Functional Morphology of Feeding and Locomotion in Sharks

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate interrelationships between feeding and swimming behavior in the evolution of sharks. The first study tests whether ecological habitat influences swimming behavior in sharks. High-speed video and electromyography will be used to analyze fin, body, and tail movements during swimming in the spiny dogfish shark, a shark that is an open ocean swimmer, and the bamboo shark, a bottom-dwelling shark. The study addresses the question of whether open ocean sharks swim differently than other sharks. Another question that will be addressed is whether bottom-dwelling and open ocean sharks can control their fin movements to change the forces generated during swimming. The second study investigates the feeding mechanism of sharks eating hard prey. Feeding on hard prey is rare in sharks. High-speed video and electromyography will be used to analyzing head and jaw movements and muscle activity during feeding. The PI will analyze bamboo sharks eating hard prey, bamboo sharks eating soft prey, and bonnethead sharks eating hard prey. The results will be used to test previous predictions for jaw force and lever systems in sharks. This research will increase our understanding of feeding and swimming behavior in sharks.