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Haie have a reputation to be silent murderers, the top predators in the sea are secret hunters, but they are also missing, the organs found in many other fishing, which are found on social-producing organs. Now a groundbreaking new study has shown that a sharkhart is more loud than previously assumed and makes noise comparable to the sound of a balloon.
For the first time, scientists have determined evidence of the Rig -Hai Mustelus Lenticulatus by actively producing sound by publishing Royal Society Open Science on Tuesday.
“How sharks maintain or communicate social groups was assumed that they are largely body language and possibly through chemical signals; but mostly it was a mystery,” said Neil Hammerschlag, President of Atlantic Shark Expeditions and Executor of Shark Research Foundation, a non -profit group that has the knowledge and promotion of conservation from Shars by Sharks increased by Shars. Hammerschlag was not involved in research. “This study opens up a completely new opportunity to communicate through sound.”
The Rig -Hai, a small species that lives in New Zealand’s coastal waters, typically lives near the sea floor and plays a key role in the region’s commercial fishing industry. In contrast to most fish, which rely on a swimming bubble-a gas-filled organ that helps fish to maintain their buoyancy, produce, and sound to recognize this function, which seems unlikely.
The main study author Dr. Carolin Nieder became curious for the first time about Sharks’s acoustic skills after hearing an unexpected click sound during the behavioral training experiments while she acquired her doctoral student at the University of Auckland in 2021. A postdoctoral to the T. Aran Mooney laboratory on the Woods Loch Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts is now down.
Although she could not examine the mysterious click at that time, it kept her interest. Now and your team have studied fascinating findings from the study of 10 youth -rig -sharks – five men and five women – off the New Zealand coast.
Noise
The scientists housed the sharks in large marine laboratory tanks, which were kept with suitable sea water conditions and food from May 2021 to April 2022.
In order to carefully absorb all the noises created, the team transferred the sharks to individual tanks, which were equipped with underwater microphones or hydrophones. When the sharks were held between tanks or gently, they began to make click noises, similar to the years ago.
Each click was extremely short and took an average of 48 milliseconds, which flashes faster than a human eye.
The researchers also identified the clicks as broadband, which means that they have occurred over a wide range of frequencies from 2.4 to 18.5 kilohertz – some of which can be detected by humans according to the study.
With regard to the volume, the clicks were intense and reached about 156 decibels.
The study found that most clicks occurred within the first 10 seconds of the handling and were less common over time. During the first 10 seconds, the sharks emitted an average of seven clicks, compared to the last 10 seconds with an average of just two clicks.
“When the animals got used to the daily experimental protocol, they completely stopped the clicks of being used as if they had got used to being in captivity and experimental routine,” said Nieder by e -mail. “This led us to the view that we may observe solid making behavior and not a strange artifact.”
The team also found that around 70% of the clicks occurred when the shark slowly fluctuated from one side to side, while about 25% of the clicks appeared when the shark showed explosive movements and waves his head or body around. According to the study, only 5% of the movements occurred when the shark obviously did not move his body.
What makes Rig sharks snap?
The researchers are confident that the clicks come from their strong, interlocking teeth that are together, without specialized click organs that can be found in this sharks.
These plattic teeth, which prey such as crustaceans could crust, can be responsible for the generation of the characteristic click noise, similar to the noises that make some fish through the grinding of the teeth.
The consistent pattern and the frequency of the clicks also suggest that the noises are deliberately as accidental, said.
Researchers are still trying to examine exactly why the Rigshai spends these noises. One possibility is that the clicks serve as an emergency signal, which could be a reaction to being handled during the experiment.
According to the study, most clicks fell outside the hearing area of the Rig sharks itself, which extends to about 800 Hertz. If sharks do not use their vocal functions to communicate with each other, the clicks can serve as a warning signal or form of aggression in terms of prey or in dangerous situations, the researchers wrote.
Voice skills in natural habitats
With more than 500 types of sharks worldwide, it is still unclear whether other sharks share this ability to produce sound.
“I think there is a chance that other sharks will make similar noises,” said. “This documentary could (us) to listen to sharks, and maybe we can learn more interesting things about their ecology and lifestyle in their various ecological niches.”
Since the noises were recorded in a controlled laboratory environment, the researchers are also excited to see whether Rig sharks also produce these noises in the wild and under what conditions.
“This study opens up the possibility that these smaller sharks will give the alarm,” said Hammerschlag by e -mail, pointing out how smaller sharks scatter in the presence of larger sharks, even if they are out of sight. “Although we really don’t know whether the sound produced by the Rig Sharks was simply a by -product for treatment … he opens up some new questions, possibilities and ways for future research.”
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