Tailor Made Holidays in The Great Barrier Reef: In the News

Even the sharks are turning off the electric: 01-08-2008

Scientists have discovered that a species of shark, found in the Great Barrier Reef, possesses a unique talent seen in only a handful of animals.

The beautiful epaulette shark can shut down the electrical activity in its body and make itself temporarily blind until the water possesses enough oxygen for it to breathe again.

In the shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef, oxygen levels drop at night, meaning that marine life can struggle for breath at times, explained University of Oslo professor Goran Nilsson.

"The epaulette shark lives on shallow parts of the Great Barrier Reef where hypoxia (low oxygen levels) is common at night, particularly during low tide when their habitat may become cut off from the ocean," he told Discovery News.

It seems the spotted sharks may even be able to reduce their need for oxygen by as much as 50 per cent by switching off their bodies' electrical functionality to survive the suffocating conditions.

The sharks are just one of hundreds who call the Great Barrier Reef, which is popular among scuba divers, home.