World of Sharks

How powerful is a shark’s sense of smell? With Dr Lauren Eve Simonitis

Sharks have a reputation as 'swimming noses' - but just how well can they smell?

This week we are diving into the fascinating world of snoot science with aquatic sensory biologist Dr Lauren Simonitis! Expect the ins and outs of shark noses, along with detours to explore the anti-predator strategies of sea slugs and cuttlefish, a shark that eats its greens, and a type of whale that inks while it poops. And we break down some famous myths about sharks…like do they really go into a feeding frenzy from the mere scent of blood?

Find out more about Lauren: @explauren, https://www.laurenevesimonitis.com/, https://www.misselasmo.org/

Find out more about us: @saveourseasfoundation (instagram and tiktok) @SaveOurSeas (twitter), www.saveourseas.com

Shownotes: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Greenland Sharks: Old, Cold and Fascinating with Dr Julius Nielsen

Greenland sharks are the world's longest living vertebrate, with a longevity that can be measured in centuries. But what do they do during that long life? In this episode, we speak with scientist and "Greenland Shark Detective" Dr Julius Nielsen, who has studied these mysterious creatures for many years. Julius was part of the first team to estimate their extraordinary lifespan, and explains exactly how they did it. He also walks us through some other fascinating aspects of their biology and ecology, including what they eat (answer: pretty much anything), how deep they can go (pretty deep!), their reproductive habits (becoming sexually mature at 150 and then having hundreds of babies, anyone?!), and some very unusual parasites…

You can follow Julius on instagram and twitter: @juniel85

You can also follow Save Our Seas Foundation on instagram and tiktok (@saveourseasfoundation) and twitter (@SaveOurSeas). 

Shownotes for this episode: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

 

The history and politics of shark ”attacks” with Dr Chris Pepin-Neff

The impact of the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws on shark conservation, public perception and even policy-making has been studied since its release in 1975, but today we’re looking even further back in time to understand where that idea of sharks as man-eating monsters first came from, and how it gained traction to get to where we are today. It’s a fascinating story involving Victorian game hunters, shark “rabies”, the U.S. Navy, film soundtracks designed to make your heart race, and an Australian surgeon who decided to try his hand at marine biology. To walk us through all of this, we have an amazing guest who has pieced all of these puzzle pieces together – Dr Chris Pepin-Neff, senior lecturer in public policy at the University of Sydney, Save our Seas Foundation project leader and expert in shark bite politics.

You can follow Chris on twitter (@pepin_neff) or read more about them here https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/christopher-neff/ and find some of their research here https://sydney.academia.edu/ChrisPepinNeff. 

You can find the shownotes for this episode here: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Follow us on social media! We are @saveourseasfoundation on instagram and tiktok, and @SaveOurSeas on twitter

What can we learn from a shark’s DNA? With Professor Mahmood Shivji

Grab your labcoats! This week we are diving into the fascinating world of genetics to find out what we can learn from shark DNA with Mahmood Shivji, professor of marine science at Nova Southeastern University in Florida and director of the Guy Harvey Institute and Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center (SOSF-SRC). In this episode we discuss shark forensics, the magical healing abilities of white sharks, and what DNA can tell us about the conservation status of some of the world's most endangered species. 

Shownotes: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation here: www.saveourseas.com. You can also find us on twitter (@SaveOurSeas) and instagram (@saveourseasfoundation).

Celebrating weird, wonderful and obscure sharks with A-bel Gong, Brit Finucci and Vicky Vásquez

Something we talk about a lot on this podcast is the sheer diversity of sharks and their relatives. With over 500 species of shark alone - not to mention the rays, skates and chimaeras - there is so much to them than just the Jaws stereotype. In this episode, we are talking about some species you may never have heard of, each with their own fantastical adaptations - a tiny deep sea shark with lightsabers on its back, a seriously laid-back species with a highly unusual shape, a fearsome pink predator with slingshot jaws, and a shark so rare that our deep sea shark expert had to wait a decade to see it.  

We had the help and expertise of three amazing shark scientists, go show them some love!

Dr Brit Finucci: @BritFinucci (twitter), @britfinucci (IG)

Vicky Vásquez: @VickySharky (twitter), @VickyShark (IG), www.VickyShark.com, www.RogueSharkLab.org

A-bel Gong: @Elasmabel (twitter), @gong_and_a_bell (IG), https://agong1564.wixsite.com/website

Timestamps: 

Getting to know our guests [7.09 - 22.20]

Goblin sharks (Vicky's species) [22.20-35.23]

White-tailed dogfish (Brit's species) [35.23-43.10]

Shovelnose guitarfish (A-bel's species) [43.10 - 51.20]

Velvet belly lantern shark (Isla's species) [51.20 - 54.10]

Shownotes: 

https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Documenting the Great African Seaforest with Craig Foster

This week on World of Sharks, we are diving into the Great African Seaforest - the world's only forest of giant bamboo kelp, which stretches more than 1000km from the shores of Cape Town to the coastline of Namibia - with conservation film-maker and SOSF project leader Craig Foster (The Sea Change Project, My Octopus Teacher). In this episode we talk about the importance of the Seaforest, especially to sharks and rays, cold water immersion and Craig's deep connection with the ocean. Digressions include some inquisitive tiger sharks, napping pyjama sharks and how it feels to fly through an magical underwater forest!

You can find out more about the Seaforest and the Sea Change Project here: www.seachangeproject.com. 

Shownotes: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast. 

Follow us on social media over at @saveourseasfoundation (instagram) and @SaveOurSeas (twitter)

Encouraging the next generation of shark conservationists with Dr Clova Mabin

On today's episode of World of Sharks, we are discussing a very important topic in conservation: how to encourage, support and nurture young people to care for and protect our ocean, while being mindful of the many other pressures that they face. How can we teach them about the issues facing the natural world, while maintaining hope? How do we empower them to take action for conservation, while still allowing them to be kids? We're talking about all this and more with Dr Clova Mabin, director of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Education Centre (https://saveourseas.com/sosf-shark-education-centre/). Based in Cape Town, South Africa, the centre works with under-resourced communities who face many barriers to connecting with the ocean. We talk about the work that the education team do to help build knowledge and confidence around the marine environment, provide a safe space to enjoy blue spaces and help young people find their own place in protecting it. 

You can follow the Shark Education Centre on Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok: @sharkcentre

Shownotes: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Save Our Seas Foundation: @saveourseasfoundation (Instagram), @SaveOurSeas (twitter) and www.saveourseas.com

Exploring human connection with the ocean with Pippa Ehrlich

We're learning new things about the ocean every day, but for centuries the ocean has taught us so much more. After the pandemic, many of us evaluated our connection to the sea and nature in general, seeking deeper meaning in our relationship with it and realising how necessary it is for our mental and emotional wellbeing. Award-winning film-maker and conservation storyteller Pippa Ehrlich (My Octopus Teacher, Older Than Trees) is passionate about telling stories of human-nature connection. For years, she has worked with scientists around the world, using storytelling to capture their passion and emotion for marine life and inspire others to feel the same. In this episode, we talk about Pippa's approach to storytelling and the story behind the Oscar winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher. We also discuss Pippa's love for the ocean, exploring the beautiful kelp forests of the Cape peninsula, and how she stays connected to nature - even when life gets in the way. And, we talk about her new film Older Than Trees, which celebrates 20 years of the Save Our Seas Foundation. 

You can follow Pippa on social media: @the_rewilding (instagram) and @PippaEhrlich (twitter). You can also find out more about her current work for the Sea Change Project, an organisation aiming to spread awareness of the Great African Seaforest through storytelling and immersion: https://seachangeproject.com/. 

You can find out more about us by heading to www.saveourseas.com, or following us on social media: @saveourseasfoundation (instagram) and @SaveOurSeas (twitter). 

You can find the shownotes for this episode here: https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

 

The brilliant world of the blue shark with Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi

This week on World of Sharks we are diving into the world of an iconic species: the blue shark, Prionace glauca. Known for their big eyes, pointed snouts, mesmerising metallic blue colour and inquisitive nature, blue sharks are a species of requiem shark that occur in temperate and tropical oceans around the world. We are joined by Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi, shark scientist and SOSF project leader, who studied this species in Irish waters for her PhD and tried to understand why they came to the area in such large numbers, and discovered some quite surprising things about their eating habits…

Digressions include some very friendly sunfish, travel-happy porbeagles, and why on earth a shark would choose to eat jellyfish.

Time stamps: Jenny's life and career [6.30-20.10], blue sharks and Jenny's research [20.20 - 45.00], porbeagle tagging [45.30-49.50], conservation implications [50.00]. 

You can follow Jenny's work by heading to her website (https://jennybortoluzzi.wordpress.com/) or following her on social media (@DrSharkyJenny). 

You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation by heading to www.saveourseas.com. 

Do sharks hang out with their siblings? With Fenella Wood

In this episode of World of Sharks by the Save Our Seas Foundation, we're chatting all things spurdog, relatedness and genetics with molecular biologist and PhD student Fenella Wood! Fenella's research delves into the fascinating world of spurdog population genetics to find out if the individuals that form large aggregations are related, which could have conservation implications if they are caught as by-catch. We learn all about shark DNA, life at sea, and what it was like to work at the legendary Bimini Field Station, AKA Shark Lab.

You can follow Fenella on twitter, she is @Fenella_Wood. 

And you can follow our work on instagram (@saveourseasfoundation) and twitter (@aaveourseas).