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FIU swims into Shark Week

FIU swims into Shark Week

Science & Technology

By Angela Nicoletti

July 29, 2019 at 2:02pm

Assistant professors Yannis Papastamatiou and Jeremy Kiszka will be on this year's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. 

Kiszka will join a team of shark scientists on “Return to Shark Island,” which airs 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1.

Located in the Indian Ocean, La Réunion has seen a shark spike in shark attacks in recent years. Now, the researchers will work to unravel what the drivers behind these attacks might be — and if anything can be done to prevent them.

Kiszka has previously conducted work on shark attacks in La Réunion. His research lies broadly in the ecology, behavior and conservation of large marine vertebrates, including whales and dolphins, sea turtles and sharks. He is particularly interested in understanding how changes in their abundance and behavior, as well as fisheries and human activities, may affect the structure and function of their ecosystems. Kiszka conducts research in the western Indian Ocean (Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel islands), South Pacific (French Polynesia and New Caledonia), and the Caribbean.

Papastamatiou will go in search of the Guadalupe Kill Zone in “Great White Kill Zone: Guadalupe,” which airs 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1.

Guadalupe Island, located 150 miles off the coast of Baja California, is a hot spot for great white sharks that congregate to target the thriving seal populations. The silent hunters stalk their prey and launch surprise attacks. Oddly, an attack has never been witnessed in this specific hotspot. Adding to the mystery, the waters off Guadalupe Island are crystal clear and the sharks are in plain sight. Hotspots are defined as the locations where sharks traditionally gather to feed and no one knows where Guadalupe’s lies.

Papastamatiou, along with FIU graduate student Sarah Luongo, set out to record white shark hunting behaviors using cutting-edge technology and three kinds of special cameras to solve the mystery and locate the Guadalupe Kill Zone. The episode was filmed on location around Guadalupe Island, as well as at FIU.

Papastamatiou is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. With close to 60 research publications, he’s one of the world’s leading shark behavioral ecologists. Papastamatiou’s use of new tag technologies on species ranging from pelagic oceanic whitetips to home-ranging reef sharks has advanced the field of predator ecology and led to evidence-based marine protected area zoning. His work has been featured on Discovery Channel, National Geographic and BBC.

This year, Papastamatiou also appeared in “Cannibal Sharks”on National Geographic’s SharkFest with Mike Heithaus, dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, and Demian Chapman, associate professor of marine sciences.

Posted by Chrystian Tejedor × 03/28/2018 at 10:16 am A small island has become a hotbed for shark bites, and people may be partly to blame. According to a recent study, the natural behavior of sharks along the French Island of La Réunion in the Western Indian Ocean is part of the problem. The significant development of the island’s west coast is the other. Sending more fresh water toward those shores has created welcoming conditions for bull sharks – the species responsible for most shark bites there. The island is in crisis. “With an increase in people and an increase in the population of bull sharks, we might have a deadly equation,” said FIU marine biologist Jeremy Kiszka, a co-author of the study. The researchers examined changes taking place on Réunion since the 1980s – including a 23-fold jump in shark bites and the environmental effects of development on its western shores. They found a pattern. Between 2010 and 2016, June, July and August were the most active months for shark bites. During that same time, 90 percent of shark bites occurred along a 31-mile stretch of the island’s west coast. Sharks there were particularly active in the evening hours and weekends. “This is totally related to the sharks’ behavior, and sharks preferentially attacked isolated swimmers and surfers,” said Kiszka, a research assistant professor at FIU. “At dusk and dawn – especially at dusk – they tend to forage closer to shore.” Historically, fishermen were more likely to encounter bull sharks on Réunion’s east coast, where fresh water flowed naturally to the ocean. It is in these environments where female bull sharks give birth to their pups, which grow before venturing out into the ocean in search of better feeding opportunities. The development of Réunion’s west coast, including increased irrigation for agriculture, created more fresh water flows close to those shores, summoning the sharks westward. Forty-three shark bites have occurred on Réunion since the 1980s — 29 were surfers. The others were swimmers, wind surfers, fishermen and kayakers. In total, 27 died. The deaths have received significant media attention and have spurred risk mitigation efforts that have ranged from the banning of all public swimming and surfing in 2013 to the installation of shark nets on two beaches, the creation of a shark-patrol system and recently, a culling of sharks around the island. Officials on Réunion Island in the Western Indian Ocean have attempted to curb incidents of shark bites by using various methods including culling sharks, which researchers say are not particularly effective. Officials on Réunion Island in the Western Indian Ocean have attempted to curb incidents of shark bites by using various methods including culling sharks, which researchers say are not particularly effective.

Why has this tiny island seen a sharp rise in shark bites?

The small French Island of La Réunion has become a hotbed for shark bites, and people may be partly to blame.

According to a study co-authored by FIU marine biologist Jeremy Kiszka, the natural behavior of sharks in the Western Indian Ocean is part of the problem. The significant development of the island’s west coast is the other. 

“With an increase in people and an increase in the population of bull sharks, we might have a deadly equation,” Kiszka said.

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