Ocean Acidification Could Make Shark Teeth Weaker – And The Effects May Undermine The Ocean Ecosystem

As the oceans become more acidic, shark teeth are likely to become weaker and more brittle, according to the findings of a new study. The idea of some of the world’s most formidable predators becoming less lethal might comfort surfers, but this will also undermine ocean ecosystems. Moreover, sharks’ teeth are just one of many points of vulnerability we have not previously considered. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Sharks’ capacity to grow new teeth and drop their old ones is a key reason some of them live so long as individuals, and they have collectively proven such survivors . It’s a feature that has extended to some of the largest apex predators the world has ever known, which produced some suitably enormous t