Coffee House Lecture Series at the Refuge
Friends of Parker River Coffeehouse and Lecture Series
Thursday March 18th 7-8pm
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is the world’s largest predatory fish. New research efforts around the world have begun to help dispel many of the myths surrounding this species’ fearsome reputation. Exciting new technologies, such as ultrasonic telemetry and satellite tracking, have shed new light on the ecology and migratory patterns of white sharks in various “hot spots” around the world. However, Atlantic white sharks have been more resistant to focused study due to their rarity and sparse distribution. Is this presentation, shark biologist Tobey Curtis will provide an overview of the biology of the white shark in the western North Atlantic Ocean. He will describe his current research on their seasonal distribution and population structure, as well as present preliminary data from several white shares tagged off Cape Cod in September 2009 by Dr. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Tobey H. Curtis is a Fishery Biologist who currently works for NOAA Fisheries Service in Gloucester, MA, and is a P.D. student at the University of Massachusetts, School of Marine Sciences. He is a Massachusetts native, but got his B.Sc. degree in Marine Science from Long Island University, and his M.Sc. degree in Fisheries Science from the University of Florida. Tobey has been actively researching sharks of various species for over 10 years. These include white, mako, and blue sharks in California, sandbar sharks and smooth dogfish in Delaware Bay, and bull sharks and other coastal species in Florida. He is currently studying the distribution and migrations of basking and white sharks off New England.
