Bright stripes of LED lights could act as an 'invisibility cloak,' preventing sharks from mistaking humans for seals.
In the chilly, turquoise waters off South Africa’s Mossel Bay, researchers have been testing an innovative approach to reduce shark attack s: bright lights. Spearheaded by Australian neurobiologist Dr. Laura Ryan and her colleague, Professor Nathan Hart,after years of experiments.
While studying the great white’s visual capabilities, Ryan - who is a keen surfer herself - began to wonder if their reliance on vision to identify prey was the answer in making surfers and swimmers less attractive to these apex predators. “There was a big spate of shark bites, and as a really keen surfer, I was spending a lot of time thinking about sharks’ eyesight,” she recalls. The team focused on the theory that some sharks may mistake the silhouette of a human for a seal, a primary component of their diet. To test whether lights could break up these silhouettes and make humans less appealing targets, the researchers embarked on a six-year study in one of the few places in the world with a high enough concentration of great whites to conduct meaningful experiments.“The reason we went to South Africa is there is not many places in the world where you'd have the concentration of sharks you need,” she said. Yes, these waters are a famous hotspot for these apex predators, making it one of the few places globally where researchers can reliably observe and study them. The relatively predictable presence of these sharks meant the researchers could design and execute this kind of controlled experiment, which involved towing seal-shaped decoys equipped with lights on their undersides behind a boat. The lights aimed to disrupt the silhouette of the decoy, making it harder for sharks to identify it as prey against the bright sunlight filtering through the water. The results were striking. When the decoys were left in their basic form, they were regularly attacked from below by great whites. As the decoys became brighter, sharks were less likely to approach or attack them. Yet not all light configurations were effective. Flashing lights, for instance, had little impact. The team also tried longitudinal stripes of LED lights, but these were less effective. “When you have the lighting going along the body, you still have a long, narrow silhouette left over, which is going to be similar to what a seal produces,” says Ryan. However, when the researchers placed LED lights in striped patterns across the decoys, perpendicular to the direction of motion, the results show that the sharks saw the decoys but stopped attacking them. This specific design broke the decoy’s shape into smaller visual fragments, confusing the predators. Professor Hart describes the effect as an “invisibility cloak,” albeit one that works by splitting the object’s silhouette into smaller, less recognizable pieces.Kieran Culkin’s ‘A Real Pain’ Arrives On Digital Streaming This WeekThe implications of this research are significant. Every time the striped light design was tested, shark attacks on the decoy dropped to zero. “It’s a complex interaction with the shark’s behavior. The lights have to be a certain pattern, a certain brightness,” Hart explains. While covering the entire underside of a surfboard with LEDs would be too costly and impractical for real-world usage, the study does give us a glimpse into how non-lethal shark deterrents could be developed, particularly for surfers and watercraft users. But can this breakthrough immediately translate into safer conditions for surfers? Not quite yet. While the findings with seal-shaped decoys are promising, the study didn’t test lights on surfboard prototypes. South African authorities were understandably hesitant to use surfboard-shaped decoys, concerned about potentially luring sharks closer to real surfers. Nonetheless, the researchers believe the same principles could apply. Dr. Ryan and her team are now working on embedding LED lights directly into surfboards. The next phase of research will involve testing whether the lights remain effective when a surfboard is stationary in the water—such as when a surfer waits for a wave. The team is also looking to expand the application of this system to other potentially dangerous shark species, like bull sharks and tiger sharks. But while great whites are known to rely heavily on visual cues to hunt seals, other species might not depend on sight in the same way. “We don’t know if it will be as effective on them because we’re not certain if they rely on visual cues as much as white sharks,” Ryan concludes.Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kindContinuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejectedAttempts or tactics that put the site security at riskProtect your community.
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