Predator-prey landscapes of large sharks and game fishes in the Florida Keys.

Interspecific interactions can play an essential role in shaping wildlife populations and communities. To date, assessments of interspecific interactions, and more specifically predator-prey dynamics, in aquatic systems over broad spatial and temporal scales (i.e.

Ocean warming alters the distributional range, migratory timing, and spatial protections of an apex predator, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).

Given climate change threats to ecosystems, it is critical to understand the responses of species to warming. This is especially important in the case of apex predators since they exhibit relatively high extinction risk, and changes to their distribution could impact predator-prey interactions that can initiate trophic cascades. Here we used a combined analysis of animal tracking, remotely sensed environmental data, habitat modeling, and capture data to evaluate the effects of climate variability and change on the distributional range and migratory phenology of an ectothermic apex predator, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).

Space use patterns of sharks in relation to boat activity in an urbanized coastal waterway.

Aquatic ecosystems face numerous anthropogenic threats associated with coastal urbanization, with boat activity being among the most prevalent. The present study aimed to evaluate a potential relationship between boat activity and shark space use in Biscayne Bay, Florida (USA), a coastal waterway exposed to high levels of boating. Spatiotemporal patterns in boat density and traffic were determined from aerial surveys and underwater acoustic recorders, respectively.

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment.

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence.