Warming Waters Bringing More Sharks to the Alabama Coast

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Over the past two decades, the number of young bull sharks in Mobile Bay, Alabama has multiplied fivefold, a new study finds.

Over the past two decades, the number of young bull sharks in Mobile Bay, Alabama has multiplied fivefold, a new study finds.

Sharks thrive in warm, shallow coastal waters where prey abound. Globally, warming waters are driving sharks to new areas where they were previously scarce. Great white sharks, tiger sharks, and bull sharks have all edged northward.

The new study explores the role of warming in Mobile Bay. From 2003 to 2020, researchers captured and released juvenile bull sharks swimming through the bay. Over this period, the number of sharks captured per hour rose fivefold.

Read more at Yale Environment 360