Prey Density Threshold and Tidal Influence on Reef Manta Ray Foraging at an Aggregation Site on the Great Barrier Reef.

Large tropical and sub-tropical marine animals must meet their energetic requirements in a largely oligotrophic environment. Many planktivorous elasmobranchs, whose thermal ecologies prevent foraging in nutrient-rich polar waters, aggregate seasonally at predictable locations throughout tropical oceans where they are observed feeding. Here we investigate the foraging and oceanographic environment around Lady Elliot Island, a known aggregation site for reef manta rays Manta alfredi in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The foraging behaviour of reef manta rays was analysed in relation to zooplankton populations and local oceanography, and compared to long-term sighting records of reef manta rays from the dive operator on the island. Reef manta rays fed at Lady Elliot Island when zooplankton biomass and abundance were significantly higher than other times. The critical prey density threshold that triggered feeding was 11.2 mg m-3 while zooplankton size had no significant effect on feeding. The community composition and size structure of the zooplankton was similar when reef manta rays were feeding or not, with only the density of zooplankton changing. Higher zooplankton biomass was observed prior to low tide, and long-term (~5 years) sighting data confirmed that more reef manta rays are also observed feeding during this tidal phase than other times. This is the first study to examine prey availability at an aggregation site for reef manta rays and it indicates that they feed in locations and at times of higher zooplankton biomass.

When giants turn up: sighting trends, environmental influences and habitat use of the manta ray Manta alfredi at a coral reef.

Manta rays Manta alfredi are present all year round at Lady Elliot Island (LEI) in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with peaks in abundance during autumn and winter. Drivers influencing these fluctuations in abundance of M. alfredi at the site remain uncertain. Based on daily count, behavioural, weather and oceanographic data collected over a three-year period, this study examined the link between the relative number of sightings of manta rays at LEI, the biophysical environment, and the habitat use of individuals around the LEI reef using generalised additive models. The response variable in each of the three generalised additive models was number of sightings (per trip at sea) of cruising, cleaning or foraging M. alfredi. We used a set of eleven temporal, meteorological, biological, oceanographic and lunar predictor variables. Results for cruising, cleaning and foraging M. alfredi explained 27.5%, 32.8% and 36.3% of the deviance observed in the respective models and highlighted five predictors (year, day of year, wind speed, chlorophyll-a concentration and fraction of moon illuminated) as common influences to the three models. There were more manta rays at LEI in autumn and winter, slower wind speeds, higher productivity, and around the new and full moon. The winter peak in sightings of foraging M. alfredi was found to precede peaks in cleaning and cruising activity around the LEI reef, which suggests that enhanced food availability may be a principal driver for this seasonal aggregation. A spatial analysis of behavioural observations highlighted several sites around the LEI reef as 'multi-purpose' areas where cleaning and foraging activities commonly occur, while the southern end of the reef is primarily a foraging area. The use of extensive citizen science datasets, such as those collected by dive operators in this study, is encouraged as they can provide valuable insights into a species' ecology.