Kategorie: News
Study shows how age, sex, and size determine who sharks spend time with
New observations from the Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Fiji show that bull sharks are not just loners, but form genuine “friendships.” Over six years, researchers observed 184 individual sharks and documented who swims close to whom, who follows others, or moves alongside them.
The key findings of the study are:
- Sharks actively choose their partners — there are preferred pairs, rare encounters, and many avoided partnerships.
- Adult sharks form the social core; young sharks and very old sharks are usually left out.
- Female sharks often hang out with other females. Males have more varied contacts but mostly seek out females.
- Size plays only a minor role in direct interactions: Sharks prefer to interact with partners of similar size.
- Sharks that spend more time together also interact more—proximity isn’t just a coincidence, but genuine social behavior.
Why this matters
Social bonds help sharks learn things (e.g., how to find food), share information, and provide mutual benefits. This is important for conservation efforts: When sharks form social groups, it can influence populations and conservation strategies. In short: bull sharks form stable, social relationships.
The analysis revealed that both sexes prefer to seek the company of females. On average, however, males have more social contacts. “Males are slightly smaller than females; they might benefit more from social integration,” says Marosi. The group protects them from confrontations with fully grown individuals.
The study shows that, contrary to widespread belief, sharks have a rather rich and complex social life, Croft emphasizes: “We are only beginning to understand the social behavior of many shark species. Much like other animals, they likely benefit from it.” Among other things, it facilitates the learning of new skills, foraging, and mate-seeking, while simultaneously offering the group protection from confrontations.
About the study
https://www.sciencedirect.com/(..)/S0003347226000485
Shark Reef Marine Reserve
https://www.fijisharklab.com