Prof. Dunton Co-Authors Study on Coastal Shark Migration Under Climate Change

Keith Dunton, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, recently co-authored a publication, "Predictions of Southern Migration Timing in Coastal Sharks Under Future Ocean Warming" (Conservation Biology, 2025). The study used innovative acoustic telemetry to evaluate the drivers of southerly shark migrations from the New York Bight and evaluated how climate change and warming oceans may affect these migrations along the U.S. East Coast.

For the study, scientists tracked six shark species, including sandbar, sand tiger, dusky, blacktip, thresher, and white sharks, using acoustic tags from 2018 to 2022. Typically, these sharks spend spring and summer in northern waters like New England, New York, and New Jersey before migrating south in the fall to warmer areas.

The researchers found that water temperature and day length are important cues for migrations of sharks. Under future climate conditions with rising ocean temperatures, sharks are expected to extend their residency and delay their southern migrations, therefore spending more time in New England, New York, and New Jersey waters.

The researchers conclude that these delays in migration timing of coastal shark species may ultimately alter local ecosystem dynamics and challenge current fishery management strategies.

Conservation Biology, the flagship journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, is the leading journal in the field of conservation. Its ground-breaking research articles, essays, and reviews develop new theory and methods, define key problems, and propose solutions, exploring the social, ecological, and philosophical dimensions of the conservation of biological diversity.

Read the full study.