My forearms were starting to burn as hand over hand I pulled in the 950ft of line from the depths of Resurrection Bay. The first 3 lines we pulled in were empty, save for the salmon heads we used as bait, but this one sounded different. The whir of the hauler was a bit louder, […]
Read More Sleeper Shark Science 2020Paper in a Nutshell: Nielsen, Christiansen, et.al. 2019. Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) Stomach Contents and Stable Isotope Values Reveal an Ontogenetic Dietary Shift. Frontiers in Marine Science. What can sharks tell us about ocean food webs? The ocean is full of creatures, from benthic invertebrates to pelagic fish to the largest mammals in the world. […]
Read More WHO’S EATING WHAT?We had our last day sharking on this past Sunday, but no weekend sharks were to be found. So as we pack up the totes of line, buoys and gear— it looks like it’s a wrap for shark season 2019! And what a season it was! Our team spent over 30 days on the […]
Read More Sunset on Shark Season 2019I shivered as my legs slipped beneath the 42⁰F water; everyone was up to their thighs in the cold water for our first day of metabolic trials with the Pacific sleeper shark. Even with waders on, I could feel the chill in my toes. Angelica handed me a large red plastic board and I carefully […]
Read More Live slow and prosperWith the initial excitement calming down from our new shark visitor (see this post for details), I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the people behind our Sleeper Shark Project—lead by Dr. Markus Horning and Dr. Chris Lowe. In the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with this amazing team of […]
Read More Adventures in Exploring the Unknown: Q & A“Straight ahead!” Dr. Horning called out to the crew, taking his binoculars down and smiling. We had been gently bobbing south down Resurrection Bay for the last 40min, listening for the soft beep of the goniometer to confirm we were getting closer to our target—a miniPAT tag that had detached from a Pacific Sleeper Shark […]
Read More Operation Sleeper KeeperWell, after an exciting summer of 2018 where we captured and worked with nine Pacific sleeper sharks here in Resurrection Bay, we are at it again for the summer of 2019. Our capture efforts are for a research project funded by the North Pacific Research Board. The project is carried out in collaboration with the […]
Read More We need a smaller shark (or a bigger boat)!Back in August we caught our 4th Pacific Sleeper shark. This animal was tagged with a Wildlife Computers mini-PAT (satellite pop-up tag) and then was released right off Caines Head in Resurrection Bay. The mini-PAT had been scheduled to detach itself 90 days after deployment, which was Monday. And right on schedule, on Monday, the tag […]
Read More Needle in a haystackLessons learned and new horizons Well our first season of researching sharks is wrapped up! It has been a roller coaster and an example of teamwork in action. Since our first efforts at camera deployment and attempts at fishing, we have logged over 20 days on the water, from 3 different boats, and with a […]
Read More Sleeper Shark Season Wrap-upTo wrap up Shark week, we will continue the story of our Pacific sleeper shark research project. Now where did we leave off…? “It’s a shark!” Everyone clambered to the side of the boat to lean over and get a look. Sure enough, on our last hook of the day was a huge shark! Days […]
Read More It’s a shark!It is that time of year again: Shark Week is beginning on the Discovery Channel, so we decided to have our own “Shark Week: Alaska Edition” here on 60° North Science!! To kick things off–check out this Alaska Public Media podcast about sharks in Alaska waters. Guests included our very own Dr. Markus Horning as well as […]
Read More Sharks in AlaskaA few weeks ago we posted about the surprising saga of the shark satellite tag scavenger hunt. Due to the unexpected nature of that occurrence, we actually got ahead of ourselves here on 60N on the story of the Sleeper Shark Research Project. Before the tag could be lost and then found–we first had to […]
Read More Here Sharky, Sharky, SharkyOn May 31st, our ASLC Shark Research Team caught our first Pacific Sleeper Shark (we posted the picture of our success a few weeks ago here). As she was too big for our main study, we collected various measurements, samples, and attached a satellite tag to track her movements and diving patterns after release (Permit […]
Read More Shark Tag Recovered!Our first Pacific sleeper shark, and already we need a bigger boat! Story to follow. Permit CF-18-041.
Read More We’re gonna need a bigger boat…It was one of those rare truly epic days in Resurrection Bay: sun shining, sparkling calm seas, endless snowcapped mountain views. Our team assembled, and everyone was sipping the last of their coffees as the Jubatus, the ASLC research vessel, pulled out of the harbor. “Everyone ready?” I asked. When smiles and nods were returned, […]
Read More Murphy’s Law: A day on the waterOn November 27th, we got to perform a necropsy on the carcass of a Pacific sleeper shark.
Read More Sleeper shark necropsy!5 reasons why Sleeper Sharks are cooler than the Great White Shark
Read More Sleeper Shark vs. Great White SharkHere is some rare video footage of a sleeper shark collected near the Solomon Islands by researchers from the University of Rhode Island via remote video cameras in an expedition supported by the National Geographic Society.
Read More Rare new footage of the Pacific sleeper shark!Last week, we set out into Resurrection Bay on the ASLC research vessel Jubatus to test its new addition: an A-frame and winch system. The sturdy archway with hydraulic lift was outfitted to Jubatus to enable the deployment and retrieval of heavy moorings and equipment at sea, or in this case, some heavy rocks!
Read More Science “Rocks”!You’ve probably heard stories about how scientists get ideas that might include ‘it came to me in a dream!’. This blog post shares a different kind of story–one about how scientists take an idea, design a scientific study, discover an answer, and excitingly, end up with more questions!
Read More How we get research ideasCongratulations to Dr. Markus Horning and colleagues on recently finding out the North Pacific Research Board is planning on funding their Pacific sleeper shark study starting this fall!
Read More Coming to an ASLC near you in 2018!