becca shelton – Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC)

Shark Tagging with Coral Shores high school: RJD staff reactions to seeing a great white shark

May 27, 2013/2 Comments/in Shark Research /by aanstett

by Becca Shelton, RJD intern

If someone had told me that there was a chance I was going to see a great white on one of our trips, I honestly don’t think I would have believed them. White sharks happen to be my favorite shark and I honestly can’t explain how it felt seeing one in person. Most of you have probably already heard the news since it was a phenomenal occurrence but in case you haven’t, here’s a firsthand account of what happened.

Who’s your daddy? A scientific perspective into the evolution of great white sharks

February 11, 2013/1 Comment/in Conservation, Ocean News /by aanstett

by Becca Shelton, RJD Intern

There are few things I love more than sharks and a good debate. The white shark, or great white, (Carcharodon carcharias) is my favorite species of extant sharks and the megalodon shark (Carcharodon megalodon) is my favorite extinct species. It just so happens that both species are in the center of an interesting dispute. Who is the ancestor to the white shark? For a long time, I personally had no doubt it was the megalodon shark because of similar looking teeth and jaws. In reality, this is not an easy question to answer. One of the reasons is that the species of sharks that are theorized to be the “closest” ancestor are extinct. Since sharks possess a cartilaginous skeleton, there is almost never a fully preserved skeleton since cartilage does not preserve well, unlike animals with boney skeletons. However, shark teeth are covered in enamel which helps in preservation and fossilized shark teeth can be found all over the world. Most of the debates surrounding this white shark ancestry involve teeth, especially morphology and serration. The two major theories I will be discussing are the megalodon hypothesis (Carcharodon megalodon) and the hastalis hypothesis (Isurus hastalis).

Climate change influences sea turtle nesting

January 24, 2013/0 Comments/in Conservation /by aanstett

by Becca Shelton, RJD Intern

In David A Pike’s scientific paper Climate influences the global distribution of sea turtle nesting, Pike takes an in-depth look at which factors contribute to sea turtle nesting sites. There are 7 extant species of marine turtles that inhabit mainly tropical and subtropical waters and globally, are all considered to be endangered or threatened. Nesting site issues, whether they are abiotic or anthropogenic, appear to be a large contributor to sea turtle population decline. While there have been many studies on sea turtle nesting sites and conservation efforts to protect these areas, Pike’s study focuses more on the variables that attribute to the distribution of the ideal beaches for nesting and how future climate changes may affect them.

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