Grey reef sharks are having to abandon the coral reefs they call home in the face of warming oceans, new research finds.
Grey reef sharks are having to abandon the coral reefs they call home in the face of warming oceans, new research finds.
Scientists, using a combination of satellite remote sensing and a network of acoustic receivers on the seabed, have discovered sharks are deserting coral reefs at times of environmental stress, such as high temperatures that can lead to coral bleaching events.
The effects on these sharks, normally strongly attached to particular areas of shallow reef habitats, include lower residency, more widespread and frequent movements to different areas and longer periods of absence entirely.
Worryingly, these effects persisted for extended periods of up to 16 months following extreme stress periods such as the 2015-2016 El Niño event, which caused substantial bleaching in the study region.
Read more at: Lancaster University
Photo Credit: Dr David Jacoby, Lancaster University
