Even hefty shark pups struggle on degraded reefs
Sept. 17 (UPI) -- It's better to be born small and grow up around healthy coral reefs than born big and be relegated to degraded reefs. According to a new study, bigger, heavier shark pups that live near struggling reefs fare worse than their smaller peers living near healthy reefs. In the battle of genes versus nature, the influence of nature wins out. For the study, researchers followed the growth patterns of two populations of newborn reef sharks: one living near St. Joseph atoll in the Seychelles and the other living near Moorea, a French Polynesian island northwest of Tahiti. "We found that although shark pups are born larger, heavier and better conditioned in Moorea, they soon lost their physical advantage over the pups in St. Joseph," Jodie Rummer, a scientist with the ARC Center ...
