The Gulf of Mexico Shark Pupping and Nursery (GULFSPAN) survey is a fishery-independent survey that began in 1994 to examine the distribution and abundance of juvenile sharks in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The data describes coastal shark abundance and environmental data from St. Andrews Bay to Apalachicola Bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Photos of catch, methodology, scientists, and habitat organized by year and month, 2003-current.

This Archival Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information of Atlantic sharpnose shark and specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for the Atlantic sharpnose shark. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico from 2000 to 2003. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include sex, maturity, number of prey items

This Archive Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information and specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for blacktip sharks. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory, through the observer programs, and other fishery independent surveys in the coastal waters of Florida. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include length, sex, number of prey items, and stomach content analysis. Stomach contents and catch data of early life stages of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) were examined to test for overlap in resource use.

The identification of essential habitats for marine species is critical for proper management of populations. Although the species composition of sharks that occur in coastal waters is diverse, descriptions of distribution and habitat use tend to be generalized; distribution has been broadly outlined in which individuals are segregated into different habitats by ontogeny The GULFPSAN survey is a fishery-independent survey that began in 1994 to examine the distribution and abundance of juvenile sharks in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. It was done adhoc through 2002. In 2003 it began to receive its own funding. The database describes coastal shark abundance and environmental data from St. Andrews Bay to Apalachicola Bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae diet is described from Crooked Island Sound, an embayment of the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Diet was assessed by life-stage and quantified using six indices: percent by number, percent by weight, frequency of occurrence, the index of relative importance (IRI), IRI expressed on a percent basis (IRI), and IRI based on prey category (IRIPC). Young-of-the-year sharks (n56) fed on a mix of teleosts (mostly clupeids, 44.6 IRIPC) and invertebrates (combined, 25.1 IRIPC), juveniles (n185) on sciaenids (40.7 IRIPC) and clupeids (37.8 IRIPC), and adults (n105) on sciaenids (71.4 IRIPC). Differences in diet by site and ontogeny were tested by comparing diet from Crooked Island Sound with published information from St. Vincent Island in Apalachicola Bay, an adjacent estuary. Stomach contents were also used to expand on published prey size-predator size information.

Juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna lewini, were collected in northwest Florida to examine foraging ecology, bioenergetics, and trophic level (30-60 cm FL mean FL 41.5 cm n 196). Diet analysis was performed using single and compound measures of prey quantity. Diet was also analyzed using seven broad diet categories (DC). Diet composition and estimated daily ration were compared to previously published information on bonnethead sharks, S. tiburo. Diet overlap was low between species. Juvenile S. lewini feed on relatively small (85 of prey items 5 shark length) teleosts (mostly bothids and sciaenids) and shrimps, whereas S. tiburo have been documented to feed mostly on crustaceans and plant material in northwest Florida. Plant material contributed little to the diet of S. lewini. Estimated daily ration was significantly lower for S. lewini (4.6 BW d-1) than for S. tiburo in northwest Florida, regardless if plant material was included in the model (p0.02 including and p0.00001 excluding plant material). Trophic level was calculated at 4.0 for S. lewini and 2.6 for S. tiburo. Stable isotope analysis showed S. lewini had significantly higher 15N values and significantly lower 13C values than S. tiburo, supporting the difference observed in calculated trophic level. These results provide evidence that small juvenile hammerhead species co-exist in coastal northwest Florida by feeding at separate trophic levels.

Reproductive data from Atlantic sharpnose sharks were collected from specimens captured throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico on various research vessels. Data included those necessary to describe the size at maturity, reproductive cycle, mating period, gestation time and fecundity of the species.

Reproductive data from Atlantic sharpnose sharks were collected from specimens captured throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico on various research vessels. Data included those necessary to describe the size at maturity, reproductive cycle, mating period, gestation time and fecundity of the species.

This Archival Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information on bonnethead and scalloped hammerhead sharks with specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for these two species. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida from 1998 to 2005. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include length, sex, and number of prey items.