In the southwestern Gulf of California one of the most successful marine protected areas (MPA) worldwide is found: Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP). Due to the level of protection and availability of prey, a large population of bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) exists in this MPA. Historical records about the abundance and distribution of these sharks in the park are scarce. Here we describe the movement patterns of 32 bull sharks within CPNP using a passive acoustic telemetry array (N = 13) located along the park to examine how the residency of the species change spatially and temporally. Environmental variables were taken in situ (HOBOs) and complemented with satellite information (MODIS aqua). The mean residence index (RI) was 0.365 (SD ± 0.2143). Sharks were resident from December to May, whereas they were absent from August to October. Most bull sharks preferred water temperatures below 28 ºC and depths as shallow as 14 m as well as deeper waters ranging from 70 to 160 m. They thus occupy a wide range of habitats with diverse prey, from shallow to mesophotic reefs. Differences in the residency of males and females occur in response to temperature during the different seasons, resulting in sexual segregation. Our results suggest that females segregate from males probably for reproductive reasons (pupping in another area) or to feed on more energy-rich prey resulting in increased growth rates. This study provides information germane to the protection and management of bull sharks in CPNP.

在加利福尼亚湾西南部，发现了全世界最成功的海洋保护区 (MPA) 之一：卡波普尔莫国家公园 (CPNP)。由于保护水平和猎物的可用性，大量的牛鲨（Carcharhinus leucas) 存在于本 MPA 中。关于公园内这些鲨鱼数量和分布的历史记录很少。在这里，我们使用位于公园沿线的被动声学遥测阵列（N = 13）描述了 CPNP 内 32 条牛鲨的运动模式，以检查物种的居住地如何在空间和时间上发生变化。环境变量是在原地（HOBO）获取的，并辅以卫星信息（MODIS aqua）。平均居住指数 (RI) 为 0.365 (SD ± 0.2143)。鲨鱼从 12 月到 5 月有栖息，而它们在 8 月到 10 月不存在。大多数牛鲨喜欢低于 28 ºC 的水温和 14 m 的深度以及 70 至 160 m 的较深水域。因此，它们占据了广泛的栖息地，猎物种类繁多，从浅礁到中光礁。不同季节对温度的反应，会出现雄性和雌性的居住地差异，从而导致性别隔离。我们的研究结果表明，雌性与雄性分离可能是出于生殖原因（在另一个地区产仔）或以更多能量丰富的猎物为食，从而导致生长速度加快。本研究提供了与 CPNP 中牛鲨的保护和管理密切相关的信息。