z
publishDate 2014
publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-498302017-09-13T15:36:21Z Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks Feldheim, K. Gruber, S. Di Battista, Joseph Babcock, E. Kessel, S. Hendry, A. Pikitch, E. Ashley, M. Chapman, D. Sharks are a globally threatened group of marine fishes that often breed in their natal region of origin. There has even been speculation that female sharks return to their exact birthplace to breed ('natal philopatry'), which would have important conservation implications. Genetic profiling of lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) from 20 consecutive cohorts (1993-2012) at Bimini, Bahamas, showed that certain females faithfully gave birth at this site for nearly two decades. At least six females born in the 1993-1997 cohorts returned to give birth 14-17 years later, providing the first direct evidence of natal philopatry in the chondrichthyans. Long-term fidelity to specific nursery sites coupled with natal philopatry highlights the merits of emerging spatial and local conservation efforts for these threatened predators. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49830 10.1111/mec.12583 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing fulltext
spellingShingle Feldheim, K.
Gruber, S.
Di Battista, Joseph
Babcock, E.
Kessel, S.
Hendry, A.
Pikitch, E.
Ashley, M.
Chapman, D.
Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title_full Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title_fullStr Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title_full_unstemmed Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title_short Two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
title_sort two decades of genetic profiling yields first evidence of natal philopatry and long-term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49830