Melissa Marquez (host of the ConCiencia Azul Podcast) wrote a great article in Forbes about the sighting of a potential mating event for Whale Sharks. 

Whale Sharks are a majestic and mysterious species that researchers are trying to research to help conserve the species as it is now listed and an IUCN Red List "Endangered" Species. 

Check out why I think the species needs to be researched more and how discovering potential mating areas at places such as Ningaloo Reef are so important.

Click here to read more of Melissa's articles of sharks on Forbes

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Whale Sharks are a huge and iconic species that are found to have migrated long distances; however, there is still much to be discovered about the species. For instance, do juvenile Whale Sharks travel the same long distances as the adults? The answer is yes...and no.

A recent study found that juvenile Whale Sharks swam a large distance for the 126 day study period (2,580 km); however, the sharks stayed within the same islands in the Philippines where there was plenty of food. So they same quite a bit, but didn't move to across an ocean like some of the adults. They stayed within specific regions. 

Mongabay covered the story and did a great job and hitting some interesting facts, which I discuss in this episode.

Source

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A global whale shark study that used bathymetry (depth profiles), as a way to identify potential favourite habitats, along with whale shark sightings revealed a preferred habitat for the largest fish in the sea. 

Whale sharks are often found in areas with shallow shelfs with steep drop offs that bring cold nutrient-rich waters to the surface (upwellings) as a food source for the whale sharks. 

Source: https://theconversation.com/whale-sharks-gather-at-a-few-specific-locations-around-the-world-now-we-know-why-98502

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Whale sharks are one of the most iconic species in the world. As the largest fish, people are so captivated by their sight that they will travel thousands of miles just to get a glimpse of them in the wild. However, these sharks are also Endangered according to the IUCN Red List and you might be surprised to know that there isn't much known about these amazing fish. Especially, their population sizes and where they like to go.

A paper led by Jennifer McKinney estimated the population size and connectivity of the whale shark population in the Western And Central Atlantic Ocean (WSA) using software that identified individual whale sharks by the spots on their backs. 

I discuss how the pattern of spots on whale sharks in images taken by citizen scientists can be used to identify individual sharks and contribute to the scientific study.

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