Sharkpedia
35 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 28 ratingsMeghan and Amani are 2 shark researchers exploring sharks and their relatives! Get ready to jump in every-other-week to the world of sharks where Meghan and Amani break down the science with some of the legends in the field.
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Episodes
Shifts in Bull Shark Body Form Through Their Life History with Joel Gayford
March 18, 2024 19:05 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBDid you know that shark body form can change as they grow? Why does that happen? Why does it matter? Find out this week on our episode investigating these questions of bull sharks with Joel Gayford! Title: Ontogenetic Shifts in body form in the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas Summary: It is believed that body growth is strongly correlated to trophic and spatial ecology through ontogeny, or as a shark ages. Gayford et al. used bull sharks as their study species to better understand morpholog...
Defining Shark Nursery Habitats with Dr. Michelle Heupel
March 04, 2024 09:40 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBJuvenile shark presence in an area does NOT mean that that area is a shark pupping or nursery ground. So how do we know what actually makes a shark nursery ground? What even IS a nursery ground? Is it different than a pupping ground? Why does any of this matter? Find out this week with our special guest, Dr. Michelle Heupel! Dr. Heupel joins us to talk about her article, "Shark nursery areas: concepts, definition, characterization and assumptions" (Heupel et al. 2007). Article Summary: ...
Ecology & Environment of Eocene Sand Tiger Sharks with Dr. Sora Kim
March 02, 2024 00:39 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBThis week Amani and Meghan discuss sand tiger sharks from the Eocene with Dr. Sora Kim! We explore the ecology and environment of sand tiger sharks during the Eocene, and can even explore climate change during the Eocene using sand tiger teeth fossils! This discussion was guided around Dr. Sora Kim's publication, "Probing the Ecology and Climate of the Eocene Southern Ocean With Sand Tiger Sharks Striatolamia macrota". Get ready to learn about some incredible things we can learn about the cli...
Blacktip Reef Shark Stress Physiology with Alex Schoen
March 02, 2024 00:38 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBThis week we jump into stress physiology with expert and PhD Candidate Alex Schoen! With Alex's help, we breakdown her article, "Simulated heatwave and fishing stressors alter corticosteroid and energy balance in neonate blacktip reef shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus" (Schoen et al. 2021). With climate change as an increasing temperature stressor on marine life, and human-influenced impacts such as fishing, it's important we understand how sharks withstand and process this stress to evaluate ...
Ecosystem Wide Research via Animal Video Recordings with Dr. Taylor Chapple
February 19, 2024 23:21 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBThis week we had a very fun time talking with Dr. Taylor Chapple about maximizing datasets with video biologgers that are attached to sharks! Are you listening to the podcast and wondering who Dr. Alex McInturf is? Listen to our very first interview episode in Season 1! We chat with Dr. Chapple about his article, Ancillary data from animal-borne cameras as an ecological survey tool for marine communities Article Summary: Underwater visual surveys, such as diver-based video surveys, are a ...
Basking Shark Physiology with Dr. Haley Dolton
February 05, 2024 11:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBThis week we talk with Dr. Haley Dolton about how she studied the physiology of basking sharks in Ireland! This is no small feat. We read Dr. Dolton's article, "Regional endothermic traits in planktivorous basking sharks Cetohinus maximus" Article Summary: The majority of sharks are classified as cold-blooded or ectotherms. Sharks are constantly battling heat loss to the surrounding water. To combat this, some fast-swimming apex species are classified as regional endotherms, having uncomm...
Deep Sea Shark Associations with Dr. Brit Finucci (From The Vault)
January 22, 2024 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBFrom the Vault - This episode was recorded with Dr. Brit Finucci back in 2022! But.... life happens. We are so excited to finally share this episode with our sharkies! Join us this week to hear about Dr. Finucci's work studying deep sea sharks and their associations with each other! How do you even research deep sea sharks? How many species are there? How do sharks glow in the dark? Find out this and more! The article we are reviewing with Dr. Finucci is titled, "Aggregations and associati...
Fishers Ecological Knowledge of Smooth Hammerhead Sharks with Dr. Julia Mason
January 08, 2024 11:00 - 57 minutes - 52.2 MBThis week we are joined by Dr. Julia Mason to talk about fishers ecological knowledge of Smooth Hammerhead sharks in Peru! Why is it important to incorporate fishers into management decisions? Why aren't they always included in the management discussion of species they target? Find out this and more! We read Dr. Julia Mason's article, Fishers' solutions for hammerhead shark conservation in Peru Article Summary: Shark populations have been declining worldwide, with heavy implications for th...
New Year, New Us... We're Back!
January 02, 2024 17:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBHappy New Year Sharkies! Join us as we talk about why we took such a long hiatus, our favorite shark experiences of 2023, and what's to come for Sharkpedia in 2024.
Shark Fishing and Trade in Brazil with Dr. Ana Martins
August 24, 2022 14:47 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBThis week we are joined by Dr. Ana Martins, a postdoctoral researcher at Dalhousie University studying the shark meat trade. The shark fin and meat trade is a common media topic but angler knowledge and opinions seem to be rarely incorporated into these discussions. In her home country of Brazil, Dr. Martins utilized angler knowledge to uncover trends in the shark meat trade. Listen through the episode until the end for a rather fishy field story which will have you laughing in your seat. ...
Shark Noses with Dr. Lauren Simonitis
August 08, 2022 17:00 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBThis week we join Kate McKinnon as Miss Frizzle on the Magic School Bus to explore shark noses up close! Just kidding. But we do have shark-nose-specialist Dr. Lauren Simonitis! We break down her article Microstructure of the BonnetHead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo) Olfactory Rosette. (Simonitis & Marshall 2022). Learn all you could need to know about shark noses and more! Summary: The weird shape of hammerhead sharks means that their naris or noses are also weirdly shaped. Previous research has...
Climate Change Impacts on Marine Apex Predator Distribution with Dr. Yuri Niella
July 26, 2022 04:06 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MBJust in time for Shark Week, we're going down under to investigate what warming waters will do to the distribution of tiger sharks on the east coast of Australia with tiger shark expert, Dr. Yuri Niella! This week we break down Dr. Yuri Niella et al. (2021) article, "Forecasting intraspecific changes in distribution of a wide-ranging marine predator under climate change." Article Summary: (modified abstract) Climate change is causing animal distributions to shift in response to changing ...
Perpetual Tooth Regeneration in Sharks with Dr. Gareth
June 06, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBHave you ever wondered how sharks perpetually regenerate their teeth? Why can't humans do the same thing, or can they?! This week expert Dr. Gareth Fraser joins us to tell us all about this special shark superpower. We jump into Dr. Fraser's article, "The Dental Lamina: An Essential Structure for Perpetual Tooth Regeneration in Sharks" (Fraser et al. 2020) Article Summary: Methods of studying evolutionary, development, and regenerative biology have been improving over the past few years....
Manta Ray Swimming Behavior with Vicky Fong
May 23, 2022 09:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBManta ray research using drones?! This week guest expert Vicky Fong joins us to tell us all about the swimming behavior of manta rays, and why understanding these behaviors can be important for their conservation! We jump into Vicky's article, "Using Drones to Assess Volitional Swimming Kinematics of Manta Ray Behaviors in the Wild" (Fong, Hoffmann, and Pate; 2022) Article Summary: (abstract) Drones have become increasingly popular tools to study marine megafauna but are underutilized in ...
Tiger Shark Teeth with Julia Türtscher
May 11, 2022 04:21 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBEverything you need to know about Tiger Shark teeth! This week PhD student Julia Türtscher joins ut to tell us amazing things about shark teeth, like, did you know males and females can have differently shaped teeth? Or that teeth can change SEASONALLY?! Learn everything you need to know about shark teeth and what Julia and her team learned about tiger sharks from preserved jaws! This week we dive into Julia's article, "Heterodonty and ontogenetic shift dynamics in the dentition of the tige...
Basking Sharks Along the West Coast USA with Dr. Alex McInturf
April 25, 2022 09:00 - 57 minutes - 53 MBBasking sharks on the West Coast USA?!?! Dr. Alex McInturf returns from season 1 and gives us a MASSIVE update about her career, basking shark populations, and the tea on basking shark conservation. Did you know basking sharks were along the West Coast USA?! Most don't, because these sightings are now extremely rare. This week we breakdown Dr. McInturf's article, "“Spatial Distribution, Temporal Changes, and Knowledge Gaps in Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) Sightings in the California Cu...
Shark Stress Physiology with Jake Jerome
April 05, 2022 09:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBSEASON 2 IS HERE!! We are kicking off the season with Jake Jerome, one of Field School's very own Assistant Director of Program Development and Intern Coordinator. What is shark stress? How do you even go about measuring shark stress? What do we see behaviorally, and what does this mean for them physiologically? Learn more this week with shark physiologist Jake Jerome! This week we breakdown Jake's article, "Integrating reflexes with physiological measures to evaluate coastal shark stress r...
Season 1 Recap
December 06, 2021 10:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThat's right, Meghan and Amani are wrapping up Season 1 of Sharkpedia! Jump in for an episode recapping how the podcast has grown, some of our favorite parts of Season 1, and things to look forward to in Season 2! Don't worry - We'll be back in just a few short weeks with new guests and papers to dive into! Please don't forget to rate and review Sharkpedia wherever you get your podcasts so that other sharkies can find us for Season 2! Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and Twitter @Sharkpedia...
Competition Between Grey and Blacktip Reef Sharks with Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou
November 22, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBThis week we jump into the world of shark competition with Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou! We break down his article, "Spatial separation without territoriality in shark communities" (Papastamatiou et al. 2018). We talk about how to conduct field research in remote areas, combining multiple techniques together (such as telemetry and underwater video footage) to understand shark relationships, and how collaboration for large projects is key! Get ready to jump into the world of shark competition. Y...
Cookiecutter shark diets with Dr. Aaron Carlisle
November 08, 2021 10:00 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBThis week we jump into the world of cookiecutter sharks with expert Dr. Aaron Carlisle! We break down his article, "Integrating multiple chemical tracers to elucidate the diet and habitat of Cookiecutter Sharks" (Carlisle et al. 2021). We discuss the various techniques Carlisle and colleagues used to uncover that cookiecutter sharks eat a much more varied diet than you might expect! We also learn about new biochemical tracer techniques that made this research possible. Learn how Dr. Carlisle...
Manta Ray Nursery Habitat with Jessica Pate
October 25, 2021 13:17 - 57 minutes - 53 MBThis week we talk about Manta ray nursery habitat off the coast of Florida with expert Jessica Pate! We break down her article, "Urban Manta rays: potential manta ray nursery habitat along a highly developed Florida coastline" (Pate & Marshall 2020). We discuss what defines an area as nursery habitat, how habitat off the Florida coast fits these criteria for Manta rays, and why this is so important for Manta ray conservation. Get ready to jump into the world of Manta rays! Satellite track a...
Catching Up With Meghan and Amani
October 11, 2021 13:00 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBMeghan and Amani saw each other in person for the first time in 4 years when they reunited at Field School in Miami, Florida! Together, they spent a week on Research Vessel Garvin performing scientific workups on sharks. Find out about their time in the field together, the cool shark Meghan drew blood from, and more in this episode. You can learn about Field School by visiting their website www.getintothefield.com. This episode was edited by Kaela Shoe Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and T...
Where Have the Sawfish Gone in Sri Lanka? With Akshay Tanna
September 13, 2021 09:00 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBThis week we go abroad to Sri Lanka with conservation expert Akshay Tanna! We discuss his article, "Where have all the sawfishes gone? Perspectives on declines of these Critically Endangered species in Sri Lanka" by Tanna et al. 2021. Akshay and his colleagues use critical historical knowledge from local fishers. This knowledge is often referred to as "Fishers Ecological Knowledge", or FEK. This knowledge that Tanna and colleagues gathered allows them to identify 2 distinct species of sawfish...
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Swimming Behavior with Dr. Mark Royer
August 30, 2021 12:57 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBThis week Amani and Meghan chat with Dr. Mark Royer about the swimming behavior of scalloped hammerhead sharks! With Dr. Royer's help, Amani and Meghan review his article "Scalloped hammerhead sharks swim on their side with diel shifts in roll magnitude and periodicity" (Royer et al. 2020). Did you know scalloped hammerhead sharks swim on their side to save energy? Do you know what a tri-axial accelerometer shark tag is? Find out about this and so much more on this week's episode! This episod...
Shark Entanglement with Kristian Parton
August 18, 2021 21:28 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBThis week we are jumping into a problem for sharks: entangling in marine debris with expert Kristian Parton! With Kristian's help we will review his article, Parton et al 2019 “Global review of sharks and ray entanglement in anthropogenic marine debris”. We discuss what marine debris is, how it ends up in the ocean, and exactly why it's an issue for sharks. We also discuss the importance of social media and how to incorporate entanglement reports as real data! You can follow Kristian on Twitt...
BONUS: Shark Games with Jaida Elcock
August 09, 2021 09:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBIn these bonus episode, we catch up with friend and colleague Jaida Elcock, test our knowledge of sharks with some games, and talk about some of our favorite species! Did you do better than us on these games? Let us know! You can follow Jaida on Twitter and TikTok @soFISHtication, and Instagram @soFISHtication_ This episode was edited by Kaela Shoe Follow Sharkpedia at @SharkpediaPod on Instagram and Twitter Connect with Sharkpedia: linktr.ee/sharkpediapod Email: [email protected]
Small Tooth Sawfish Movement Patterns with Jasmin Graham
July 19, 2021 09:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBThis week on Sharkpedia we interview scientist Jasmin Graham! Jasmin works at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida, and much of her research helps evaluate the critically endangered small tooth sawfish. We break down Jasmin's article, Large-scale space use of large juvenile and adult small tooth sawfish Pristis pectinata: implications for management. Get ready to learn all about small tooth sawfish movement along the Florida coast! You can follow Jasmin at @Elasmo_gal on twitter, as well as the...
Shark Parasites with Dr. Jimmy Bernot
July 05, 2021 10:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBThis week Amani and Meghan chat with shark parasite expert, Dr. Jimmy Bernot! We discuss his publication, "A new species of Psedopandarus Kirtisinghe, 1950 (Copepoda: Siphonostomoatoida: Pandaridae) from sharks of the genus Squalus L. in New Caledonian waters" (Bernot and Boxshall 2017). We chat about what kind of parasites exist on sharks, how they find their shark hosts, how they reproduce, and what it's like to be a shark parasite biologist! Get ready to jump into all things parasites! T...
Triennial Migrations of Soupfin Sharks with Dr. Andrew Nosal!
June 21, 2021 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.9 MBIn this weeks episode, Amani and Meghan discuss the article "Triennial migration and philopatry in the critically endangered soupfin shark, Galeogrhinus galeus" with the primary author, Dr. Andrew Nosal! Dr. Nosal discusses how he and his team were able to track soupfin sharks for multiple years and show that females would return every three years to the same location. This migration coincided with their reproduction! Get ready to jump into the world of soupfin sharks! This episode was edit...
Triennial Migrations of Soupfin Sharks with Dr. Andrew Nosal
June 21, 2021 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBIn this weeks episode, Amani and Meghan discuss the article "Triennial migration and philopatry in the critically endangered soupfin shark, Galeogrhinus galeus" with the primary author, Dr. Andrew Nosal! Dr. Nosal discusses how he and his team were able to track soupfin sharks for multiple years and show that females would return every three years to the same location. This migration coincided with their reproduction! Get ready to jump into the world of soupfin sharks! This episode was edited...
The Complexities of Policy Making with Dr. David Shiffman
June 07, 2021 10:00 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBIn this episode Meghan and Amani interview Dr. David Shiffman, a marine biologist and conservationist about his publication "Recreational shark fishing in Florida: How research and strategic science communication helped to change policy" (Shiffman 2020). We discuss the complexities of creating policies that are beneficial to all stakeholders involved, the process which Dr. Shiffman went through in order to write a policy that took into account all sides, and how we, as scientists, can become...
Shark Conservation with Dr. Catherine Macdonald
May 24, 2021 09:00 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBOn this episode, Meghan and Amani interview Dr. Catherine Macdonald, Co-Founder and Director of Field School in Miami, about her publication "Conservation potential of apex predator tourism" (Macdonald et al., 2017). We discuss some of the threats that shark populations face, when tourism can play a potentially positive role in shark conservation, and the complexity of working with diverse groups of people towards the same conservation goal. Get ready to jump into the world of shark conserva...
Basking Sharks with Alex McInturf
May 10, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBAmani and Meghan talk with PhD Candidate, Alex McInturf! Alex studies physiology in basking sharks and salmon at UC Davis, California. With Alex's help, Meghan and Amani review the article, "Are close-following and breaching behaviours by basking sharks at aggregation sites related to courtship?" by Gore et al., (2018). We talk all about their physiology, migrations, aggregations, breeding behaviour, how they jump their HUGE BODIES OUT OF WATER and more! Get ready to jump into the world of ba...
Basking Sharks with Alex McInturf!
May 10, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 116 MBAmani and Meghan talk with PhD Candidate, Alex McInturf! Alex studies physiology in basking sharks and salmon at UC Davis, California. With Alex's help, Meghan and Amani review the article, "Are close-following and breaching behaviours by basking sharks at aggregation sites related to courtship?" by Gore et al., (2018). We talk all about their physiology, migrations, aggregations, breeding behaviour, how they jump their HUGE BODIES OUT OF WATER and more! Get ready to jump into the world of b...
Let's Jump In
May 04, 2021 00:10 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBAmani and Meghan introduce who they are, some of their favorite facts, and what to look forward to in the episodes ahead! Get ready to jump into the world of sharks!