The study found that predation by large fish is stronger at latitudes in the temperate zone than near the equator. The picture shows a silky shark. Photo: Phil Simha
The study found that predation by large fish is stronger at latitudes in the temperate zone than near the equator. The picture shows a silky shark. Photo: Phil Simha - Large open-water fish predators such as tunas or sharks hunt for prey more intensively in the temperate zone than near the equator. With this result, a study headed by Marius Roesti of the University of Bern is challenging a long-standing explanation for the distribution of biodiversity on our planet. Since Charles Darwin, biologists have been using the so-called "biotic interactions" hypothesis to explain, at least in part, why the tropics around the equator are so species rich. The hypothesis focuses on the importance of interactions between species for biodiversity. The geneal idea is that species interactions increase towards the species-rich equator.
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