1. Whale sharks collect in predictable seasonal aggregations across the tropics. South Ari Atoll in the Maldives is one of a few aggregation sites where whale sharks can be encountered year-round. Here, areas with high levels of tourism-related boating traffic overlap with the whale shark hotspot, increasing the probability of anthropogenic injury. Whale sharks have been reported to remain faithful to this aggregation site following injury, despite the costs of injury and the risk of re-injury. However, the impacts of injury on site fidelity and residency behaviour are not fully understood.
2. Encounter data on individual sharks from the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme database (2006–2018) were analysed to assess the relationship between injury and site fidelity in whale sharks. There was no difference in geographic site use, with injured and non-injured individuals being encountered in the same areas. However, there were differences in residency timings: injured resident whale sharks (individuals repeatedly encountered over 6 months or longer) spent significantly more time at the atoll and less time absent, and were seen more consistently than non-injured residents. Increased residency duration, return rate and number of residency periods correlated with increasing injury number.
3. These differences in behaviour imply a cost to injury, with whale sharks potentially remaining at this site to recover. With boat traffic being concentrated at the aggregation site, injured sharks may be more vulnerable to further injury. Alternatively, these individuals may remain at the atoll despite injury because the benefits gained from this area outweigh the potential costs, with more resident individuals facing greater exposure to anthropogenic threats. These findings highlight the importance of this location and emphasize the need for improved management of anthropogenic activities, particularly boating traffic, at aggregation hotspots to reduce injury rates and any subsequent impacts on behaviour and fitness.

中文翻译：

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马尔代夫鲸鲨（Rhincodon typus）的人为损伤和部位保真度

1. 鲸鲨在热带地区以可预测的季节性聚集方式聚集。马尔代夫的南阿里环礁是少数全年都能遇到鲸鲨的聚集地之一。在这里，与旅游相关的划船交通量高的地区与鲸鲨热点重叠，增加了人为伤害的可能性。据报道，鲸鲨在受伤后仍然忠实于这个聚集地，尽管要付出伤害代价和再次受伤的风险。然而，伤害对现场保真度和居住行为的影响尚不完全清楚。
2. 分析了来自马尔代夫鲸鲨研究计划数据库（2006 年至 2018 年）的个体鲨鱼遭遇数据，以评估鲸鲨受伤与现场保真度之间的关系。地理位置的使用没有差异，受伤和未受伤的人都在同一地区遇到。然而，驻留时间存在差异：受伤的常住鲸鲨（在 6 个月或更长时间内反复遇到的个体）在环礁停留的时间明显更长，缺席时间更少，并且比未受伤的居民更一致地被看到。住院时间、返回率和住院时间的增加与受伤人数的增加相关。
3. 这些行为上的差异意味着受伤的代价，鲸鲨可能会留在这个地方恢复。由于船只交通集中在聚集地点，受伤的鲨鱼可能更容易受到进一步伤害。或者，尽管受到伤害，这些人可能仍留在环礁，因为从该地区获得的收益超过了潜在成本，更多的居民个人面临更大的人为威胁。这些发现强调了该地点的重要性，并强调需要在聚集热点改进对人为活动的管理，特别是划船交通，以降低伤害率以及对行为和健康的任何后续影响。