01/08/2017

Using a combination stomach content data and stable isotope analysis, Dicken et al. (2017) provide information on size-based and sex-specific variations in diet, trophic position and foraging habitat of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) along the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

Article can be viewed here . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0177897

Their analyses showed that reptiles, birds, mysticetes, and large shark species increased in dietary importance with size of tiger sharks along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, this was associated with a decrease in smaller prey such as batoids and teleosts. They provided valuable  evidence that tiger sharks are generalist species – i.e. that they do not feed at discrete trophic levels, but rather throughout the food web.