The Biggest Fish

Because of the difficulty of conducting a medical exam on a free-swimming whale shark, researchers only obtained two blood samples, which haven't yet been tested. The ultrasound exams were inconclusive and Green said more powerful machines are needed. Most ultrasound machines for animals are intended for abdominal walls that are 1 to 2 inches thick – but a whale shark's abdominal wall is about 8 inches. “When we first started studying these large animals, nobody knew how to go about it”, Green said. “Now that we have better technology and more experience, we will hopefully be able to answer some of the fundamental questions soon”. Besides blood and ultrasound tests, scientists successfully tagged seven sharks. While not a large number, it's important since so few whale sharks are tracked. The pressure of deep water can cause tags to drop off if the sharks dive below 2,000 meters (6,561 feet), which the animals often do if they're traveling long distances or possibly giving birth. But any migratory data the scientists collect when sharks stay at shallower depths can help build a picture of the sharks' life cycle. Green and colleagues are planning further expeditions to the Galapagos later this year to continue their research, including more blood samples and satellite tagging. In the last 75 years, the vast majority of whale sharks have been hunted by people for food and their numbers are still dropping, said Simon Pierce , chief scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation. Some biologists worry climate change could hurt the sharks by reducing their food supply: rising ocean temperatures could mean less plankton. “If we do the things that are necessary to conserve the whale sharks, we'll be conserving the ocean itself”, said Simon Thorrold of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. For Green, who heads the Galapagos project, it's more personal. “Even after years of diving with whale sharks, I still get goose bumps every time I see that huge blue shadow in the water. It's an incredibly emotional experience”. Here: This 2017 photo provided by Simon Pierce shows a double-tagged whale shark, with a position tag on a tether and a satellite tag attached to a whale shark in the Galapagos Islands area of Ecuador. (Photo by Simonjpierce.com via AP Photo)
The Biggest Fish
   
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