scholarly journals Shark Side of the Moon: Are Shark Attacks Related to Lunar Phase?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay A. French ◽  
Stephen R. Midway ◽  
David H. Evans ◽  
George H. Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Marine Organisms ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Moon Phase ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Recreational Activities ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Attack Data ◽  
Shark Attacks ◽  
Global Evidence

Animals across taxa have shown behaviors linked to moon phase (or the proxy of lunar illumination), and marine organisms are well-documented to calibrate certain activities with the moon. Few studies have looked at a possible connection between moon phase and shark attacks on humans, and the results have been preliminary or lacking relationships. We used nearly 50 years of shark attack data from across the globe to test for a relationship between shark attacks and moon phase. We examined factors of geography, shark species, and outcome of attack. From 12 relationships that we tested (totaling 120 comparisons), we found 12 significant outcomes, of which five were positive (i.e., more attacks than expected) and seven were negative (i.e., fewer attacks than expected). Specifically, all the instances of more shark attacks than expected occurred at lunar illumination >50%, while all the instances of fewer shark attacks than expected occurred at lunar illumination of <50%. The findings presented here provide global evidence that shark attacks may be related to moon phase, and such information could be useful toward evaluating attack risk and developing recommendations for water-based recreational activities.

scholarly journals Singing in the moonlight: dawn song performance of a diurnal bird varies with lunar phase

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 20130970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. York ◽  
Andrew J. Young ◽  
Andrew N. Radford
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Lunar Cycle ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Moon Phase ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Dawn Song ◽  
New Moon ◽  
Diurnal Species

It is well established that the lunar cycle can affect the behaviour of nocturnal animals, but its potential to have a similar influence on diurnal species has received less research attention. Here, we demonstrate that the dawn song of a cooperative songbird, the white-browed sparrow weaver ( Plocepasser mahali ), varies with moon phase. When the moon was above the horizon at dawn, males began singing on average 10 min earlier, if there was a full moon compared with a new moon, resulting in a 67% mean increase in performance period and greater total song output. The lack of a difference between full and new moon dawns when the moon was below the horizon suggests that the observed effects were driven by light intensity, rather than driven by other factors associated with moon phase. Effects of the lunar cycle on twilight signalling behaviour have implications for both pure and applied animal communication research.

scholarly journals Do stranded sand dollars indicate hydrodynamic conditions of sandy beaches?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Walter Barrella
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Moon Phase ◽  
Hydrodynamic Conditions ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Sand Dollars

This article aimed to evaluate sand dollars' distribution (Mellitaquinquiesperforata) by relating it to hydrodynamic variations on Santos Beach (Brazil). Twenty-nine samplings were carried out between March 2015 and July 2018, through 6 transects in the seawater limit, along 5.5km of the beach. The survey of data consisted of two processes: counting and biometrics of the whole individuals present. We noted the wind's direction, the height of the tide, the lunar phase, and the seasons. Canonical Correspondence Analysis and 2way ANOVAs showed that the season, the direction of the prevailing winds, and the moon phase significantly influenced the cookies' spatial distribution, results that coincide with the existing models for erosion and sedimentation. We only registered adult individuals (>4cm). The largest and heaviest individuals occurred in late summer and early autumn (March-April), which suggests that this is the species' breeding season.

scholarly journals Changing patterns of shark attacks in Australian waters

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 744 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. West
Keyword(s):  
Human Population ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Recreational Activities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Shark Attacks ◽  
High Level ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Way

Although infrequent, shark attacks attract a high level of public and media interest, and often have serious consequences for those attacked. Data from the Australian Shark Attack File were examined to determine trends in unprovoked shark attacks since 1900, particularly over the past two decades. The way people use the ocean has changed over time. The rise in Australian shark attacks, from an average of 6.5 incidents per year in 1990–2000, to 15 incidents per year over the past decade, coincides with an increasing human population, more people visiting beaches, a rise in the popularity of water-based fitness and recreational activities and people accessing previously isolated coastal areas. There is no evidence of increasing shark numbers that would influence the rise of attacks in Australian waters. The risk of a fatality from shark attack in Australia remains low, with an average of 1.1 fatalities year–1 over the past 20 years. The increase in shark attacks over the past two decades is consistent with international statistics of shark attacks increasing annually because of the greater numbers of people in the water.

Mondbezogene Traditionen in der Forstwirtschaft und Phänomene in der Baumbiologie | Moon-Related Traditions in Forestry and Corresponding Phenomena in Tree Biology

2000 ◽  
Vol 151 (11) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst Zürcher
Keyword(s):  
Moon Phase ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Insect Infestation ◽  
Ancient Forest ◽  
Germination Behaviour ◽  
Forest Utilization

Ancient forest utilization regulations regarding felling dates and wood use are compared to the moon cycles. Furthermore, moon-phase related investigations with regard to germination behaviour, insect infestation and durability of the wood are presented.

Rocket Determination of the Ultra-Violet Reflectivity of the Moon

1967 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Carver ◽  
B. H. Horton
Keyword(s):  
Wavelength Range ◽  
Full Moon ◽  
Ultra Violet ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Atmospheric Ozone ◽  
The Moon

We have used rocket-borne photometers to determine the ultra-violet flux of the full moon in the wavelength range 2400-2900A where atmospheric ozone prevents ground-based observations. The lunar fluxes determined in two rocket firings from Woomera on 9th December, 1965, and 30th August, 1966, are summarized in the Table. The results for the two firings have been corrected to full moon values on the assumption that the lunar phase law is the same at these ultra-violet wavelengths as it is in the visible.

Shark control: experimental fishing with baited drumlines

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 653 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. F. J. Dudley ◽  
R. C. Haestier ◽  
K. R. Cox ◽  
M. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Gill Nets ◽  
Carcharhinus Leucas ◽  
Local Reduction ◽  
Shark Attacks ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Catch Rates ◽  
Physical Environmental Factors

Protective gill-nets (shark nets) have been successful in reducing the frequency of shark attacks on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, since 1952. This is achieved primarily through a local reduction in numbers of large sharks. Yet the nets are non-selective in terms of shark species caught and take a by-catch of dolphins, sea turtles, batoids and teleosts. Baited lines, or drumlines, as used in the Queensland shark control programme, were tested as possible alternatives to gill-nets. They demonstrated greater species selectivity for sharks and also a reduced by-catch of non-shark animals. The shark catch included the three species responsible for most shark attacks on the KZN coast, Carcharhinus leucas, Galeocerdo cuvier and Carcharodon carcharias. The probability of the bait being scavenged, or a shark being caught, was modelled in relation to a number of physical environmental factors. Although there was insufficient variability in the effort data for a quantitative comparison of catch rates between nets and drumlines, the results suggested that an optimal solution may be to deploy a combination of nets and drumlines.

Contrasted influences of moon phases on the reproduction and movement patterns of four amphibian species inhabiting different habitats in central Italy

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Vignoli ◽  
Manuela D’Amen ◽  
Francesca Della Rocca ◽  
Marco A. Bologna ◽  
Luca Luiselli
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Moon Phase ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Moon Phases ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Open Habitat

Many studies have provided evidence that prey adjust their behaviour to adaptively balance the fitness effects of reproduction and predation risk. Nocturnal terrestrial animals should deal with a range of environmental conditions during the reproductive season at the breeding sites, including a variable amount of natural ambient light. High degrees of illumination are expected to minimize those behaviours that might increase the animal detection by predators. Therefore, under habitat variable brightness conditions and in different ecosystems, the above mentioned behaviours are expected to depend on the variation in predation risk. Although moon effects on amphibian biology have been recognized, the direction of this influence is rather controversial with evidences of both increased and depressed activity under full moon. We tested in four nocturnal amphibian species (Hyla intermedia, Rana dalmatina, Rana italica, Salamandrina perspicillata) the effects of different (i) light conditions and (ii) habitats (open land vs. dense forest) on the reproductive phenology. Our results showed that the effects of the lunar cycle on the study species are associated with the change in luminosity, and there is no evidence of an endogenous rhythm controlled by biological clocks. The habitat type conditioned the amphibian reproductive strategy in relation to moon phases. Open habitat breeders (e.g., ponds with no canopy cover) strongly avoided conditions with high brightness, whereas forest habitat breeders were apparently unaffected by the different moon phases. Indeed, for all the studied species no effects of the moon phase itself on the considered metrics were found. Rather, the considered amphibian species seem to be conditioned mainly by moonlight irrespective of the moon phase. The two anurans spawning in open habitat apparently adjust their oviposition timing by balancing the fitness effects of the risk to be detected by predators and the reproduction.

scholarly journals A Study of Lunar Microwave Radiation Based on Satellite Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hu Yang ◽  
Martin Burgdorf
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Microwave Radiation ◽  
Lunar Surface ◽  
Microwave Remote Sensing ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Phase Lag ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Microwave Sounding

In recent years, the study of microwave radiation from the Moon’s surface has been of interest to the astronomy and remote sensing communities. Due to the stable geophysical properties of the Moon’s surface, microwave lunar radiation is highly predictable and can be accurately modeled, given sufficient observations from reliable instruments. Specifically, for microwave remote sensing study, if International System of Unit (SI) traceable observations of the Moon are available, the Moon can thus be used as an SI traceable calibration reference for microwave instruments to evaluate their calibration accuracies and assess their long-term calibration stabilities. Major challenges of using the Moon as a radiometric source standard for microwave sensors include the uncertainties in antenna pattern measurements, the reliability of measurements of brightness temperature (Tb) in the microwave spectrum of the lunar surface, and knowledge of the lunar phase lag because of penetration depths at different detection frequencies. Most microwave-sounding instruments can collect lunar radiation data from space-view observations during so-called lunar intrusion events that usually occur several days each month. Addressed in this work based on Moon observations from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit/Microwave Humidity Sounder are two major issues in lunar calibration: the lunar surface microwave Tb spectrum and phase lag. The scientific objective of this study is to present our most recent progress on the study of lunar microwave radiation based on satellite observations. Reported here are the lunar microwave Tb spectrum and phase lag from 23 to 183 GHz based on observations of microwave-sounding instruments onboard different satellite platforms. For current Moon microwave radiation research, this study can help toward better understanding lunar microwave radiation features over a wide spectrum range, laying a solid foundation for future lunar microwave calibration efforts.

scholarly journals 79. Radio emission from the moon and the nature of its surface

1957 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 406-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Troitzky ◽  
S. E. Khaikin
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Attenuation Coefficient ◽  
Wave Length ◽  
Degree Of Polarization ◽  
Lunar Phase ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Subsolar Point ◽  
Image Position ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

A theoretical study of the integral radio emission of the moon, measured at the wave-length of 3·2 cm. (Zelinskaja and Troitzky[1]; Kajdanovsky, Turusbekov and Khaikin[2]), was carried out at the Gorky radio astronomical station ‘Zimenky’ and at the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. The following expression for the average radio temperature of the entire lunar disk, as a function of the lunar phase, Ωt, was obtained (Troitzky, 1954) [3]: Here tan ξ = δ/(1 + δ) and δ = β/κ, where β is the attenuation coefficient of the thermal wave, κ the power attenuation coefficient of the radio wave. Further, Tm = 374°K. is the temperature of the subsolar point, Tn is the temperature at the lunar midnight, Θ = Tm – Tn and k0 is the reflexion coefficient of radio waves for vertical incidence (k0 ≈ 0–1). The numerical coefficients in equation (1) were obtained as a result of averaging the Fresnel reflexion coefficients over the whole disk. The degree of polarization of the total radio emission was calculated and was found to be about 4 %.

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