Whale sharks as oceanic nurseries for Golden Trevally

Abstract

The Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, is a large predatory fish with an extremely broad tropical Indo-Pacific distribution that crosses many biogeographical boundaries. Both published information and freely available imagery suggest that small juvenile G. speciosus are often associated with whale sharks, Rhincodon typus; an association that could explain the unusually widespread distribution of G. speciosus, and suggests a novel nursery relationship. The possibility of such an association has the potential to reshape our understanding of the ecological roles played by long-range migrants such as R. typus and other megafauna, our understanding of the full extent of their conservation value, and how we manage both members of the relationship.