Sharks Return to Home

New research conducted in Bimini in the Bahamas spanning more than 2 decades has shown that female Lemon sharks returned to the place the were born almost 15 years after they were born. In the study the sharks born in Bimini returned there. They started the study in 1995 in which they captured, tagged, and released more than 2000 baby sharks over the almost 20 year study conducted. This 20-year study has been the first to prove that natal philopatry and long term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks. "We used each shark's individual DNA fingerprint to construct a large family tree," explained Dr. Kevin Feldheim, the A. Watson Armour III Manager of the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution at The Field Museum and the lead author of the study. "We found that newborn sharks captured in the mid-1990s left the safety of the islands when they were between five and eight years old. Yet, despite leaving and visiting many other islands in their travels, these sharks 'remember' where they were born after a decade of roving, and are able to find the island again when they are pregnant and ready to give birth," Dr. Feldheim added. After this 19 year study it was easy for them to conclude that the sharks return to the place their born nearly 15 years later after being far away from that place since birth.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131205102202.htm