Date of Award

1-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Levell, Samantha

Area of Concentration

Marine Biology

Abstract

Shark sleep is a topic still yielding many questions and unknowns, especially when it comes to ram ventilating species. These animals are known for their energy optimization shown through their behavior, yet sleep remains somewhat unknown. This study aims to analyze the behaviors of sharks across ventilation methods to pinpoint their activity levels and infer possible sleep in more than just buccal pumping sharks. This systematic review utilized behavioral observations found detailing the behavior of sharks to make an ethogram for each ventilation method. Once the ethograms were made, the behaviors were analyzed via a contingency table and the distribution of behaviors across buccal pumpers, obligate ram ventilators, and facultative ram ventilators were observed. The ethograms categorized the recorded behaviors into active, rest, and sleep-like states, with active behaviors being the most recorded of the three. All three ventilation methods were also noted to exhibit not just rest but behaviors that were categorized as meeting the study’s criteria for sleep. The information gathered during this study allowed for an in depth understanding of how the ventilation method of a shark influences its behavior and movements. The presence of similar patterns that point to sleep across these methods may not be used as conclusive evidence of sleep, rather a suggestion of possible sleep. The inference that can be made from this study is that energy conservation shows at different levels across shark species and these patterns may serve as signs of possible non-rapid eye movement sleep in sharks.

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