Posted on 04/17/2018 6:58:19 AM PDT by EdnaMode
Aerial photos have captured odd gatherings of almost 1,400 basking sharks and researchers aren't totally sure what it is the animals are up to.
It’s not uncommon to see the sharks individually, but seeing them in large groups is rare. It’s still unclear why the animals are coming together, but researchers suggest they are likely gathering in the waters from Long Island to Nova Scotia to grab a bite, according to recent findings published in the Journal of Fish Biology.
The scientists studied aerial photos taken between June 1980 and November 2013 and found 10 large groups of the sharks circling an area and acting as if they were feeding, a release on the findings said.
After studying more than three decades' worth of aerial photos collected during studies of North Atlantic right whales, the scientists found that the sharks tend to gather in the summer and fall when temperatures on the sea’s surface ranged from 55 to 75 degrees.
“Photogrammetry, the use of photographs to measure objects, has provided estimated lengths of animals at the surface and allowed us to classify animals in the aggregation as likely juveniles or mature adults,” study lead author and NOAA protected species researcher Leah Crowe said in the release.
The largest group recorded included at least 1,398 sharks and was spotted in November 2013 in the waters around southern New England, according to the study.
The sharks’ numbers are only in the hundreds, so 1,400 of them coming together as a group is a big chunk of the population, Dalhousie University marine conservation biologist Boris Worm said in a statement obtained by the Huffington Post.
Researchers also noted there was a high zooplankton concentration in the water at the time of the gathering, so the group was likely foraging for food in that area.
“Although the reason for these aggregations remains elusive, our ability to access a variety of survey data through the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Database and to compare information has provided new insight into the potential biological function of these rare events,” Crowe said. “The study also highlights the value of opportunistic data collection.”
Basking sharks are listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List after being hunted for several centuries for their fins, meat and liver oil.
.” It’s not uncommon to see the sharks individually, but seeing them in large groups is rare”
Outright BS
Yes, mating and can also happen feeding.
I have seen over 200 Blue sharks feeding on a school of Tuna
File the Weather Channel accuracy along side their views on Globull Warming
In before: “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”....
“I rented Sharknado because it was touted as so bad it’s good.”
—
Wouldn’t be on my so bad it’s good list, try “RAT PFINK A BOO BOO” -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YruD7l_JaSw
“Let’s go surfing now, everybody surf.......”
Dang. Beat me to it. LOL.
Will Smith in Independence Day - “looks like they’re planning an invasion . . . “
Is it true that the migration patterns of sharks was affected by the slave trade ( being thrown overboard)?
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070420104231AAAxJ66
Yup, it’s Trump’s fault!
“Aerial photos have captured odd gatherings of almost 1,400 basking sharks and researchers aren’t totally sure what it is the animals are up to.”
Hope they are just waiting for the swimming season in the Hamptons.
The funny thing is that waders and surfers are among them and don't even realize it. The sharks just detour around them as they cruise looking for their dream date.
You have to wear the 3-d glasses.
likely juveniles or mature adults
No babies or geriatric sharks?
Baaaah.
Could be a bask reunion........
Ever since they started the war on white science, everything is now “mysterious”, “unexpected”, “alarming” and “baffling”. Guess the non-whites get a chance to “discover” the reasons why stuff happens now.
Thresher shark is very tasty.
Not man eaters who happen to be threshing, but actual threshing sharks.
Maybe they’re bask separatists...
CC
Wait, shark “experts” tell us that can’t be true, because Blue Sharks are solitary. We need research money to study this phenomenon that is certainly caused by man-made global warming, er, climate change! {;^)
Not that uncommon down here in Fla. Migrating is what they do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJsAgbVE0cA
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.