Tiger sharks eat songbirds scavenging a windfall of nutrients from the sky
Drymon, JM, Feldheim, K, Fournier, AMV, Seubert, E, Jefferson, A, Kroetz, A, Powers S Tiger sharks eat songbirds: scavenging a windfall of nutrients from the sky Ecology 10.1002/ecy.2728
New paper out today in Ecology, which represents a super fun side project I’ve been working on for the past year or so. I became a part of the project because I eat lunch most days with members of Marcus Drymon’s lab, and they were talking about how the Tiger Sharks they were catching had birds in their stomachs.
The exact mechanism of why this is happening needs further study, but a variety of Gulf of Mexico migratory birds are ending up in Tiger Shark’s stomachs, mostly during autumn migration. Which is a connection between terrestrial and marine creatures that hasn’t been documented at this scale previously and would be a fascinating area for future research.
Popular Press Coverage
Baby Sharks Do (Do, Do, Do, Do, Do) Eat Songbirds Smithsonian
Tiger sharks feast on migratory birds that fall out of the sky ScienceDaily
Forget seabirds. Baby tiger sharks feast on songbirds in the Gulf of Mexico Science
How a Bunch of Songbirds Ended Up Inside the Stomachs of Sharks The Atlantic
Giant tiger sharks eat backyard birds, surprising study reveals National Geographic
Scientists Pumped Baby Tiger Sharks’ Stomachs, and Found They Like to Eat Songbirds Newsweek
Tiger sharks eat songbirds Cosmos
Baby tiger sharks eat songbirds Eureka Alert
Baby sharks are eating the birds that live in your backyard Popular Science
Tiger sharks feast on songbirds, study shows DW
Baby tiger sharks gobble up songbirds Nature
Baby sharks are eating songbirds, scientists discover The Independent
Baby tiger sharks EAT garden songbirds as they migrate over oceans Mirror
Sharks may be picking off British songbirds on their annual migrations Telegraph
Shark barf DNA tests show songbirds are on the menu CNet
Look Out, Songbirds — Baby Sharks Want to Eat You Live Science
DNA analysis of shark barf tells scientists what kinds of birds the sharks scavenge Phys.org
Baby sharks are eating a surprising number of land-based birds The Week
Baby tiger sharks eat songbirds like sparrows, doves, study finds Fox News
Baby Tiger Sharks Are Eating Backyard Birds, Study Finds Geek.com
Study finds link between backyard birds and tiger sharks MS/AL Seagrant
Exhausted Birds Become Lunch Meat for Tiger Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico Audubon