Sharks may lose their teeth

Scientists have found out that the increase in the acidity of the world’s oceans has a negative impact on the teeth of sharks.

Such problems in predators reduce their ability to hunt. The study by scientists from the University of Düsseldorf was published on the portal Frontiers.

As part of the experiment, scientists analyzed more than 600 lost teeth of blacktip reef sharks.

They were placed in two tanks with different levels of water acidity.

One mimicked the ocean’s acidity rate, and the other mimicked the predicted drop in pH levels by the year 2300, making the water more acidic.

The results of the study found that after eight weeks in the second tank, the sharks’ teeth showed cracks, root corrosion, and signs of structural failure.

“Even the teeth of top predators show visible damage in acidified conditions,” Heinrich Heine University biologist Maximillian Baum told the study.