Acoustic Telemetry
Tracking Shark and Ray Movements
Current Research by Dr. Michelle Heupel focuses on examining
movement and behavior patterns of sharks and rays via acoustic
telemetry. In this research, acoustic receivers (Vemco VR2 - underwater
listening stations) are used to constantly monitor the location of
individual sharks after the animals are fitted with acoustic
transmitters that emit a signal once a minute. Each transmitter has a
unique ID code so the receivers can identify individuals and record
their presence. These data are then used to define how long animals
stay within a certain area, when they leave the area, how much of the
area they use while they are there and how the animals respond to
changes in the environment. These studies have been ongoing for seven
years and have examined sharks and rays in several bays along the
Florida coast. 
A
bull shark fitted with an acoustic transmitter (black and white) and a
traditional fin tag (orange). The acoustic transmitter sends out a
series of "pings" unique to the individual shark. Underwater equipment
(acoustic receivers) pick up these signals and allow Mote to monitor
shark movements over a long period of time.
Data
collected from these studies have been used to identify animal home
ranges and activity spaces, movements in relation to prey and - most
recently - movements in relation to one another. This research
has provided important information about the mortality rate of young
blacktip sharks in their first year of life that is necessary for
understanding population dynamics of this species.
In
addition, these telemetry systems have been left in place during
tropical storms and hurricanes. Although the equipment was not
deployed to examine the response of sharks to extreme weather events,
the movement of these storm systems near the study sites has resulted
in new data on how sharks respond to storms. In all cases examined to
date, sharks have left the bays and moved into deeper water prior to a
storm reaching the coast. For more details on shark responses to
extreme weather events, read this article published in the Summer 2004 edition of Mote Magazine.
To read more about current studies by the Elasmobranch Behavioral Ecology Program please check out the following pages:
If you are interested in an internship with the Elasmobranch Behavorial Ecology Program please follow this link to our intern application webpage.
This
research has been supported by funding from the National Science
Foundation Biological Oceanography Program (Award No. OCE-991295), the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the Mote Scientific Foundation.
For more information about acoustic receivers and acoustic tracking please see the Vemco website.
