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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]

A historical example, case study 2, is one of two cases illustrating the complexity of interactions between sharks in their natural environment. Evidence is presented that the white shark is a selective feeder, consuming seals and sea lions with high fat content yet rejecting a pelican, human, and sea otters with low fat content. After biting seals, these sharks carry them in their jaws for a prolonged time underwater to kill them through blood-loss, i.e., exsanguination. Multiple sharks compete to feed on the remaining seal carcass when it floats to the surface. The sharks perform the Tail Slap, consisting of lifting the caudal fin and splashing water toward the accompanying shark. A combatant is permitted to feed further on a seal only if the vigor and frequency of its tail slaps are greater than those of its opponent. Thus, this is an agonistic display, functioning to ward off potential competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document introduces a special issue of the journal Behaviour that focuses on the behavior and cognition of elasmobranchs, including sharks, chimaeras, and rays. It emphasizes the need to showcase the complexity of their actions and challenges negative perceptions and misinformation about these species. The special issue includes historical articles, case studies on social interactions and feeding rituals of hammerhead and white sharks, and discussions on dominance-subordinate hierarchies and mistaken identity hypothesis for shark bites on humans. The aim is to present new information and dispel misconceptions about elasmobranch behavior and cognitive abilities. The papers in this collection explore sensory perception, social behavior, and cognitive tasks of sharks and rays, providing valuable insights for further research and conservation efforts. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Although the effort in the study of white sharks in Mexico is rapidly elucidating adult biology, almost nothing is known about the juveniles. Current understanding of this life history is based largely on the incidental take of juveniles in nursery grounds in the Pacific coast of Baja California and some individuals tagged in the USA that have migrated to Mexican waters. Also, it is not known how or when they recruit to adult aggregation sites or how they learn to make seasonal migrations offshore. Five white sharks were manually tracked using ultrasonic transmitters with depth and temperature sensors between 2006 and 2007. Additional white sharks were tagged (N = 60) with long-lived coded transmitters and detected at listening stations located on the west coast of the United States of America and Guadalupe Island (GI) from August 2008 to October 2015. Results: We found that: (1) juvenile white sharks remained close to the island throughout the day between the surface and 50 m depth in warm waters (from 14 to 20 °C), whereas the adults moved offshore into deep waters during the day and stayed close to the island during the night presenting a broader tolerance of colder waters (from 9 to 20 °C); (2) tagged white sharks had a positive correlation between total length and habitat range, and the core areas of adults were related to pinniped colonies; (3) adults patrolled in deep waters in November and December when the northern elephant seals (NESs) returned back to the island for pupping with their mean mass higher than during the winter post-breeding migration; (4) tagged juvenile white sharks remained near the island for 12-14 months before departing; and (5) tagged subadults undertook coastal migrations before starting their offshore migrations. Conclusions: The data collected in our study suggest that white shark juveniles arrive to GI from nursery grounds on the mainland after they have reached at least 180 cm TL; then, they remained around the island for several months, potentially taking advantage of the diversity of prey. In addition, they may start their first offshore migrations, coming back to their nursery grounds and GI before they reach maturity, while at GI juveniles stayed close to the shore and in shallow water to avoid adults, probably feeding on demersal prey and species that perform nocturnal migrations such as squid and mackerel. It is argued that the distribution of the large white sharks in GI is controlled by the availability of NES and that adult white sharks look for this prey in deep waters during the day in the vicinity of the seal colonies, taking advantage of the great visibility of GI waters. It is also possible that white sharks take advantage of NES in GI before they go to their pupping grounds to give birth in California and Baja California or to their offshore migration to the west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the behavior and interactions among white sharks or Carcharodon carcharias while hunting for seals near a seal colony in Ano Nuevo Island, California. Frequencies with which sharks were detected during daytime, nighttime and twilight; Nature of interaction among sharks; Predatory strategy.

The article presents information on a study which estimated the abundance of mature and sub-adult white sharks at seasonal aggregation sites in Central California (CCA), to serve as a baseline for future assessment and monitoring of this population. A review of the related literature is given. Method used was photo-identification of dorsal fins in a sequential Bayesian mark. The significance of the research findings in shark protection is highlighted.