The predators have a vital role in stabilizing their ecosystems—and that could be even more important as climate change progresses
The study shows that tiger sharks are a true keystone species in Shark Bay, Nowicki says—and they probably are elsewhere too.
“It raises a giant red flag that having robust populations of big sharks can be important for the stability of ecosystems,” says Heithaus, a study co-author. “As ecosystems take more punches, we probably want to err on the side of having intact predator populations rather than cross our fingers and hope it’s okay.”Shark Bay has offered a glimpse into the important role sharks can play as predators, but Heithaus says the question now is how applicable that model is across the world.
For instance, Heithaus says there’s also evidence that baby bull sharks, which can swim in fresh water,—but it remains to be seen how much this infusion of nutrients matters. Nowicki likens shark diversity in an ecosystem to the supports that hold up a bridge, with the loss of each species cutting down another pillar holding the structure together.
“The problem is we don’t know when that is going to result in a collapse,” he says. But with predators like sharks “we need to care—because we stand to lose more by losing them.”
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