In Photos: Feeding Ground for Whale Sharks

‘Whale sharks are amazing swimmers, often moving over 10,000km each year, and they can dive to around 2,000m in depth. Biochemical studies tell us more about where they go and what they do when they’re out of our sight,’ said Dr Clare Prebble, who led the research project by the Marine Megafauna Foundation, University of Southampton, and Sharkwatch Arabia.

Photograph: Simon Pierce/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton

Previous research indicated that whale sharks mixed within distinct populations in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. This new study used stable isotope analysis to demonstrate that whale sharks feeding at three disparate sites in the Western Indian Ocean (Mozambique and Tanzania) and the Arabian Gulf (Qatar) rarely swim more than a few hundred kilometres north or south from these areas.

Photograph: Clare Prebble/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton

The researchers used nitrogen and carbon isotopes to provide a record of the animal’s feeding and movement, giving a ‘biological passport’ for whale sharks.

Photograph: Simon Pierce/Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton