Scientists discover ‘world’s largest’ seagrass forest — by strapping cameras to sharks

New study, carried out using tiger sharks in the Bahamas, extends total known global seagrass coverage by more than 40%

A, B Dense meadow of Thalassia testudinum photographed in the southern Great Bahama Bank showing natural erosion scarp exposing the ~1 meter thick root rhizosphere (both images credit: Cristina Mittermeier). C Mature tiger shark swimming over Syringodium filiforme on the Little Bahama Bank (image credit: Austin Gallagher). D POV from camera-mounted tiger shark swimming over dense area of Thalassia testudinum on the northern Great Bahama Bank (image credit: Tiger Shark from study)

Tiger sharks are notoriously fierce. The huge animals, which can grow to more than 16 feet, are ruthless predators and scared of absolutely nothing – recent research found that while other shark species fled coastal waters during strong storms, tiger sharks “didn’t even flinch".

But recently they have a new role that could help burnish their reputations: marine scientists.