In 2015 the Molecular Fisheries Laboratory will use DNA from historical remains to study how shark species respond to changes in the environment. The changes include gradual changes (associated with long-term changes in sea-levels, current patterns and thermal regimes) and abrupt changes (associated with anthropomorphic events such as exploitation, habitat alteration).
Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are important to fishers and well as conservationists and are relatively common.
Please contact us if you can help with the study, such as locating shark material that we can work with in the lab. We’d also like to hear from you if you have comments or questions about the study.
The project will add value to studies on tiger sharks by PhD student Bonnie Holmes and link to the work of an honours student, postdoctoral researcher (Carlos Bustamante) and sabbatical visitor Professor Einar Nielsen.
Photo: Bonnie Holmes
