Shark and ray provisioning: functional insights into behavioral, ecological and physiological responses across multiple scales
Résumé
The use of olfactory stimuli and the provision of food are a common practice to
prompt artificial aggregations of emblematic wild species and ensure the economic viability of the
wildlife-watching industry. Several elasmobranch species have been targeted by such operations
in a variety of locations for over 4 decades. A recent review succinctly addressed the potential
effects of shark diving tourism, including shark provisioning, on shark individual behavior and
ecology, but the paucity of data on the ecology of elasmobranchs precluded general statements.
By using a functional framework, we reviewed the findings of the 22 available studies that investigated
the behavioral, physiological, and ecological response of 14 shark and 3 ray species targeted
by artificial provisioning. Focusing on the underlying processes that rule the response of targeted
elasmobranch species, we report further effects acting beyond the individual scale. We
suggest that the most commonly described alterations of individual movement patterns have cascading
effects through the group and community scales, ultimately resulting in altered health condition
and individual behavior toward humans. We conclude by stressing the potential for provisioning
activities to support the investigation of complex ecological and behavioral processes in
elasmobranchs.