ABOVE: A tiger shark
NEIL HAMMERSCHLAG
Sharks aren’t flying through tornados, but it appears some of them are weathering tropical hurricanes. Thanks to the surprise arrival of two tempests during two separate shark monitoring projects in 2016 and 2017, researchers were able to track four large shark species before, during, and after the storms. In a study that appeared online April 22 in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, researchers reported that while other species retreated from the hurricanes, tiger sharks held fast.
The team took advantage of an opportunity to monitor something that hadn’t been tracked before, says Marcus Drymon, a marine scientist from Mississippi State University who was not involved in the work, but has collaborated with two of the study’s authors in the past. “It’s a really interesting study.”
Hurricanes can devastate coastal communities, and their damage extends below the water’s surface too. Surging storms can destroy reefs, displace ...
