Fear of sharks helps preserve balance in the world’s oceans

June 3^rd, 2013 (Lilyvania Mikulski). A prey’s fear of a shark is critical to protecting ocean biodiversity, according to FIU researchers. Without this fear, a cascading effect within the ecosystem could destabilize the world’s oceans.

Seagrass beds provide habitats for other fish and marine life — many of which people rely on. When predators, such as tiger sharks, rove in areas near seagrasses, herbivores including turtles and sea cows often navigate away from these areas. This prevents the seagrasses from being devoured to the point of elimination.

“Predators can have major impacts without having to eat anything, because animals will change their behavior to avoid becoming a meal,” said Mike Heithaus, marine sciences researcher and executive director of the School of Environment, Arts and Society at FIU. “If there are no predators to fear, these grazers will take advantage.”

The findings were published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

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