Great White Sharks
Great white sharks have a white underbelly with a gray/blue back. They can grow to be on average 12-16 feet long, up to 5000 pounds and estimated to be over 30 years of age with 3000 teeth at any one time.
The Great White Sharks gestation period is unknown but may be longer than a year because White Shark mothers take year "off" before mating again. Female sharks mature at about 3.5-4.1 meters in length and about 9-10 years old. Litter size ranges from 2 to 10 (possibly to 17) pups, each 1.0-1.5 m long at birth. Male sharks mature at 3.5-4.1 m in length and 9 to 10 years of age.
The great white shark is found mostly in temperate seas throughout the world's oceans. They make infrequent visits to cold waters and have been recorded off the coast of Alaska and Canada. Great whites can be found along the coastlines of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, California to Alaska, the east coast of USA and the Gulf coast, Hawaii, most of South America, the Mediterranean Sea, West Africa to Scandinavia, Japan and the eastern coastline of China and southern Russia. The white shark lives mainly in the upper part of the water column, near the shore. However, it ranges from the surf line to well offshore and from the surface and to depths of over 250m (775ft). This shark commonly patrols small coastal islands inhabited by pinnipeds, offshore reefs, banks and rocky headlands where there is deepwater close to shore. The white shark usually swims either just off the bottom or near the surface because of where the prey usually is.
Abiotic Factors: Water Temperature, chemicals in the water, trash in the water, geological formations
Biotic Factors: Amounts of prey, amounts of predators(human hunters)
Biotic Factors: Amounts of prey, amounts of predators(human hunters)
The white shark is a macropredator, and is active during the daytime. Its most important prey are marine mammals (including, seals, sea lions, elephant seals) and fish (including other sharks and rays).
White sharks usually swim just below the surface until it is approximately 1 m from its prey and then attacks by turning the head upward and rising out of the water. The white shark also attacks prey with a surface-charge, which is a quick, powerful rush with the body partially above the surface. Occasionally great whites swim with their ventral side up and perform an inverted approach. Their intelligence means they are able to adapt their hunting strategy depending on the prey. In the shallow waters of South Africa they often use stealthy ambush techniques to capture seals. These result in the spectacular breaching scenes when sharks chasing seals in False Bay and Gansbaai take to the air like missiles. White sharks sometimes scavenge from fishermen's nets and long lines. However, this tendency often results in accidental injury on hooks or in nets.