Diventures Magazine | English Edition August 2020 | Page 30

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MARINE ECOLOGY
The team used a combination of
acoustic markers and cameras affixed to
sharks to track 41 animals over a fouryear
period. Gray reef sharks are known
to congregate in the morning, with
groups slowly gathering during the day
until dispersing at night, a dynamic
known as the "fission-fusion" cluster.
The new study found that not only did
sharks return to the same groups in the
same locations, but were also made up
of the same individuals.
“Using a portion of the reef helps you
find your friends, it can be difficult to
maintain social bonds when you live
in the ocean,” Papastamatio said, “but
if sharks routinely return to the same
spot on the reef, it helps them
preserve the structure of their
group.".
This is not the first time that social
media networks have been identified
with sharks. Previous studies have
shown that lemon sharks and blackheaded
sharks, among others, form
social groups. This behavior has also
been observed in manta rays.
However, the most important finding
of the new study is the length of time
that sharks keep their "friends." While
group interactions may benefit
feeding and reproductive behavior, it
was observed that some sharks
remained in the same pairs of friends
for the duration of the four-year
study, indicating that long-term
bonding was likely.
Diventures Magazine August 2020