What I want for Christmas/Chanukah in Panama...

Now that the end of our time here in Nahant is drawing near, my co-eds and I are getting ready for Panama! The holidays are also coming up which means time for wish lists. I have a very particular wish that I hope to get fulfilled sometime during our Panama semester. While I enjoyed my courses this semester, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the course I am looking forward to the most in the Three Seas Program is Biology of Fishes. I took a similar course in my undergrad but we looked at Northern California fish. In Panama, it will be all of the tropical locals and I know very little about tropical fish, so I am really excited. My fish of choice is sharks and other elasmobranchs and they will be there in the reefs! Some of the Three Seas students from last year saw one shark in particular in Coiba. This also happens to be the largest shark in the world, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), and this shark is on my holiday wish list (also the number 2 thing on my personal bucket list). So while most of my fellow co-eds hike a mountain, I will be in the water looking for one of these beauties.

A little background information; according to Project Whale Shark, “the Whale shark the biggest fish in the sea and there are only a few whale species larger than it. Thought to reach up to a possible 20 meters and 34 tons it seems difficult to believe that Whale Sharks feed on microscopic plankton rarely more than 3 mm in size. The combination of its immense size and characteristic checkerboard pattern makes the Whale Shark almost unmistakable and completely comprises the only member of its family, Rhincodontidae.” This animal is a shark and NOT a whale because it is cold blooded, has gills and possesses a cartilaginous skeleton regardless of the fact that it eats plankton. Its body shape is also like a shark with a caudal tail fin and not a fluke like a whale. They are also ovoviviparous. (Ovoviviparity is the method of reproduction where fertilized eggs develop within the womb and gain no additional nutrition from the female before giving birth to fully developed young.)

In terms of distribution, Whale Sharks are found both in inshore and oceanic waters where surface sea water temperatures are between 18 to 30°C. However, tagging data indicates that Whale Sharks spend significant periods of time diving to depths greater than 980 m and into water colder than 10°C presumably to feed (Graham et al. 2005). Whale Sharks are highly migratory and utilize a vast habitat (the longest recorded Whale Shark journey spanned 13 000 km and took over 36 months).

Like most shark species, their biggest threats are humans (and occasionally orcas). According to IUCN, the whale shark is considered vulnerable, which is one spot below endangered. In terms of policy, this is not the ideal position for conservation but it is a start in getting people’s attention to its survival. It is a popular shark for in ecotourism and as sad as it is, may be the major saving point in its conservation in the future. Either way, I look forward to the adventure of looking for one in Panama. So I will write my letter to Santa/ "Chanukah" Harry and wish for a whale shark. Happy Holidays!