14 DAY TRIAL // Investigations carried out by scientists in Canada and Australia show that people's habit of killing one too many sharks negatively affects coral reefs.
Specifically, the researchers argue that, in areas where the shark population has experienced a noteworthy decline, coral reefs are not as healthy as they should be.
This is because, shortly after the decline in the shark population, the overall headcount of herbivore fishes that promote coral reef health also plummets. The scientists suspect this happens because of an increase in the number of mid-level predators.
“Our analysis suggests that where shark numbers are reduced, we see a fundamental change in the structure of food chains on reefs. We saw increasing numbers of mid-level predators – such as snappers – and a reduction in the number of herbivores such as parrotfishes,” researcher Mark Meekan explains, as cited by Science News.
“The parrotfishes are very important to coral reef health because they eat the algae that would otherwise overwhelm young corals on reefs recovering from natural disturbances,” the specialist goes on to say.
In light of these findings, the researchers recommend that high officials immediately roll out measures intended to put an end to the overfishing of sharks.