Ningaloo Reef A Nursery For Whale Sharks?
By Matt J. Weiss, May 25, 2009 @ 01:19 AM (EST)
Source: Thewest.com.au
Ningaloo Reef may be a nursery for whale sharks, say scientists who are still striving to work out the full life cycle of the oceans’ biggest fish.
About 80 per cent of sharks that visit Ningaloo are juvenile males, suggesting that the area may be a “school playground” visited by the elusive giants before they head out to roam the Asian seas.
The male skew of the population means that scientists still know little about the lifestyle of female whale sharks, according to Mark Meekan, of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
The researchers have just finished attaching high-tech tracking tags to 15 sharks at the reef to monitor their travels over the next few months.
About 80 per cent of sharks that visit Ningaloo are juvenile males, suggesting that the area may be a “school playground” visited by the elusive giants before they head out to roam the Asian seas.
The male skew of the population means that scientists still know little about the lifestyle of female whale sharks, according to Mark Meekan, of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
The researchers have just finished attaching high-tech tracking tags to 15 sharks at the reef to monitor their travels over the next few months.
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