environmental conditions
This project looks at how different environmental conditions influence the number of tiger sharks seen at Fuvahmulah, even though the sharks are provisioned year-round. By combining almost three years of shark surveys with temperature, weather, tide, and lunar data, we test which natural factors still affect when sharks show up at the site.
We used advanced statistical models (GAMMs) to explore how different environmental factors—such as sea surface temperature, monsoon season, lunar–tide cycles, dive depth and duration, wind, and wave conditions—shape daily shark sightings. The models explained 24–38% of the variation in shark counts.
Overall, resident females were more closely linked to warmer temperatures and predictable monsoon patterns, while transient sharks responded more strongly to weather changes, wind direction, and lunar–tidal cycles. These findings show that even at a provisioning site, natural environmental rhythms continue to play a major role in tiger shark presence, offering valuable insight for both ecological understanding and future conservation management.
in collaboration with:
