X-Ray Mag

Why do fish rub themselves against a shark?

2 years ago By Chief minion

Fish rubbing themselves against a shark's body may sound as if they have a death wish, but this is precisely what some fish have been spotted doing. And it turns out that such behaviour is more widespread and frequent than one would think.

A study led by the University of Miami (UM) Shark Research and Conservation Program at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science uncovered over 40 instances of fish rubbing themselves against a shark’s skin in over ten locations around the globe.

While chafing has been well documented between fish and inanimate objects, such as sand or rocky substrate, this shark-chaffing phenomenon appears to be the only scenario in nature where prey actively seek out and rub up against a predator.

Rising sea temperatures have prompted marine species in the Mediterranean to move deeper into the ocean depths.
Rising sea temperatures have prompted marine species in the Mediterranean to move deeper into the ocean depths.

Mediterranean species move deeper to flee rising sea temps

2 years ago By Catherine GS Lim

Due to climate change, the average temperature in the Mediterranean Sea rises by one degree every thirty years, and this rate has been increasing. Because of this, the marine creatures there have been shifting their habitats to the deeper, cooler depths of the ocean.

Researchers reached this conclusion after reviewing research involving the depth distribution of 236 marine species like fish, crustaceans and mollusks collected in previous bottom-trawl surveys.

They discovered that the animals deepened their minimum depth limits in relation to rising sea temperatures.

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