BONUS EPISODE - 50 Years On: Was Jaws Really Bad for Sharks? With Amani Webber-Schultz and Chris Pepin-Neff
We're gonna need a bigger podcast...
In honour of the 50th anniversary of the release of Jaws - one of the most iconic shark movies of all time - we are bringing you a very special bonus episode wholly dedicated to the film. Host Isla is joined by two jawsome guests: shark scientist and science communicator Amani Webber-Schultz (@curly_biologist), and social scientist and Associate Professor in public policy, Dr Chris Pepin-Neff (@csyd2202). Together, they discuss the cultural impact of Jaws and its negative effects on public perceptions of sharks and shark conservation, as well as its positive influences - including sparking the careers of a whole generation of shark scientists. And, they take a deep dive into the film itself, reliving their favourite scenes, sharing behind-the-scenes facts, and dreaming up their own pitches to Hollywood.
Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast
Check out Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), the organisation that Amani co-founded, here: https://www.misselasmo.org/
Amani's appearance on Wired: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8hjTa1IeNc) and Insider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=habSJ85RFBQ
You can watch Chris' TED talk on Rogue Shark Theory here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcmy2Bd23wE
Find out more about Chris' publications here: https://sydney.academia.edu/ChrisPepinNeff
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White Sharks: Secrets of a Top Predator with Dr Alison Kock
They are the most iconic shark species of all time, known for their strength, hunting prowess, and long-distance travel. But there is a lot more to great white sharks than their reputation. They are not the mindless killers that the movies would have you believe – in fact, they are a highly curious and elusive species who continue to surprise us. And someone who knows white sharks inside out is Dr Alison Kock, a marine biologist who has spent the last 20 years studying their behaviour and ecology. In this episode, Dr Kock shares everything she knows about the world's largest predatory fish, including a scientific finding that's hot off the press...
Time stamps
06.08 - 16.00: Alison's career and passion for sharks
16.00 - 30.00: Great white shark physiology, ecology, and behaviour
31.50 - 40.00: Zooming in on False Bay and Alison's research
41.30 - 54.00: Relationships between humans and white sharks
54.19 - 60.00: Orca predation on white sharks
60.01: New scientific findings on white sharks
You can follow Alison on Instagram (@alison_kock) or find out more about her work and research via these links:
https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/alison-kock/
https://www.sanparks.org/conservation/scientific-services/nodes/cape-research-centre/meet-the-team
https://sharkspotters.org.za/
You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation by heading to www.saveourseas.com, or by finding us on socials:
Instagram: @saveourseasfoundation
Bluesky: @saveourseas.bsky.social
X/Twitter: @SaveOurSeas
Facebook: Save Our Seas Foundation
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Filling the Gaps to Protect Sharks in Angola with Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares
This week on the World of Sharks podcast we are meeting Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares, founder of the Angola Elasmo Project - a grassroots initiative focussed on the research and conservation of sharks and rays along the Angolan coast – to discuss the joys and challenges of building a project from scratch, working with data-poor fisheries and the importance of empowering local voices.
Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast
You can follow the Angola Elasmo Project on Instagram (angola.elasmoproject) and find out more about the project here:
https://saveourseas.com/project/documenting-shark-diversity-and-fisheries-
in-angola/
https://saveourseas.com/project/the-angola-elasmo-project/
https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/ana-lucia-furtado-soares/
You can find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation on instagram (@saveourseasfoundation), Facebook (Save Our Seas Foundation), Bluesky (@saveourseas.bsky.social) or by heading to www.saveourseas.com.
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Forensic Fisheries: Using DNA to Investigate the Trade in Shark Liver Oil with Dr Madeline Green
The trade in shark liver oil is an invisible threat to sharks. Not only is there limited research on the topic, but liver oil is notoriously difficult to track and trace. Enter Dr Madeline Green, molecular fisheries ecologist and Principle Investigator of the Forensic Fisheries Lab at the University of Tasmania. Madi is working to apply protocols from the tracing of olive oil to extract DNA from shark liver oil samples, in order to identify species and help monitor this complex trade. In this episode, we learn all about Madi's research, and how the trade in liver oil is presenting a significant threat to deep-water sharks.
You can follow Madi on Instagram: @madigreenmarine and find more information about her research here:
https://discover.utas.edu.au/Madeline.Green
https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/madeline-green/
https://saveourseas.com/project/using-dna-to-identify-the-sharks-in-squalene-products/
https://saveourseas.com/project/shark-share-global/
Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast
Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) by following @saveourseasfoundation (Instagram and TikTok), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter) and @saveourseas.bsky.social (BlueSky)
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Hungry Sharks? How a Shark's Digestive System Works
Spiral intestines! Curly poop! A shark that eats plants! And…turning your stomach inside out because you ate something dodgy?! In this episode we explore the ins and outs of a shark’s digestive system with animal physiologist Dr Samantha Leigh (@sea_science_sam), an expert in all things shark gut. We learn how a shark’s digestive system is designed for maximum efficiency, the different ways in which they ingest their hugely diverse diets, and how some sharks are able to survive weeks – sometimes months – without a meal. We also take a deep dive into Dr Leigh’s research on the bonnethead – a shark known to chow down on seagrass – and her recent SOSF-funded project, which is using the shark spiral intestine as a model to address one of our greatest environmental conundrums: the removal of microplastics.
You can follow along with Dr Leigh’s work and lab here: https://samanthacleigh.weebly.com/
Shownotes: www.saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/podcast
Find out more about the Save Our Seas Foundation by following: @saveourseasfoundation (Instagram and TikTok), @SaveOurSeas (X/Twitter) and @saveourseas.bsky.social (BlueSky).
Welcome to World of Sharks, a podcast all about sharks, rays and their underwater habitat brought to you by the Save our Seas Foundation. Forget Jaws – there is SO much more to sharks than their fearsome reputation. Join scientist and shark nerd Dr Isla Hodgson as she chats with leading experts in shark science, conservation and storytelling to take a deep dive into the fascinating world of one of the most diverse, well-adapted, enigmatic, misunderstood and threatened groups of animals on the planet.
South Africa