Sharks are climate activists. Tiger sharks swim around the shallow seagrass meadows and serve as crowd-controllers and prevent overgrazing by marine creatures such as turtles or dugongs. Less continuous grazing in the same spot means more abundant, denser seagrass, which is known to capture carbon from the atmosphere 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.
Many types of rays act as “habitat engineers” in the way they feed. They hover over sandy areas, excavate the sand in search of food while simultaneously creating micro-habitats for various tiny invertebrates. As they uncover tasty snacks for themselves, they also help many other marine species to feed.
Large, deep-diving sharks and rays help phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants) to grow, simply by cruising between ocean depths and the shallows. They dive down to feed and as they return to the surface, they defecate, bringing back crucial nutrients. Without these elements phytoplankton couldn’t grow, which is an essential part of the oceanic food chain and produces half of earth’s oxygen supply.
Sharks also promote eco-tourism. Every year around 600,000 shark divers travel the world to witness these magnificent creatures in their natural surroundings. Countries such as Australia and the Maldives experience high volumes of shark tourism on a yearly basis.
Sharks and rays contribute so much to the marine ecosystems and the circle of life, even after they die. Video footage from the seafloor off Angola’s coast discovered that carcasses of a dead whale shark and large rays resting peacefully at 3,937 feet supported entire communities of deep-sea scavengers.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/five-ways-sharks-and-rays-help-the-world
