If the prospect of shark and inclement weather has you reaching for yourskewering flag , we ’ve commence some reassuring enquiry detail what really goes on when shark and hurricanes jar . publish in the journalEstuarine , Coastal and Shelf Science , the study investigated the behavior of large shark in Miami and the Bahamas and how it changed moderate up to serious storm . The researchers used tag animals for the data , give away the positioning of Panthera tigris sharks ( Galeocerdo cuvier ) , bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) , nanny shark ( Ginglymostoma cirratum ) , and great hammerhead ( Sphyrna mokarran ) before , during , and after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017 .
luckily ( or regrettably , depending on your feelings towards low - budget sci - fi movies ) , sharks encountering severe weather condition do not ring together to shape aSharknado . What actually happens when you combine sharks and storm is dependent on the metal money and location you are investigating . papal bull sharks , not bad hammerhead , and the bulk of tagged nanny shark demonstrate that they were n’t so keen on Hurricane Irma , flee the shallow amniotic fluid of Biscayne Bay as she made ground . The move is perhaps a lucid one , considering deeper waters will be less disturbed by all the dramatic event , and potentially serve along by their ability to orientate themselves with thegeomagnetic field of force .
Tiger sharks , it seems , do n’t give a crap . These large predator appear to welcome the category 5 Hurricane Matthew as they remained in shallow inshore waters even when the center of the storm was straight on them . Their numbers also doubled just after the storm had passed .
" I was amazed to see that big tiger sharks did n’t empty even as the eye of the hurricane was carry down on them , it was as if they did n’t even flinch , " said Neil Hammerschlag , a research associate degree prof at the UM Rosenstiel School and the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy in astatement . " Their act even increase after the storm passed . We mistrust Panthera tigris shark were probably read advantage of all the new scavenging opportunities from utter animals that were moil up in the storm . "
Beyond being an excuse to ask your nontextual matter director to insert some spinning shark into a stock photo of a crack cocaine [ thanks Chris ] , the research ’s findings are a worthful tool in well understanding the destiny of these apex piranha in the ongoing mood crisis . With inclement weather becoming progressively common on a warming satellite , understanding the encroachment of violent storm could inform predictions as to how these marine species may answer to future change .
" Major storms , like hurricanes , are predicted to increase in frequence and military capability with climate change , " continue Hammerschlag , who is also the director of the University ’s Shark and Research Conservation Program . " How these storm impact the environment , including large shark , is of interest and conservation concern to many . "
