Nurse Sharks are more than just a beautiful creature to observe, they are important species that drive ecosystems like
coral reefs. It is not uncommon to see a nurse shark in tropical water especially
in the Southern Florida reef system, but don’t worry; nurse sharks are docile
towards humans. Since nurse sharks spend a lot of time in these tropical waters
they are vitally important to the fragile coral reef system. Nurse Sharks are
bottom dwellers so they do not consume larger prey. When feeding, the shark
will glide across the sea floor sucking its prey into its mouth creating a noticeable
‘sucking’ noise – giving the shark its name. Nurse Sharks prey on snails,
mollusks, small fish, crustaceans, and can be seen grazing for algae and ground
coral. The consumption of these smaller trophic levels helps control the
environment, in this case a reef, from species domination ultimately maintaining
biodiversity. Biodiversity is important
for reef systems because it fuels the reef with healthy species, symbiosis,
predation, and all other ingredients that make a healthy, diverse reef.
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Nurse Sharks can remain motionless while resting on the sea
floor by facing against the flow of water and pumping the water through their
mouths and gills.
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The Great Florida Reef, a site that we Stockton students
dove at today, showed great signs of biodiversity in fish species, corals,
sponges, and of course sharks. Shown in the video above, diver Stephon (the
Teacher’s Assistant) catches a Nurse Shark swimming inches above the reef. The
footage also shows many species of fish including Blue Striped Grunts, Sergeant
Majors, Sea Fans, Tube Coral, Grey Snappers, Sea Rods, and a Blue Tang. The shark
appears to be about four to five feet long, only a third of what they are capable
of growing. It is totally normal to see sharks on this reef, in fact, if no
sharks were seen this would indicate the beginning of loss in biodiversity ultimately killing
the reef. The Nurse Shark is one of the keystone species that drives the
positive health of reefs, and it is good that this shark, and a couple more
not-pictured sharks, were seen on the reef.
To learn more about Nurse Sharks click here
I love the pun you created with the title of your paper. Very creative incorporating the nurse sharks nursing the reef back to health because they are a keystone species and extremely important to the ecosystem. The video that you have of Stefan following the nurse shark around the reef is absolutely amazing! They are such majestic creatures and it is so cool to be able to see one up close and personal like that. Scuba diving really offers people the opportunity to feel what its like to be a reef organism. I was in awe of the beauty of the Florida Keys!
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