How and why and when did Great White Sharks become White Sharks?
What happened?
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White sharks rebound in California
The long arc of environmental regulation is rebuilding a damaged ecosystem.
sharks:http://www.hcn.org/issues/49.12/wildlife-surprised-by-californias-increased-shark-sightings-dont-be
Most of the millions of beachgoers who flock to southern California’s coast never notice the baby sharks swimming laps just offshore, but that’s starting to change. The sharks aren’t on the prowl for sunblock-glazed snacks: the Southern California Bight – the coastal waters from Santa Barbara to the U.S.-Mexico border – is a white shark nursery. It’s where the young predators hide out, stay warm, and learn to hunt, before joining adults in deeper seas. Though their species has long been declining, baby white sharks are making a surprising comeback in the Bight.
Their return tells a bigger environmental success story: federal and state regulations stretching back 40 years have curtailed pollution and repaired the marine food web that includes white sharks (formerly called great white sharks). “You can’t have an ecosystem that’s badly damaged and have predators,” Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University-Long Beach, says….see link