Sharks
From Table to Tour Boat: How Our Perception of Large Marine Animals Has Changed Over Time
Whether they elicit feelings of awe, admiration, or fear, there’s just something fascinating about large animals. In the Western world, large marine animals (or marine megafauna as scientists call them) have experienced a polarizing shift in how human societies view them over the last 50-100 years. In their recent article, published in PLoS ONE this […]
A game of shark and ray: Rays act differently when sharks are around
As our oceans change, we don’t really know what the current decline of sharks means for stingrays, or for the coral reefs where they both live. Scientists at James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science want to find out. Kristin HuizengaI am a PhD student studying Biological Oceanography at the University of […]
Sinking Alligator Carcasses into the Deep Ocean to See What Eats Them
The Deep Unknown The deep ocean is an alien world. Life here must contend with crushing pressures, near-freezing temperatures, and a complete absence of light. At more than a thousand feet deep, it’s also the least explored and least understood ecosystem on Earth. That’s a problem, because the deep makes up about 95% of […]
Are you feeding your pet endangered sharks?
Did you know there could be shark in your dog or cat’s food? Did you know they could also be in your beauty products? Now that you’re back from reading your product labels, I’ll tell you the bad news. They might be there even if it isn’t on the label. Keep reading to learn how […]
Birds of a feather are eaten together: Young tiger sharks take a bite out of migrating songbirds
Drymon, J. M., K. Feldheim, A. M. V. Fournier, E. A. Seubert, A. E. Jefferson, A. M. Kroetz, and S. P. Powers. 2019. Tiger sharks eat songbirds: scavenging a windfall of nutrients from the sky. Ecology 00(00):e02728. 10.1002/ecy.2728 Tiger sharks are well known to be opportunistic feeders, and that description isn’t limited to just live […]
Does ocean circulation provide prey for a top ocean predator?
Ocean circulation patterns are generally thought to move water from one area to another in the world’s oceans. One example of this includes eddies, swirling water masses that spin off from major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream off the coast of the eastern U.S. Some of these eddies can bring more productive waters […]
In the hot seat: Hot spots for pelagic shark movement reflect hot spots for commercial longline fisheries in the North Atlantic.
Check out the latest from Matt Larsen about shark habitat around the globe, and how these areas overlap with fishing hotspots! Matthew LarsenI am a second year master’s student at Coastal Carolina University in the Abel Lab. My interests focus on the ecology and life history of large marine megafauna with a central focus on […]
Reconnecting with Sharks
Sharks: an animal we love to fear. Sharks are an essential part of the environment; unfortunately, these animals are facing the most danger in the entirety of their 450 million year old existence. What can we do to protect these amazing elasmobranchs? The first step is reconnecting with sharks. Rishya NarayananRishya is a multimedia science […]
A Tree of Life Project With Some Serious Bite
If you have any intererst in shark anatomy, ecology or evolution, find out about a must-see website designed by the Chondrichthyan Tree of Life Project. Jasmin GrahamI am a Masters student in Biological Sciences at Florida State University. I received my B.S. in Marine Biology and B.A. in Spanish at the College of Charleston where […]
Killing Jaws: Tackling the Idea of the Bloodthirsty Predator
Even though shark attacks are rare, fear of sharks has led people to support laws that kill sharks en masse. A new study shows that at the root of our fear of sharks is the belief that they intend to hurt us. By thinking about how we talk about shark intentionality in educational settings and […]
Citizen Science and Undersea Stars: The Value of Photographs to Global Megafauna Biology
Check out this article about how tourist pictures of whale sharks are helping scientists learn about whale shark populations around the globe! Matthew LarsenI am a second year master’s student at Coastal Carolina University in the Abel Lab. My interests focus on the ecology and life history of large marine megafauna with a central focus […]
Baby come back: capture-induced premature birthing in elasmobranchs
Capturing pregnant elasmobranchs can induce stress-related abortions. Read more to understand why and what can be done to prevent this! Aditi TripathyHello! I received my B.S. Marine Biology with a minor in Acoustics at the University of Rhode Island. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student at the University of New Hampshire with a research focus […]
Can we build a multisensory shark repellant?
Human-shark interactions don’t always end well on both sides. Is it possible to build a shark repellant that can keep both humans and sharks safe by using information about sharks’ sense of sight and hearing? Read more to find out! Megan ChenI graduated with a Masters of Coastal & Marine Management from the University of […]
The Accidental Shark Researcher
Want to know more about getting started in shark research? Check out the story of Marianne Porter, an “accidental” shark researcher at Florida Atlantic University! Karla HaiatI’m an Undergraduate student at University of Rhode Island majoring in Ocean Engineering and Marine Biology. I’m interested in the intersection between technology, biology and ocean exploration, as well […]
To Cull or Not to Cull: Determining Attitudes Towards Shark Mitigation Strategies
Opinions are like…well, you know…everyone’s got them. But how can we use what people think to make better decisions? Researchers in this study investigated beachgoers’ attitudes towards different methods to deter sharks from public beaches, in hoping that their opinions would reveal where we should most target education programs going forward. Read on to find […]
Deep Secrets of the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Sharkbites Saturday is thrilled to feature a guest post by Mark Royer, a Ph.D. Student from the Shark and Reef Fish Research Lab at Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, led by Carl Meyer and Kim Holland, two of the most distinguished shark scientists in the world. Mark shared his current PhD dissertation research with us, along with some of […]
Awareness Inspires Conservation
Save the whales… save the ocean… but save the sharks? This is a mission that is still new, and often surprising, to many. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy is working hard to conserve white sharks specifically, and in doing so has learned that they have to work to change public perception of this critically important […]
Fintastic friends: even sharks prefer familiar faces
Researchers at the Bimini Field Biological Station Shark Lab investigated shark group preferences in juvenile lemon sharks, and the results are in: even sharks prefer their “friends” over strangers! Read on to learn more about these fin-tastic friendships. Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of […]
It’s Getting Hot In Here: How Ocean Acidification and Warming Affect Shark Hunting and Behavior
Elasmobranchs such as sharks and rays face physiological and behavioral changes due to ocean acidification and rising ocean temperatures. Read about how these changes influence how sharks hunt and their role in the marine ecosystem. Aditi TripathyHello! I received my B.S. Marine Biology with a minor in Acoustics at the University of Rhode Island. Currently, […]
Sand Tiger Sharks: Tracking US east coast movement for better management
Sand tiger sharks are a coastal species common throughout the world that can interact with many fisheries. Here we explain how acoustic and satellite tagging techniques can help scientists better inform sand tiger shark management. Carolyn WheelerI am currently a PhD student studying marine science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, with my research based […]
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