White sharks, as top predators of the ocean’s food pyramid, are always a poteial danger to swimmers and surfers. These marine animals are highly depende on their eyesight to hu their prey. However, Macquarie University scieists have managed to find a way to reduce the risk of white shark attacks using a clever trick.
According to the scieific news departme of Tekna technology media, white sharks are sensitive to the shadows that these animals create in the water to hu prey such as seals. Seeing these shadows, they ideify the prey and attack it. But the ieresting thing is that sharks’ vision is not very accurate and they can easily mistake the shadow of a seal with the shadow of a human or a surfboard.
By studying the behavior of the middle-fin Maldakht fish, the researchers realized that these fish use a clever method to escape from predators. By producing light under their body, they break their shadow and become invisible to predators. Inspired by this method, the researchers created artificial seal-shaped baits with LED lights installed on them. These baits were then thrown io the water to see if the sharks would attack them. The results of the experimes showed that the way lights, which were placed vertically on the baits, were the most effective in reducing shark attacks.
Professor Nathan Hart, one of the researchers on the project, believes that the striped lights break up the shadow of the prey, making it unielligible to the sharks. In other words, these lights act like an invisibility cloak and confuse the sharks. This new discovery could significaly reduce the risk of shark attacks. Using this technology, it is possible to design new protective equipme for swimmers and surfers. Also, this technology can be effective in protecting endangered species such as sea turtles.
To see the latest news, refer to the scieific news page of Tekna Media.
The news source of the discovery of a new solution to reduce white shark attacks is the Tekna news site at the Tekna address.
