Sharks in perspective.

Abstract

Except for occasional flutters of publicity when attacks occurred, sharks were of academic interest to only a few scientists before World War II. Then, when servicemen were victims of air and sea disasters and met sharks in their own environment with tragic consequences for the men, the U.S. Navy gathered a team of experts to produce a solution. A veritable explosion of investigations in shark biology and a mushrooming of knowledge of sharks followed creation of the ONR-Sponsored AIBS Shark Research Panel, a product of the New Orleans Shark Conference in April 1958. The panel catalyzed and coordinated more than 100 studies of the biology and behavior of sharks in many parts of the world. Besides conducting their own basic research, several panel members tested more than 200 chemical compounds, biological products, and physical devices for their deterrent effect on sharks. While fulfilling their practical objectives, these tests disclosed new facts about the response patterns and behavior of many species of sharks. These observations, supplemented by a wide range of basic studies of the phylogeny, taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, distribution, migrations and life history, behavior, ecology, pharmacology, endocrinology, and immunology of sharks during the last 15 years, have provided us with a wealth of knowledge of these highly successful vertebrates.