caa a22 4500 477116833 CHVBK 20180405111624.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170330e19961001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00005044 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00005044 Ontogenetic dietary shifts and feeding behavior of the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier , in Hawaiian waters [Elektronische Daten] [Christopher Lowe, Bradley Wetherbee, Gerald Crow, Albert Tester] Synopsis: Stomach content data from 281 tiger sharks caught during shark control programs in Hawaii between 1967 and 1969, and during 1976 were analyzed to examine feeding habits and ontogenetic shifts in diet. As sharks increased in size, prey diversity and frequency of occurrence of large prey items increased. The percent occurrence of teleosts and cephalopods in stomachs decreased as sharks increased in length, while occurrence of elasmobranchs, turtles, land mammals, crustaceans, and undigestible items increased. Comparisons between the diets of tiger sharks from Hawaii and other locations indicate that ontogenetic shifts are universal in this species and that tiger sharks may be opportunistic feeders that prey heavily on abundant, easy to capture prey. Small tiger sharks may be spatially segregated from medium and large sharks and appear to be primarily nocturnal, bottom feeders. Large tiger sharks feed near the bottom at night, but also feed at the surface during the day. Prey, similar in size to humans, begin to occur in the diet of tiger sharks approximately 230 cm TL, and therefore sharks of this size and larger may pose the greatest threat to humans. Ontogenetic shifts in diet may be attributed to increased size of sharks, expanded range and exploitation of habitats of larger sharks, and/or improved hunting skill of larger sharks. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996 Dietary analysis nationallicence Prey diversity nationallicence Predatory behavior nationallicence Elasmobranch nationallicence Lowe Christopher Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A. aut Wetherbee Bradley Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A. aut Crow Gerald Waikiki Aquarium, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2777 Kalakaua Ave., 96815, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A. aut Tester Albert Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A. aut Environmental Biology of Fishes Kluwer Academic Publishers; http://www.wkap.nl 47/2(1996-10-01), 203-211 0378-1909 47:2<203 1996 47 10641 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005044 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005044 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lowe Christopher Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Wetherbee Bradley Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Crow Gerald Waikiki Aquarium, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2777 Kalakaua Ave., 96815, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Tester Albert Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, 96744, Kaneohe, HI, U.S.A aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Environmental Biology of Fishes Kluwer Academic Publishers; http://www.wkap.nl/ 47/2(1996-10-01), 203-211 0378-1909 47:2<203 1996 47 10641 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer