title: Vertebral bomb radiocarbon suggests extreme longevity in white sharks.
abstract: Conservation and management efforts for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) remain hampered by a lack of basic demographic information including age and growth rates. Sharks are typically aged by counting growth bands sequentially deposited in their vertebrae, but the assumption of annual deposition of these band pairs requires testing. We compared radiocarbon (Δ(14)C) values in vertebrae from four female and four male white sharks from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean (NWA) with reference chronologies documenting the marine uptake of (14)C produced by atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices to generate the first radiocarbon age estimates for adult white sharks. Age estimates were up to 40 years old for the largest female (fork length [FL]: 526 cm) and 73 years old for the largest male (FL: 493 cm). Our results dramatically extend the maximum age and longevity of white sharks compared to earlier studies, hint at possible sexual dimorphism in growth rates, and raise concerns that white shark populations are considerably more sensitive to human-induced mortality than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Li Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hamady
authors.affiliation: Apex Predators Program, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Narragansett, Rhode Island, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lisa J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Natanson
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gregory B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Skomal
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Simon R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Thorrold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005260:Female; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D012754:Sharks / Q000502:physiology*; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes