This Symposium is generously supported by:
Symposium Overview:
Public aquariums showcase aquatic life while raising awareness and educating the public on biodiversity and the need for conservation. Recently, aquaria have followed in the footsteps of zoos by taking more directed approaches in species conservation as well as leveraging animals in their collections to fill biological knowledge gaps through research. Aquaria possess some unique qualities that can be applied to elasmobranch research and conservation efforts. In addition to the increasing number of institutions that now support dedicated research departments or staff, aquaria have considerable public audiences (both physical and virtual), ambassador animals to foster deeper connections and empathy for species, dedicated education departments typically focused from the preschool to high school level, comprehensive communication departments with media connections, and extensive animal care and specialized veterinarian teams. Through these expertise aquaria are able to house animals that are often not feasible to care for in traditional academic settings, and for long durations often throughout entire life cycles, allowing important life history information to be investigated.
There has been a longstanding involvement of aquarium professionals in the American Elasmobranch Society, best highlighted by the career and research accomplishments of the late Alan Henningsen. However, the number of AES members who represent aquaria has dwindled over the past few decades. We hope that this symposium will highlight these past connections, including Alan’s legacy, encouraging more aquaria personnel who attend to sustain their memberships and take more active roles moving forward to engage with other members of AES from different sectors (e.g. academia, nonprofits, etc). Equally, we anticipate that this will further highlight and promote collaborative opportunities between aquaria and AES members to the broader benefit of the elasmobranch research field in general.
Symposium organizers:
Jennifer Wyffels, wyffels@ripleys.com
Steve Kessel, skessel@sheddaquarium.org
Kady Lyons, klyons@georgiaaquarium.org
The Symposium Schedule:
SATURDAY, July 13, 2024
Session 17 (8:30 AM – 10:00 AM in Room 406)
AES Symposium: Overview of Aquarium Contributions to Elasmobranch Research I
Moderator: Jennifer Wyffels, Ripley’s Aquariums
Hap Fatzinger, Alex Delaun, & Hans Walters – Supply and Demand: Leveraging Expertise and Knowledge to Supply Tools to Meet the Demands of Conservation
Bradley Wetherbee & Emily Kelly – A tribute to Alan Henningsen and his contributions towards shark and ray research, conservation and husbandry
Nicholas Whitney – In It for the Long Term: The Role of Aquariums in Supporting Shark Research in a Changing Climate
Federico Argemi – The Latin-American Aquariums’ Perspective of the Sharks and Ray research-conservation programs
Session 21 (10:30 AM – 12:00 PM in Room 406)
AES Symposium: Overview of Aquarium Contributions to Elasmobranch Research II
Moderator: Steven Kessel, Shedd Aquarium
John B. O’Sullivan – A case study on the successful exhibitory of juvenile white sharks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Kevin Spiby – Insights into the Movements of Previously Captive Ragged-tooth Sharks, Carcharias taurus, along the Coast of Southern Africa
Kotaro Tokunaga – Reproduction and pup growth of the Sand tiger shark,Carcharias taurus, at Ibaraki Prefectural Oarai Aquarium, Japan
Andrea Leontiou – Captive Deployment of a Novel Tag to Collect Oxygen Utilization from Free Swimming Sharks
Samantha Bock – Development of DNA Methylation-Based Age Predictors in the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum)
Nick Weber – Epigenetic Age Estimation in the Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera bonasus: Implications for Noninvasive Elasmobranch Ageing
Session 25 (1:30 PM – 3:45 PM in Room 406)
AES Symposium: Overview of Aquarium Contributions to Elasmobranch Research III
Moderator: Nicholas Whitney, New England Aquarium
Kevin Feldheim – Parthenogenesis in elasmobranchs under human care
Jennifer Wyffels – Unprecedented Rates of Parthenogenesis in Zebra Sharks Stegostoma tigrinum
Jo Okamoto – Changes in sex steroid hormone levels and reproductive organs reflect the breeding status of zebra sharks in Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Chris Buckner – Effect of a Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Agonist on the Reproductive System of Male Cownose Rays (Rhinoptera bonasus)
Taketeru Tomita – Development of artificial uterus: A new conservation breeding technique for sharks
David Portnoy – Gamete-based Linkage Mapping for the Sand Tiger Shark, Carcharias taurus.
Steven Kessel – Spatiotemporal distribution and site fidelity of the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in Dungonab Bay, Sudan
Kady Lyons – Blood Mercury in Juvenile Shark Species Sampled in Three Georgia Salt Marshes
Aaron Carlisle – Reconciling Conservation Objectives with the Captive Display of Sand Tiger Sharks
Lance Adams – Monitoring Egg Fertility, Embryonic Morbidity, and Morbidity in an Oviparous Elasmobranch Using Ultrasonography
SUNDAY, July 14, 2024
Session 29: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM at Room 406
AES Symposium: Overview of Aquarium Contributions to Elasmobranch Research IV
Moderator: Kady Lyons, Georgia Aquarium
Carol Price – From Shores to Shipwrecks: NC Aquariums’ Role in Sand Tiger Shark Conservation Research
Masayuki Nakamura – Photo-identification survey and movement of Sand tiger shark Carcharias taurus ,at Ogasawara Archipelago in Japan
Emily Christiansen – Health Assessments in Free-Ranging Sand Tigers (Carcharhinus taurus) in the North Atlantic
Caroline Collatos – High survivorship of sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) following catch and release in a rapidly growing land-based fishery in Massachusetts
Ryan Knotek – Hooked on Collaboration: Investigating Shark Post-Release Mortality with a Conservation-Minded Aquarium and Fishing Industry Partners.
Riley Pollom – Molecular analyses reveal life history insights in a data limited species: possible evidence for philopatry in sixgill sharks (Hexanchus griseus)