Yup, that was going to be the title of this post. I got the paper and was ready to write the post when I noticed that Peter scooped me and posted about the same paper today (yup, there is just not that many cool papers on Charismatic Marine Megavertebrates to spread around this week). I have nothing to add, so just go and see his post:
The results demonstrated that a free-ranging whale shark displays ultradian, diel and circa-lunar rhythmicity of diving behaviour. Whale sharks dive to over 979.5 m, making primarily diurnal deep dives and remaining in relatively shallow waters at night.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
A close encounter with a whale shark is one of the "things to do" on the life list for many scuba divers and snorkelers. Perhaps you have been one of the lucky few to swim with these enormous friendly elasmobranchs off Honduras in Utila (pictured), off Belize at Gladden Spit, or off the coast of…
There are a few theories about why sea turtles make occasional excursions into very deep (> 1000 m) waters of the bathyal zone. These involve escape from predation, thermoregulation, and prey availability. In the first two scenarios, sharks are fewer in deep-water, so turtles can evade predation…
Story by Bryan Wallace, Duke University.
UW photo by Ed Standora.
Life in the deep sea is as far removed from a source of atmospheric oxygen as there is on Earth, but a select few animals do not let their need to breathe air limit the depths of their exploration. (No, I'm not referring to intrepid…
I rarely write about biological rhythms outside of circadian range (e.g., circannual, circalunar, circatidal rhythms etc.), but if you liked this post on lunar rhythms in antlions, you will probably also like this little review of lunar rhythms in today's Nature:
Pull of the Moon…
Oops on the scoops, Coturnix. You would have done a much better job teasing apart the circadian rhythms oh whale sharks.
We obviously need more cool papers on Charismatic Marine Megavertebrates!