James Sulikowski interviewed for 'Bangor Daily News' article on species’ white belly advantage
James Sulikowski, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Marine Sciences, was consulted for an August 7 article in the Bangor Daily News about the evolutionary benefits to sea birds of having white bellies.
Sulikowski, according to the article, noted that tiger sharks are notorious for eating birds. In Maine waters, which are too cold for tiger sharks, blue sharks occasionally attack swimming birds from below.
The article concludes that a white-bellied bird is more difficult for a sea predator to notice, as the whiteness blends in with the light from the sky as the predator looks upward.
Sulikowski contributed information about sharks (and other fish) often exhibiting the same coloring patterns as white bellied sea birds. Most fish are darker on their dorsal sides and lighter underneath, making it harder for predators swimming above them to see them against the dark, sandy ocean bottom and for predators below them to see them amidst the light of the sky.