Sharks Could Lose Their Teeth to Ocean Acidity

Shark teeth might be the next casualty in the climate change saga: A new study suggests ocean acidification could leave these apex predators with a serious dental crisis. Researchers found that as oceans absorb more carbon dioxide and their pH levels drop, shark teeth start to corrode—potentially faster than new ones can grow in. The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, simulated future ocean conditions by soaking 60 freshly fallen blacktip reef shark teeth in tanks mimicking today's pH and a much more acidic scenario expected by 2300, per the Guardian. After just eight weeks, the teeth in the acidic water suffered roughly double the damage, including root erosion and dulled serrations.

Lead author Maximilian Baum at Germany's Heinrich Heine University points out that dental decay would be just one more problem for sharks already grappling with vanishing prey due to overfishing. Acidification, driven by human CO2 emissions, is already known to harm shells and corals, but this research extends the concern to bigger predators with mineral-rich teeth.

While some sharks might be able to adapt by ramping up tooth replacement or repair mechanisms, the effects could hit especially hard for species with slower tooth cycles, potentially putting marine ecosystems at large at risk, per a release. Outside experts say more work is needed to know whether the damage would actually hurt sharks' ability to hunt.