Save Our Seas Foundation - Projects - Elasmobranch Reproduction

October

2012-10-30T20:38:20+00:00

October has been a very busy month for us up here at the University of New England. We spent much of the month finishing up a manuscript detailing our methodologies and results to date for submission to the journal of Marine and Coastal Fisheries. If accepted it will be included in a special issue dedicated to the 2012 Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society Elasmobranch Life History Symposium that we attended last January in Biloxi Mississippi. In addition, we have been finishing up plasma and muscle extractions from additional Atlantic sharpnose shark samples that were collected this summer. We will keep you posted on the status of our manuscript!

Awesome August!

2012-08-27T12:00:00+00:00

August has been a great month. Early on we traveled to Vancouver, Canada for the Annual Meeting of the American Elasmobranch Society, where we presented some of our preliminary data in a presentation entitled, “Potential Utilization of Steroid Hormones Extracted from the Skeletal Muscle Tissue of the Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) to Determine Reproductive Status”. In addition to viewing the beautiful landscape of the city, we also had the opportunity to listen in on many very interesting and thought provoking presentations.

Back in Maine we began final preparations for a short manuscript that we be submitted as part of a dedicated section in the American Fisheries Societies Journal of Marine and Coastal Fisheries for the Elasmobranch Life History Symposium that we participated in last January. Additionally, we are preparing for another NOAA Bottom Longline Survey aboard the R/V Oregon II during the beginning of September. Wish us luck in avoiding tropical storm Isaac!

Prepping for Vancouver!

2012-07-28T12:30:19+00:00

The annual meeting of the American Elasmobranch Society, being held this year in conjunction with the World Congress of Herpetology, will be held in Vancouver Canada from August 8-14th. We are looking forward to presenting data from our spiny dogfish and Atlantic sharpnose sharks muscle extractions.

This will be the first time any member of our lab who is participating in the meeting will be visiting Vancouver, and we are very excited for the opportunity to experience such a beautiful city while learning about other current elasmobranch research. Wish us luck!

And Summer Begins!

2012-06-11T17:45:32+00:00

In mid May we traveled down to Ocean Springs Mississippi to work with fisheries biologist Jill Hendon at the Gulf Coast Research Lab. We were lucky enough to participate in multiple shark field surveys while at the lab.

We were able to collect some vital data from mature female pre-ovulatory Atlantic sharpnose sharks! These females were also believed to have recently mated because of fresh mating wounds found all over the shark’s bodies.

Skeletal muscle tissue and plasma samples are continuously being extracted for reproductive steroid hormones, and the resulting data is being compiled and analyzed. We are looking forward to presenting more results at the 2012 American Elasmobranch Society meeting in Vancouver Canada in August!

April Update

2012-04-29T15:08:09+00:00

Field and lab work have been going great here in Maine. We have been collecting samples and extracting hormones back in the lab.

We have two trips to the Gulf of Mexico planned for this summer, one of which we will be leaving for during the first weekend of May! We will be heading down to the Gulf Coast Research Lab next weekend to hopefully collect some more Atlantic Sharpnose samples aboard their long-line research boats with fisheries biologist Jill Hendon.

Additionally, Atlantic stingray samples are beginning to be collected by Dr. Walter Bubley, natural resources specialist with the Texas parks and wildlife division in San Antonio Bay.

Check back soon for updates, and to see pictures from our Gulf of Mexico trips!!

Spring is in the Air!

2012-03-16T12:41:29+00:00

March has brought with it unseasonably warm weather to New England. Earlier this week it was 60 °F and sunny!

Because of the beautiful weather this winter we were able to begin sampling earlier and more frequently and we are continuing collections for spiny dogfish and little skates up here in the Gulf of Maine.

We have also scheduled some trips for later this spring and summer to collect more samples from both Atlantic sharpnose sharks, and Atlantic stingray in the Gulf of Mexico.

Extractions from both plasma and muscle have continued, and we are getting more promising results! We also just registered to present our findings at the 2012 American Elasmobranch Society Meeting that will be held during the World Congress of Herpetology in Vancouver Canada this coming August. Stay tuned for more updates!

Fisheries Meeting in Mississippi

2012-02-01T03:33:33+00:00

We just got back yesterday from a very interesting and informative meeting, hosted by the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society, at the IP Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Earlier this month we continued extractions of spiny dogfish and Atlantic sharpnose shark muscle tissue for steroid hormones, so that we could have more comprehensive preliminary data to present at the meeting during the elasmobranch life history symposia. We received a lot of positive feedback from attendees, and we’re looking forward to extracting more tissue samples in the near future!

Our unseasonably warm weather this winter will hopefully allow us to go out into the field to collect more little skate data and tissue samples within the next week.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Greetings from the Bahamas!

2012-01-01T01:50:36+00:00

December was an exciting month, filled with lots of great research opportunities. Before leaving the Sulikowski lab for the Bahamas, more spiny dogfish skeletal muscle tissue was ground and extracted for progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone. The assays to quantify the concentration of hormones in these samples will begin the first week of January.

In mid-December we were lucky enough to travel to Florida, where we collaborated on a weeklong research trip in the Bahamas with Dr. Neil Hammerschlag from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program. This trip was primarily focused on collecting biological data from female tiger sharks aggregating in the western Bahamas in an area named Tiger Beach.

During this trip we were able to collect blood and muscle tissue samples. A three gram muscle plug sample was taken from the fleshy region around the dorsal fin, and heprinized blood samples were tested for haematocrit and then centrifuged to collect plasma. After data and samples were collected from each shark, a spot satellite tag was attached to the dorsal fin, and the shark was released alive in a healthy condition. While diving we encountered a previously tagged tiger shark that we caught earlier during the trip! We are very excited to integrate the results from this excursion into our on going study of elasmobranch reproduction.

Check back soon for more updates!

Scarce Skate Sampling

2011-11-30T21:53:45+00:00

November was an unpredictable month, beginning with snow and ending with nearly 60 degree weather. The at sea forecast was equally as variable, although we were able to go to sea once out of Gloucester on a commercial fishing vessel. Unfortunately, we did not catch many little skates on this trip, but we were able to collect samples from the few we did catch.

In the lab, plasma extractions have continued and are almost complete, while muscle tissue grinding and extractions are just beginning.

In addition to all of our planned sampling, we have been given the opportunity to work with collaborators at the University of Miami this December. We will be going on a research cruise in the Bahamas where we hope to collect samples from tiger sharks!

Check back soon for more updates and to see pictures from the research trip in the Bahamas!

Unpredictable Weather and Freak Snow Storm Complicates Sampling in October

2011-10-31T17:17:32+00:00

Greetings from snowy Maine! Unfortunately, this month has been full of unpredictable nasty weather up here in the Gulf, inhibiting us from going out with commercial fishermen to collect samples from little skates. Luckily, this coming week is looking up in terms of the marine forecast, and we hope to be able to get out before it snows…again!

Lab work has gotten underway on the samples from the remaining spiny dogfish reproductive stages that we collected last month. We are looking forward to comparing the values we find in the muscle and plasma during this integral stage to the other stages we have already quantified.