Use of Human-Altered Habitats by Bull Sharks in a Florida Nursery Area

Abstract Bull Sharks Carcharhinus leucas in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, have been documented to frequently occur in human-altered habitats, including dredged creeks and channels, boat marinas, and power plant outfalls. The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term movements of age-0 and juvenile Bull Sharks to quantify the extent to which those movements occur in altered habitats. A total of 16 short-term active acoustic tracks (2–26 h) were carried out with 9 individuals, and a 10th individual was fitted with a long-term coded transmitter for passive monitoring by fixed listening stations. Movement and activity space statistics indicated high levels of area reuse over the span of tracking (hours to days). All but one shark used altered habitat at some point during tracking, such that 51% of all tracking positions occurred in some type of altered habitat. Of the sharks that used altered habitat, the mean (±1 SD) percent of positions within altered habitat was 66 (±40)%. Furthermore, tracks...