## 4 Discussion
### Regional Movements and Connectivity  
Multiple sets of data, including mark-recaptures, acoustic detections, and satellite telemetry, provided evidence of connectivity throughout the western North Atlantic region. The NOAA CSTP provided initial evidence of large-scale dispersal throughout the region. Tiger sharks had horizontal displacements of more than 3500 km, including to the northern reaches of their range (41\({}^{\circ}\) N), which corroborates the oceanic distribution of this species [23]. These mark-recaptures are also consistent with the overall results of the NOAA CSTP program, showing widespread dispersal of tiger sharks throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean [28; 49]. Large juvenile and mature tiger sharks were more likely to be detected throughout the coastal areas of the southeastern USA and the Gulf of Mexico. While there were few instances of small juveniles being detected outside The Bahamas, the ability for extensive movement at an early life stage was evident by individual #14746, a 117 cm FL (145 cm TL) female detected off the coast of Delaware, USA, 103 days after tagging, covering a distance of \(\sim\)1500 km. The greater number of detections and higher degree of connectivity for larger sharks are not surprising given their higher natural survival and presumed greater ability to transit offshore habitats [50], such as those separating The Bahamas from the USA and other areas in the region. However, only one of the five large juvenile and mature male tiger sharks (312 cm TL mature male) were later detected outside The Bahamas. The absence of detections of other males is not confirmation they did not disperse to other areas, as previous research shows male tiger sharks extensively use offshore areas [22; 50; 53], which would be beyond the range of most acoustic receiver arrays. Large juvenile and mature tiger sharks were also more likely to return to Bimini following movements outside The Bahamas. This type of fidelity following large-scale movements has been documented for tiger sharks in both the Atlantic [22] and Pacific Oceans [26; 54], and may be a common behavior for this species. However, there were still extended temporal data gaps for these mature individuals tagged near Bimini. The Great Bahama Bank and area surrounding Bimini presumably provide diverse and productive habitats (i.e., reef, seagrass, mangroves), with ample resources to support large tiger sharks. It is therefore unclear if prolonged absences in acoustic detections were indicative of dispersal from Bimini or of space use beyond the limited range of the Bimini array. The extended range of satellite-tagged tiger sharks includes a large amount space use outside The Bahamas EEZ, which corroborates findings from other research projects in the region showing tiger sharks readily crossing jurisdictions [51; 53]. This is especially important to consider given Bimini's close proximity to waters under the jurisdiction of other countries, such as the USA (\(\sim\)40 km) and Cuba (\(\sim\)250 km), which have different management and harvest regulations for sharks. The northern movements observed for satellite-tagged tiger sharks in this study were similar to those tracked by [PERSON] et. al. [22], who proposed tiger sharks were drawn to the area of the North Atlantic due to high biological productivity, including marine turtles, or for reproduction. Tiger sharks previously tagged in the northern Bahamas displayed northward movements to approximately 42\({}^{\circ}\) N [28], while our study shows space use to at least 45\({}^{\circ}\) N. Residency time in the extreme northern range was brief, and it is not clear the frequency to which this area is used by the species over multiple years. Therefore, future research should incorporate analysis of oceanic factors such as sea surface temperature and seasonal warm water gyres from the Gulf Stream as potential drivers for these northern movements.