Secret to how whale sharks pick their hangouts unlocked

Male whale shark at the Georgia Aquarium
Image: Wikipedia

Whale sharks, the world's largest fish, are somewhat mysterious. While they travel far and wide solo, they only congregate in a few select spots in the world's ocean.

For a long time we had no idea how they chose those hangout spots. Now a hypothesis has emerged that they select those spots based upon a set of bathymetric conditions they prefer[1]. Or, in simpler terms, spots that match a certain underwater landscape description.

They like underwater slopes at the depth between 200 m and 1,000 m going further down as they like to dive down to 2,000 m for food while taking advantage of the biomass - and thus plankton abundance - that slopes like this tend to offer. Also, these slopes is where they get to warm up following deep dives.

Many mysteries still remain. But this discovery should definitely help in understanding and preservation of the species.

References

1. Scientists Just Solved One of The Biggest Mysteries About Whale Sharks
   Joshua Copping, The Conversation, 6 July 2018