Stable Isotope Analysis of the Sandbar Shark, Carcharinus plumbeus: A Minimally Invasive Method for Comparison of Diet and Trophic Relationships between Genders, Locations, and Age Classes

The 2006 National Marine Fisheries Service SEDAR for large coastal sharks recommended the gathering of additional diet and trophic relationship data for the sandbar shark, Carcharinus plumbeus. No diet studies of any kind have been performed on South Carolina subpopulations of C. plumbeus, and stable isotope analysis has never been performed on this species. Muscle samples were taken from C. plumbeus caught by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shark surveys. The analysis of δ13C and δ 15N from this muscle tissue is ongoing and will be compared with prey species and between other C. plumbeus samples to determine the diet and trophic level of South Carolina and Virginia subpopulations. Intra-subpopulation comparisons will be made to detect potential differences in diet and trophic level between sharks of different age classes and genders.