BREED MORE SHARKS IN OUR WATERS
Saturday, 18. March 2006, 00:46:39
15.03.2006
By TOBY WALKER
SCIENTISTS have proposed introducing African and West Australian grey nurse sharks into Queensland waters in a bid to boost endangered local populations before they become extinct.
As few as 500 grey nurse sharks are thought to live on the eastern seaboard but researchers fear a lack of Ĭgenetic diversity has now Ĭbecome the latest threat to their survival.
Humans were once the greatest enemy of the grey nurse shark, eradicating huge numbers during a bloody campaign throughout the 1960s and 1970s because they were deemed vicious killers.
But within a decade, the grey nurse shark became the first to be protected worldwide and it is now commonly accepted that the species is more like the Labrador of the seas.
Now new research suggests the greatest danger to grey nurse sharks on the eastern seaboard could in fact be their own kind.
The research published in academic journal Biology Letters focused on DNA samples taken from grey nurse sharks.
It found the genetic variations in those living off Queensland and New South Wales was low.
The upshot is the local grey nurse sharks did not generally mix with other types of grey nurse sharks and would be less likely than other breeds to adapt to changes in their surrounding environment ¡X fast tracking them to extinction.
With local grey nurse shark populations already dangerously low, UnderWater World curator Andreas Fischer welcomed any ideas that could help them thrive.
¡§I think if genetically there¡¦s no variation between the populations and they¡¦re just geographically separated, then I don¡¦t see why (introducing foreign breeds) should be a problem,¡¨ he said. ¡§At the current numbers, you¡¦re probably looking at extinction in the next 20 years, so I guess you¡¦ve got to do something.¡¨
The proposal to import African and West Australian sharks was based on the belief that the imported specimens could expand the genetic pool. But researchers conceded it was a suggestion that needed further scientific investigation.
Source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3676319&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
By TOBY WALKER
SCIENTISTS have proposed introducing African and West Australian grey nurse sharks into Queensland waters in a bid to boost endangered local populations before they become extinct.
As few as 500 grey nurse sharks are thought to live on the eastern seaboard but researchers fear a lack of Ĭgenetic diversity has now Ĭbecome the latest threat to their survival.
Humans were once the greatest enemy of the grey nurse shark, eradicating huge numbers during a bloody campaign throughout the 1960s and 1970s because they were deemed vicious killers.
But within a decade, the grey nurse shark became the first to be protected worldwide and it is now commonly accepted that the species is more like the Labrador of the seas.
Now new research suggests the greatest danger to grey nurse sharks on the eastern seaboard could in fact be their own kind.
The research published in academic journal Biology Letters focused on DNA samples taken from grey nurse sharks.
It found the genetic variations in those living off Queensland and New South Wales was low.
The upshot is the local grey nurse sharks did not generally mix with other types of grey nurse sharks and would be less likely than other breeds to adapt to changes in their surrounding environment ¡X fast tracking them to extinction.
With local grey nurse shark populations already dangerously low, UnderWater World curator Andreas Fischer welcomed any ideas that could help them thrive.
¡§I think if genetically there¡¦s no variation between the populations and they¡¦re just geographically separated, then I don¡¦t see why (introducing foreign breeds) should be a problem,¡¨ he said. ¡§At the current numbers, you¡¦re probably looking at extinction in the next 20 years, so I guess you¡¦ve got to do something.¡¨
The proposal to import African and West Australian sharks was based on the belief that the imported specimens could expand the genetic pool. But researchers conceded it was a suggestion that needed further scientific investigation.
Source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3676319&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
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