A visit to the Chatham Shark Center

After listening to Dr. Marshall, I was inspired to take a trip to the Chatham Shark Center here in Chatham and learned a ton! Carcharodon carcharias, or Great White Sharks, span across most oceans in the world and are usually between 15 to 18 feet long, although the longest shark in recorded history was 20 feet. Great Whites are older than dinosaurs, appearing over 400 million years ago- 170 million years before dinosaurs. Great Whites are the largest predatory fish, have around 300 teeth, and they grow in rows, so whenever a shark looses a tooth the one behind it grows in and another tooth begins developing in the back. Sharks have six senses; the five that humans have as well as an electromagnetic field. They have what is called an lateral line down their sides filled with a fluid that reacts to vibrations in the ocean. Sharks seem to gravitate towards Chatham every summer in pursuit of seals. Recently the seal population has increased, drawing sharks here to the warm summer waters of the Cape. Because of this, scientists, the most well-known being Greg Skomal, have been studying sharks here; tagging them and taking samples. Transmitters are attached to the dorsal fin and are used to track the activity of the sharks. I love learning all these things about sharks, and I hope you enjoy learning these facts too!

In August, I attended the Sharkfest Gala at the Chatham Shark Center. The coolest part was after the silent and loud auctions when a scientist from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),  an organization located in Yarmouth, Cape Cod,  gave a short speech about the organization and her job. We were expecting to hear Brian Sharpe, the Marine Mammal Research and Rescue manager, speak, but he had been deployed to Reykjavik, Iceland to help disentangle a humpback whale, which you can read about here. He sent Kristen Patchett, the stranding coordinator, to speak in his place. Patchett shared how IFAW helps all kinds of animals including not only sharks, whales, seals, and turtles but also tigers, dogs, and elephants, and how she works to rescue seals, sharks, and even dolphins. Kristen Patchett started her Marine Biology career as an animal care technician at the New England Aquarium, (the same place I took a Marine Biologist In Training course.) She gets to perform triage, exams, diagnostics, supportive care and much more! Both Kristen and Brian have such cool jobs, I would be love to work in a place like IFAW- I mean, flying to Iceland to save a whale on short notice, and getting to help seals and sharks every day? What could be better?
Anyway, the Gala was fantastic and I met some other really cool people. Be sure to keep up with the Chatham Shark Center, they have some really cool plans for the future!

SHARKS!

Hello!

I'm here in Chatham, Cape Cod, and it's SHARK SEASON! I was invited to a luncheon hosted by the Gills Club, an Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (ASWC) action project created to inspire, educate, and empower young girls interested in sharks, marine biology, and women in science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. The Gills Club mission states: "The Gills Club is dedicated to connecting girls with female scientists, sharing knowledge, and empowering them to take leadership positions and inspire shark and ocean conservation." The Gills Club is partnered with over sixty female marine scientists around the world, and they are encouraging and educating the next generation of female scientists. You can check out the Gills Club blog, or visit their website, and visit the AWSC website.


The guest speaker at the lunch was Dr. Heather Marshall. Dr. Marshall is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida and she is also a co-founder of The Gills Club. She earned her masters and Ph.D at UMass Dartmouth. Focused mainly on the physiological ecology (the study of behavioral physiological adjustments organisms make in order to survive in their habitat) of sharks she has worked with all different kinds of sharks. She spoke about how she went from growing up with a fear of sharks, to becoming a shark scientist. Her galeophobia (fear of sharks) pushed her to begin reading books about sharks and shark attacks.  She specifically recommended the book The Lady and The Sharks by her hero, and later her mentor, Eugenie Clark, also known as "The Shark Lady."  Soon Dr. Marshall was fascinated with the great creature scientifically know as Carcharodon carcharias (great white shark). She talked about how most endangered and threatened animals are able to receive help through campaigns. People will help animals such as seals because they are so adorable, but sharks... well, let's just say that there aren't very many 'cute' pictures of sharks. The Gills Club are, however, taking the angle of informing people that sharks aren't really as scary as you think. For example, did you know that "From 11959 to 2008 nationwide, 1,930 people were killed by lightning, while only 25 died from shark attacks"? In her talk, she shared what it was like to be on a boat catching a white shark, and how her job is to collect blood samples while the other scientists conduct an ultrasound and other tests on the shark before releasing it back into the water. Lastly, she spoke about helping to inspire girls of all ages to pursue their dreams of becoming scientists, marine biologists, and studying sharks. I really enjoyed listening to her speak about working with sharks, and her passion for this misunderstood creature. She was very inspiring!