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Understanding the prevalence of foraging specialisation, fasting and herbivory to improve conservation of the globally threatened whale shark

Research Project

Project/Area Number 19K16224
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section Basic Section 45040:Ecology and environment-related
Research InstitutionThe University of Tokyo

Principal Investigator

WYATT Alexander  東京大学, 大気海洋研究所, 特任研究員 (70748920)

Project Period (FY) 2019-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Discontinued (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000)
Keywordswhale shark / Rhincodon typus / foraging / fasting / herbivory / stable isotope / amino acid / trophic position / Rhicodon typus / isotope / ジンベエザメ / 安定同位体
Outline of Research at the Start

The objective of this research is to clarify several mysteries surrounding the critically threatened whale shark; simply put ‘where and on what does the world’s largest fish feed?’. The research will quantify the global prevalence of foraging specialisation, fasting and herbivory, and thereby make pioneering inroads into understanding that is essential for efforts to conserve this globally threatened species by identifying prey sources and spatial scales relevant to management.

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

Research achievements during the ~5 months of the grant included:
- travel to present and interact with international collaborators at the 5th International Whale Shark Conferences in Exmouth, Western Australia;
- planning meetings with international collaborators for global sample procurement and analysis;
- reconnaissance field work at the whale shark aggregation at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia;
- procurement of supplies and equipment for field sampling and laboratory analysis; and
- collation of whale shark samples for compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids.

Report

(1 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report
  • Research Products

    (1 results)

All 2019

All Presentation (1 results)

  • [Presentation] Enhancing insights into foraging specialisation by whale sharks using a multi-tissue, multi-isotope approach2019

    • Author(s)
      Alex S.J. Wyatt, Rui Matsumoto, Yoshito Chikaraishi, Yosuke Miyairi, Yusuke Yokoyama, Keiichi Sato, Nao Ohkouchi, Toshi Nagata
    • Organizer
      5th International Whale Shark Conference
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report

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Published: 2019-04-18   Modified: 2021-01-27  

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