Many species of sharks, including the lemon shark, are known to actively prefer to be social and live in groups or loose aggregations.
A few benefits of group living are enhanced communication, courtship, predatory behavior, and protection.
Group living and a preference for social interaction is thought to be important for the survival and success of juvenile lemon sharks.
Group living, though, comes with its costs.
A few include increased risk of disease, ease of parasite transmission, and competition for resources.

Lemon sharks are found in groups based on similar size.
Passive sorting mechanisms such as its ontogenetic habitat shift have been postulated to contribute to the formation of groups organized based on size or sex.
One exception to this behavior is that sharks up to 1 year old show no preference for groups of matched or unmatched size.
One hypothesis for this finding is that it is beneficial for the small young lemon sharks to associate with the larger individuals because they have an easier time gathering information about the habitat regarding elements such as predators and local prey.
Lemon shark groups form due to an active desire to be social rather than a simple attraction to the same limited resources such as the mangrove habitat and prey associated with such a habitat.

Many studies have related brain size with complex social behaviors in mammals and birds.
The brain of a lemon shark, being comparable in relative mass to that of a mammal or bird, suggests they have the ability to learn from social interactions, cooperate with other individuals, and have the potential to establish dominance hierarchies and stable social bonds.
Many species of sharks, including the lemon shark, are known to actively prefer to be social and live in groups or loose aggregations. A few benefits of group living are enhanced communication, courtship, predatory behavior, and protection. Group living and a preference for social interaction is thought to be important for the survival and success of juvenile lemon sharks. Group living, though, comes with its costs. A few include increased risk of disease, ease of parasite transmission, and competition for resources.
Lemon sharks are found in groups based on similar size. Passive sorting mechanisms such as its ontogenetic habitat shift have been postulated to contribute to the formation of groups organized based on size or sex. One exception to this behavior is that sharks up to 1 year old show no preference for groups of matched or unmatched size. One hypothesis for this finding is that it is beneficial for the small young lemon sharks to associate with the larger individuals because they have an easier time gathering information about the habitat regarding elements such as predators and local prey. Lemon shark groups form due to an active desire to be social rather than a simple attraction to the same limited resources such as the mangrove habitat and prey associated with such a habitat.
Many studies have related brain size with complex social behaviors in mammals and birds. The brain of a lemon shark, being comparable in relative mass to that of a mammal or bird, suggests they have the ability to learn from social interactions, cooperate with other individuals, and have the potential to establish dominance hierarchies and stable social bonds.
Lemon shark