A team of researchers, including Assistant Professor in Zoology in Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences, Dr. Nicholas Payne, and a group of researchers from the -profit Beneath The Waves, used bio-logging to record the behaviors of tiger sharks in the Bahamas.
The information gathered may shed light on the movement patterns of tiger sharks as they seek ideal ocean temperatures. By measuring how temperature influences the sharks’ behaviour and swimming performance, the team will be better placed to predict how these animals will respond to future climate change.
“These animals can be incredibly hard to study in their natural habitat, and it’s only recently that the technology is becoming available which allows us to make the kinds of observations we need,” Payne said.
“Unlike us, these sharks don’t have great physiological mechanisms for controlling their body temperature. As a result, if the temperature of their habitat changes, then so does their performance. Our new data will help us understand how tiger sharks respond to variation in temperature and that will ultimately allow us to make more accurate forecasts of what will happen to these animals if global temperatures continue to change.”
Tiger sharks are classified as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, with commercial and artisanal fishing pressure and infrequent (once every three years) reproduction contributing to this status. Several countries continue to cull populations of tiger sharks given perceived risks to human swimmers, despite some regions having seen declines in shark abundance of around 75% in recent decades.
These huge animals are found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans worldwide but have always been difficult to study given their aquatic lifestyle. The scientists involved in the current study got around this issue by using their biologging devices on the sharks—with sensors recording video, body temperature, swimming activity and orientation as the animals went about their normal routine.
“Apex marine predators like tiger sharkshave a critical regulating influence on marine ecosystems, and the more we can learn about their ecology and physiology, the better equipped we’ll be to manage and conserve their populations into the future,” Beneath The Waves CEO Dr. Austin Gallagher said. “Our new data are exciting because they are helping reveal some of the secrets behind where these sharks go and what they do.”
