Michael Su

White Shark Profile KingdomPhylumClassOrderFamilyGenusSpecies AnimaliaChordataChondrichthyesLamniformesLamnidaeCarcharodonCarcharias Scientific name: Carcharodon Carcharias Common English name: Great White Shark Cosmopolitan, meaning wide distribution through world Mostly found on continental shelves, coastal marine waters, off the coast of tropical islands Belongs in an aquatic system

Profile Cont. Normally found in temperate waters Common off the coast of California, Australia, South Africa Difficult for estimation of population because sharks travel worldwide Agreed that White sharks have become a vulnerable species Map Showing Distribution of White Sharks

Major Threats Fishing is the major threat of the White Shark and many other species of sharks 6 million pounds of shark were caught in Hawaii in 1998 The Asian shark fin soup market caused 73 million sharks to be caught and have their fins removed in Being caught in protective beach netting is a smaller cause of death

Food Web

Classification Map Phylum Chordata entail all animalia that have a backbone All chordate have a rodlike structure called the notochord

Examples of Chordate Boa constrictor X-ray tetra Chimpanzee Great White Shark

Consequences Sharks and many other apex predators are essential to keeping balance in an ecosystem Sharks are able to keep the healthy trophic pyramid by feeding on predators under apex predators A number of sharks were removed from an ecosystem Observations show that number of tuna fish actually declined This is because sharks would feed on predators that fed on tuna fish

Biodiversity; Important or Not? Biodiversity is extremely important for the health of an ecosystem. Each organism fills a niche role in an ecosystem and many roles overlap, for example, sharks and orca whales are apex predators, their role is to feed on animals lower than them in the food chain. While sharks can fill this role well, if all sharks were wiped out, orcas are still available to try to maintain balance within an ecosystem. This kind of relationship is found in every food web where niches overlap, creating an overall stronger and much more stable ecosystem by not relying on a single organism to accomplish a goal. Instead the goal is spread to multiple organisms to lessen the impact of a sudden extinction. For example, fish, shrimp, snails and a variety of other organisms feed on algae. If, for example, fish were the only organisms in a pond that consumed algae, the algae would grow and cover the entire surface of the pond. This would prevent sunlight from penetrating to the bottom of the pond to allow other plant growth. Fish that feed on insects won’t be able to feed because insects would meet a barricade of algae instead of the water’s surface. Eventually, the pond would only consist of algae as all other organisms would die. Therefore, biodiversity is not only important for the stability of the ecosystem, but for the survivability as well.

References Julian Pepperell. Fishes of the Ocean a Natural History & Illustrated Guide. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 2010 Griffin, E., Miller, K.L., Freitas, B. and Hirshfield, M. Predators as Prey:Why Healthy Oceans Need Sharks. Washington DC: 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, 5th Floor, 2008 Fergusson, I., Compagno, L.J.V. & Marks, M Carcharodon carcharias. Retrieved from Authors not specified.Carcharodon carcharias. Retrieved from archarias?searchTerms=white+shark