Whale shark habitat | whale shark real life
Distribution and habitat
The whale shark inhabits almost all tropical and warm-temperate waters. The fish is mostly pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the better depths of the ocean, though it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1, 800 metres (5, nine hundred ft).|17| Temporary feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern areas of South Africa; Saint Helena Area in the South Atlantic Underwater; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Kerala|18|, Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast of Gujarat in India;|19| Útila in Honduras; Southern Leyte; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan and Bahía de los Ángeles in Baja California, México; Maamigili island, Maldives; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Cenderawasih Bay National Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Philippines; Nosy Be in Madagascar; off Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, the Advertising Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of mexico of Oman and 's Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, The nike jordan. Although typically seen just offshore, it has been found closer to property, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the jaws of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally limited to about 30° latitude. It is actually capable of diving to depths of at least 1, 286 m (4, 219 ft),|20| and is migratory.|9| On 7 February 2012, a large whale shark was found floating 150 kms (93 mi) off the coastline of Karachi, Pakistan. The size of the specimen was considered between 11 and 12 m (36 and 39 ft), with a weight of around 15, 000 kilogram (33, 000 lb).|21|
In 2011, more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast. It was one of the most significant gatherings of whale sharks recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with vast quantities occurring in most years between May and September. Affiliated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|
Not mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been witnessed.
The capture of a girl in July 1996 that was pregnant with 300 pups indicated whale sharks are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live small which are 40 to 60 cm (16 to twenty-four in) long. Evidence suggests the pups are not most born at once, but rather the feminine retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a long term period.|26| That they reach sexual maturity at around 30 years and their life expectancy is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|
On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Dubai discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 cm (15 in), was located with its tail tied to a stake at a seashore in Pilar, Sorsogon, Korea, and was released into the wild. Based on this discovery, a few scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this site may be a birthing surface, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the oceans of Saint Helena inside the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer.
The whale shark is a filter feeder - one of just three known filter-feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on plankton including copepods, krill, seafood eggs, Christmas Island reddish crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also provides nourishment to on clouds of ovum during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no role in feeding. Feeding takes place either by ram filtration, in which the animal opens the mouth and swims ahead, pushing water and food into the mouth, or by lively suction feeding, in which the animal opens and closes the mouth, sucking in sizes of water that are then expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate food from water. These exceptional, black sieve-like structures will be presumed to be modified gill rakers. Food separation in whale sharks is by cross-flow filtration, in which the water vacations nearly parallel to the filtration system pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before completing to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back in the throat.|32| This is an extremely efficient filtration approach that minimizes fouling in the filter pad surface. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing", presumably to clear a build-up of particles from the filtration pads. Whale sharks move to feed and possibly to breed.
2019-01-22 6:41:33 * 2019-01-21 21:01:40
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