Omnivorous sharks? California scientists find headboards digest green vegetables and meat

A four-year study conducted by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, showed that head sharks do not only eat crabs and other small fish, but also live on a seagrass diet. .

Researchers at the Faculty of Biological Sciences have called the bonnethead shark along the US coast "omnivore".

"The experts already knew that bat's heads were making fun of the grass when they were looking for crabs, squid and other similar foods," the statement said. "But they believed that sharks consumed it involuntarily, without gaining nutritional value."

What's a good chef?

According to the Long Beach Pacific Aquarium, the Bonnethead shark is the smallest of the ten species of hammerhead sharks.

The shape of the head of these sharks is unique among the species.

"Unlike most species that have straight heads with notched ridges, those heads of animals are smooth and rounded between the eyes," according to the Aquarium's website. "These sharks are highly migratory. Although they are common, inshore coastal sharks, a single unprovoked attack on a human being has been recorded. "

They are found on the western Atlantic, from Rhode Island to the southern Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, and throughout the Caribbean. Along the eastern Pacific, they are mostly seen from San Diego in southern Ecuador and like waters above 70 degrees.

The study was led by Samantha Leigh of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of the UCI School of Biological Sciences.

She and other researchers planted Florida Bay meadows in a laboratory and studied how five kitten sharks responded to a menu offering 10% squid and 90% grass.

The group found that the animals had digested and obtained more than half of the organic material from the seagrass, the statement said.

Scientists also found that headboards had high levels of enzymes that break down fibers and carbohydrates, compared to the small amount that carnivores typically possess.

Food and climate

The results underscore the urgency of tackling climate change, Leigh said.

"Herbaria are important for the economy and the environment," she said in the statement. "They produce oxygen, filter out toxins and provide habitats for lactating species. However, they are suffering and decreasing due to rising sea temperatures and acid levels in the ocean. The fact that a very abundant shark species feeds on grasses is another indication of the need to preserve this vegetation.