Studer Community Institute

Can a shark sneak up on you?

December 18, 2013
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ community-dashboard

Can a shark sneak up on you? In the film and fiction, the idea of the silent, ruthless, relentless “killer of the deep” makes for great dramatic tension, but does it make good science? A study featuring the work of a math and statistics professor from the University of West Florida and a celebrated expert in shark-human interaction shows that sharks indeed know the difference between the front and the back of a human. Dr. Raid Amin collaborated with Dr. Erich Ritter of the Shark Research Institute to study the behavior of sharks as they approach prey to attack to deepen the understanding of shark attacks on humans. The study was published in the journal Animal Cognition and was picked up the Springer Select, an international publishing company, as “groundbreaking research.” The Economist featured the study in its Dec. 14 edition and in online at http://www.economist.com/science-technology Since then, the study has gained more media attention, which Amin says has inspired Ritter and him to plan a follow-up experiment -- perhaps as soon as this spring -- targeting other shark species to see if the findings are the same or differ. “This is very exciting in the science world,” Amin said. “I believe in very solid science being used and no one has addressed the thinking or not of the shark or whether the shark can identify (the front or back) objects and things.” In the study, divers knelt on the seafloor for in one-hour intervals, alone or in pairs, in an area of the Bahamas frequented by reef sharks, which aren’t dangerous to humans. Amin and Ritter found that when approaching the single test-subject, significantly more sharks swam outside the person’s field of vision. When approaching both subjects facing forward, the sharks would swim away, suggesting that sharks can identify human body orientation. The mechanisms used and factors affecting the nearest distance of approach are still unclear. “Other researchers may want to give it more thought now,” Amin says. “We went out of our way in designing the experiment, we had each diver change position a little bit, they all wore same diving suit, we mixed male and female divers.” The study is not the first collaboration between Amin and Ritter -- “This is our fifth publication in three or four years and I am really impressed with (Ritter),” who splits his time between Pensacola and the Bahamas, Amin says. Amin says his contribution to the partnership is in applying statistical research methods to the design of the experiments, as well as in the subsequent data analysis. “He doesn’t just give me data,” Amin says. “We discuss everything, what should be measured in what way.” Among their other research projects was using cluster analysis to show where the highest probability of being bitten by a shark is in California and Florida. Now they are working on a similar analysis of the shark attack rate off the coasts of North and South Carolina. And there is the matter of revisiting their latest effort, in which Ritter may target lemon sharks. If those findings differ from what they found with reef sharks, that’s ok, too, says Amin. “Either we solidify that sharks somehow know where divers are looking and they prefer the back or if we find the other shark behaves very differently that will be interesting too.” The study -- and its accompanying media attention -- also is a chance to highlight the quality of scientific research going on at UWF. “We are not a major university compared to Miami or UF, but (Ritter) chose us, and our track record is really good in publications me and him. “It is a blessing somehow. Santa was here for me with a blessing.” For details about Ritter, visit www.sharkschool.com

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Can a shark sneak up on you?

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