Pressure serves as an important cue within the marine environment. Since water is 1,000 times denser than air, every 10m of depth adds approximately one bar of hydrostatic pressure. The ability of animals to sense this pressure provides them with a reliable way of sensing depth, and allows them to respond behaviourally to hydrostatic pressure changes; for example, synchronising their activity to tidal cycles or regulating depth.
Interestingly, most swimming activity was observed in relation to decreasing pressure, as opposed to increasing pressure, with the sharks responding within 10-20 seconds of the pressure change being initiated. Some of the behavioural responses observed were remarkable, with swimming activity seen after a pressure decrease of only 0.005 bar. The results suggested a very sensitive mechanism indeed, so I began to investigate the physiological aspects underpinning the ability to sense pressure.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/oct/13/the-real-sharknado-how-sharks-deal-with-extreme-weather
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