Most divers encounter southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana) buried in the sandy bottom during a dive in the open ocean. During our time on Bimini island in the Bahamas, we decided to snorkel around the shallow mangroves in search of juvenile lemon sharks. Mangroves are critical environments for juvenile fish and sharks because it acts as a nursery for many species. Protected from the predators in the open ocean these shallow waters with their massive root systems provide protection.
We didn’t find any sharks but we were surprised to see so many southern stingrays around the shallow mangroves. There is a relatively large population of great hammerhead sharks that inhabit these waters at this time of year. Because the main predator of these rays is the great hammerhead shark we wondered if they modified their behavior at this time of year to try to avoid these sharks.
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