Category Archives: Marine Affairs & Policy

Waterlust’s ‘Wetlab’ Video Highlights UM’s Masters of Professional Science (MPS) Program

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Been wondering what our Masters of Professional Science (MPS) students are up to? The University of Miami’s student-run Waterlust Project decided to show you!  The team created a GoPro film that highlights a few of the amazing research and internship opportunities available.

The new ‘Wetlab’ video was GoPro’s ‘Video of the Week’ last week! 

Launched in 2012, The Waterlust Project has reached more than half a million people with its 11 short films on a variety of ocean-related topics that focus on what water means to us. Their films offer a juxtaposition of academic achievement and artistic creativity that embodies the University as a whole.

Over at Waterlust we decided to produce a short film that captured some of the unique perspectives that graduate students get to experience here at RSMAS. We especially wanted to highlight the Master of Professional Science program in hopes of inspiring up-and-coming students to study the ocean. We searched around campus for things to film and were met with enthusiasm and smiles wherever we went. We lurked on lab groups, loaned cameras to field teams, brought cameras into classrooms, and went into the field ourselves. Passion, dedication, and a desire to find answers was everywhere we turned. We want to thank everybody who helped to make this film. Thank you for making RSMAS the coolest place to go to school.

- Patrick + The Waterlust Project Crew

 

The Billfish Foundation: How Anglers Can Help With Marine Conservation

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There is a new buzz word going around the scientific community that is changing the way we view our roles in helping to better manage our precious resources. I am referring to the term ‘citizen scientist’ which allows anyone to take an active role in aiding scientists in the collection of important information which otherwise would not be possible. Though this concept has recently been becoming more popular, organizations like The Billfish Foundation (TBF) have been conducting such a program for more than 20 years through its tag and release program. Anglers taking participating in the tagging program have helped to provide critical information that is essential to TBF’s goal of conserving these amazing species like marlin, swordfish and sailfish for generations to come.

So why is this such a big deal? Since encountering these species is rare, TBF established the Tagging Program in 1990. TBF is proud to now hold the largest private billfish tagging database (close to 200,000 tag and release reports) because of efforts from the recreational community. Being dependent on the efforts of citizen scientist in the form of recreational anglers shows that anglers really care about the resources they are so passionate about and are willing to give back. It is through the information collected from our tagging program that provides the governing bodies with crucial information such as growth rates, longevity, migratory patterns, habitat utilization, and for stock assessment of billfish. Anyone can participate since the tags are inexpensive and effective; they just need to purchase tagging equipment from their local tackle shop or TBF’s website. A full kit of tagging equipment (tags, tag cards, tag bag, tag stick and applicator) costs about $75. The low cost and the ease of reporting the data (via mail or online) allows TBF’s traditional tagging program to annually receive over 10,000 tag and release records worldwide.

TBF’s Tag and Release Program receives about 100 recaptured tagged billfish reports a year and is proud to have some of the highest recapture rates because of the cooperation of the recreational community. One of the most exciting aspects of the program is when a recapture of a tagged billfish is reported and seeing what secrets it has to reveal. For even those who study these amazing creatures it is still astonishing to learn of some of the amazing feats they are capable of. For instance, this year a swordfish was recaptured more than 2500 miles from where it was tagged in matter of only 7 months and a white marlin that was recaptured after being abroad for more than 14 years after being tagged!

By allowing everyone to participate in research, not only does it allow TBF to receive a large amount of data each year but the participants feel connected to “their” fish, wonder where it will end up, and who might encounter it next. While most of our recapture reports are based in the Atlantic Ocean, TBF receives reports from the Pacific and the Indian Ocean (including Japan and Australia). The global success of TBF’s Tag and Release Program has been through its evolution and creating new excitement in tagging billfish. TBF engages program participants by making the data transparent – posting recaptured tag maps on Facebook, Twitter, and on the website in addition to contacting and rewarding everyone involved in the recaptured billfish. TBF encourages more anglers to tag billfish since traditional tagging data provided still provides up to 70 percent of what is known about billfish.

If you are interested in learning more about TBF’s Tag and Release Program or would like to purchase tagging equipment, please visit us at www.billfish.org or contact us at (800) 438-8247 or tag@billfish.org.

Peter Chaibongsai
Rosenstiel School Alumnus – MAF 2007
Director of Science and Policy
The Billfish Foundation

Michael Kelly
Rosenstiel School Student & TBF Intern
Master of Professional Science: Marine Conservation
The Billfish Foundation

The Florida Everglades: Lair of the Bull Shark

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It’s always fascinating to watch different species of fish arrive seasonally at the spots you frequent. Last weekend, while tagging sharks for research in the Everglades, it became clear to me that this very phenomenon was occurring, with blacktip sharks beginning to trickle back into the habitats, being followed around by even bigger local predators.

The Everglades is a fascinating spot to work because there are lots of predators – and those predators vary in size, number, and relative power over each other. At the apex – literally the top of the food chain – are the bull sharks. The Everglades is their lair. Blacktip and lemon sharks are also predatory sharks, but the blacktips are potential prey for the bulls, making them the proverbial “middle man on the totem pole.” The blacktips are usually the largest in number, and are often smaller than both the lemons and the bulls. Indeed, parts of the Everglades and Florida Bay give sub-adult blacktip sharks refuge from the risky, open water of the Gulf where they risk being consumed by larger predators. However, in nature, there is no free lunch, so by trading off open ocean habitats for the Everglades ecosystem, blacktip sharks gain some refuge and feeding opportunities, but subject themselves to a smaller number of large predators – the bulls – which are cruising the river mouths, coastlines, and estuarine areas for small prey. In fact, a recent study published in PLoS ONE by R.J. Dunlap Director Dr. Hammerschlag and colleauges found that bull sharks in the Everglades cause other prey species (such as tarpon) to alter their behavior when swimming through areas of high bull shark abundance. These “risk effects” are especially difficult to detect with large predatory fishes, and this study is the one of the first of its kind to detect these often overlooked measures of predator-prey relationships in marine settings. Another reason for this change in the shark presences is due to the prevailing water conditions– strong oxygen content, slightly cooler temperatures that we see from July – September, and stable salinity.

Most visits to Everglades National Park usually produce a large bull shark for our research. It is critical to establish estimates of how many bull sharks in the area, what they are eating, and if/how they can tolerate human-induced changes in the ecosystem. I encourage all of the readers to visit the Everglades and explore – the ecosystem is starting to ignite, and it is awesome to watch the predator-prey interactions between different coastal shark species. If you plan on fishing, I urge you to practice catch and release, as the seasonal blacktip aggregation already gets enough pressure from the bull sharks in the area, and the bull sharks themselves are in smaller numbers because they are the top predator. Release is a great option for these species, because both bulls and blacktips do relatively well with responsible catch and release.

-Austin Gallagher
PhD Student, Research Assistant
RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program
Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy
www.austingallagher.com

Sharks: Turning Fear into Fascination

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Despite the diversity of shapes and sizes in the animal kingdom, there is truly nothing like the shark. As ocean predators, they command our ultimate attention. The shark is something we learn about at a young age, a creature whose reputation becomes indoctrinated in our deep psyche likely before our first conscious foray into the ocean.

This is how I – like many others – first considered these predators. But alongside our reservations, comes a parallel sense of fascination. As I grew up, this fascination took over, and I now spend my time studying, researching, and engaging these species as much as possible.

In my film, “Coastguards,” I hope to illustrate humanity’s obsession and mixture of fear and fascination for sharks, while bringing their ecological importance – and plight – into the spot light. Told through my perspective with footage compiled from expeditions and research trips from the last 3 years, “Coastguards” is a metaphor for the role sharks play in maintaining the health and stability of our precious blue planet.

-Austin Gallagher
PhD Student, Research Assistant
RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program
Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy
www.austingallagher.com

5 Things You Might Not Know About Tiger Sharks

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1). Tiger sharks are found worldwide in warm waters.

2). They are one of the largest species of sharks in the world.

3). They are generalist predators and regularly eat prey as diverse as sea turtles, sea birds, small dolphins and porpoises, and fish.

4). They can reach over 5m in length.

5). Studies of their movement patterns by RJD researchers and other scientists have revealed that they can engage in annual migrations of many thousands of miles, swimming clear across the Atlantic ocean.

Have any Tiger Shark fun facts of your own? Leave them in the comments below.

David Shiffman
R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program
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RJD Satellite Tags Sharks at Tiger Beach

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Last month, members of the R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation team joined Jim Abernethy aboard the Shearwater for a week of shark research and diving. The RJD research team included myself, Dr. Hammerschlag, Captain Curt Slonim, and Fiona Graham. Visiting researcher Dr. Duncan Irschick from UMass Amherst, and Marco Flagg of Desert Star Systems also joined us for a chance to see how RJD performs our research and to interact with some awe-inspiring animals, as did a group of citizen scientists. The goal of this expedition was to gather biological samples and apply satellite tags to as many Tiger Sharks as possible, while still making sure the research was carried out in a way that did not stress the sharks.

Along with the blood, muscle, and fin samples that we usually take on our research subjects, we also took a series of morphometric measurements for Dr. Irschick’s research. He will be using these measurements to look at, among many things, how the shark’s related to the way they move. We also used an ultrasound machine on each female Tiger shark to determine if the sharks in the area are pregnant. On the first day of research, the team satellite tagged the largest Tiger Shark of the trip, a 305 cm (9.5 foot) female. We were also able to place dart tags and collect data on a few lemon and Caribbean reef sharks as well. On the second day of research, we satellite tagged and sampled four tiger sharks including one small male. This was surprising, as most of the Tiger sharks seen at Tiger Beach are females. On our third and last day of research, we satellite tagged one more female Tiger shark.

After 3 days of research, it was time to go scuba diving with these beautiful animals. Jim Abernethy and his crew have been diving in the waters of Tiger Beach for years and no operation knows the sharks that frequent the area better. After a safety briefing on the proper way to dive with sharks, we made our way into the water and onto a beautiful reef. There were Caribbean reef sharks swimming all around us, but the real star of the dive was a charismatic goliath grouper named Max. Max is known to frequent this reef and is very friendly – he even let me scratch under his chin! On my second dive on the reef, I got a quick glimpse of a large Tiger shark as soon as I got in the water, but it (probably a she) left and the rest of the dive was filled with more Caribbean Reefs and some time with Max.

On the last day of the trip, the group was treated with a visit from Emma. Emma is a 14-ft Tiger shark who frequents the area. Jim Abernethy has interacted with her on countless dives over the past 8 years. While Emma has safely interacted with SCUBA divers many times, it is important to remember that she is still an apex predator who is curious of what these strange divers are doing around her. I had a close encounter with Emma myself as she became very curious of both my camera and me. It was truly an amazing experience to get so close to so many beautiful sharks of so many different species. Not only was the experience amazing, but the team also collected valuable data on some of the most important predators in Bahamian waters. The satellite tags are transmitting and everyone will be able to see where these sharks are going.

If you would like to join Dr. Hammerschlag on a future Bahamas expedition, please contact him. The next trip to Tiger Beach is 10/17/13-10/23/13. The RJ Dunlap Team would love to have you on a future research expedition!

Kyra Hartog
R.J. Dunlap Intern
Follow the Rosenstiel School on Twitter: @UMiamiRSMAS
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