Beautiful, Important Sharks

Be cool and know the facts!

What would happen on Earth if sharks became extinct like the dinosaurs?

Would life change or stay the same?

Why are sharks so important to Earth and people?

• The ocean makes 70% of our O2 (air/oxygen) and breathes 80% of CO2 (carbon dioxide).

• This O2 is made by ocean plants called algae and phytoplankton.

• Algae and phytoplankton breathe CO2 , and with sunlight and water, they make energy. They then breathe out O2 . This is a cycle. It is called the carbon cycle.

• All life on Earth needs O2 to live.

How many names of living things do you know need air to live?

How do sharks protect

phytoplankton and green algae?

Sharks eat huge amounts of small fish and crustaceans. These animals eat phytoplankton and green algae.

The number of sharks in the world is getting smaller each day. So the number of animals that eat phytoplankton and green algae gets bigger.

This happens in the deep oceans and in shallow seas.

How will this effect how much O2 is made on Earth?

green algae

Satellite view of healthy build up phytoplankton and green algae.

crustaceans

phytoplankton

Sheldon Plankton

What else do sharks do to help the oceans?

Make Healthy ReefsMake Healthy Reefs

• On reefs, sharks help keep the number of different kinds of fish and sea life healthy.

• Reefs are important because they have ocean plants.

• Do you remember what ocean plants eat?

• Reefs are only on 1% of the ocean floor, but reefs are the home to 25% of all marine species (ocean animals).

• What are some different things that could happen if all the reefs died?

Sharks are needed for reefs to grow, survive and be healthy.

How do sharks’ diet make a reef healthy?How do sharks’ diet make a reef healthy?

• Since sharks are the top predator, they help keep the number of fish that eat algae and coral at a healthy number. That way reefs stay healthy too.

• Sharks also eat sick and weak fish so fish families can stay strong and healthy.

What does a balanced reef What does a balanced reef look like?look like?

Large Fish Large Fish (Top (Top

Predators)Predators)

Phytoplankton and Phytoplankton and Algae Eating FishAlgae Eating Fish

Algae EatersAlgae Eaters

A balanced reef has a smaller number of top predators, a larger number plant eating fish, and even a larger number algae eating fish.

Apex Predator (Top Hunter) Herbivorous Fish Algae Eaters

Parrotfish

Tang Fish

Striped-Surgeon

Hermit Crab

Shrimp

Sea Urchins

Sharks

Snapper

Jackfish

Look at these two pictures carefully. Can you tell which one is healthy which one is not?

How do they look the same? How do they look different?

Which one do you think has sharks living there?

Which one of these sharks do you think lives near or on reefs?

Gray SharkGray Shark School SharkSchool Shark

Which one of these sharks would like to go to English class?

Police Sharks: Watching the Oceans for our

Health

What are the names of sharks which live

around reefs?

The cycle of life on a reef needs larger fish

(predators) to eat smaller fish and sea

creatures (prey). These smaller fish are larger in number and eat algae and coral. If there are

too many of these smaller fish then reefs

will eventually die, making our oceans sick.

Without sharks, reefs are in danger!

White Tip

Black Tip

Caribbean Reef Shark

Grey Shark

1. Why is having a balanced amount of phytoplankton and green algae important for life on Earth?

2. How do sharks help make breathing possible on Earth?

What can you remember about what you just learned?

3. Why is our O2 and sharks in danger today?

4. What can you do to help sharks and our air?

How people are killing sharks?

- People cut the fins off sharks and throw their bodies into the ocean.- Sharks are usually still alive when it is thrown back into the water. - They can’t swim without fins and they can’t breath without swimming. - They usually sink to the bottom and get eaten by other fish or die from losing blood and air.- 100 million +/- sharks are killed each year, mostly for soup.- This means almost 200 sharks a are being killed every minute.

Fins are sold for a lot of money and made into soup.

How many sharks have been killed since we began talking about sharks?

What is your choice? Soup or life?Why?