What If All Shark Species Suddenly Disappeared

the hammerhead has an incredible 360 degree vision that's called binocular this creature's eyes are tilted forward and their field of vision overlaps the wobby gong means shaggy beard in an australian aboriginal language and just one look at this underwater inhabitant can explain the name choice the viper dogfish knows how to create its own light in the deep ocean pitch dark waters the animal has needle-like teeth and extendable jaws this allows it to feed on prey half its size now at first sight all these creatures have nothing in common whatsoever but in reality all of them are sharks there are more than 500 shark species in the world and lots of them don't look as if they're related the most fearsome predators in the ocean sharks have been around for more than 400 million years they have adapted to all kinds of tough conditions now some of them can live in fresh water rivers and lakes these creatures vary in size from as small as a human hand to 40-foot long whale sharks now most people would probably feel more comfortable without sharks lurking in the ocean depths but few of them know that the disappearance of sharks would turn into a disaster for our planet imagine waking up in the world without these apex predators if you're a surfer you wouldn't have to scan the water for a shark's infamous triangular fin if you're a regular beach goer you wouldn't have to be on your toes all the time ready to sprint toward the shore once you hear a lifeguard's whistle movie makers would be confused they'd have to set off in search of a new villain but the truth is sharks aren't as bad as they're pictured not all of them are large torpedo-shaped creatures with sharp teeth for example the basking shark has small teeth and it doesn't even use them for feeding the horned shark's teeth are molar-like and help the animal to crush its hard shell prey and how can a tiny eight-inch long deep-water dog fish harm you unlike what lots of people think humans aren't shark's favorite meal usually we just get mistaken for similar sized dolphins and seals most shark species prefer fish squid and clams hey come to think of it so do i mmm calamari some are filter feeders it means they get food by filtering sea water through their gills or mouth anyway back to the world without sharks big shark species are at the top of the ocean food chain they hunt smaller fish for example tuna those in turn eat even smaller sea inhabitants mostly bottom feeding species that live off algae if sharks disappeared it would totally mess up the entire food chain without sharks to control the fish population the smallest algae eaters would soon be swallowed up by predators no bottom feeders and algae would grow wild along with bacteria they would move to coral reefs corals wouldn't be able to photosynthesize sunlight they used to get nutrients from the water and carbon dioxide wouldn't reach them reefs would fade away leaving behind skeletons that would later turn into limestone it would lead to many marine species going extinct algae would also clog up fish gills and pollute water and seafood shark remains are an important food source for lots of marine inhabitants for example orcas other sharks and even octopuses without these remains these species would be at risk of starvation or let's say tiger sharks they live in seagrass meadows and prevent turtles from over grazing the area if sharks weren't on the lookout all this underwater vegetation would be gone in no time and that would create a huge problem scientists claim that 50 to 80 percent of earth's oxygen is produced in the ocean by plankton that's algae drifting plants and some kinds of bacteria normally sharks feed on fish that gobble down ocean generating plankton no sharks and there might be a serious shortage of oxygen in the world little fish would thrive but only at first if there were no sharks injured in sick fish their most common prey would unbalance the schools they live in this would cause nothing but chaos plus fish left without control would eat everything they see little shrimps plankton and other microorganisms soon all of this would be gone and fish would eventually starve it would affect not only the world's ecosystem but also the economy like it happened once in north carolina great white sharks were overfished there and it allowed the ray population to grow it resulted in hundreds of hungry rays eating all the base gallops the local fishery had to close when there were no more scallops rays moved on to other shelled sea creatures the disappearance of sharks would also harm ecotourism for example in the bahamas just one reef shark brings about 250 000 over its lifetime divers pay this money to see the creature in its natural environment one living whale shark brings belize two million dollars during its lifetime besides if there were no sharks we would never know how amazing these creatures are see for yourself sharks don't have bones their skeletons are made of cartilage just like some parts of your ears and your nose tip cartilage is way lighter than real bones plus sharks liver are filled with oils that's what helps them to be so buoyant from afar shark's skin may seem to be as smooth as that of dolphins but in reality it resembles sandpaper it's made up of teeny teeth like scales they point toward the tail and reduce water friction when sharks swim even though sharks don't have bones their bodies can't fossilize as these predators age they store calcium in their skeletons to make them stronger that's why million-year-old shark jaws feel as heavy and solid as bones sharks have small black spots near their eyes nose and mouth they allow these animals to sense electromagnetic fields and temperature changes in the ocean most shark species have an amazing night vision even cooler they can see colors they have special reflective tissue at the back of their eyes which helps them see perfectly with little light now you might be able to tell a shark's age by counting the rings on its vertebrae each vertebra has pairs of semi-transparent and non-transparent bands if a vertebra has 10 band pairs the shark is 10 years old such a count is not always correct but still the great white shark's bite is no joke a 21 foot long creature can produce a force of more than four thousand pounds per one square inch it means the fish's jaws are four times more powerful than those of a lion or tiger and you with your bite force of 150 to 200 pounds per square inch aren't even in the running sharks can heat their eyes thanks to a special retina it helps them to have a better resolution of everything they see around and detect their prey some bottom dwelling shark species for example nurse or angel sharks have a special opening behind their eyes it supplies oxygen directly to their brain and eyes sharks use this organ when they're resting at the sea floor or eating but most shark species have to swim all the time to pump water over their gills sharks live in all oceans on the planet but several species feel great in fresh water bull sharks for example can be found in tropical rivers they've adapted and can now live in both fresh and salt water and river sharks true to their name swim in the rivers of new guinea australia and south asia the number of teeth may vary from species to species but most sharks have more than 15 rows of them in each jaw one line after another they go from the largest and most functional up front to the smaller and less powerful in the back a shark can have as many as 35 000 cavity resistant teeth in a lifetime now you as a human can shift only your lower jaw but a shark can move both its upper and lower jaws it allows the creature to have a better grip while hunting sharks not only smell things exceptionally well their hearing is excellent too they can spot their prey from three thousand feet away because they hear low frequency sounds the predators will easily recognize the sounds made by a fish's contracting muscle tissue sharks are slow growing species and they don't breed often it makes them extremely vulnerable people have better protect these creatures rather than fear them oh and finally when you go to the casino poker tables be wary of one more species the card shark if you're not careful he'll take all your money

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 351,702

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Keywords: bright side, brightside, facts about sharks videos, cool facts about sharks, crazy facts about sharks, facts about sharks great white, real facts about sharks, weird facts about sharks, what if there were no sharks youtube, what happens if there were no sharks, what happens if there are no sharks, ocean predators documentary, sea creatures, marine creatures, dangerous animals, what sharks eat, myths about sharks, animal facts, wild animals, facts about animals

Id: 5eIQbfUC90o

Length: 9min 12sec (552 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 16 2020