Sharks are portrayed as bloodthirsty beasts waiting in the oceans to feed on you as soon as you step in. Many movies such as The Meg, Jaws, etc. also tell us the same thing but sharks are actually important for the ecosystem.
Here are a few ways in which sharks help us -
- Sharks keep the food web in check :-
Most shark species are at the top of the food web and are called "apex predators". These sharks eat the weak and sick animals thus keeping populations of their prey in check and the overall population healthy. - Sharks help keep the carbon cycle in motion :-
Carbon is a critical element in life and a contributor of climate change. When sharks feed on the dead animals collected on the seafloor, scavengers such as starfish, hagfish and deep-sea sharks help to move carbon through the ocean. Research shows that whales, sharks and other large animals sequester more large amounts of carbon in their bodies and when they die naturally, they sink to the seafloor and are eaten by scavengers whereas when they are killed by humans and removed from the ocean, it disrupts the ocean's carbon cycle. - Sharks could hold cures for diseases :-
Sharks don't get sick as often as other species. It appears that shark tissues have antibacterial properties. Scientists are studying it in hopes of finding treatments for a number of medical conditions like viruses and cystic fibrosis (a hereditary disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system) . The antimicrobial properties of a shark's skin was used to create an antibacterial surface-coating called Sharklet AF which can ward off a range of infectious bacteria and help stop the proliferation of superbugs in hospitals.
It is thus important for us to save these creatures. Also the rate at which humans are killing sharks, they might as well go extinct in the next 30 years as 100 million sharks are killed each year.
Reference taken from -
https://www.conservation.org/
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