Great White Sharks

Great White Sharks The white shark, commonly called the great white shark, is one of the most iconic and feared creatures of the ocean. With its razor-sharp teeth and menacing appearance, it certainly looks dangerous. But the more we learn about this creature, the more we learn they are not indiscriminate predators, and definitely dont prefer humans as prey. Great White Shark Identification Great white sharks are relatively large, although likely not as large as they might be in our imagination. The largest shark species is a plankton eater, the whale shark. Great whites average about 10-15 feet in length, and their maximum size is estimated at a length of 20 feet and weight of 4,200 pounds. Females are generally larger than males. They have a stout body, black eyes, a steel gray back, and a white underside. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ChondrichthyesSubclass: ElasmobranchiiOrder: LamniformesFamily: LamnidaeGenus: CarcharodonSpecies: Carcharias Habitat Great white sharks are widely distributed across the worlds oceans. This shark resides mostly in temperate waters in the pelagic zone. They can range to depths over 775 feet. They may patrol coastal areas inhabited by pinnipeds. Feeding The white shark is an active predator, and primarily eats marine mammals such as pinnipeds and toothed whales. They also sometimes eat sea turtles. The great whites predatory behavior is poorly understood, but scientists are beginning to learn more about their curious nature. When a shark is presented with an unfamiliar object, it will attack it to determine if it is a potential food source, often using the technique of a surprise attack from below. If the object is determined unpalatable (which is usually the case when a great white bites a human), the shark releases the prey and determines not to eat it. This is evidenced by seabirds and sea otters with wounds from white shark encounters. Reproduction White sharks give birth to live young, making white sharks viviparous. The embryos hatch in uteri and are nourished by eating unfertilized eggs. They are 47-59 inches at birth. There is much more to learn about this sharks reproduction. Gestation is estimated at about one year, although its exact length is unknown, and the average litter size of a white shark is also unknown. Shark Attacks While great white shark attacks arent a big threat to humans in the grand scheme of things (youre more likely to die from a lightning strike, alligator attack, or on a bicycle than from a great white shark attack), white sharks are the number one species identified in unprovoked shark attacks, a statistic that doesnt do much for their reputation. This is more likely because of their investigation of potential prey than a desire to eat humans. Sharks prefer fatty prey with lots of blubber, like seals and whales,  and dont generally like us; we have too much muscle! See the Florida Museum of Icthyologys Relative Risk of Shark Attacks to Humans site for more information on how likely you are to be attacked by a shark versus other dangers. That said, nobody wants to be attacked by a shark. So if youre in an area where sharks may be seen, reduce your risk by following these shark attack tips. Conservation The white shark is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because they tend to reproduce slowly and are vulnerable to targeted white shark fisheries and as bycatch in other fisheries. Because of their fierce reputation gained from Hollywood movies such as Jaws, there is an illicit trade in white shark products such as jaws and teeth.

Shakespeares Sonnet 116 Study Guide

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 Study Guide What is Shakespeare saying in Sonnet 116? Study this poem and you will discover that 116 is one of the best-loved sonnets in the folio because it can be read as a wonderfully celebratory nod to love and marriage. Indeed it continues to feature in wedding ceremonies worldwide. Expressing Love The poem expresses love in the ideal; never ending, fading, or faltering. The final couplet of the poem has the poet willing this perception of love to be true and professes that if it is not and if he is mistaken, then all of his writing has been for nothing–and no man, including himself, has ever truly loved. It is perhaps this sentiment that ensures Sonnet 116s continuing popularity in being read weddings. The idea that love is pure and eternal is as heart-warming today as it was in Shakespeares time. It is an example of that special skill that Shakespeare had, namely the ability to tap into timeless themes that relate to everyone, no matter which century they were born in. The Facts Sequence: Sonnet 116 forms part of the Fair Youth Sonnets  in the folio.Key Themes: Constant love, Ideal love, enduring love, marriage, fixed points, and wandering.Style:  Like Shakespeares other sonnets, Sonnet 116 is written in iambic pentameter  using the traditional sonnet form. A Translation Marriage has no impediment. Love is not real if it alters when circumstances change or if one of the couple has to leave or be elsewhere. Love is constant. Even if the lovers face difficult or trying times, their love is not shaken if it is true love. In the poem, love is described as star guiding a lost boat: â€Å"It is the star to every wandering bark.† The star’s worth cannot be calculated even though we can measure its height. Love does not change over time, but physical beauty will fade. (Comparison to the grim reaper’s scythe should be noted here–even death should not alter love.) Love is unchanging through hours and weeks but lasts until the edge of doom. If I am wrong about this and it is proved then all my writing and loving is for nothing and no man has ever really loved: â€Å"If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.† Analysis The poem does refer to marriage, but to the marriage of minds rather than the actual ceremony. Let us also remember that the poem is describing love for a young man and this love would not be sanctioned in Shakespeare’s time by an actual marriage service. However, the poem uses words and phrases evocative of the marriage ceremony including â€Å"impediments† and â€Å"alters†Ã¢â‚¬â€œalthough both used in a different context. The promises a couple make in marriage are also echoed in the poem: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,But bears it out ev’n to the edge of doom. This is reminiscent of the â€Å"till death do us part† vow in a wedding. The poem is referring to ideal love which does not falter and lasts until the end, which also reminds the reader of the wedding vow, â€Å"in sickness and in health†. Therefore, it is little surprise that this sonnet remains a steadfast favorite in wedding ceremonies today. The text conveys how powerful love is. It cannot die and is everlasting.   The poet then questions himself in the final couplet, praying that his perception of love is real and true, because if it is not then he may as well not be a writer or a lover and that would surely be a tragedy.