‘Secret’ life of sharks: Study reveals their surprising social networks
Judge shoots down Gooding Jr.’s lawyer’s motion to question accuser about bust size
WASHINGTON — Sharks have more complex social lives than previously known, as shown by a study finding that grey reef sharks in the Pacific Ocean cultivate surprising social networks with one another and develop bonds that can endure for years.
The research focused on the social behaviour of 41 reef sharks around the Palmyra Atoll, about 1,600 km southwest of Hawaii, using acoustic transmitters to track them and camera tags to gain greater clarity into their interactions.
Far from being solitary creatures, the sharks formed social communities that remained rather stable over time, with some of the same individuals remaining together during the four years of the study.
The researchers documented a daily pattern, with sharks spending mornings together in groups of sometimes close to 20 individuals in the same part of the reef, dispersing throughout the day and into the night, and reconvening the next morning.
“Sharks are incredible animals and still quite misunderstood,” said Florida International University marine biologist Yannis Papastamatiou, lead author of the research published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.
“I like to talk about their ‘secret social lives’ not because they want it to be a secret, but because only recently have we developed the tools to start seeing and understanding their social lives,” Papastamatiou added. “Not all sharks are social and some are likely solitary.”
The reef shark is medium-sized, reaching about 2 metres long. Its sociality bore similarities in terms of stability over time to certain birds and mammals but differed in that it did not involve nesting, mating, making vocalizations or friendly interactions.
Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lawyer has been denied permission to quiz one of the actor’s sexual assault accusers about her breast size in his upcoming trial.
The Jerry Maguire star has pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanour charges of sexual abuse and forcible touching, amid allegations suggesting he violated three different women at three separate New York hotspots in 2018 and 2019.
He appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing, during which his lawyer, Peter Toumbekis, attempted to argue that one accuser’s “personal issues” regarding body confidence may have caused her to “misperceive” the alleged actions of his client, who reportedly groped her breast at the Moxy Hotel’s Magic Hour Rooftop
Bar and Lounge in June, 2019.
Toumbekis claimed the 30-year-old female had blogged about her negative feelings toward her smaller bust size, but his justification for the line of questioning was scoffed at by Manhattan assistant district attorney Jenna Long, who blasted the move as “simply offensive.”
Agreeing with Long, the judge denied Toumbekis’ motion, saying, “I don’t see how you connect A to B.
I’m now giving you an order not to do it.”
According to the New York Post, during the hearing, prosecutors revealed eight more women had come forward with claims of inappropriate conduct by Gooding Jr., taking the total tally to date to 30 women in six different U.S. states.
Authorities had previously been granted permission to have two other accusers testify in the case, in a bid to establish a pattern of behaviour by the embattled actor, even though he is not facing criminal charges in those instances.
Gooding Jr.’s next court date has been set for
Sept. 1.