Thresher sharks are known for their unusual hunting strategy. They use their long tail like a whip, striking it so fast that it creates a shockwave capable of stunning multiple fish at once! But how does their anatomy support such an extreme movement? In today’s episode we find out! We talk with Jamie Knaub, who researches the biomechanics and vertebral anatomy in large, swimming animals - including whales and sharks. In this episode we explore Jamie's research, including her most recent work studying the vertebrae of the thresher shark to understand how they are able to carry out that iconic tail whip. This episode has it all: the Olympians of the shark world, surprise humpbacks, sharks with anxiety, digital dissections and of course some deliciously nerdy science.

You can follow Jamie on X/twitter (@CornOnTheKnaub) or LinkedIn (Jamie Knaub). And you can find out more about the Fab Lab, run by Dr Marianne Porter, here: https://mepbiomechanics.com/

You can find us on social media on X/twitter (@SaveOurSeas) or instagram (@saveourseasfoundation)

Episode shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

Conservation is often more about understanding people than studying the animals we are trying to protect. In this episode we learn from Dr Hollie Booth, research fellow at the University of Oxford, who has worked extensively with small-scale fisheries in Indonesia, the world’s largest shark fishing nation. Hollie’s work aims to disentangle the drivers of shark fishing in order to find solutions that have positive outcomes for both sharks and coastal communities. Here, we discuss the complexities of fisheries and the many reasons why someone might catch and trade sharks. And, we talk about the importance of finding conservation strategies that are socially just as well as ecologically effective.

You can follow Hollie and her work:

@the_hollietype (instagram)

@kebersamaan_untuk_lautan (instagram)

@hollieboothie (twitter)

https://saveourseas.com/project/solutions-for-shark-fisheries-in-a-surfers-paradise/

https://mcem.web.ox.ac.uk/incentive-based-marine-conservation

Shownotes:

www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast

The ocean is warming at a rapid pace. This year (2024) began with the highest global Sea Surface Temperature (SST) on record, and scientists are already warning of mass coral bleaching events and other worrying consequences for marine life. But how could rising temperatures impact sharks, particularly in the early stages of life when they are most vulnerable? PhD student and “mother-of-sharks” Noémie Coulon is trying to understand the effects of ocean warming and acidification on baby sharks, using an egg-laying species – the small-spotted catshark – as an example. In this episode, we follow her work as she raises catsharks in the lab, testing the effects of different environmental conditions at key stages in their development.

Follow along with Noémie's work on twitter (@noemie_coulon) and instagram (@noemie.coulon.9).

Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast