The Biology and Ecology of White Sharks Research Paper

The Biology and Ecology of White Sharks - Research Paper Example The research, therefore, includes information on the ecology and biology of the white shark, the species’ recent conservation status, a clear description of the major threats endangering the species’ survival in the Australian water bodies and appropriate recommendations for future research. Â   Other names for the white shark include the white pointer or great white shark. It is a close relative of the porbeagle shark and mako shark popular in the mackerel crook family Lamnidae. The white shark has an average stout and torpedo-shaped body, its color is blue-grey to grey-brown on the upper region and white beneath, has very big serrated teeth, and unique horizontal tip lengthways the physique middle line just near the semicircular designed tail. Another physical fact about the white shark is; large apex predator that grows to at least six meters in length. Some reports that are not yet proved to indicate that the white shark grows up to seven meters in length and can weigh up to a mass of three thousand kilos (Bright, 33). A unique heat-exchanging circulatory system allows the white shark to maintain a favorable body temperature of up to fourteen degree Celsius above that of the surrounding water masses of the sea. This enables the individuals to tolerate a wide range of temperatures. The white shark is a species that lives for a very long period of time that is approximately sixty years but this is not certain information. Averagely the reasonable period is in between forty to fifty years according to scientists and researchers. The species has a relatively slow development and low reproductive rate with a long pregnancy period that is close to eighteen months. These features indicate a low reproduction capability that has difficulties for the vulnerability of the white shark to non-natural mortality and the rate at which populations deplete and recover. These factors have substantial defects for the conservation of the white shark species.