Recovery
Plan
Of the
Grey Nurse Shark
By Kelly Farrelly
Grey Nurse Shark
The Grey Nurse Shark, also known as a Carcharias taurus is from the Odontaspididae family and is a species of fish that is critically endangered around Australia.
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Lamniformes Family: Odontaspididae
Conservation Status
The Grey Nurse shark has a current conservation status of endangered in Queensland and critically endangered throughout all of Australia. Since 1996 the grey nurse shark has been protected nationally, and is listed in two different populations. It is believed that there are
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only 1000-1500 grey nurse sharks left on the east coast of Australia, which leads them to be Australia’s most endangered species. Biological and Ecological Factors Description All grey nurse sharks have two dorsal fins, a pectoral fin, pelvic fin, anal fin, caudal fin and 5 gill slits.
Behind the pelvic fin is where you can recognise if the shark is male or female, as the males have claspers and the females have no claspers. Grey Nurse Sharks are distinctively grey-brown on top and sometimes have reddish or brownish spots that have not completely faded from when they were pups, or young sharks.
Males and Females
Male grey nurse sharks mature at 2.1 meters in 4 to 6 years and the females mature at 2.2 meters at 6 to 8 years. The maximum length any grey nurse shark can get to is 3.6 meters, with a maximum age of 15 years. Male sharks have claspers and females do not. This helps distinguish the difference between the genders of the grey nurse shark.
Habitat
Grey Nurse Sharks tend to live in shallow coastal waters with tropical to moderate temperatures. They live in the marine ecosystem and are usually found near drop offs, caves and sandy bottomed gutters. The marine ecosystem provides a home for the grey nurse shark and if any changes occur to the habitat of the grey nurse shark, it can result in loss of population as they rely on the stability to keep them
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alive. Food The Grey Nurse Shark is a carnivore that feeds on fish, smaller sharks, rays, squid and crustaceans.
They generally feed throughout the night when they are more active and other animals are sleeping. The grey nurse shark is at the top of the food chain and food web, as nothing eats it.
Abiotic and Biotic Factors
An abiotic factor that affects the grey nurse shark is the pollution that is found in the water. In the figure 4 the shark has been caught in an elastic chord which was placed in the ocean or waterways that lead to the ocean. This has caused the grey nurse shark to be in discomfort, and could potentially die. A biotic factor that affects the population of the grey nurse shark are humans fishing and accidentally catching a grey nurse shark temperature change.
Main threats to existence
As the grey nurse shark is protected nationally, there are undergoing limited numbers of threats. Potential threats to the species include pollution, collection for public aquariums, diseases from changes in their ecosystem. Climate change causes a number of threats, including a change in water temperature and changes through the marine ecosystem. Commercial fishing, accidental, incidental or illegal fishing is a threat to the population of the grey nurse shark. A slight change to the sharks habitat can overall cause loss of numbers throughout the shark
species. Adaptions and reasons Countershading is another adaption that allows the grey nurse shark to blend into its surroundings and catch food easier. This is because of the countershading the shark is dark on top and pale on the bottom side, resulting in it to be harder to see as it blends into its environment. Reasons for conservation Grey nurse sharks are currently in conservation as there population needs to grow in numbers to allow the shark to be removed from the endangered list. Current sharks in conservation are being encouraged to breed to raise the population. This will help stabilise the overall inhabitants of the grey nurse shark. Past and current management In 2003 the Queensland Government introduced fishing and diving laws in Moreton Bay Marine Park and at Wolf Rock to help protect the population of the species. They have tried to control the pollution and changes to the habitat to ensure that a safe living environment is maintained. Program for the next five years to help the recovery of the species To increase the number of grey nurse sharks with in the approaching years, changes need to be made to ensure the Grey Nurse Shark will stay a species in Australia and hopefully make its way out of the current endangered conservational status. • Breeding programs to be introduced to ensure the population increases. • Fishing and diving restrictions put in place to guarantee that they will not be harmed by any humans. • The amount of pollution decreased to allow the marine ecosystem to remain as least polluted as possible. Reference List Grey Nurse . (2012). Retrieved from Grey Nurse Shark Research & Community Engagement Program: http://www.reefcheckaustralia.org/files/documents/386/fact_sheetgnsoct2012.pdf Grey Nurse Shark. (n.d.). Retrieved from Australian Threatened Species: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/939426ae-9c8c-4e7b-857f-d37116c70ac7/files/grey-nurse-shark.pdf Grey Nurse Shark (east coast population). (2013, July 16). Retrieved from Australian Government Department of the Environment: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=68751#threat_abatement_and_recovery Grey Nurse Shark Factsheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from World Wide Fund: http://awsassets.wwf.org.au/downloads/sp006_fs_grey_nurse_shark_1oct03.pdf Issues Paper for the Grey Nurse Shark. (2014). Retrieved from Department of the Environment: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/91e141d0-47aa-48c5-8a0f-992b9df960fe/files/issues-paper-grey-nurse-shark-carcharias-taurus.pdf McGrouther, M. (2014, April 9). Greynurse Shark, Carcharias taurus Rafinesque, 1810. Retrieved from Australian Museum: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Greynurse-Shark-Carcharias-taurus-Rafinesque-1810/ Natoli, J. (n.d.). Grey Nurse sharks - habit and habitat. Retrieved from Julian Rocks: http://julianrocks.net/Featured2/GNSfeature.php
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Low oxygen consumption rates were reported in this study, most likely due to the low standard metabolic rates of the nurse sharks. Nurse sharks also had a lower routine metabolic rate compared to other species, which was attributed to their slower swimming speeds. Metabolic rate increased with temperature. The cost of transport was lower than is found in other species. This was attributed to the nurse sharks inactivity and less streamlined body.
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