Researchers Get Rare Glimpse into the Lives of Ocean’s Gentle Giants
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)—which grow more than 30 feet long—are the largest fish in the world’s ocean, but little is known about their movements on a daily basis or over years. A newly discovered juvenile whale shark aggregation off Saudi Arabia is giving researchers a rare glimpse into the lives of these gentle giants. (more…)
Caribbean fighting conch used to be harvested with more meat, but evolved to mature at smaller size
Like most residents of Panama’s Isla Colón, UCLA archaeologist Thomas Wake has enjoyed more than a few plates of Caribbean fighting conch in the 11 years he’s operated his field lab on the island’s north shore.
“They’re stigmatized as a poor people’s food, but they’re good,” said Wake, a lab director at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology in UCLA’s College of Letters and Science. “They taste a lot like abalone or calamari.” (more…)
Great white sharks—top predators throughout the world’s ocean—grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought, according to a new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
In the first successful radiocarbon age validation study for adult white sharks, researchers analyzed vertebrae from four females and four males from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Age estimates were up to 73 years old for the largest male and 40 years old for the largest female. (more…)
