Nature & Environment
Great White Sharks Eat More than Originally Thought
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Mar 21, 2013 08:30 AM EDT
Great white sharks are the ultimate predators that fall on the top of the marine food chain. They breach and hunt in order to grab their prey.
The feeding habit of the white shark is challenged by a latest study that is conducted by researchers at the University of Tasmaniaâs Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS). According to the latest finding, white sharks have great energy needs.
Not much information is available on the energy requirements of the large shark, and the amount of prey they feed on is also unknown.
Dr. Semmens revealed in a press statement, "Research on how sharks interact with their ecosystems is needed because many shark species are highly vulnerable to overexploitation. Our study uses metabolic rates derived from swimming speed estimates to suggest that feeding requirements of the white shark are much higher than previously proposed."
Prior to this, a study conducted on the sharks' energy requirements revealed that a huge shark weighing one ton could survive on a 30 kg meal for almost one and a half months. But according to the latest study, the 30 kg meal will provide energy for just 12-15 days, almost 3-4 times less than what was previously thought.
It is important to understand the ecology of an ecosystem and the physiology and behavior of a species in order to quantify its energy requirements.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of New South Wales, South Australian Research and Development Institute/Flinders University, The Marine Biological Association of the UK/University of Southampton and CSIRO.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
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First Posted: Mar 21, 2013 08:30 AM EDT
Great white sharks are the ultimate predators that fall on the top of the marine food chain. They breach and hunt in order to grab their prey.
The feeding habit of the white shark is challenged by a latest study that is conducted by researchers at the University of Tasmaniaâs Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS). According to the latest finding, white sharks have great energy needs.
Not much information is available on the energy requirements of the large shark, and the amount of prey they feed on is also unknown.
Dr. Semmens revealed in a press statement, "Research on how sharks interact with their ecosystems is needed because many shark species are highly vulnerable to overexploitation. Our study uses metabolic rates derived from swimming speed estimates to suggest that feeding requirements of the white shark are much higher than previously proposed."
Prior to this, a study conducted on the sharks' energy requirements revealed that a huge shark weighing one ton could survive on a 30 kg meal for almost one and a half months. But according to the latest study, the 30 kg meal will provide energy for just 12-15 days, almost 3-4 times less than what was previously thought.
It is important to understand the ecology of an ecosystem and the physiology and behavior of a species in order to quantify its energy requirements.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of New South Wales, South Australian Research and Development Institute/Flinders University, The Marine Biological Association of the UK/University of Southampton and CSIRO.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone