In today ’s progressively globalized and interconnected world , introduction ofnon - native speciesto new environments are common . But even by modern standards , scientists are now reporting something truly bizarre : three whitetip reef sharks aboriginal to the Red Sea , Indian Ocean , and other part of the Indo - Pacific latterly appeared off the coast of Brazil .
That ’s accord to a newstudyin the Journal of Fish Biology , which document the first known instance of multiple person of a non - native shark species make it to a new environs . The observations , made by a Brazilian SCUBA diver in 2013 and release this month , are worrisome , seeing as non - native metal money often have no instinctive predatory animal in their new surround to keep their numbers in check . If a non - aboriginal species is a predator , it can cause problem by both outcompeting aboriginal coinage for intellectual nourishment , or by eat them .
How did these sharks get all the way to the Atlantic Ocean ? While whitetip reef sharks are a widespread species , they are n’t lie with for large - scale migrations like some bigger sharks ( a closed book that inspired recentglobal genetic inquiry ) . The authors suggest that despite their splendidly sedentary behaviour , these whitetip reef shark might have just swum to Brazil !
“ This specie could have disperse in the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian Ocean by fare around the southerly crown of Africa , ” field of study lead generator Hugo Bornatowski , professor at Center for Marine Studies of Federal University of Paraná , Brazil , told Earther . He level out a possible migration path through a web of stream called the Agulhas , Benguela , and Equatorial currents that go from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean , mention that this exact route has been proposed to carryseveralnon - nativefish metal money .
It ’s more likely , however , that these shark are in the waters off Brazil because humans put them there . Aquarium release is a common method by which non - native Pisces get introduced to raw environments , and whitetip Witwatersrand shark are a vernacular aquarium species . concord to the new paper , only a few whitetip Witwatersrand shark have ever been demo in Brazil ’s public aquariums to escort . However , Bornatowski says that some Brazilians have kept these sharks in Pisces the Fishes tank in their homes , and multitude will often release a fish into the natural state when it flummox too large for a home tank .
“ I would get hold it really hard to believe it amount across via the Agulhas Current , ” David Ebert , the Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories , differentiate Earther . Ebert , who was not involved in this newspaper publisher but has form extensively on the sharks of South Africa , recollect they were “ most likely they were released by an marine museum . ”
Whether these sharks mother to Brazil via fish tank passing , sea - graduated table migration , or SharkNado , the fact remains that they may still be there now , and they might cause ecologic trouble . “ Three grownup sharks in a non - native surroundings have the potency to compete for food with other predator such as groupers and snappers and also to prey on native fishes and crustaceans , ” said Bornatowski .
He and his team hope to set up long - term scientific monitoring of these invaders . They have also propose that the Brazilian government review the list of specie that can de jure be imported into the rural area , and hope to civilise domicile aquarists not to release non - native specie .
Dr. David Shiffman is a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Research Fellow canvas sustainable shark fisheries in Canada . you’re able to follow him on twitter @WhySharksMatter , where he ’s always felicitous to answer your questions about shark .
conservationEcologyMarine biologySharks
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