Shark Bites – news & sightings
Sharks are incredible predators, by design. They have amazing physical features that help them find prey and avoid other predators. One such feature is an array of pores on a shark’s head that allows it to detect the electrical fields emitted by other living beings, like fish or humans.
A story published in National Geographic News earlier this year reported on a new study, which found that even developing shark embryos can detect a potential predator—and play dead to avoid being eaten. The article presents new research by Ryan Kempster, a shark biologist based in Perth, Australia and founder of the shark conservation group www.supportoursharks.com.
In the study, Ryan tested how brownbanded bamboo shark embryos (which develop independently of their mother, inside an egg case) reacted to the simulated electrical field of a predator. The study, which was published in January in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed open access journal, showed that the embryonic bamboo sharks reacted to the electrical field by holding their breath, curling their tails around their bodies, and freezing. In essence, the tiny sharks cloaked themselves from a potential predator!
Ryan believes that knowledge of such behaviors may inform the development of effective shark repellents.
Nature is cool!
