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Jul 3, 2024 · Dr Meekan said the ultrasound imaging showed that whale sharks have a very slow heart rate – just 12 to 16 beats per minute. The researchers then started to map the internal organs and at first were interested in the liver, where oil is stored to keep the whale shark buoyant.
Sep 12, 2017 · Whale shark selfie! Photographer Peter Verhoog. Shark diving tourism is a growing industry estimated to be worth more than $25.5 million annually to Australia’s regional economy. A new report has documented the value on marine wildlife tourism, underlining a need for adequate management of shark species to ensure a sustainable dive tourism ...
Oct 8, 2024 · The study found under a high-emissions scenario, whale sharks could be forced to move into cooler environments, and this would make them 15,000 times more likely to collide with ships. “Moving to cooler regions may protect whale sharks from climate change but we found it can also expose them to risks such as fishing exploitation, increased danger from predators and collisions with ships,” Dr Meekan said.
Aug 29, 2019 · A whale shark cruises over the reef at Ningaloo, Western Australia. Image: Andre Rerekura . Researchers from Australia’s tropical marine research agency the Australian Institute of Marine Science, are developing new ways to study the world’s largest fish in the ocean, using the smallest of clues.
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the world’s largest living fish and can grow to 18 meters, a weight of 34 tonnes and may live for 100 years. Found in tropical oceans around the world, each year from April to July, they gather at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.
The tail of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus), showing massive scarring. Image: Jess Hadden. Almost one-fifth of the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef Marine Park show major scarring or fin amputations, with the number of injured animals increasing in recent years, new research reveals.
Apr 6, 2020 · A whale shark vertebra from Pakistan, in cross section, showing 50 growth bands. Credit: Paul Fanning, Pakistan node of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. Atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War have helped scientists for the first time correctly determine the age of whale sharks.
Jan 24, 2020 · Whale shark diving is an important part of the Western Australian tourism industry, delivering an estimated at $12.5 million in economic activity for the Ningaloo Reef region. However, because the species swim for thousands of kilometres beyond the marine park boundaries exactly where the injuries were sustained is unknown.
All sharks are meat-eaters with the larger sharks generally feeding on marine mammals, fish, squid, and other sharks. Bottom feeding sharks such as wobbegong, feed upon shellfish. The Whale Shark and Basking shark are filter feeders and eat tiny invertebrates such as plankton. Sharks usually eat between 1% and 10% of their body weight weekly.
Sep 16, 2020 · Whale shark girls overtake the boys to become world’s largest fish Female whale sharks grow more slowly than males but end up being larger, research suggests. A decade-long study of the iconic fish has found male whale sharks grow quickly, before plateauing at an average adult length of about eight or nine metres.
