Though many coinage of shark have long been consideredsolitary creature , new research propose that their societal meshwork may in fact be surprisingly sophisticated . After tracking the movements ofsand tiger sharksliving along the eastern coast of the U.S. , scientists have found that their interactions with one another display a level of complexness commonly associated with mammal and rarely seen in fish .
Presenting the research at the Ocean Sciences Meeting , Danielle Haulsee excuse how more than 300 sand Panthera tigris shark had been fitted with tracking devices since 2007 , enabling her and her squad to espouse their movements and detect which other brute they encountered . After recapture two of these sharks and analyzing the data point register by their trackers , the investigator discovered that they interact with around 200 other sharks during the form of a year , and even identified a phone number of “ good friends . ” This condition was afforded to those shark that met the animals in query more than 20 times over a 12 - month period .
While this finding is quite surprising in itself , the researchers were even more intrigued by the seasonal variation of the sharks ’ social behavior , which seemed to top out in the summer before drop off in late winter and early spring . During this time , the creature barely interact with any other members of their species , which Haulsee pronounce is evidence offission - fusionsocial behavior .
This case of social organisation has antecedently been reported in several coinage of mammal , and involves large numbers of individual forming mobile grouping . These fluctuate in rank throughout the year , depending on the seasonal accessibility of resource as well as mating needs , although at this stage it ’s unmanageable to pinpoint what is stimulate these patterns in the sand Panthera tigris shark .
Until now , little had been known about the social conduct of grit tiger shark along the east coast of the U.S. outside of the summer months , when they forgather in declamatory numbers around Delaware Bay . Typically , they stick relatively snug to the shore and lurch the seabed in hunting of quarry , give cost increase to their name .
research worker mapped the social connection of two sand tiger sharks . American Geophysical Union
Despite beingapex predators – mean they themselves have no raw predators – sand Panthera tigris sharks are a threatened coinage , largely due to the fact that they have highly depressed reproduction rates . Because of this , populations are highly vulnerable to even the smallest environmental pressures , which is why scientists now desire to learn more about their behavior in ordination to better understand how to protect them .
Accordingly , Haulsee trust to see her work contribute to the implementation of more effective conservation attempt . For example , she explicate in astatementthat “ if we know there are certain times and billet where breeding females , or even more importantly the pregnant females , are aggregate together , we can devote resources into those areas to protect those shark . ”
