13 February 2021 | New Scientist | 29Pool school
Photographer Shane Gross
Agency naturepl.com
HIDDEN away in a mangrove
forest on the island of Eleuthera
in the Bahamas, this baby lemon
shark (Negaprion brevirostris) will
spend the first few years of its life
searching for food in the small
area of underwater foliage where
it was born, and learning the ropes
to boost its chances of surviving
into adulthood.
Mangroves are the only trees
that can grow in salt water. Their
intricate roots provide ideal places
for fish to hide from predators –
and a safe nursery for lemon
shark pups, which must fend for
themselves from the moment
they are born. This individual,
captured by photographer
Shane Gross, will probably make
mistakes along the way, as it learns
what to eat and how to hunt.
Though adult lemon sharks
can grow to 3 metres, newborn
pups are only about 7 centimetres
in size, allowing them to live
comfortably among the
mangroves. By monitoring lemon
sharks for decades, researchers
have found that females will
return to the same place they
were born to breed.
Lemon sharks are mainly
found on the west side of the
Atlantic Ocean, from the US to
Brazil, but are classified as near-
threatened due to the destruction
of the mangrove forests that play
a crucial role in their lives. In the
Bahamas, this destruction is
predominantly to make way for
human settlements. Globally,
more than 35 per cent of
mangroves have already
disappeared. ❚
Gege Li
For more on shark photography
see page 33