Students and teachers from Independence Middle School’s SciQuest Academy came onboard R/V ANGARI to work alongside FIU scientists to learn about and participate in local shark research.
EXPEDITION DETAILS
October 2, 2024
Palm Beach County, FL
Candace Fields
Mia Gabb
Sophia Hemsi
William Sample
Emily Spurgeon
All sharks were fished for, caught, studied and released for research purposes under Florida permits held by Florida International University scientists.
As part of ANGARI’s Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks education program, students and teachers from Independence Middle School’s SciQuest Academy came onboard R/V ANGARI to work alongside scientists from Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Arts, Sciences & Education to learn about and participate in local shark research. Students excitedly learned about specialized shark research methods scientists utilize, including fishing with drumlines, baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) and shark workup procedures.
Over the course of the day, student teams successfully deployed and recovered drumlines, catching a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and a sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae)! The students participated in hands-on fieldwork and assisted scientists with the shark workup, including collecting tissue samples by taking a fin clip, attaching a unique numbered tag for identification, measuring the fork, precaudal and stretch total lengths, and sexing the shark by determining the presence of claspers. Before safely releasing the nurse shark, students and teachers examined the shark’s dermal denticles that give it its rough skin!
In addition to drumlining, the students learned how to use BRUVS to collect data on a variety of marine life. After deploying and recovering the BRUVS in Lake Worth Lagoon, the students watched the collected footage and identified any observed species. The footage showed groups of jacks and catfish lingering around the bait cage until a great barracuda, known as a top predator, approached. These behaviors demonstrated the dynamics between predator and prey in our waters. Data recorded and collected by the scientists and students during this expedition are important contributions to projects like the Global FinPrint Project and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Cooperative Shark Tagging Program (NOAA CSTP).
This expedition was supported by Independence Middle School’s Parent Teacher Organization.
CHIEF SCIENTIST
Will Sample is a Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Community and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Florida International University. His current research uses both long-term historical datasets and newer methods, such as high-resolution accelerometry, to study the movement and behavioral ecology of juvenile bull sharks. He specifically focuses on the way these sharks may be transporting nutrients across habitat boundaries, how they may be optimizing their movements to save energy and what the long-term implications of different behaviors they specialize in may be. Will’s research in the Florida Everglades studying the ways sharks move through this crucial ecosystem is important for conservation and informing habitat restoration and management efforts. Will earned a B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Florida Atlantic University in 2018 and has lived all throughout Florida for most of his life, from Jacksonville to Jupiter to the Keys. He is passionate about community outreach and education, particularly regarding Florida’s natural habitats, and currently serves as lead scientist for ANGARI’s Palm Beach County based Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program aboard R/V ANGARI.
