Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Cownose Ray Movement And Behavior In The Intertidal Zone, Glenna Dyson-Roberts

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Environmental, temporal and life history factors are known to influence and cause variation in cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus movements, but their use of the intertidal zone has not been fully studied. Cownose rays eat ribbed mussels, an obligate intertidal species; thus their intertidal visitation may be important. We investigated cownose ray movement, from fixed Dual Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) at the Rutgers Cape Shore Laboratory mudflats, relative to water temperature, diel pattern, diurnal conditions, tidal phase, current speed, and heading. Behavioral Observation Research Interactive Software (BORIS) was used to digitally record cownose ray appearance in 170 randomly selected ten-minute sonar …