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July 18 (UPI) – Using next-generation satellite and acoustic technology, marine biologists have identified migration patterns and places of use for white shark babies in the North Atlantic.
The New York Bight, a sea-bottom indentation connecting the Cape May Inlet of New Jersey to Montauk Point, at the east end of Long Island, serves as a nursery for new-born white sharks. born and young. But a nursery must meet three specific criteria: it must accommodate higher densities of young sharks; it must be used year after year, over the years; and it must be used as a residence for long periods.
Up to now, scientists have only been able to confirm the accession of New York Bight to the first two criteria. However, the recent tagging and tracking of 10 white shark babies showed that large fish spent several months in the loop.
The findings – published this week in the journal Scientific Reports – have confirmed the importance of Southeast shores of Long Island to young white sharks.
White baby sharks are vulnerable to predation by large sharks. Protected shallow waters near the shore provide young sharks with shelter from the dangers of the open sea.
Monitoring data show that white shark babies spend time in the North Atlantic nursery in late summer and early fall. By the end of the fall, all 10 juvenile sharks had migrated to the shelf waters off the Carolinas. Several sharks returned to New York Bight in the spring.
"It is vital that these small white sharks mature to ensure a stable and abundant future for this important predator of the apex," Matt Ajemian, assistant research professor at Florida Atlantic's Branch Branch Oceanographic Institute University, said in a press release. "The multi-tagging approach we used provides us with a 4D view of their habitats in the space and time that will help us monitor and manage this species of critical importance."
Because battery life on tracking devices lasts up to 10 years, scientists will continue to track the 10 maturing sharks. As more and more sharks are tagged, scientists' understanding of the predator will be improved.
"This important technology will give us the opportunity to observe changes in the distribution of white sharks, habitat use and migration. The data will also help conservationists target an important habitat for the life cycle of the white shark population of the North Atlantic.
"Fisheries and ocean resource managers can use our study to better assess the impacts of human activities on these white shark babies and their habitats," Ajemian said. "Although considered less threatening than overfishing, the degradation of coastal habitat and the possible alteration of habitat by ocean energy development activities can also be assessed with this new information. .
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