Here at Beneath the Waves we wanted to bring you the insider scoop on the superstars of Shark Week. Thus, we elicited the help of five of our most favorite sharky scientists. To kick of the week with a bang we caught up with Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the CSULB SharkLab and Professor of Biology at California State University Long Beach to tell us a bit about the shark science he is involved in, how he got where he is today, and what he thinks we can do to move shark conservation forward.
Briefly can you describe the focus of your research and the species you work on?
My students and I study the behavioral and physiological ecology of sharks and rays. Much of our research focuses on understanding why sharks and rays do what they do, live where they do, and why they migrate. We use a lot of technology in our study of sharks and rays including acoustic and satellite telemetry technology and have recently developed autonomous underwater robots for stealth tracking of tagged sharks. We have developed special feeding transmitters that can tell us when sharks feed and how much they have eaten. We are now working on autonomous aerial vehicles for tracking and counting sharks and rays from the air. We work on white, leopard, horn, tiger, scalloped hammerhead, cookiecutter, gray smoothhound, gray reef, and reef blacktip sharks, just to name a few. We also work on Pacific electric rays, round stingrays, bat rays, and shovelnose guitarfish.
In your opinion, how can people help save sharks?
Through learning and education. The question is where can they go to get this information? Unfortunately, it has not been Discovery Shark Week. I have found that most of the shows are woefully lacking factual science-based information. In fact, I never recommend people watch Shark Week for information about sharks, because 1) much of the information is incorrect or completely unsubstantiated, 2) it’s more about entertainment than education, 3) most messages about sharks are contradictory “sharks are important and essential for the ecosystems and we should protect them” but “sharks attack and kill people… da dun, da dun, da dun, you should be scared!” Nevertheless, there is a lot of good information out there, but the public has to know where to find it. One of our lab goals is to provide the public with good, science-based information about sharks so they will understand why they are important, why they are worth protecting and whether populations are recovering or not. Knowledge is a very powerful tool in conservation, probably far more effective than any law or regulation. People only follow rules and obey regulations if they understand why they are needed and how they can help.
How did you get involved in shark research and what advice would you give those interested in studying them?
I became interested in sharks when I caught my first shark and read a book about sharks when I was about 10 years old. I grew up on Martha’s Vineyard and grew up fishing and diving. I come from a long line of New England whalers and commercial fishermen, but have always been far more interested in learning about them than harvesting them. Because of this interest, I was the first in my family to go to College and then spent 14 years in school to become a shark biologist and was lucky enough (and apparently worked hard enough) to be able to take over the CSULB Shark Lab in 1998. The Shark Lab was started by Dr. Donald R. Nelson, a world expert in shark behavior and one of the pioneers in the use of acoustic telemetry tracking of sharks. I was fortunate enough to be one of Don’s Master’s students back in 1988. I’m proud to keep the legacy of the Shark Lab alive and training future shark biologists.
For more information on the research being done in the Lowe Lab, check out CSULB Shark Lab. Also, check out Dr. Lowe and his team in the new IMAX Great White Shark.