Gonzalo Araujo

Marine Research and Conservation Foundation

Significance Global vessel traffic is increasing alongside world economic growth. The potential for rising lethal ship strikes on endangered species of marine megafauna, such as the plankton-feeding whale shark, remains poorly understood since areas of highest overlap are seldom determined across an entire species range. Here we show how satellite...

The whale shark Rhincodon typus is a broadly distributed and highly mobile planktivorous shark species. The sharks form predictable aggregations in many areas, providing the opportunity for cost‐effective scientific monitoring through divers and other marine resource users. Sightings of individuals outside of these aggregate zones elsewhere in thei...

The world’s largest extant fish, the whale shark Rhincodon typus, is one of the most-studied species of sharks globally. The discovery of predictable aggregation sites where these animals gather seasonally or are sighted year-round – most of which are coastal and juvenile-dominated – has allowed for a rapid expansion of research on this species. Th...

The world's largest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a circum‐tropically distributed and globally endangered species, that is widely studied at predictable aggregation sites. The main Hawaiian Islands are not known to have large aggregations of whale sharks; however, they have been anecdotally reported here with some regularity. To date,...

Southeast (SE) Asia is a highly biodiverse region, yet it is also estimated to cumulatively contribute a third of the total global marine plastic pollution. This threat is known to have adverse impacts on marine megafauna, however, understanding of its impacts has recently been highlighted as a priority for research in the region. To address this k...

Please cite this article as: L.C.M. Omeyer, E.M. Duncan, N.A.S. Abreo, et al., Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia, Science of the Total Environment (2023), https://doi.

Little is known about manta ray population size, structure, and connectivity in the Philippines. In collaboration with dive operators, non-governmental organizations, and authorities, sightings of manta rays were collated into a single national database. Using in-water photographs and videos gathered through citizen science and dedicated research e...

Microbiomes confer beneficial physiological traits to their host, but microbial diversity is inherently variable, challenging the relationship between microbes and their functional contribution to host health. Here, we compare diversity and architectural complexity of the epidermal microbiome from 74 individual whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) across...

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first globa...

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first globa...

Fig. 1. A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) feeding on baitfish in the presence of other predators, including whaler sharks (Carcharhinus albimarginatus, Carcharhinus obscurus, Carcharhinus limbatus), trevally (Caranx spp.), mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and wedge-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica). Photograph credit: Tom Canon.

Mobula kuhlii (Müller and Henle 1841) is a small species of devilray of the family Mobulidae. The species was recently uplisted to endangered on the IUCN Red List due to inferred population declines of >50% across much of its range. Here, we report aggregating behaviour of this little-known species at Pulau Si Amil, Sabah, Malaysia, in the western...

Marine plastic abundance has increased over the past 60 years and microplastics (< 5 mm) constitute a primary component of such litter. Filter-feeding megafauna, such as the whale shark, might be particularly affected by microplastic pollution as their feeding mode requires filtration of up to thousands of cubic meters of water. In addition, the ha...

106,107 ✉ replying to A. V. Harry & J. M. Braccini Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03463-w (2021) Our global analysis 1 estimated the overlap and fishing exposure risk (FEI) using the space use of satellite-tracked sharks and longline fishing effort monitored by the automatic identification system (AIS). In the accompanying Comment, Harry...

This article is a response to Murua et al.'s Matters Arising article in Nature, "Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone," which arose from arising from N. Queiroz et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4 (2019).

Wildlife tourism uses various stimuli to attract species and facilitate close encounters. Such activities are often referred to as provisioning, however the term is used interchangeably, and sometimes erroneously, with attracting, feeding, luring, and chumming, all of which lack consistent definitions. Here, we review the current use of provisionin...

Wildlife tourism can act as an incentive for the conservation of marine species and habitats. One of the most important outcomes can be a change in the views of participants towards target species and their habitats that may promote more conservation-oriented actions. While a handful of studies have documented the wildlife value orientations (WVOs)...

The whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) is an endangered species with a declining global population. The South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area (SAMPA), Maldives, is one of few locations globally where year-long residency of individuals occurs. This SAMPA aggregation appears to consist almost exclusively of immature males. Due to its year-round residenc...

The whale shark is the world's largest fish that forms predictable aggregations across its range, many of which support tourism industries. The largest non-captive provisioned whale shark destination globally is at Oslob, Philippines, where more than 500 000 tourists visit yearly. There, the sharks are provisioned daily, year-round, allowing the hu...

Little is known about the reproductive ecology of the whale shark Rhincodon typus. On 15 March 2020, a free‐swimming neonate whale shark was found in the shallow, coastal waters of Donsol, Philippines. The total length of the male shark was 60 cm, falling within the species known size‐at‐birth. This is the third occurrence of neonatal whale sharks...

A reliable aggregation of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) takes place in waters surrounding the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena from December to May each year, peaking in January. Using photographic identification (photo-ID), a total of 277 individual sharks were identified over the course of the study, consisting of a 1.1:1 sex ratio of...

Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) tourism is increasingly popular at predictable aggregations around the world, but only a few use provisioning to ensure close interactions. Understanding the effects of provisioning on the behaviour of this endangered species is critical to manage this growing industry. We recorded the diving behaviour and habitat use...

. The ornate eagle ray Aetomylaeus vespertilio (Bleeker, 1852) is a rare and Endan- gered species of eagle ray, with a patchy distribution across the Indo‐West Pacific region, for which data are scarce. 2. Citizen science‐sourced data from online social media platforms were used to shed light on the distribution and ecology of the ornate eagle ray....

• Shark‐based tourism continues to be a rapidly growing industry, and thus understanding the impacts of such activities is essential to mitigate the potential negative effects on the target species. The consequences of provisioning on whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are not fully understood, although changes to the local environment, ecology, behavi...

Cleaning interactions are essential for healthy marine ecosystem communities. Here, we report the first documentation of the whale shark Rhincodon typus cleaning behaviour in the Indo‐West Pacific by two wrasse species, the blue‐streak cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus and the moon wrasse Thalassoma lunare in Cebu, Philippines. We documented 36 c...

A basic tenet of ecotourism is to enhance conservation. However, few studies have assessed its effectiveness in meeting conservation goals and whether the type of tourism activity affects outcomes. This study examines whether working in ecotourism changes the perceptions of and attitudes and behaviours of local people towards the focal species and...

Citizen science by which the general public is enlisted to participate in data collection programmes, can shed light on the biology and ecology of enigmatic species. The whale shark Rhincodon typus, the world’s largest fish, is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to continued population declines, particularly in the...

Perceived crowding is an important measure in assessing the social impacts of tourism activities. The goal of this study was to determine if the method used to measure perceived crowding in the marine environment (numerical vs. visual approach, boat vs. swimmer crowding) affects the crowding outcome and to apply the concept to a high-density marine...

The green turtle Chelonia mydas is an Endangered species that forms aggregations at neritic foraging sites where juveniles spend, in some cases, over a decade before moving to adult- or subadult-dominated foraging sites. Here, we used photographic identification, behavioural observations, paired-laser and stereo-photogrammetry to determine the popu...

The Philippines is home to the second largest known population of whale sharks in the world. The species is listed as endangered due to continued population declines in the Indo-Pacific. Knowledge about the connectivity within Southeast Asia remains poor, and thus international management is difficult. Here, we employed pop-up archival tags, data m...

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828) are generally associated with environmental factors that drive their movements to specific locations where food availability is high. The Gulf of Tadjoura (Djibouti) is widely recognized as an important site where the whale shark seasonally aggregates. However, despite an increase in the number of studies,...

Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of...

Ziegler et al. (2018) assessed tourists' perceptions of the ethics of feeding an endangered species for tourism purposes. The ethical decisions made, and justifications provided, were assessed using utilitarian and animal welfare ethical philosophies. We concluded that despite the substantial social and economic benefits of this activity, it remain...

This study explored the ethics of provisioning wildlife to enhance tourist interactions at a whale shark tourism site in Oslob, Philippines. TripAdvisor comments (n=947) and tourist surveys (n=761) were used to better understand tourists’ perceptions of whale shark provisioning in Oslob. The ethical decisions made were then critically assessed usin...

Reef-based tourism has been developing rapidly in recent decades yet its impacts on reef ecosystems are often overlooked. In Tan-awan, Oslob, Philippines, whale sharks are attracted to the shallow reefs where they are provisioned up to 50 tons y⁻¹ of feed and this phenomenon in turn attracts >300,000 y⁻¹ visitors. Given the intensive provisioning a...

The whale shark is the world’s largest fish yet 60-90% of its diet is made up of the smallest prey, the zooplankton. The species is listed as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened species. The biology and ecology of this species are largely unknown. Although parts of their movements have been map...

Elasmobranchs are experiencing population declines worldwide because of anthropogenic stressors. Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been shown to benefit mesopredatory species of shark. The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site and the largest no-take MPA in the...

Donsol in the Philippines is the longest running community-based whale shark (Rhincodon typus) ecotourism site in Southeast Asia, with peak visitation in 2012 of over 27,000 tourists. In order to understand this aggregation and the importance of the area to whale sharks, dedicated photographic identification (photo-ID) research began in 2007. In-wa...

In light of the global decline of mobulid populations and the necessity for sustainable fisheries management, baseline data for population dynamics were collected from a targeted fishery in the Bohol Sea, Philippines. This study focused on life-history parameters and reproductive cycles of four mobulid rays (Mobula thurstoni, Mobula japanica, Mobul...

The whale shark Rhincodon typus was uplisted to 'Endangered' in the 2016 IUCN Red List due to >50% population decline, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Though the Philippines protected the whale shark in 1998, concerns remain due to continued take in regional waters. In light of this, understanding the movements of whal...

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-904

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-791

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-814

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-821

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-955

Raw data of all 17 satellite tags Raw data used for analyses.

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-430

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-532

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-493

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-813

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-491

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-816

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-905

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-971

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-970

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-926

Time-at-temperature time-series for shark P-909

This study explored the ethics of provisioning wildlife to enhance tourist interactions at a whale shark tourism site in Oslob, Philippines. TripAdvisor comments (n = 947) and tourist surveys (n = 761) were used to better understand tourists' perceptions of whale shark provisioning in Oslob. The ethical decisions made were then critically assessed...

We report the occurrence of the rare and Endangered Aetomylaeus vespertilio (Bleeker, 1852) at the remote archipelago of Cagayancillo, Palawan in the Sulu Sea, Philippines. Only 1 previous report of the species exists from the country, a juvenile specimen in the Pasil market, Cebu City in 2000. During an in-water shark and ray survey at Cagayancill...

The whale shark is an ideal flagship species for citizen science projects because of its charismatic nature, its size, and the associated ecotourism ventures focusing on the species at numerous coastal aggregation sites. An online database of whale shark encounters, identifying individuals on the basis of their unique skin patterning, captured almo...

Mobulid rays, a group of closely related filter-feeders, are threatened globally by bycatch and targeted fisheries. Their habitat use and feeding ecology are not well studied, and most efforts have focused on temporally limited stomach content analysis or inferences from tagging data. Previous studies demonstrate a variety of different diving behav...

Provisioning wildlife for tourism is a controversial yet widespread practice. We analysed the residency patterns of juvenile whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Oslob, Philippines, where provisioning has facilitated a large shark-watching operation since 2011. We identified 208 individual sharks over three years, with an average of 18.6 (s.d. = 7.8,...