Again in 2024, researchers learning lobster predation on sea urchins had been shocked to file footage of an surprising urchin predator: sharks.
After establishing a digital camera in a lobster den in a single day – with “strategically positioned” urchins contained in the den – they had been shocked when many of the urchins had been eaten by Port Jackson and crested horn sharks.
“This was designed to be a lobster experiment, however sharks got here in and ate the bulk (45%) of the tethered urchins whereas lobsters ate few (4%),” mentioned Jeremy Day, a PhD scholar at College of Newcastle who led the examine.
“Lobsters appeared usually bored with consuming urchins,” he added.
The footage exhibits the sharks sneaking in to snack on large sea urchins, which they will deal with with ease.
“It has been thought till now that there have been few or no predators able to dealing with very massive urchins,” mentioned Day. “Sharks are neglected predators of sea urchins in New South Wales.”
This discovery challenges earlier beliefs that lobsters are key predators of sea urchins and will assist conservationists defend reefs by controlling urchin numbers.
Picture and video credit score: Jeremy Day
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