fmars-08-687738 August 5, 2021 Time: 12:53 # 1 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 10 August 2021 doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.687738 Stable Isotope Analysis of Juvenile White Sharks Inside a Nursery Area Reveals Foraging in Demersal-Inshore Habitats and Trophic Overlap With Sympatric Edited by: Sharks J. Marcus Drymon, 1† 1 † 1 † Mississippi State University, Emiliano García-Rodríguez , Sharon Z. Herzka * , Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki * , United States Christopher G. Lowe2 and John B. O’Sullivan3 Reviewed by: 1 Department of Biological Oceanography, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Simona Alessandra Ceriani, Ensenada, Mexico, 2 Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA, United States, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research 3 Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA, United States Institute, United States Richard Reina, Monash University, Australia Knowledge about top predators’ trophic ecology is crucial for defining their role *Correspondence: in ecosystems, understanding habitat preferences, characterizing life stage-specific Sharon Z. Herzka feeding habits, and evaluating their interaction with fisheries. In the northeastern Pacific,
[email protected] Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) occupy coastal habitats during the early life
[email protected] stages, including Bahía Sebastián Vizcaíno (BSV) in Mexico, which is a known nursery †ORCID: area. Although BSV presumably provides high prey abundance, the trophic ecology of Emiliano García-Rodríguez orcid.org/0000-0002-9078-1300 immature white sharks is poorly understood. Carbon and nitrogen bulk stable isotope Sharon Z. Herzka analyses (SIA) were used to explore the trophic relationship of early life stages with orcid.org/0000-0001-7091-7656 their potential prey and to infer dietary overlap with sympatric sharks, while SIA of Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki orcid.org/0000-0002-3043-768X amino acids were used to estimate trophic position.