LESSON
What Ate The
Great White?
By Hollie Arnett
(Photo Courtesy of National Geographic)
Bavendam, F. (n.d.) A Great White shark cruises of the Australian coast [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140613-great-white-shark-
cannibalism-animals-ocean-science/
Bavendam, F. (n.d.) A Great White shark cruises of the Australian coast [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140613-great-white-shark-
cannibalism-animals-ocean-science/
Background Information:
The great white shark was first given a scientific named in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus. He named it Squalus carcharias. Great white sharks are found in almost all coastal and offshore waters ranging in temperature between 54 and 75 F. A lot of the shark research is done near Dyer Island, South Africa were one of the densest populations of great white sharks are found. There is some amazing research being done on the Great White Shark.
Research groups like OCEARCH catch and release the sharks giving them a 15 minute window to take tissue samples, blood samples, measure the shark, do an ultrasound, attach electronic tags all while the shark is carefully feed salt water through its mouth to keep it comfortable while out the water. The video below chronicles the tagging of 'Lydia' off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. In March 2014, Lydia became the first Great White Shark tracked to cross the Atlantic Ocean into the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and was about 1,000 miles off the coast
of Ireland.
To help collect data on these sharks, they are often tagged with an electronic device and accelerometer that can monitor fine scale movement, broad scale movement, air pressure, water temperature and location. A group of scientists from the Tuna Research and Conservation Center have been observing sharks for over 20 years first using visual observations and photography, then using electronic tag technologies. According to the University of Hawaii there are mainly two different types of electronic tags: transmitters and dataloggers. Transmitters are able to transmit their data via sound or radio waves and dataloggers store all their data in on-board memory, but this means the tag must be retrieved from the animal for downloading.
In November of 2003, a 3 meter female shark was tagged off the coast of Southwestern Australia (see map below). Her code name was Shark Alpha. Four months after she was tagged a beachcomber found her tag washed up on the beach 2.5 miles from where she was originally tagged. The data on the tag told an amazing story. Watch the video below to reveal that story.
Research groups like OCEARCH catch and release the sharks giving them a 15 minute window to take tissue samples, blood samples, measure the shark, do an ultrasound, attach electronic tags all while the shark is carefully feed salt water through its mouth to keep it comfortable while out the water. The video below chronicles the tagging of 'Lydia' off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. In March 2014, Lydia became the first Great White Shark tracked to cross the Atlantic Ocean into the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and was about 1,000 miles off the coast
of Ireland.
To help collect data on these sharks, they are often tagged with an electronic device and accelerometer that can monitor fine scale movement, broad scale movement, air pressure, water temperature and location. A group of scientists from the Tuna Research and Conservation Center have been observing sharks for over 20 years first using visual observations and photography, then using electronic tag technologies. According to the University of Hawaii there are mainly two different types of electronic tags: transmitters and dataloggers. Transmitters are able to transmit their data via sound or radio waves and dataloggers store all their data in on-board memory, but this means the tag must be retrieved from the animal for downloading.
In November of 2003, a 3 meter female shark was tagged off the coast of Southwestern Australia (see map below). Her code name was Shark Alpha. Four months after she was tagged a beachcomber found her tag washed up on the beach 2.5 miles from where she was originally tagged. The data on the tag told an amazing story. Watch the video below to reveal that story.
Video courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel-"Hunt for the Super Predator"
Below is a map of Southwestern Australia where the great white's electronic tag was found by a beachcomber.
There's even a shark tracking APP:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/global-shark-tracker/id570772231?mt=8
Or you can visit the website:
http://www.ocearch.org/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/global-shark-tracker/id570772231?mt=8
Or you can visit the website:
http://www.ocearch.org/
If you want to learn more about the shark tagging process follow the links below:
"Shark Tagging & Tracking: Separating Fact From Fiction."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140311-great-white-shark-atlantic-ocean-crossing-animal-science/
http://nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/Narragansett/sharks/tagging.htm
"Shark Tagging & Tracking: Separating Fact From Fiction."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140311-great-white-shark-atlantic-ocean-crossing-animal-science/
http://nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/Narragansett/sharks/tagging.htm
Above cartoon courtesy of:
Watson, P. (2011) #207 Retrieved from http://shaaark.com/index.php/shark-cartoon-
207/shaaark.com
Watson, P. (2011) #207 Retrieved from http://shaaark.com/index.php/shark-cartoon-
207/shaaark.com
The video below chronicles the catch, tag and release of "Lydia" in Jacksonville, FL. This female great white shark just became the first observed great white shark to cross the Atlantic Ocean in early March 2014.
Video courtesy of National Geographic-"Expedition Jacksonville: Tagging the Impossible"
Activities:
1. Watch the video "Something Ate This Shark, But What?" above and figure out what data
shows strong evidence that the shark was eaten by another living thing? What do you
think happened to this Great White Shark? Your answer should be written in paragraph
form, free of grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.
2. Go to the Ocearch website at http://www.ocearch.org/#SharkTracker In the left hand
drop down box find a shark named Katharine and click "track shark" The map will show
you the shark's location or latest 'ping' Collect data over the next 7 days on this shark
named Katharine and be able to describe her path. Use this map to plot your data:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdhb946gr0zxcb6/SPGN%20481-Shark%20Tracker.docx
Bonus activity: Using the above web resources for OCEARCH, find out when and where the shark called Nemo was tagged.
1. Watch the video "Something Ate This Shark, But What?" above and figure out what data
shows strong evidence that the shark was eaten by another living thing? What do you
think happened to this Great White Shark? Your answer should be written in paragraph
form, free of grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.
2. Go to the Ocearch website at http://www.ocearch.org/#SharkTracker In the left hand
drop down box find a shark named Katharine and click "track shark" The map will show
you the shark's location or latest 'ping' Collect data over the next 7 days on this shark
named Katharine and be able to describe her path. Use this map to plot your data:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdhb946gr0zxcb6/SPGN%20481-Shark%20Tracker.docx
Bonus activity: Using the above web resources for OCEARCH, find out when and where the shark called Nemo was tagged.
Resources for Lesson Plans:
A great resource for lesson plans.
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