Marine CSI
MCSI releases iPhone/iPad app Expedition White Shark
The Marine Conservation Science Institute has just launched a new iPhone and iPad app focusing on great white sharks. The app, called Expedition White Shark, includes numerous features that let users learn more about these amazing animals, including the ability for users to track satellite-tagged great whites. The app displays a map with live tracking data for the sharks tagged with real-time tracking devices, so that users can follow these sharks at the same time as the research scientists! A “news” interface lets you keep up to date on the latest in shark conservation and research news, and you can learn more about sharks from the “facts” tab. There is also a “meet our sharks” section that provides photos and data on all of the tagged sharks, as well as numerous photos and videos of great whites and the research team in action. The app also includes a game that lets you learn about the life history of great white sharks by controlling a virtual baby great white. Users explore the marine environment near Southern California while eating fish and avoiding threats like gillnets and pollution.
The app is available on iTunes for iPhone and iPad
For more information see expeditionwhiteshark.com
Global Perspectives on the Biology and Life History of the White Shark
edited by Michael L. Domeier, Marine Conservation Science Institute, Fallbrook, CA
Price: $99.95 Special Price $84.96
Cat. #: K12158
ISBN: 97814398948401
ISBN 10: 14398948408
Publication Date: February 14, 2012
Number of Pages: 576 Binding: Hardback
This book incorporates the most important contemporary research papers on white sharks into a single peer-reviewed book. For more information and to order click here
Update on Amy, the female white shark that traveled into the Sea of Cortez
Amy, one of the first mature female white sharks we tagged at Guadalupe Island, is a very significant shark in our quest to learn more about the complete life history of this species in the northeastern Pacific. Via her SPOT tag, Amy was the first shark to reveal where mature females are spending their time during their two year absence from the adult aggregation site at Guadalupe Island. She left Guadalupe Island in late January 2009 and spent the next 15 months living an entirely pelagic existence in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. For the first seven months she was between 250 and 900 miles west of Guadalupe Island, but once the males returned to Guadalupe in the fall of 2009, she headed deeper into the Pacific (up to 1700 miles from Guadalupe), to the Shared Offshore Foraging Area (SOFA). In April of 2010 she surprised us by entering the Sea of Cortez, traveling all the way to the northern reaches before exiting two months later. Pupping in southern California begins as early as April and peaks in July, so we cannot say for sure that she gave birth while she was in the Sea of Cortez, but we believe she was pregnant and therefore it is possible. Read More
TAGGING UPDATES
JUNIOR UPDATE
June 2012
We are still getting great data from Junior, the first white shark tagged in the Farallon Islands. This map shows his 2.5 year tracking data. Read More
For more up to date tracking information on Junior and other tagged sharks please check our Facebook page or follow the tagged sharks via the new app Expedition White Shark
HOW MANY WHITE SHARKS ARE SWIMMING IN THE NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC?
A few months ago a population estimate for northeastern Pacific white sharks was published by Chapple et al. in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London . In summary, the researchers used unique dorsal fin markings to identify individual white sharks, and then they conducted surveys to search for known and unknown white sharks. This is a classic example of tagging data (mark/recapture) being used to generate a population estimate, except instead of physically marking the animals they relied upon natural markings. They estimated the number of adult and sub-adult white sharks in waters off central California to be 219. They went even further to speculate that the adult and sub-adult population in the entire northeastern Pacific is approximately 438 animals. This alarmingly low number soon gained traction among the conservation community and the media. But wait a minute…is this estimate really representative of the white shark population in the entire Northeastern Pacific? I have not seen a single discussion of the merits of the methods used to derive this population estimate. Any model is only as good as the assumptions used to build the model; if the assumptions are wrong than the results are invalid. Let’s have a look at the assumptions that were used to generate this population estimate. Read More
The Marine Conservation Science Institute (MCSI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. MCSI is founded on the belief that focused research can make a difference in how we view and manage our marine resources. We are committed to working towards the goal of sustainable fisheries and a healthy marine environment for future generations to enjoy.
