Deslocamentos verticais e horizontais do tubarão martelo (Sphyrna lewini, Griffith & Smith, 1834) monitorados a partir do arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

The hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) has a circuntropical distribution, ranging from coastal and semi-oceanic tropical and temperate regions to and island ecosystems. Located near the equator, the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA) is a group of small islands where hammerhead sharks are frequently observed. For that reason, the SPSPA was selected for the study of hammerhead shark movements, through satellite tagging, using PSAT (Pop up satellite archival transmitting tag).Three females were tagged, two in October 2010 (TM 1: 250 cm TL e TM 2: 260 cm TL), and one in March 2012 (TM 3: 200 cm TL). Although all tags were programmed to remain attached to the animals, collecting data, for 70 days, TM 1 and TM 2 tags were released prematurely, on the 7th and 5th day of monitoring, respectively. TM3 tag was released at the programmed date. According to the deploy and pop-up information (TM 1 e TM 2) and geolocation (TM 3), all sharks remained in SPSPA surroundings during the monitoring period, diving at great depths, mainly during the night, with the deepest dive of 728 m being recorded for TM 3. TM 1 and TM 2 had a depth preference between the surface and 150 m, while TM3 had a more restricted depth preference (surface to 75 m) during both periods, day and night. The temperature profile indicated that the three tagged hammerhead sharks preferred to be in temperatures between 24° C and above 26°C. Despite the great amount of time spent by all sharks in depths attributed to thermocline in SPSPA, the specimens moved from the mixing layer to the mesopelagic zone. In spite of the relevance of the obtained information for the understanding of the species movement patterns, complimentary studies are yet necessary to elucidate its migratory behavior.