Scientists: Dozens of hybrid sharks found off Australia
The world's first hybrid sharks have been discovered in substantial numbers off the coast of Australia, and scientists say it may be an indication the creatures are adapting to climate change.
Australian researchers say they've found 57 animals that are a cross between the Australian blacktip shark and the common blacktip shark, two closely related but genetically distinct species.
"Hybridization could enable the sharks to adapt to environmental change as the smaller Australian black tip currently favors tropical waters in the north while the larger common black tip is more abundant in sub-tropical and temperate waters along the south-eastern Australian coastline," researcher Jennifer Ovenden of the University of Queensland said in a press release.
Ovenden said the discovery is a first for sharks, and it could indicate that other shark and ray species may interbreed in reaction to climate change.
The findings were confirmed using DNA testing and measurements. Scientists from the University of Queensland, James Cook University's Fishing and Fisheries Research Center, the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries will conduct further studies to determine the fitness of the new hybrids, according to the press release.
The hybrids were found along a 2,000-kilometer (1,243-mile) stretch of the eastern Australian coast from Queensland to New South Wales. The breadth of their distribution and their numbers impressed researchers.
"Wild hybrids are usually hard to find, so detecting hybrids and their offspring is extraordinary. To find 57 hybrids along 2,000 kilometers of coastline is unprecedented," Ovenden said.
Jess Morgan, another University of Queensland researcher, told The Australian newspaper that hybrid species are common in fish because their eggs are fertilized in the water.
"Sharks physically mate, which is usually a good way to make sure you don't hybridize with the wrong species," The Australian quoted him as saying.
"The results of this research show that we still have a lot to learn about these important ocean predators," Colin Simpfendorfer from James Cook University's Fishing and Fisheries Research Center said in the press release.
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This isn't all that unprecedented, but cool to see evolution in action. These were probably two pseudo-species evolving apart, and some phenomenon brought a portion of their habitat ranges back together, allowing interbreeding. VERY premature to claim climate change, but hey, that gets you in the headlines baby! Gotta love popular science. I would like to know if the hybrid offspring are fertile?
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I don't think I'll be going surfing off the coast of Australia in the near future. It's not worth the risk of being attacked by an evil shark.
I spotted several hundred Toyota Hybrids heading South. I guess this was related to global warming too.
Hahah, My laptop crashed when I was browsing lightyears.blogs.cnn.com last time I was here. And for the past 2 months I have been looking for this weblog, so thankful I located it once again! 😀
If people would put as much energy toward learning about science as they put toward finding ways to smugly deny it, I suspect the human condition would be much much better.
This is an awesome scientific find. First time ever that anything like this has been discovered. It's too bad that all people can do in this comment section is talk about how to eat them, and argue a pointless argument about whether global warming is real or not, which it most certainly is. As a Senior in college, who studies marine science, and will be going to school to obtain my Masters and possibly PhD in Marine Biology, I can tell you all that there is substantial evidence that greenhouse gases are building up in the atmosphere due to human consumption of fossil fuels, and that this buildup is not only causing increased warming of the climate (indicated by the more severe storms and altering of weather patters all over the place), but also causing the ocean to become acidified to the point that now there are many organisms in the ocean that are almost literally dissolving. We need to realize what we are doing to the environment around us, and stop being so consumed by greed and an unwillingness to change, or we are going to be forced to change due to a changing planet, just like these sharks.
Where is the science, as opposed to the speculation, that there is any connection whatsoever to climate change? This is a prime example of why the warmists are losing the battle.
Regardless of your opinion on climate change, please take 12 minutes to educate yourselves. RIP Stephen Schneider.
"I'll confess my prejudiced: Then end of the world and good for you are the two lowest probability outcomes."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDM3T0-o3r0&feature=autoshare
A year in the making, this video pays tribute to a critical scientific and academic figure in postmodern history: Climatologist and Stanford Professor Stephen Schneider.
Wow! Evolution AND climate change.
No wonder the talibangelical tea baggers who purposefully choose to be ignorant about science are going bonkers over this.
Haha great comment. They are going nuts
Hey MarineScientist and Primewonk,
If one has decided to go Bonkers or Nuts, it is always good to make travel plans. So when we decide it is time to go either bonkers OR nuts we conservatives will call ahead to any of the motels there and have the libtards manning the front desk make us reservations. Like as not the land of bonkers and nuts, like the land of Fruits and Nuts out on the left coast, will be so full up with YOUR type that we will have to turn around and come back.
I would engage you both further in a battle of wits, but it would be unsporting as I can tell you are both quite unarmed.
A hybrid shark? Great. I'll all for improved nautical mileage.
Polar Bears spend most of their time eating baby seals and pooping -– Why do so many people hate baby seals and love bear scat
Hilarious logic Dave! My only answer, in respective order, is that it must be for the same reason that they hate unborn baby Humans and love Obama....Badda-badda-BING!!
Not going to say climate change isn't happening, But how do they know it's not just that these sharks don't give a crap about who they shag?
Global warming is a myth, spread by lying, ignorant, hot headed, deadender, commie libtards who want more of the productive classes money to waste on projects employing themselves and their otherwise unemployable libtard friends, who cannot find a job in the private sector they pretend they despise.
When global warming fails to appear, the current "data" having been proven to be falsified by the biased "researchers" and therefore useless, they will without apology or remorse, move on to some other scheme to pick our pockets.
Bottom line is, the liberal drone class is seeing the end of it's free ride on the backs of the productive. Finally, after 80 years of expensive and pestilient, hateful and divisive; and downright destructive, hegemonic rule over the basically conservative American people, their corrupt rule is slowly but surely coming to its end. They will go out of power, noisily and expensively, kicking and screaming, screeching and squalling, and loudly proclaiming the cosmic unfairness of it all the entire way out. But it will avail them nothing, because out they will go just the same.
And I can't wait.
All the libtard screeching and squalling that I have read here today, and which will be directed at me by all those in whom I have just hit a nerve, should in a small way prove to the sane among you that I am correct.
Have a nice day. And by the way, try the tea it's delicious. It sure beats the liberal koolaid!
Cheers!
Another denialist who chooses to ignore science and the evidence.
I see you left your name Primewonk, and a one line description of yourself, but why didn't you leave a reply to my comment?
how many miles to the gallon do they get?
I wonder if these hybrid sharks are sterile like mules.
This whole climate change craze is based on a mistaken belief. Just because the temperature rises for a few years, doesn't mean it is going to rise forever. Our body temperature is changing slightly from hour to hour, but there is no need to believe that we will die of heat stroke. If scientists would understand that changes in nature are like WAVES, they come and go they would stop scaring the hell out of the gullible public.
As far as greenhouse gases: The earth is NOT a greenhouse. It is a very complex unit that somehow regulates the temperature. At least it has done it so far with success. Earth is NOT a closed unit like a greenhouse. It has no walls where gases can't escape. Good old Earth will solve this problem WITHOUT YOU WHINING LIKE OLD ARAB LADIES AT A FUNERAL LOL
And just what is your scientific background to make these proclamations oh wise one?
Next it will be sharks with fricken lazers on top of their heads!
So now, climate change is even causing animals to morph into whole new creatures! wow, this climate change must be really serious. I'm SOLD! ....erhm, not.
Why do people who don't understand science, come onto message boards and denigrate science?
Sure, not everyone can be knowledgeable about all fields. We all choose what to understand and what to be ignorant about. For instance, I choose to be ignorant about Elizabethan Literature. But I don't go onto message boards about Elizabethan Literature and make inane posts demonstrating my ignorance.
That's what I don't get. The posters here who chose to be ignorant about evolution and climate change, making all these posts denigrating evolution and climate change.
I saw a guy at the zoo the other day eyeing a not so unattractive female orangutang.
Yeah, it's all this climate change. It's getting real bad. Soon, we'll have articles about how sea horses are mating with ferengies. That's how bad this could get! We've got to pay carbon taxes, or the whole world is going to be destroyed by the goa'uld, in some sort of climate change battle for the galaxy..
b4bigbang
Polar bears were in danger of drowning due to global warming but we need not worry, because soon they will stop eating seals and will crossbreed with them instead, providing them with all the swimming ability they need....
This is insane, Sharks that get 40mpg will be nearly impossible to outrun.
I figured the climate change reference was because hybrid sharks use less fuel, so they were mating to create hybrid versions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and therefore slow climate change? Or am I missing something here : )
I thought this article was about sharka with friggin' lasers on their heads!
Evolution at work!
Zurg at work!
I wonder how the Creationists are going to explain that one. Maybe God got bored last year and...ZAP!!!..a new species is created.
I once tried an Australian blacktip, but I'm really not into fish. I was just curious and did some experimenting in college.
Do they have friggen' lazars on their heads?
what is happening to people I wonder..., whenever I read comment sections I can't believe my eyes when I read some of the comments given – disrespect, abuse, insults... look in the mirror and talk to yourself first. Because – the other one is you!!
Interesting article, but lacking a lot of information.
money
Two things that are false about this:
1) There is no such thing as global warming. Chuck Norris was cold, so he turned the sun up.
2) There is no such thing as evolution, just a list of plants and animals Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
That the hybrid sharks have any causal connection to global warming (itself still speculation about what may or may not happen) is speculation.
Agree
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Hybrid sharks and they get 1243 miles to the gallon!!!! Thats soo cool!!!
When my father grew up he learned in school that a new ice age is coming. Those scientists who made up that theory have profited from it, had their fame and recognition and are forgotten today, along with their idea of upcoming ice age.
So much for scientists....
He also learned that sugar is necessary for the heart (i swear this is what he learned in school) and salt is necessary for the blood.
Every era has its crazy scientists with their horror stories and mistaken beliefs.
I think what those scientists were trying to get at was this: you need a minimum amount of sodium daily (and probably chloride) to maintain your electrolyte levels. Sodium and Chloride are 2 electrolytes.
.buddy's step-sister makes $85 every hour on the internet. last month her pay was $7783 just working on the internet for a few hours.read about it and Follow the instructions at Home Income System and set up your account.. http://goo.gl/A0BQg
How do you report a spammer like Sara on here?
Your dad obviously wasn't smart enough to understand what his teachers were trying to teach him. I went to school in the 60s and 70s, and the theory was that ice ages occur every so often, and we are 'overdue' for one... but obviously, the scientists back then didn't know about greenhouse gasses that are man made. Too bad your dad passed his genes on to you...
..my buddy's step-sister makes $85 every hour on the internet. last month her pay was $7783 just working on the internet for a few hours.read about it and Follow the instructions at Home Income System and set up your account.. http://goo.gl/A0BQg
I wonder if the the people at Betty Crocker will adapt as fast as nature is. If they dont create a hybrid shark to add to their "shark bites" snack pack, it will mean the kids of today, tomorrow's scientists, will only know about hammerhead, great whites, and tigersharks. This will NOT be acceptable.
Looks like your Dad's jerk genes survived another generation, too.
Dean, global cooling was taught in schools. As much as today's global warming advocates want to pretend like it didn't happen, it did. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Cooling
No, half-wit, it most certainly was not. As your own link says " temporary POPULAR attention due to a combination of a slight downward trend of temperatures from the 1940s to the early 1970s and press reports that DID NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING of ice age cycles. "
In other words, it was never more than half-wits like yourself.
why do you have to be a dick, Dean? Get outside and breath some fresh air.
As a Geology student mid 1970's married to a Sr Chemist, we both find the lack of actual scientific research that has been vetted, peer reviewed, and double blind tested to eliminate the PC crowd disturbing. We discussed the coming recurring Ice Age you dim wit. MMGW is a political mindset. conservation by all means, but you Malthusian numb nuts need to find a new mania...the facts do not add up. Modeling and concensus is not science, Astronomers will give you better insight as well...
Sugar and salt are a necessity...
For sugar read up on carbohydrates
For Salt, too much or too little salt in the diet can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, or electrolyte disturbance, which can cause neurological problems, or death. All mammals (Humans are mammals) need salt. ie. Elephants in Africa sometimes travel very long distances just so they can go suckle on salt that occur on rocks.
Don't be a liar please. The vast majority of scientific studies in the 70s predicted WARMING, not cooling. Do you know how to use Google or other web search engines. It is way to easy to show absolute proof that you are a propagandist and not an honest broker. You sir, are lying to us.
Hello Dan, I remember in the 60's learning about greenhouse gases, global warming, and living in MN. the effects of acid rain. I also remember there were as now, no shortage of blockheads who didn't get it.
He claimed that his dad told him these things. He never mentioned that he researched them or that he even supported them. Don't crucify somebody for telling an anecdote. There was enough popularity for the idea of global cooling for it to be entirely plausible that his science teacher told him about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling#1974_Time_Magazine_article
You must be talking late 70's. When I was in school late 60's to mid 70's, we were shown videos of the ice caps getting larger and snow depth's increasing. They were Warning of Vast Shortages of Fresh Water resulting in Large Famines Plagues and Wars over Fresh Water. They talked of Country's sending ships to the Caps and blowing up the Ice Shelves and towing Icebergs back so they would have Fresh Water. Some solutions were sending up solar panels to heat up the Earth, or spreading Coal Dust on the Snow so it would melt. They warned if this problem was not fixed soon the Earth would or could flip because of the extreme imbalance this would cause no Earth.
I am reminded of a comic with the following punchline;
'What if we make all of these changes for the betterment of the Earth and it turns out global warming is a fraud?'
Then all we'll have to show for our folly is cleaner air, water, energy independence, and a better understanding of how we are polluting our planet, greenhouse gasses or not. Yeah, you're right, probably better to do nothing.
Only good can come from cleaning up the air, reducing deforestation, preserving biodiversity, etc. Why does anyone need a reason NOT to do that?
I doubt your father was taught that an ice age was immenant. I think he read about it in mainstream media publications and new shows. See, the thjing is that in the mid to late 70s a few people floated the idea that increased particulate matter in the atmosphere could lead to global cooling. This idea was picked up by the media and blown into a huge doom and gloom story. However, scientists quickly dismissed the idea and proved that it what was. On the other heand, many people have tried to convincingly disprove gloabl warming and no one has been able to do so as of yet. They've been trying to disprove it for 40 years and they still haven't been able to. So I'd say global warming – a thoy that has with stood more than 40 years of critique is probably pretty strong in comparison to a global cooling theory that crumbled in the first few months.
Man-made global warming was disproved long ago. Sorry you didn't get the memo.
You sound like a chip off the old block. Dumb and Dumber.
All we need to know is do they taste like tuna,and how many cans per shark.
In science we rely on an array of evidences (not just one), and we make our conclusions very carefully. If nevertheless uncertainties remain, we quantify them. In the above case for instance we know from genetical tests that the sharks are indeed hybrid, but we only guess that "Hybridization could enable the sharks to adapt to environmental change" This is clear from the language of the article. Of course, if you are not a scientist you cannot see the iceberg of knowledge that is required to be behind all of our statements.
When I went to school, we learned that PI=3.14159 and some more digits. Today it is still true. I also learned that 220V in the power outlet can kill you as long as about 10mA flows through your heart. Today it is still true. But yes, science is not bible, it is a "search process". Some things we know now, and they are guaranteed; some things we will understand better in the future.... that IS science
Polar bears were in danger of drowning due to global warming but we need not worry, because soon they will stop eating seals and will crossbreed with them instead, providing them with all the swimming ability they need....
Polar bears in danger of drowning? Which polar bears?
Get on to Google and educate yourself about these magnificant swimmers. There will be no crossbreedin with seals old boy. Seals are meals.
Im no scientist,but Im sure it takes more than 40 years for an Ice age to happen
Ill be more worried when they interbreed with octopi
Yes, you are no scientist; if you were, you would know that from onset to glaciers is only ten years. And global ewarming seems to be the only thing that is holding the ice age back.
Your dad should have taught you something else, that when you talk about stuff you know nothing about you sound stupid. Sugar and salt are needed in the human body. It's extreme amounts that are bad. If you had no sugar and salt in your body you would die. Now for the Ice Age. Ice Ages come every 25,000 years or so. The earth heats causing rising water and the effect causes increase moisture, clouds, storms, than a rapid cooling of the earth. Its happened 10,000 or so times since the forming of earth. And yes one is coming soon. Estimates range from 50-500 years but it is coming.
You truly are an imbecile.
Too bad he didn't teach you grammar and basic science. You might have a clue.
The world's first hybrid monkeys were discovered - all Repubican presidential contenders.
so far this winter the average temperature has been 50 degrees and the only snow i've seen came before halloween.....in a place that used to see over 80 inches of snow per winter it's been getting less and less, now a winter that gives us snowstorm after snowstorm (like how it used to be) is considered a "freak" event
please explain to me how that isn't global warming
I'm glad you father went to school and learned something! When were you starting school?
If you are a hammer everything looks like a nail to you. Two sharks mating: Climate change, nothing else! The sharks have read Al Gore's book and are preparing for it.
BTW, my pee of my dog is very yellow lately. Must be the climate change.
Figures a retard like you would be checking the pee color of his dog
Ptobably what he has been spikeing his tea party tea with.
Bob and all those below: Dang, you guys are sure too serious!!!! You can't even tell a joke if you were given a script. Lighten up. The subject matter is only as serious as a scientific observation and nothing more. In fact humans do it every single day, on a larger scale traveling all over the planet and cross mating along the way. So cheer up and enjoy the breakthroughs. Stop readily attacking a person. Or at least show credentials that you are better than the other person before attacking. That way, people might believe you and you will also feel better knowing the accomplishments in life you've made. Oh and last, did you check the color of your pee today? Do you think it's yellower than normal?
It means that as ocean temperatures become warmer, the northern species is encroaching on the territory of the southern species and they are interbreeding. Too bad you've decided to help the human race devolve by ceasing any type of intelligent thought...
I would suggest that you are the one "ceasing any type of intelligent thought...". Seriously, if you'd bother doing anymore research than simply reading the CNN article, you'd know that one of the scientists involved doesn't think that these hybrids were caused by climate change, but that the hybrids' new genes will ultimately help them survive a climate shift. It should also be pointed out that these two species aren't CONFINED to the locations listed in this article, only that each PREFERS a specific environment.
In fact, these two types of shark have been seen outside their comfort zones before, they've just never seen them reproduce before.
Yes .. only a retard is checking the color of the pee of dog !!!
Dang, you guys are sure too serious!!!! You can't even tell a joke if you were given a script. Lighten up. The subject matter is only as serious as a scientific observation and nothing more. In fact humans do it every single day, on a larger scale traveling all over the planet and cross mating along the way. So cheer up and enjoy the breakthroughs. Stop readily attacking a person. Or at least show credentials that you are better than the other person before attacking. That way, people might believe you and you will also feel better knowing the accomplishments in life you've made.