Female site fidelity and repeated pairings across years in bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) inhabiting Fiji waters

Abstract

Understanding relatedness in sharks is challenging due to uncertainty in distributions, low population densities and difficulties in sampling across life stages. In Fiji, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), with an effective population size estimate of [~]258, aggregate at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve (SRMR), but gravid females disperse at the end of the year to give birth in adjacent rivers. Questions remain regarding reproductive connectivity, female returns across years, and kinship structure. Using population genomics on 296 bull sharks across age classes (neonates, young-of-the-year, juveniles, and adults) collected over a decade at the SRMR and in three adjacent rivers, we assessed familial connections. Direct genetic links, including first- and second-degree relationships, connected SRMR adults with young age classes in the Navua and Rewa rivers, providing evidence of reproductive connectivity. Within rivers, genetic similarities across cohorts revealed reproductive philopatry. Remarkably, several individuals sampled years apart were assigned to the same sire-dam pairs, indicating repeated pairings across breeding seasons. However, the few related links detected between the SRMR and the rivers may reflect incomplete sampling. Altogether, bull shark reproduction in Fiji seems influenced by reproductive philopatry and repeated pairings, suggesting added complexity in their reproductive behaviour.