DUBAI // Here’s a handy tip: turn most sharks upside down and they fall into a sleep-like trance.
But rather than the more obvious applications, experts at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo use this fact to check the health of their more than a dozen sand tiger sharks – without an anaesthetic.
“It’s a lot better because they can swim away immediately after the procedure, but with anaesthetic it may take them an hour to be back to normal,” said Paul Hamilton, general manager and aquarium curator.
The 2-metre fish have for the past few months been the subjects of world-first research to better understand their breeding patterns, which could ensure the future of the species.
“We’ve a team of divers who use PVC pipes to direct the shark into a bag, then we take it to a research area where we collect samples and check on them,” said vet Marta Munoz Baquero. “It can be tricky to guide the animal where we want it but it’s done in a way that puts as little stress on them as possible.”
Each shark is tagged and every six weeks blood samples are taken. Oxygenated water is pumped through their gills. The females are given an ultrasound and semen is taken from the males.
“Sand tigers have a seasonal breeding phase for males and females, so our focus is on finding out when that is then inseminating them,” said Mr Hamilton.
When the sharks are found to be in season they are checked to see if they have bred naturally before they are artificially inseminated.
“To help the process along, we change the temperature in the tank to match seasonal conditions,” he said.
The collection process takes no more than 10 minutes before the big fish are released.
All the samples are then taken to the in-house laboratory where hormone levels in the blood are tested and the viability of the sperm checked.
Jon Daly, a research consultant who is leading the project, said thousands of samples could be stored in the lab’s cryogenic bank.
The samples, which are in 0.5-millilitre straws, are slowly frozen over a small bath of liquid nitrogen as it warms.
“The nitrogen temperature is minus 196°C, so it would be too much of a shock to the samples and they would freeze too quickly and cause damage to them,” said Mr Daly.
“But in this way we leave them just above the bath for about 20 minutes so that they cool down slowly before placing them in storage.”
Over time many other species of animal could be added to the bank.
“The aim is to have the science and technology in place so governments have the option to reintroduce species into the wild if they wish,” Mr Daly said. “We have a long way to go but so far things are progressing well.”
The work in Dubai will be shared worldwide.
Visitors to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo can see some of the work done in the lab as part of a behind-the-scenes tour.
Visit thedubaiaquarium.com or call 04 448 5200.
nhanif@thenational.ae
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SHAITTAN
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The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
