Sat 30 July 2022:
New research suggests that great white sharks may be changing color while hunting their prey.
An investigation was conducted off the coast of South Africa after a researcher discovered that great white sharks can have a skin deformity called leucism.
Gibbs Kuguru, a shark scientist and PhD student at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, studied the creature’s skin.
Kuguru and his mentor Ryan Johnson went to a shark hotspot off the coast of South Africa to conduct their experiments.
They created a grayscale color board to float in the water behind a boat, and baited sharks with a decoy food source.
Kuguru and Johnson photographed the sharks against the color board as they breached the surface.
“The color board was a game changer when it came to observing differences in the shade of the animal,” said Kuguru.
The data raised concerns because it was revealed that a shark was used in an experiment to hit the bait using the “photo ID” technique while using a food decoy. Research was conducted in the lab by treating the shark skin with hormones.
Johnson and Kuguru treated the shark skin with hormones that their skin cells would be sensitive to.
“Interestingly, we not only found that the skin reacted to the hormones, but they did so in a strikingly, definitive way,” said Kuguru.
Interestingly, results showed the shark’s skin changed colour as it was treated with hormones. The skin turned darker with one hormone and lighter with another. Although it did not conclusively prove that the great white sharks change colour but the researchers pointed out that more research needs to be conducted.
The US witnessed a sharp increase in shark attacks this summer. Experts say great whites move up the Atlantic coast of the United States every summer as their migration peaks in August to October. Authorities have moved to close beaches after sharks were sighted amid additional surveillance patrols with drones.
Experts have concluded that tiger sharks, sand tiger sharks, and bull sharks, rather than great white sharks, are likely to be the culprits and have reported an increase in shark bites on tourist beaches on Long Island in the US. A study found that there are at least 75 shark attacks reported annually worldwide.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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