August 9, 2016 by Pepita Smyth
Hammerhead sharks swim on their
sides up to 90 per cent of the time to save energy, a Murdoch University
researcher has found.
Dr Adrian Gleiss from the Centre
for Fish and Fisheries Research, collaborated on an international study which
found the great hammerhead species spends up to 90 per cent of its time
swimming at angles of between 50 and 70 degrees.
This is thanks to an exaggerated
dorsal fin which generates lift and helps to reduce drag when the sharks are
rolled on their sides.
Most sharks use their dorsal fins on
their backs like a rudder on a boat, to facilitate quick turns. Their large
pectoral fins on their sides are used like aircraft wings to keep them from
sinking. It was thought this was how all sharks functioned until this study,
which was led by Dr Nicholas Payne from the University of Roehampton, London.
Dr Gleiss and the research team
used video cameras and tagging to measure roll angles in hammerhead sharks in
Belize, Australia and The Bahamas.
"The co-lead author on our
paper, Associate Professor Gil Iosilevskii, developed hydrodynamic modeling to
show this swimming method reduces energy use by around 10 per cent, compared
with traditional upright swimming," said Dr Gleiss.
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