Pelagic sharks target long-lived, retentive anticyclonic eddies in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Braun, CD, Gaube, P, Della Penna, A, Thorrold, SR, McDonnell, LH, Fischer, GC, Mucientes, G, Queiroz, N, Sims, DW and Shivji, M 2025 Pelagic sharks target long-lived, retentive anticyclonic eddies in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography, 70 (12). 3972-3982. 10.1002/lno.70260Digital

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Abstract/Summary

Open ocean ecosystems represent the largest habitat on Earth and are highly dynamic in time and space. Mesoscale eddies are a primary driver of this variability and serve a key structural role in ocean ecosystems. Eddies modulate marine biodiversity beyond their impacts on plankton, influencing many ecologically and commercially important predators that may preferentially occupy anticyclonic eddies. However, how animal-eddy interactions scale across predator species and the mechanistic drivers of these relationships remain an area of active research. We integrated satellite tracking data for sharks with observations of mesoscale eddies to determine how four shark species interact with eddies in the Gulf Stream region. Based on over 24,000 tracking days, we found that blue, white, and shortfin mako sharks selected for the cores of anticyclones while the use of eddies by tiger sharks was less conspicuous. Some particularly large and long-lived anticyclones were occupied by tagged sharks for multiple weeks suggesting that these eddies may serve as hotspots for pelagic predators

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	mesoscale eddies, pelagic sharks, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, marine biodiversity, satellite tracking, Gulf Stream region
Subjects:	Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Ocean Biology
Depositing User:	Ms Kristina Hixon
Date made live:	16 Apr 2026 11:20
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2026 11:20
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/10600

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