Sharks are often among the great ocean predators . In fact, they are often placed at the top of the food chain, especially on tropical coral reefs , where many species of these cartilaginous fish inhabit.
However, a new study has revealed that many of them are not as voracious as people tend to believe . Furthermore, according to this trial, coordinated by marine biologist Ashley J. Frisch , from James Cook University in Australia, the usual diet of reef sharks, such as blacktip and whitetip sharks, consists of small fish, mollusks. , crabs and, occasionally, sea snakes .
In an article published in the Coral reefs magazine, these scientists also point out that these animals are quite frugal . To determine this, they analyzed the stomach contents of some specimens. “We were surprised to find a wide variety of small prey, but, more often, nothing at all. This suggests that they feed infrequently and opportunistically, ”notes Frisch.
Although reef sharks have been considered the greatest predators in this ecosystem, the chemical structure of their tissues shows that their habits are more similar to those of some large fish, such as groupers, snappers or emperors . The authors of the study point out that the aforementioned sharks follow the same diet as these and, in fact, do not eat them.
Reef sharks are an important part of the food chain in this environment , but they are not at the top. Moreover, they are usually prey for the animals that occupy it , especially hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks and humans. For this reason, the researchers emphasize that it is necessary to determine the role they play in their habitat, especially at this time, when about a hundred million sharks are caught each year and coral reefs are experiencing a notable decline.
Image: Amada44 via Wikimedia / GNU / CC
