Lipid class (LC) profiles, reported as % of total lipid, for <i>Mobula birostris</i> from Ecuador (this study), alongside <i>Mobula alfredi</i> from Mozambique and eastern Australia [13], and <i>Rhincodon typus</i> from western Australia [14] and Mozambique [33].

<p>Lipid class (LC) profiles, reported as % of total lipid, for <i>Mobula birostris</i> from Ecuador (this study), alongside <i>Mobula alfredi</i> from Mozambique and eastern Australia [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464#pone.0186464.ref013" target="_blank">13</a>], and <i>Rhincodon typus</i> from western Australia [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464#pone.0186464.ref014" target="_blank">14</a>] and Mozambique [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464#pone.0186464.ref033" target="_blank">33</a>].</p

Fatty acid (FA) composition (% of total FA ± s.d.) of <i>Mobula birostris</i> muscle and whole surface zooplankton collected from Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, alongside FA profiles of <i>Mobula alfredi</i> and <i>Rhincodon typus</i> from different oceanic regions.

<p>Fatty acid (FA) composition (% of total FA ± s.d.) of <i>Mobula birostris</i> muscle and whole surface zooplankton collected from Isla de la Plata, Ecuador, alongside FA profiles of <i>Mobula alfredi</i> and <i>Rhincodon typus</i> from different oceanic regions.</p

Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling plot for surface zooplankton fatty acid profiles (Bray-Curtis Similarity Index).

<p>Fatty acid labels represent the main coefficients (>0.7) contributing to each axis. Cluster 1 and 2 designate the two distinct FA profile groups of surface zooplankton as revealed by cluster analysis at 80% similarity.</p

Average lipid class (LC) profiles of surface zooplankton from a <i>Mobula birostris</i> aggregation site in Ecuador (this study), and from <i>Mobula alfredi</i> aggregation sites in eastern Australia and Mozambique [13].

<p>Average lipid class (LC) profiles of surface zooplankton from a <i>Mobula birostris</i> aggregation site in Ecuador (this study), and from <i>Mobula alfredi</i> aggregation sites in eastern Australia and Mozambique [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186464#pone.0186464.ref013" target="_blank">13</a>].</p

Fatty acid (FA) profiles, reported as percentage proportion of total FA, for <i>Mobula birostris</i> and surface zooplankton sampled off mainland Ecuador, and <i>Orcinus orca</i> from California with a similarly low percentage proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

<p>Fatty acid (FA) profiles, reported as percentage proportion of total FA, for <i>Mobula birostris</i> and surface zooplankton sampled off mainland Ecuador, and <i>Orcinus orca</i> from California with a similarly low percentage proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids.</p

The first and second principle components of <i>Mobula birostris</i> and surface zooplankton signature fatty acid (FA) profiles (including all FAs >1% total FA), sampled from off mainland Ecuador.

<p>Similarity clusters (40%) are indicated as well as fatty acids contributing most to the separation on the axes (eigenvector coefficient > [0.3]).</p

Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling plot of <i>Mobula birostris</i> fatty acid profiles (Bray-Curtis Similarity Index).

<p>Fatty acid labels represent the main coefficients (> 0.5) contributing to each axis. Clusters A and B refer to two distinct FA profile groups of <i>M</i>. <i>birostris</i> as revealed by cluster analysis at 70% similarity.</p

Summary of the generalised additive model for assessing the influence of each predictor to the relative abundance manta rays (<i>M. alfredi</i>) exhibiting cruising, cleaning and foraging behaviour at LEI.

<p>The significance (p-value) of each term was based on the Likelihood-ratio test of comparing the full model and the model omitting the respective predictor, and only significant predictors were included in each model. The percentage of deviance explained (% Dev. Exp.) represents the importance of each predictor.</p

Bathymetric and oceanographic setting for Lady Elliot Island, southern Great Barrier Reef.

<p>Schematic map of the southern GBR showing location of LEI, bathymetry (full lines) and typical flow of the East Australian Current (bold arrows). Modified from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0046170#pone.0046170-Weeks1" target="_blank">[68]</a>.</p

Sighting trends for cruising, cleaning and foraging manta rays at Lady Elliot Island.

<p>(A) Manta ray sighting records throughout the year for each behaviour; dots indicate data records and full lines show overall temporal trend via locally weighted scatterplot (loess) smoothing. (B) Frequency distributions of numbers of cruising, cleaning and foraging manta rays sighted per trip.</p