Ocean giant gets a health check
By University of Tokyo
1/16/2019
Whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, likely endure periods of starvation and may eat more plants than previously thought, according to the first results of a new health check developed at the University of Tokyo. Ocean scientists now have a powerful, simple tool to discover the diets, migrations, and conservation needs of this endangered species.
Whale sharks are filter-feeding, soft-bodied fish that travel tropical oceans in search of their microscopic food. They grow 12 meters (39 feet) long and weigh 21 metric tons (46,297 pounds), about as long as a public city bus and as heavy as three African elephants. Despite their conspicuous size, many details of whale sharks’ lives in the open ocean remain a mystery, even 183 years after they were first discovered.
The research team led by Alex Wyatt, a project researcher at the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, carefully monitored the growth, diet, and health of three whale sharks living in an aquarium and two whale sharks living in ocean net cages.
Read more here:
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/press/z0508_00016.html