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Could convulsive body shuddering of a white shark near a shark cage be an element of a threat display?

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Title: Could convulsive body shuddering of a white shark near a shark cage be an element of a threat display?
Authors: Klimley, A. Peter (AUTHOR), Hoyos-Padilla, Mauricio (AUTHOR)
Source: Behaviour. 2023, Vol. 160 Issue 11, p1245-1257. 13p.
Subjects: White shark, Sharks, Pectoral fins, Hookahs
Abstract: In this short note, we describe the convulsive body shuddering of a white shark as it approached two large metallic shark cages, each with multiple divers standing within them. When animals feel threatened, they experience conflicting instincts — one is to escape and another is to fight. In this situation, they do not always fight but often perform an agonistic, or aggressive display. Having arrived at the source of an olfactory corridor, this white shark was confronted with highly visible cages made with aluminium bars. The divers use hookah air hoses to breathe, and were therefore releasing bubbles, which reflect light and generate sounds as they oscillate toward the surface. The photographers may also have been taking pictures of the shark with their flash-bulb equipped cameras, which produce a sudden disruptive flash of irradiance. The shark's behaviour is illustrated with a series of video frames as he approaches the cage. The body of the shark shutters convulsively and he opens his mouth, keeping it open for a prolonged period of 2.8 s as he passes close to the cage, while (1) depressing his pectoral fins, (2) hunching his back, (3) keeping his caudal fin held at right angle to the axis of view to increase his apparent size, and (4) shaking his body with spasmodic oscillations. The shark appears frightened, and hence may perform the display to discourage any aggression directed at him by the cage with humans emitting a panoply of frightening stimuli. Alternative explanations of the motivation behind this behaviour are also discussed. We hope that it will lead other scientists to look for this behaviour when observing the behaviour of white sharks from a cage, so they can provide further evidence shedding light upon the shark's motivation for performing this conspicuous behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Behaviour is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Could convulsive body shuddering of a white shark near a shark cage be an element of a threat display?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Behaviour%22">Behaviour</searchLink>. 2023, Vol. 160 Issue 11, p1245-1257. 13p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22White+shark%22">White shark</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sharks%22">Sharks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pectoral+fins%22">Pectoral fins</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hookahs%22">Hookahs</searchLink>
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  Data: In this short note, we describe the convulsive body shuddering of a white shark as it approached two large metallic shark cages, each with multiple divers standing within them. When animals feel threatened, they experience conflicting instincts — one is to escape and another is to fight. In this situation, they do not always fight but often perform an agonistic, or aggressive display. Having arrived at the source of an olfactory corridor, this white shark was confronted with highly visible cages made with aluminium bars. The divers use hookah air hoses to breathe, and were therefore releasing bubbles, which reflect light and generate sounds as they oscillate toward the surface. The photographers may also have been taking pictures of the shark with their flash-bulb equipped cameras, which produce a sudden disruptive flash of irradiance. The shark's behaviour is illustrated with a series of video frames as he approaches the cage. The body of the shark shutters convulsively and he opens his mouth, keeping it open for a prolonged period of 2.8 s as he passes close to the cage, while (1) depressing his pectoral fins, (2) hunching his back, (3) keeping his caudal fin held at right angle to the axis of view to increase his apparent size, and (4) shaking his body with spasmodic oscillations. The shark appears frightened, and hence may perform the display to discourage any aggression directed at him by the cage with humans emitting a panoply of frightening stimuli. Alternative explanations of the motivation behind this behaviour are also discussed. We hope that it will lead other scientists to look for this behaviour when observing the behaviour of white sharks from a cage, so they can provide further evidence shedding light upon the shark's motivation for performing this conspicuous behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Behaviour is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1163/1568539X-bja10201
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 1245
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      – SubjectFull: White shark
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sharks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pectoral fins
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      – SubjectFull: Hookahs
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              Text: 2023
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