Powering Ocean Giants: The Energetics of Shark and Ray Megafauna

Shark and ray megafauna have crucial roles as top predators in many marine ecosystems, but are currently among the most threatened vertebrates and, based on historical extinctions, may be highly susceptible to future environmental perturbations. However, our understanding of their energetics lags behind that of other taxa. Such knowledge is required to answer important ecological questions and predict their responses to ocean warming, which may be limited by expanding ocean deoxygenation and declining prey availability. To develop bioenergetics models for shark and ray megafauna, incremental improvements in respirometry systems are useful but unlikely to accommodate the largest species. Advances in biologging tools and modelling could help answer the most pressing ecological questions about these iconic species. Energetics studies have illuminated how animals partition energy among essential life processes and survive in extreme environments or with unusual lifestyles.There are few bioenergetics measurements for elasmobranch megafauna; the heaviest elasmobranch for which metabolic rate has been measured is only 47.7 kg, despite many weighing >1000 kg.Bioenergetics models of elasmobranch megafauna would answer fundamental ecological questions surrounding this important and vulnerable group, and enable an understanding of how they may respond to changing environmental conditions, such as ocean warming and deoxygenation.Larger chambers and swim-tunnels have allowed measurements of the metabolism of incrementally larger sharks and rays, but laboratory systems are unlikely to be suitable for the largest species.Novel uses of biologging and collaboration with commercial aquaria may enable energetics of the largest sharks and rays to be measured.Innovative use of technology and models derived from disparate disciplines, from physics to artificial intelligence, can improve our understanding of energy use in this group.