2006-12-09 17:34:02 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Just because you breathe in water and it runs into your lungs and drowns you, dosen't mean that a shark does the same.
They can breathe in water, so they can smell stuff in there,
Just cause you can't smell in water, doesn't mean water can't smell!
(If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?)
2006-12-09 17:37:10 · answer #1 · answered by Ambience 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is that the shark has a very advanced olfactory function. In other words, it has a nose that sense the presence of blood to a very small amount per litre of water. The other factor, in favour of the shark is that it lives and breathes in water. Water would naturally dilute the blood, but as the shark can sense minute amounts of blood in a litre of water, then the shark has a two other things going for it.
The first is that it is always mobile, swimming and searching for food. The second thing is that the seas and oceans are never still. Tides change and currents flow all the time. So all the shark needs to do is detect the minute scent and then start swimming towards the source. The beast then uses the olfactory organs like radar. Swimming from side to side to pick up the strongest scent.
Shark fisherman have used this for many years. It is called chumming. Every few minutes they throw some fish guts, animal offal or a combination of both from an anchored boat. They usually anchor in a tidal channel or where a current is running. The sharks swim to the food and get caught.
2006-12-10 05:12:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In lakes, oceans, and rivers, there's a ratio of oxygen per parts of water. This oxygen in the water is also how fish, sharks, dolphins, etc. breathe with their special "lungs" called gills! The oxygen in the water also allows scents, tastes and many other things travel through the water, quite rapidly! When the shark breathes through it's gills, it only needs a small amount of a substance to know what it is and if it's of any interest!
2006-12-10 01:42:27 · answer #3 · answered by onebrya 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Diffusion in the water, they have an extremely sensitive olfactory
2006-12-10 01:41:50 · answer #4 · answered by back2skewl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋