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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=ES link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Data from atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War have helped scientists accurately age the world's biggest fish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Whale sharks: Atomic tests solve age puzzle of world's largest fish<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>By Matt McGrath <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>6 April 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52155008?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=d04639c3df-briefing-dy-20200406&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-d04639c3df-42095803<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Whale sharks are large, slow moving and docile creatures that mainly inhabit tropical waters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>They are long-lived but scientists have struggled to work out the exact ages of these endangered creatures. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>But using the world's radioactive legacy they now have a workable method that can help the species survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Whale sharks are both the biggest fish and the biggest sharks in existence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Growing up to 18m in length, and weighing on average of about 20 tonnes, their distinctive white spotted coloration makes them easily recognizable. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>These filter feeders live on plankton and travel long distances to find food.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>They are very popular with tourists in many locations, often allowing divers to swim alongside them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>However, the species is now classified as endangered because of over-fishing in places like Thailand and the Philippines. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Much about the species remains a mystery, especially how to age them correctly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Researchers say this is fundamental to understanding their growth rates - information that's considered crucial to saving the species in the long term.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>To date, scientists have tried to count distinct lines in the vertebrae of dead whale sharks. These act like rings in a tree trunk, increasing as the animal gets older. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>But scientists have been unsure about how often these rings can form and the reasons behind them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Now researchers say they have come up with a much more accurate way of determining the whale sharks' true age. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>From the late 1940s, several nations including the US, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and China conducted atomic bomb tests in different locations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>One side effect of all these explosions was the doubling of an atom type, or isotope, called Carbon-14 in the atmosphere. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>Over time, every living thing on the planet has absorbed this extra Carbon-14 which still persists. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>But as scientists know the rate at which this isotope decays, it is a very useful marker in determining age. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>The older the creature, the less Carbon-14 you'd expect to find. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"So any animal that was alive then incorporated that spike in Carbon-14 into their hard parts," said author Dr Mark Meekan, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Perth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"That means we've got a time marker within the vertebrae that means we can work out the periodicity at which those isotopes decay."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>One of the difficulties with ageing these sharks has been in getting access to samples of vertebrae. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>This team managed to find two long-dead specimens stored in Pakistan and Taiwan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>The study indicated that these creatures do actually live an incredibly long time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"The absolute longevity of these animals could be very, very old, possibly as much as 100-150 years old," said Dr Meekan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"This has huge implications for the species. It suggests that these things are probably intensely vulnerable to over-harvesting."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>The scientists say their results explain why whale shark numbers have collapsed in locations like Thailand and Taiwan where fishing has taken place. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"They are just not built for humans to exploit," said Dr Meekan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>While the species has recently been upgraded from threatened to endangered on the IUCN Red List, the scientists believe that their work will help efforts at conservation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>By being able to accurately estimate the age of whale sharks, the scientists will be able to provide more accurate guidance on how well a population is doing and whether any fishing can be allowed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>In many tropical regions, whale shark tourism is now a major attraction. The researchers say that encouraging co-operation between different countries along the vast routes that whale sharks follow is key to their survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"Whale sharks are a fantastic ambassador for marine life and one that has lifted so many people out of poverty," added Dr Meekan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>"This is a good news story - and it shows there is a silver lining to the mushroom cloud after all," he quipped. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'>The </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00188"><span lang=EN-US style='color:blue'>study has been published</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-language:ES'> in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br /> <table style="border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;">
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