ArticlePloS one2014
Diving behavior of the reef manta ray links coral reefs with adjacent deep pelagic habitats.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- First insights into oceanic manta ray movements in Japan using satellite telemetry.Journal of fish biology · 2026Article
- Movement, residency, and behavioral plasticity of reef manta rays in the Samarai Islands of Papua New Guinea.PloS one · 2026Article
- Myliobatid Ray Gliding Dynamics: Experimental Tests of Body Shape and Tail Length on Stability.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Function of the tail in myliobatid rays: role in controlling body stability.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Home sweet home: spatiotemporal distribution and site fidelity of the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in Dungonab Bay, Sudan.Movement ecology · 2022Article
- Fine-scale oceanographic drivers of reef manta ray (Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Mutualism promotes site selection in a large marine planktivore.Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Environmental drivers of reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) visitation patterns to key aggregation habitats in the Maldives.PloS one · 2021Article
- Wound-healing capabilities of whale sharks (Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Article
- A study on the hydrodynamic performance of manta ray biomimetic glider under unconstrained six-DOF motion.PloS one · 2020Article
- Diving behavior of the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in New Caledonia: More frequent and deeper night-time diving to 672 meters.PloS one · 2020Article
- Stable isotope analyses reveal unique trophic role of reef manta rays (Royal Society open science · 2019Article
- Article
- Environmental characteristics associated with the presence of the Spinetail devil ray (Mobula mobular) in the eastern tropical Pacific.PloS one · 2019Article
- Article
- Conservation of reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) in a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Large-scale island development or sustainable tourism?PloS one · 2017Article
- Article
- Into the deep: the functionality of mesopelagic excursions by an oceanic apex predator.Ecology and evolution · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent successful efforts to increase protection for manta rays has highlighted the lack of basic ecological information, including vertical and horizontal movement patterns, available for these species. We deployed pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags on nine reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, to determine diving behaviors and vertical habitat use. Transmitted and archived data were obtained from seven tagged mantas over deployment periods of 102-188 days, including three recovered tags containing 2.6 million depth, temperature, and light level data points collected every 10 or 15 seconds. Mantas frequented the upper 10 m during daylight hours and tended to occupy deeper water throughout the night. Six of the seven individuals performed a cumulative 76 deep dives (>150 m) with one individual reaching 432 m, extending the known depth range of this coastal, reef-oriented species and confirming its role as an ecological link between epipelagic and mesopelagic habitats. Mean vertical velocities calculated from high-resolution dive data (62 dives >150 m) from three individuals suggested that mantas may use gliding behavior during travel and that this behavior may prove more efficient than continuous horizontal swimming. The behaviors in this study indicate manta rays provide a previously unknown link between the epi- and mesopelagic layers of an extremely oligotrophic marine environment and provide evidence of a third marine species that utilizes gliding to maximize movement efficiency.
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