Sharkpedia

Sharkpedia

By Meghan Holst and Amani Webber-SchultzScienceNature
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Sharkpedia episodes

  • Manta Ray Nursery Habitat with Jessica Pate

    This 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 Manta ray: https://www.trackturtles.com/leo/

    You can follow Jessica on Instagram @floridamantagirl, and learn more about the conservation work let by the Marine Megafauna Foundation at https://marinemegafauna.org/

    Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and Twitter @SharkpediaPod

    Connect with Sharkpedia:

    linktr.ee/sharkpediapod

    58 min
  • Catching Up With Meghan and Amani

    Meghan 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 Twitter @SharkpediaPod

    Connect with Sharkpedia: linktr.ee/sharkpediapod

    58 min
  • Where Have the Sawfish Gone in Sri Lanka? With Akshay Tanna
    This 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 sawfishes that historically visited Sri Lanka, and evaluate the specific point in history when sawfish sightings drastically decreased. This critical knowledge that Tanna and colleagues at Blue Resources Trust have conducted is just the beginning of the many incredible conservation evaluations they are leading in Sri Lanka. 
    Learn more about the conservation efforts in Sri Lanka at blueresources.org
    Follow Blue Resources on Twitter @blue_resources and on Instagram @blueresources
    Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and Twitter @SharkpediaPod
    Connect with Sharkpedia:
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    58 min
  • Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Swimming Behavior with Dr. Mark Royer
    This 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 episode was edited by Kaela Shoe
    Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and Twitter @SharkpediaPod
    Connect with Sharkpedia:
    linktr.ee/sharkpediapod
    1 hr 4 min
  • Shark Entanglement with Kristian Parton
    This 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 Twitter @KJParton, and subscribe to his YouTube channel Shark Bytes!
    This episode was edited by Kaela Shoe
    Follow Sharkpedia on Instagram and Twitter @SharkpediaPod 
    Connect with Sharkpedia:
    linktr.ee/sharkpediapod
    1 hr 5 min
  • BONUS: Shark Games with Jaida Elcock
    In 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
    56 min
  • Small Tooth Sawfish Movement Patterns with Jasmin Graham
    This 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 organization she co-founded, Minorities In Shark Science, at @MISS_Elasmo and misselasmo.org!
    This episode was edited by Kaela Shoe
    Follow Sharkpedia at @SharkpediaPod on Instagram and Twitter
    Connect with Sharkpedia: 
    linktr.ee/sharkpediapod
    54 min
  • Shark Parasites with Dr. Jimmy Bernot

    This 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!

    This episode was edited by sound engineer Kaela Shoe

    59 min
  • Triennial Migrations of Soupfin Sharks with Dr. Andrew Nosal
    In 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 by Kaela Shoe
    51 min
  • The Complexities of Policy Making with Dr. David Shiffman

    In 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 better science communicators. Get ready to jump into the world of policymaking and science communication!

    56 min

About Sharkpedia

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Meghan 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…