The worlds biggest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a plankton-loving giant that can be found alone or in groups in all tropical oceans. Regardless of being a highly migratory types, little is understood about how the various populations around the world engage with each other. This lack of understanding prevents conservation efforts intended at safeguarding this threatened animal. Héctor Guzmán, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, along with Caitlin Beaver of the U.S. Geological Survey and Edgardo Díaz-Ferguson of Coiba Scientific Station, set out to start bridging this understanding gap.
By snorkeling around Coiba National Park and in the Gulf of Chiriquí, in Pacific Panama, Guzmán collected tissue samples from 21 solitary sharks. The group carried out hereditary analyses on them and found out that they were extremely varied, with resemblances to populations of whale sharks discovered in the Arabian Gulf, Western Indian Ocean, Mexico, and the Gulf of California.
The worlds biggest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a plankton-loving giant that can be found alone or in groups in all tropical oceans. Héctor Guzmán, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, alongside Caitlin Beaver of the U.S. Geological Survey and Edgardo Díaz-Ferguson of Coiba Scientific Station, set out to start bridging this understanding space.
“This observed connection amazed us, exposing a genuine political challenge for the defense and preservation of whale sharks.
Due to the fars away traveled by whale sharks, transboundary steps may be more effective for the conservation of this threatened types. Credit: Candy K. Real
These results, which were released in Frontiers in Marine Science, suggest that whale sharks can travel over long distances which transboundary preservation procedures such as marine passages may be effective for types preservation.
” Imagine Qatar: a possible journey of more than 27,000 kilometers from Panama for this species,” stated Guzman. “This observed connection impressed us, exposing a real political difficulty for the security and preservation of whale sharks. It appears no longer a regional or local concern, however a worldwide concern.”
In spite of its little sample size, this study serves as a baseline for understanding the genetic variety and population connection of this species, whose numbers have declined by half over the last forty years according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This kind of data is essential for figuring out the migration patterns of whale sharks, which are hard to observe straight over the long term.
” With this publication we contribute to decipher migration and genetic connection patterns of short-term whale sharks, evidencing the significance of Pacific Panama as an essential area for connection of the types,” said Diaz-Ferguson.
Referral: “Novel Insights Into the Genetic Population Connectivity of Transient Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Pacific Panama Provide Crucial Data for Conservation Efforts” by Héctor M. Guzmán, Caitlin E. Beaver and Edgardo Díaz-Ferguson, 22 October 2021, Frontiers in Marine Science.DOI: 10.3389/ fmars.2021.744109.
This research study was partially funded by the MarViva Foundation (Panama), the International Community Foundation-CANDEO, the Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Panamá, and the Research Opportunity Fund of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, belongs to the Smithsonian Institution. The institute enhances the understanding of tropical nature and its significance to human well-being, trains students to carry out research in the tropics and promotes preservation by increasing public awareness of the charm and significance of tropical ecosystems.