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Lemon Sharks and Mangroves

13 images Created 25 Jun 2015

Lemon sharks depend on mangroves for the survival of the first 5-8 years of their lives. Mangroves are disappearing throughout the world and the fate of the lemon shark is left in the balance. We need to get proper protections for the world's mangroves and then enforce them. Read the full story here https://maptia.com/shanegross/stories/shark-nursery

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  • A lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris), only six months old, hunting in the mangrove creek she calls home at dusk in The Bahamas.
    Pup
  • Lemon shark pup among mangroves in South Eleuthera
    Home
  • A small mangrove lined creek is home for young lemon sharks.
    Creek
  • A lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) pup uses the mangroves as protection from large sharks. The ecosystem is also home to many potential prey items like juvenile fish and crabs. This shark will spend the first 5 to 8 years of her life in this mangrove creek and return to the same one to give birth. Image made on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas.
    Ecosystem
  • Something unfamiliar to lemon sharks is appearing all the more frequently - houses. This particular creek in North Eleuthera used to be a lemon shark pupping ground until houses began popping up. Even though this creek only has approx. 15% converted to human use, the pups left and never returned. Now more houses are being built.
    Invasion
  • Mangroves replaced by walls have proven to be less effective at mitigating the effects of large storms like hurricanes.
    The Wall
  • Discarded fishing nets litter a mangrove creek in The Bahamas.
    Trashed
  • Researchers Ian Bouyoucos and Cameron Raguse check if this lemon shark pup has been tagged. If it has been tagged the yellow scanner will pick up a rice-sized (PIT) tag near the base of the dorsal fin and give them a number identifying the shark. If it is a new shark a tag will be implanted.
    Scientific Discovery
  • The jaws of a lemon shark are designed to eat fish. The bottom teeth are skinny and pointy to grip the thrashing fish while the top teeth are serrated and efficient at cutting flesh. Lemon sharks depend on mangroves for the survival of the first 5-8 years of their lives. Mangroves are disappearing throughout the world and the fate of the lemon shark is left in the balance. We need to get proper protections for the world's mangroves and then enforce them.
    Lemon Shark Jaw
  • Baby lemon sharks have been shown to exhibit distinct, individual personalities. Some even form friendships. Studies have shown the little sharks will spend more social time with certain individuals and can even learn from each other.
    Friends
  • An adult lemon shark opens wide for a cleaner wrasse. It is a symbiotic relationship where the shark's teeth, gills and other areas are cleaned of parasites and the wrasse gets a meal. Lemon sharks grow to 9 feet and are important ocean predators.
    Adulthood
  • Baby lemon shark under mangrove tree at sunset.
    Storm
  • A lemon shark pup swims off into the sunset.
    Feeding Time
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