Data and code for: Pelagic sharks target long-lived, retentive anticyclonic eddies in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Open ocean ecosystems represent the largest habitat on Earth and are
highly dynamic in time and space. Mesoscale eddies are a primary driver of
this variability and serve a key structural role in ocean ecosystems.
Eddies modulate marine biodiversity beyond their impacts on plankton,
influencing many ecologically and commercially important predators that
may preferentially occupy anticyclonic eddies. However, how animal-eddy
interactions scale across predator species and the mechanistic drivers of
these relationships remain an area of active research. We integrated
satellite tracking data for sharks with observations of mesoscale eddies
to determine how four shark species interact with eddies in the Gulf
Stream region. Based on over 24,000 tracking days, we found that blue,
white, and shortfin mako sharks selected for the cores of anticyclones
while use of eddies by tiger sharks was less conspicuous. Some
particularly large and long-lived anticyclones were occupied by tagged
sharks for multiple weeks suggesting that these eddies may serve as
hotspots for pelagic predators.