Australia Found World-first Hybrid Shark.Scientists said Tuesday they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign of predators were adapting to climate change.
The pairing of the Australian local black-tipped shark with their global counterparts, the common black tip, was an unprecedented discovery, with implications for the world of sharks, the researcher said Jess Morgan.
"It's very surprising, since no one has seen before hybrid shark, this is not a common occurrence in any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, University of Queensland, told AFP.
"This is evolution in action."
Colin Simpfendorfer, a research partner of Morgan James Cook University, said early studies suggested that the hybrid species was relatively strong, with a number of generations found through 57 samples.
The discovery took place during the work of cataloging the east coast of Australia, when Morgan said that genetic testing showed some sharks on a single species, when physically resembled another.
The Australian black edge is slightly smaller than its common cousin can only live in tropical waters, but their hybrid offspring have been found 2,000 km from the coast, in the cold Tues
This means that the Australian black-edge could be adapted to ensure their survival as changing sea temperatures due to global warming.
"If it hybridizes with the common species that can effectively change its range farther south in colder waters, so that the effect of this hybridization is an extension of the range," said Morgan.
"It allowed a species restricted to the tropics to temperate waters move."
Climate change and human fishing are some of the potential triggers are being investigated by the team, with more genetic mapping also planned to examine whether it was discovered an ancient process or a more recent phenomenon.
If the hybrid was found to be stronger than their parent species - the literal survival of the fittest - Simpfendorfer said it can last more than his predecessor’s purebred call.
"We do not know if that's the case here, but we do know that they are viable, breed and there are several generations of hybrids, now that we see in genetic roadmap that we generated from these animals," he said.
"Certainly, it appears to be fairly fit individuals."
Hybrids are extraordinarily abundant, representing 20 percent of black-tip populations in some areas, but Morgan said there seemed to be at the expense of their parents a single race, adding to the mystery.
Simpfendorfer said the study, published late last month in Conservation Genetics, could challenge traditional ideas about sharks and how it continues to evolve.
"We need to understand how shark species have been separated, but what we are saying is that in reality you may not fully understand the mechanisms that keep the shark species separately," he said.
"And indeed, this may be happening in these two species."
The pairing of the Australian local black-tipped shark with their global counterparts, the common black tip, was an unprecedented discovery, with implications for the world of sharks, the researcher said Jess Morgan.
"It's very surprising, since no one has seen before hybrid shark, this is not a common occurrence in any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, University of Queensland, told AFP.
"This is evolution in action."
Colin Simpfendorfer, a research partner of Morgan James Cook University, said early studies suggested that the hybrid species was relatively strong, with a number of generations found through 57 samples.
The discovery took place during the work of cataloging the east coast of Australia, when Morgan said that genetic testing showed some sharks on a single species, when physically resembled another.
The Australian black edge is slightly smaller than its common cousin can only live in tropical waters, but their hybrid offspring have been found 2,000 km from the coast, in the cold Tues
This means that the Australian black-edge could be adapted to ensure their survival as changing sea temperatures due to global warming.
"If it hybridizes with the common species that can effectively change its range farther south in colder waters, so that the effect of this hybridization is an extension of the range," said Morgan.
"It allowed a species restricted to the tropics to temperate waters move."
Climate change and human fishing are some of the potential triggers are being investigated by the team, with more genetic mapping also planned to examine whether it was discovered an ancient process or a more recent phenomenon.
If the hybrid was found to be stronger than their parent species - the literal survival of the fittest - Simpfendorfer said it can last more than his predecessor’s purebred call.
"We do not know if that's the case here, but we do know that they are viable, breed and there are several generations of hybrids, now that we see in genetic roadmap that we generated from these animals," he said.
"Certainly, it appears to be fairly fit individuals."
Hybrids are extraordinarily abundant, representing 20 percent of black-tip populations in some areas, but Morgan said there seemed to be at the expense of their parents a single race, adding to the mystery.
Simpfendorfer said the study, published late last month in Conservation Genetics, could challenge traditional ideas about sharks and how it continues to evolve.
"We need to understand how shark species have been separated, but what we are saying is that in reality you may not fully understand the mechanisms that keep the shark species separately," he said.
"And indeed, this may be happening in these two species."
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