Shark Advocate

The sharks are helpful to maintaining a balanced ecosystem in Cape Cod. Their presence in Cape Cod is actually helpful because they help regulate the overabundant seal population on the Cape. These sharks help for the fishermen because they eat the seals that eat the cod and they help you because every single animal in the food chain is important for having a balanced environment that we can all enjoy. The white shark is only here for the seals, they do not want to eat or attack humans. In fact, they have very little interest in humans.

Citations:

http://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/#why-sharks-matter http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/us/thriving-in-cape-cods-waters-gray-seals-draw-fans-and-foes.html?_r=0

While the white sharks are prominent in Cape Cod, the Cape has a range of other marine life than just the white sharks and the seals. The Cape is situated in the Gulf of Maine, a place with rich biodiversity. This means that there are lots of other fish and animals that are living underwater, and just one of these species is the White Shark. Therefore, so many sharks are out there for you to learn about and explore. Here are just a couple listed below that you might recognize from films and there might be a couple more that you didn’t even realize exist! Here’s the list:

Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)

The Shortfin Mako Shark is a shark that spans across the ocean, including the area of Cape Cod! This shark could be seen as Chum in Finding Nemo and some features that distinguish the shark include its cone-like shape, which lets the shark swim extremely fast in the water. Another defining feature about the Mako is its teeth, which protrude from its mouth.

Fun Fact about Makos: The Shortfin Mako Shark is the fastest shark in the world.

Citations:

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/isurus-oxyrinchus http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/i_oxyrinchus.htm http://www.sharks-world.com/mako_shark/

Photo Citations: 

http://bit.ly/2aTjFkJ

http://bit.ly/2aKLj1W

Basking Sharks (Cetorhinus maximus)

While they look intimidating, this Basking Shark is actually a filter feeder and it feeds on tiny organisms called phytoplankton. The most distinct feature of this animal is its large mouth and its head is also encircled with gill slits. 

Fun Fact: The Basking Shark are the second largest sharks in the world.

Citation:

http://extremesharkfacts.com/sharks/basking-shark-facts/ https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/cetorhinus-maximus http://sharkopedia.discovery.com/types-of-sharks/basking-shark/ https://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/phytoplankton

Photo Citation:

https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/a86c8100-a472-451b-9961-29b535f6c611/b56b0f06b0ca7b909cf9132c4b38547d.jpg

White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

The (Great) White Shark is the infamous apex predator in the ocean. With its appearance in media between Shark Week, Finding Nemo, and Jaws, the White Shark has definitely gotten a bad reputation over the past few decades. Some features that define white sharks are its conical snouts and large and triangular dorsal fin (the first fin on its top). 

Fun Fact: Even though they appear so much in media, there is still relatively little known about the biology of these sharks.

Citations:

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/carcharodon-carcharias http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0

Photo Citations:

http://bit.ly/2bpnWZW

http://bit.ly/2bgooZf

Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus)

The Porbeagle Shark is a stout shark and it has white patches on the trailing edge of the first dorsal fin and has little protrusions on the sides of their teeth. 

Fun Fact: This shark changes its body temperature quickly so it can travel to a wide range of temperatures!

Citations:

http://www.sharksider.com/porbeagle-shark/ http://new-brunswick.net/new-brunswick/sharks/species/porbeagle.html

Photo Citations:

www.sharknewz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Porbeagle1.jpg

Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

The Spiny Dogfish has a pointed snout, large eyes, and spines in front of its two dorsal fins. Its body is also scattered with white spots and its anal fin is absent. 

Fun Fact: The Spiny Dogfish is pregnant for 22-24 (about 2 years!)

Citations:

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/fishes/spiny-dogfish

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/squalus-acanthias

Photo Citations:

http://bit.ly/2beMoyM

Blue Shark (Prionace glauca)

The Blue Sharks have a distinct blue color with a slender body and very pointed fins. It also has a slender body. 

Fun Fact: These sharks are graceful swimmers and known to jump out of the water!

Citation: 

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=35

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/fishes/spiny-dogfish

Photo Citation:

lemon shark

Look at this goofy boi!!!

This is my new favourite image of any shark ever, 10/10

But Greenland sharks in general are absolutely rad!!!

They have the longest known lifespan of any vertebrae ever, which is super cool, but they are very shy and hardly ever seen by people, so sadly we don’t know a whole lot about them. This is probably because they live in Very Cold Waters up north that humans don’t really like to swim in. 

Sadlly, they’re classified as near-threatened bc people kept killing them for their liver oil.

Some idiot must have looked at all the dead sharks and thought ‘oh! this looks like a tasty snack!’ because that is how we discovered that the flesh of the Greenland shark is quite toxic unless you go to a whole lot of trouble to prepare it a certain way.

Very good sharks