Abstract:
I hypothesize that urbanization Murrells Inlet will affect the total number of
elasmobranches present and the species diversity of elasmobranchs. I believe predation
is the controlling factor for newborn sharks and young juveniles, and so I would expect to
find those individuals in the areas least accessible to adult sharks. This idea is supported
by Gilliam and Fraser (1987) who looked at foraging behavior in response to predation
pressure. They found fishes will move to the habitats that afford them the greatest
chances of survival. However, once animals grow in size, and the risk of being eaten
becomes substantially less, they move to areas that are less environmentally stressful.
