See hundreds of stingrays swarming off the coast of New York
A “fever” of cownose rays revealed by striking drone footage could be a sign of warming oceans
By Sanidhya Sharma edited by Claire Cameron
Incredible new video footage reveals a convoy of hundreds of stingrays—a grouping that marine biologists call a “fever”—off the coast of Southampton, N.Y. In the videos, shot by drone by Joanna Steidle, the creatures can be seen gliding just beneath the water’s surface like hundreds of raviolis floating in aquamarine broth.
These are cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus). The fish are so named for their unique snout, which resembles a cow’s nose, and they can grow up to three to four feet across. These rays are migratory: every summer they travel up the Atlantic coast from Florida, following the warming water. They prefer temperatures of roughly 21 to 26 degrees Celsius (about 70 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rays feed on clams, oysters and crustaceans that they crunch up in their wide jaws; they are also equipped with a mildly venomous barb on their tail that they use in self-defense.
With ocean temperatures rising at unprecedented rates, warmer northern coastal waters may be enabling the rays to arrive in these waters earlier and to stay longer. Speaking to the Guardian, Florida State University marine biologist Dean Grubbs noted that large fevers of cownose rays historically only went as far as the Chesapeake Bay, with just a few individuals observed farther north.
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And the rays are not a rare sight in waters off New York State: they have been documented there since at least the 1800s. Drones are making it easier to see these natural phenomena, offering us these incredible views of the ocean.
Sanidhya Sharma is a Brooklyn-based music journalist and data visualizer. He is the current Graphics intern at Scientific American and has written for NPR's Politics Desk, National Desk, NPR Music and 032c Magazine. He previously interned at NPR.
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