Atomic bomb tests help reveal age of world's biggest fish

Atomic bomb tests help reveal age of world's biggest fish

Source: Thomson Reuters

4/9/2020

Atomic bomb tests help reveal age of world's biggest fish

Scientists have figured out how to calculate the age of whale sharks — Earth's largest fish — with some guidance from the radioactive fallout spawned by Cold War-era atomic bomb testing.

By measuring levels of carbon-14, a naturally occurring radioactive element that also is a by-product of nuclear explosions, the researchers determined that distinct bands present inside the shark's cartilaginous vertebrae are formed annually, like a tree's growth rings.

It was already known that these bands existed and increased in number as a shark aged. But it was unclear whether new rings appeared yearly or every six months.

The researchers compared carbon-14 levels in the rings to data on fluctuations in its global presence during the busy years of atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s.

"These elevated levels of carbon-14 first saturated the atmosphere, then oceans and moved through food webs into animals, producing elevated levels in structures such as the vertebrae of whale sharks," said marine ecologist Joyce Ong of Rutgers University in New Jersey, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Scientists now will be able to calculate a whale shark's age after its death — one ring equals one year. But just as importantly the study established that these endangered marine giants possess a very slow growth rate.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
4176	DNR: Angler Caught Nearly 250 Fish Illegally	minnesota.cbslocal	2013-01-24	US
4177	Teen angler thumbs his nose at critics of his sport	portnews	2013-01-23	US
4178	Gilbert spa owner challenges order stopping fish pedicures	eastvalleytribune	2013-01-14	US
4179	Anglers finally off the hook as scientists settle age-old debate over whether fish feel pain	dailymail	2013-01-12	UK
4180	Colombo's fishy beauty in danger of extinction	emirates247	2013-01-13	LK
4181	Salmon Runs Boom, Go Bust Over Centuries; No 'Signal Of Commercial Fishing' In Trends	Underwatertimes	2013-01-14	US
4182	Search continues for person seen floating in Coquihalla River in Hope	aldergrovestar	2020-07-02	CA
4183	Coquihalla Calling: Dynamite to the rescue for a stranded stock of steelhead	gofishbc	2017-10-13	CA
4184	Eat the Fish enters new business waters due to pandemic	CBC News	2021-03-09	CA
4185	Lake Of The Woods Walleye Population In Dire Straits	fishncanada	2021-04-26	CA
4186	Thompson steelhead trapped at bottom of Bonaparte River fishway	ashcroftcachecreekjournal	2019-04-11	CA
4187	Flood warning issued for Bonaparte River, nearly 200 Cache Creek homes on evacuation alert	radionl	2020-07-04	CA
4188	На больших глубинах обнаружено неожиданное разнообразие жизни	habr	2021-04-28	RU
4189	Wildlife managers use underwater noise, herding techniques to trap invasive carp	spectrumnews1	2021-04-12	US
4190	China awards 91 fishermen for capturing foreign spy devices since 2016	Global Times	2021-04-15	CN
4191	100 fishermen ticketed for catching too many fish or fish of wrong size	nj	2021-04-16	US
4192	Fish farm developers brand loch protesters 'a nest of vipers'	heraldscotland	2013-01-12	UK
4193	Guernsey aquarium thief used fish to win competition	BBC News	2013-01-10	US
4194	Pike found choked on zander in Netherlands	BBC News	2013-01-10	NL
4195	Computerized fishing rod won't put worms on hooks	cnet	2013-01-04	CA
4196	Greens now betray the wild fish	canadafreepress	2013-01-04	US
4197	The adventure interview: Jeremy Wade	telegraph	2013-01-01	US
4198	True facts about the anglerfish	gizmodo	2012-12-28	US
4199	Transgenic fish wins US regulatory backing A fast-growing salmon moves closer to approval after a fishy delay.	nature	2012-12-22	US
4200	Fisherman towed out to sea while catching record 29lb fish	telegraph	2012-12-21	US

167 of [223 - pages.]