New Predator Replaces White Sharks off South Africa

An 18-year study provided new insights into how an ocean ecosystem can change following the decline of an apex predator.

The study by researchers from the University of Miami and Apex Shark Expeditions documented consequences of the disappearance of white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, in False Bay beginning around 2015 and the subsequent emergence of sevengill sharks, Notorynchus cepedianus, from Seal Island's inshore kelp beds miles distant. The loss of white sharks 18 miles away allowed the population of sevengills to increase and exploit the area without risk of predation from white sharks or competition with them for shared prey such as a Cape fur seal.

Hammerschlag N, Williams L, Fallows M, Fallows C. (2019) Disappearance of white sharks leads to the novel emergence of an allopatric apex predator, the sevengill shark. Sci Rep 9(1):1908. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37576-6