Light-based camouflage could reduce the risk of a Great White shark attack

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-11-12 03:00

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Photo by Alex Steyn on Unsplash

LED lights mimicking a natural ocean camouflage strategy could reduce the chance of a Great White shark attacking, according to Australian researchers. Some marine species emit light from their undersides as a camouflage strategy, because any predators below them looking for a snack will be searching for a silhouette illuminated by sunlight from above. The researchers tested a similar strategy by fitting LED lights on seal decoys towed behind a boat to see if different brightness levels would impact predator attacks. They say sharks were much more likely to interact with seal decoys that did not have LED lights attached, and the brighter the lights, the less likely sharks were to interact with the fake seals. The researchers say because Great White sharks have poor visual acuity and lack colour vision, this strategy is particularly likely to work on them.

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Journal/
conference: Current Biology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Macquarie University, La Trobe University, The University of Western Australia, Flinders University

Funder: Funding was provided by the Western Australian State Government Applied Research Program (N.S.H. and S.P.C.), the NSW Shark Management Strategy annual grants program (N.S.H., L.A.R., C.H., and D.J.S.), the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation (N.S.H. and L.A.R.), and an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP160100333 to N.S.H., D.J.S., C.H., V.M.P., E.G., and S.P.C.).

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