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Great White Shark The Lord of the Sea

Firas Abdul MalikFiras Abdul MalikM.Sc. Fish BiologyM.Sc. Fish Biology

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The White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, have been around since long before the dinosaurs existed about 450 million years ago (Bruce et al., 2001). Grow to 9m long & 3.200 kg. have triangular teeth. and a crescent shaped tail. (NSW Fisheries 1997; Last & Stevens 1994; Mollet et al. 1996). Has a heat-exchanging circulatory system allowing it to maintain body temperatures up to 14oC above that of the surrounding seawater (Goldman et al. 1996). Extremely fast swimmers It can reach close to 80 km per hour in short bursts, but in long distance, such as during ocean crossings, they move at a minimum sustained speed of up to 5 km per hour. (Brad, 2008). They will eat almost anything, including fish, seals and other sharks. Have an enormous liver that can weigh up to 24% of its entire weight. (Compagno, 1984).

Introduction

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Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataSubphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Chondrichthyes

Sub class: Elasmobranchi

Order: Lamniformes

Family: Lamnidae

Species: Carchardon carcharias

Common Name:Great White Sharkwhite pointer, white shark, or white death

Classification:

Source: Lowe, (2009).

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1. Very curious - raise their head out of the water to look for prey on the surface. (Spy Hop).2. Relatively intelligent and there are reports of them cooperating to attack a seal. 3. Frequently people bitten by a Great White are released. Humans (and sea otters) lack of blubber results in them often being released after an initial bite.4. Estimated the bite force between 10.8-18.2 tons.5. Lifespan: 30-50 but some people estimate it to be about 100 years, but this has not been proven.

Shark Facts::

White Shark 5Figure 1:Review of Shark External Anatomy

External Anatomy:

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DIATOMS - Plants of the ocean

Copepods

Anchovy-Sardines

Cows

of t

he o

cean

Tunas and Mackerel

Wol

f of t

he o

cean Sharks

APEX or Top Predator

Food Pyramid for the Oceans:Figure 2: Review of Food Pyramid

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1. Eyes: see up to 42 metres away.2. Ears: great acoustic sensitivity; Sharks

can hear up to 836 metres away. .3. Lateral lines: >6,000 pits, grooves, canals

lined w/ cilia – sensitive to low freq. pressure waves.

4. Nasal sacs: some sharks 80% of brain devoted to smell. It can smell 1 drop of blood in up to 100 liters of water- for more than 1 Kilometer distance.

5. Electro-sensitive pores: on his head to track down his prey.

Shark Senses:Shark Senses:

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• Size at birth: 120-160 cm.• Weight at birth: 25-54 Kg.• Size & age at maturity: males 3.5-4.1m - 7-9

years; females 4.2-5.2m – 15 years. Breed late in life. They do not start breeding until they’re at least 20 years old.

• Pups: 3-14, usually less than 10.• Gestation period: estimated to be 18

months. With females breeding only every 2-3 years. Uchida et al. (1996).

Shark Reproduction:Shark Reproduction:

White Shark 9Sourse: Chan, (2001).

Great white shark claspersGreat white shark claspers

Figure 3: Shark mating method

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Shark Size Heart beat Life spanBasking shark 33 feet (10 m) Unknown 40-50

Blue shark 12.5 feet (3.8 m) Unknown Unknown Bull shark 11.5 feet (3.5 m) Unknown Unknown

Galapagos shark 12 feet (3.7 m) Unknown Unknown Goblin shark 11 feet (3.6 m) Unknown Unknown

Great Hammerhead shark 20 feet (6 m) Unknown Unknown Great White Shark 23-30 feet (7-9 m) 9 30-50

Lemon shark 10 feet (3.1 m) 19-48 Unknown Mako shark 5-8 feet (1.5-2.5 m) 28-78 Unknown

Mega mouth shark 15 feet (4.5 m) Unknown Unknown Nurse shark 13 feet (4 m) Unknown 15-25

Short-finned Mako shark 12 feet (3.7 m) Unknown UnknownSpiny Dogfish shark 4 feet (1.2 m) 19-48 25-100

Spined Pygmy shark 7-8 inches (18-20 cm) Unknown Unknown

Thresher shark 18 feet (5.5 m) Unknown UnknownTiger shark 20 feet (6 m) 19-48 30-40

Whitetip reef shark 7 feet (2.2 m) Unknown UnknownWhale shark 46 feet (14 m) Unknown 100-150

Table 1: Comparative between some shark types on length and longevity:

Source: Froese, (2010)

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0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Age (years)

Leng

th (c

m)

Killer whale

Great white shark

Figure 4: Great white shark Vs Killer whale

•Great white shark females take about 12 years to reach maturity at 4.5-5 m and about 0.8 tons; they need 36 years to reach a maximum size of 7.2 m and 3.4 tons.

•Killer whales (Orcinus orca) reach maturity in 6-10 years at 5-6 m length and about 1.8 tons, with the typical size of about 7 m and 3.8 tons reached a few years later.

Source: Froese, (2010)

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Video 1: Great white shark

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 (1) Northwest coast of North America;  (2) Southwest coast of North America; (3) East coast of North America;  (4) Gulf of Mexico;  (5) Carribean; (6) West coast of South Amerika;  (7) East coast of South America; (8) European Atlantic;  (9) Mediterranean Sea;  (10) West coast of Africa; (11) East coast of Africa;  (12) Red Sea;  (13) Arabic Sea;  (14) Indian costal regions; (15) Region: Indo pacific islands;  (16) Region: Australia;  (17) New zealand; (18) Region: China and Japan; . Lowe (2009).

Where It Lives::

Source: http: //www.sharks.org/Figure (5): Shark distribution.

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A lot of attacks on humans by Great Whites are likely cases of mistaken identity as a surfer on a surfboard looks a lot like a sea lion. Great White Sharks rarely attack people and when they do, it is because they mistaken the person for their usual seal prey. Dudley (2009).

Mistaken Identify::

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It is estimated that over 100 million sharks are killed annually by humans just for their fins; on average, 10 people are killed each year, world-wide by sharks. You are 15 times more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark – about 150 people die each year from coconuts. Rose (1996) ; FAO (1999) and Rose & McLoughlin (2001).

So, who is the more dangerous predator?

Sad Fact::

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Source: Rose and McLoughlin, (2001).

Figure 6: Shark fin can attract a high price on Asian markets. There is an increasing demand for shark fins. Brad, (2008)::

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Brad Norman.2008.THE GREAT WHITE SHARK ECOCEAN Consulting, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 68a Railway Street, Cottesloe, Western Australia, 6011 Australia.

Bruce. B, D. Malcolm H. & Stevens J.D. 2001. A Review of the Biology and Status of White Sharks in Australian Waters CSIRO Marine Research, Hobart.

Chan R. 2001. Biological studies on sharks caught off coast of NSW. PhD thesis. University of NSW. Sydney.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Volume 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes, FAO Fisheries Synopsis, No.125. 4(1):1 - 249.

Dudley, S.F.J. 2009. A review of research on the white shark in southern Africa. International White Shark Symposium. Honolulu, Hawaii.

FAO. 1999. International Plan of Action - Sharks. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Committee on Fisheries, Rome.

Froese, Rainer.2010. Why Do Fish Grow Forever- Understanding Longevity in Fishes. Fish Base ppt:23p.

Goldman, K.J., Anderson, S.D., McCosker, J.E. and Klimley, A.P. 1996. Temperature, swimming depth, and movements of a White Shark at the South Farallon Islands, California. In Great White Sharks. The biology of Carcharodon carcharias. Klimley, A.P. & D.G Ainley (eds)1996. Academic Press, San Diego.

References::

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Last, P.R. and Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO Division of Fisheries, Australia.

Lowe, C.G. 2009. Historic fi shery interactions with white sharks in the Southern California Bight. International White Shark Symposium. Honolulu, Hawaii.

Mollet, H. F., Cailliet, G. M., Klimley, A. P., Ebert, D. A., Testi, A. D. and Compagno, L. J. V. 1996. A review of length validation methods and protocols to measure large White Sharks. In: Great White Sharks: the biology of Carcharodon carcharias. A. P. Klimley and D. Ainley (eds), pp 91-108. Academic Press, San Diego.

New South Wales Fisheries. 1997. Great White Shark protection in NSW. Fishnote, Roger Bell (ed), DF/68:1 - 2.

Rose, D.A. 1996. An overview of world trade in sharks and other cartilaginous fishes. TRAFFIC International.

Rose, C. and McLoughlin, K. 2001. Review of Shark Finning in Australian Fisheries. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra.

Uchida, S., Toda, M., Teshima, K. and Yano, K. 1996. Pregnant White Shark and full-term embryos form Japan. In: Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias, Klimley, A.P. & D.G. Ainley (eds). Academic Press, San Diego, California, pp 139-155.

Walker, T. 1999. Protection for Great Whites. Sport Fishing Issue 5.Websites:http://www.sharks3D.com, http://www.unep.org, http://www.oceanfutures.org,

http://www.reefcheck.org,

References::

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