Photographs taken by citizen scientist scuba divers show that distaff sand tiger sharks develop an affinity to certain shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina — a determination that could prove utile to preservation efforts .
Female sand tiger shark are returning to same shipwrecks off the North Carolina Coast , accord to anew studypublished in Ecology . This “ Graveyard of the Atlantic , ” as this coastal region is love , hosts hundred of shipwreck , providing an under - appreciated habitat for these highly migratory solar apex predators .
Scientists already knew that sand tiger shark like to buy at these deep-set wrecks , but it was n’t love if the same individuals returned to the wrecks over time . Turns out they do . scientist call this “ site faithfulness , ” a behavior in which animals return to specific area over time . Other shark are known to do this , let in blanched sharks and tiger shark .
A citizen-scientist photo of a female sand tiger shark swimming near a shipwreck.Image: ( John McCord, Coastal Studies Institute)
“ Our finding reveal that shipwrecks are potentially critical home ground for George Sand Panthera tigris shark , ” Avery Paxton , the lead author of the new study and a maritime life scientist at Duke University , write in an electronic mail to Earther . “ We do not jazz the exact grounds that female sand tiger are returning to the same shipwreck over time , but our multi - institutional squad is conducting additional research to hopefully puzzle out this teaser . ”
With the knowledge that female backbone Panthera tigris shark display land site fidelity for shipwrecks , Paxton and her colleagues have found a new way to track the population of these sharks , which are listed as globally vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) . As the raw newspaper publisher pointed out , the “ auspices of these revisit areas of habitat may help conservation success . ”
Scientists ca n’t mayhap monitor each location visited by these shark , but that ’s where citizen scientists can facilitate . North Carolina Aquariums , which is operated by by the Aquariums Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources , is currently run a citizen - skill program calledSpot A Shark USA , which , as its internet site country , seek contribution from anyone who swims among backbone tiger shark — a gentle specie ( phew!)—along the Atlantic seacoast :
Photo: J. McCord / CSI.
diver , snorkelers , and others are ask to snap encounters with sand Panthera tigris shark and post their image to the Spot A Shark USA website . scientist then apply unique maculation pattern visible along the face of the photographed sharks to identify individual brute . Identifying single George Sand tiger shark helps track shark drive and behaviour over time . It also find which coastal habitats sand tiger shark habituate during their aliveness . This entropy is used by Spot A Shark USA researchers , as well as international spouse , to help management decisions point towards conserving George Sand tiger shark , which are critically endangered in several parts of the world .
Indeed , the unequalled brown spots on the sand Panthera tigris sharks ’ skin proved vital to this enquiry . These spots act as as a form of fingerprint that allows research to identify and track specific individuals . In the new survey , Paxton and her colleague name sharks go steady back to 2007 , namely six distaff sharks that returned to the same wreck , or similar wrecks nearby , at separation between one and 72 months .
In September 2016 , for example , a scuba plunger snap an individual female lurking around the shipwreck Aeolus at a deepness of 35 meters . Ten months later , the same loon return to the Aeolus and captured another shark photo . After these images were upload to Spot A Shark , a software program compare the marker , identify the shark as being the same individual .
Photo: J. McCord / CSI.
The new study is the first to document web site fidelity in waters along the East Coast , mirror observations made in Australia , Africa , and elsewhere . That said , the demeanour was only honor in female George Sand Panthera tigris sharks .
“ We do not yet have photos of male Baroness Dudevant Panthera tigris sharks that uncover situation fidelity , so we do not know whether manful sharks portion out the site faithfulness behavior to North Carolina shipwreck , ” said Paxton . “ As more citizen scientists enter in the Spot A Shark USA programme , we go for to be able to answer questions like this in the hereafter . ”
Hap Fatzinger , the director of North Carolina Aquarium , is now hop-skip to learn if the sand tiger shark universe is rebounding .
“ Through collaboration with researcher along the east seashore of the United States we will continue to get together data which supports this head , ” wrote Fatzinger in an email to Earther . “ We anticipate Spot A Shark USA will document populations of sand Panthera tigris sharks and determine trends in home ground use , nurture and potentially birthing natural event around wreck off North Carolina , all factor that can lend to a population assessment . ”
The North Carolina Aquariums , along with its pardner , are working together to make trusted succeeding population of backbone Panthera tigris shark are “ healthy and sustainable , ” he said . Fatzinger discover amateur frogman as “ a vital link ” in the seeking to well sympathize these dynamic and frail ecosystem .
“ We are launching a public awareness campaign to enlist more divers , connect them to the coinage , and train them on behalf of the ocean , ” said Fatzinger . “ We have only scratched the surface on learning about these sharks off the East Coast and look forward to more work supporting the direction and recovery of critically endanger population of sand tiger sharks in other region of the world . ”
EcologyMarine biologyScienceSharksshipwrecks
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