What is Episode 110 all about?
When it comes to misunderstood animals, sharks are at the top of the list. We fear them, persecute them, and some of us even eat them, but sharks play a vital role in our oceans that is irreplaceable by any other group of animals. As shark numbers decline and more media is produced to raise shark conservation awareness, it leads us to ask:
What exactly is going on with our sharks? How can we coexist with these toothy apex predators and restore ecosystem balance in our seas? Also, how does one go about studying sharks, when we, ourselves, are not made to last long in ocean environments? In this episode, we explore these questions and so much more with a woman researcher that is studying some famous, and not-so-famous, sharks in a natural wonder of the world.
Today we are sitting down with Camila Arnés, hammerhead and thresher shark researcher in the Galapagos Islands. Camila knew from a very early age that she wanted to be a marine biologist when she grew up and traveled abroad during university to gain the skills she needed to make a conservation impact back in her home. After years abroad in Australia, she returned to Ecuador to fulfill her dream of working on the Galapagos Islands. Through a series of serendipitous events, she became the leading researcher on the islands’ famous hammerhead shark population to learn about their feeding and moving behaviors. Now, she is continuing her sharky research by turning her attention to the significantly less understood thresher shark to hopefully understand their lives, thereby contributing to their conservation.
I seriously learned so much from Camila. We have a blast discussing:
- Her childhood and growing up to become a marine biologist
- Leaving her country to gain the skills she needed to make an impact back home
- The very interesting project that brought her to the Galapagos
- Everything hammerhead shark in the Galapagos
- And what we all can do to help save sharks, no matter where we are in the world.
Alright, friends. Please enjoy this fun conversation with Camila.
Listen to this episode.
Watch this episode on YouTube.
Camila in the Field
Images Discussed During the Episode
Image #1 – [38:08]
Image #2 – [43:19]
Image #3 – [52:18]
Image #4 – [52:57]
Image #5 – [1:04:46]
Links & Resources
Camila’s Websites
Camila’s Hammerhead Research
- Climate Variability Effects on the Feeding Behaviour of the Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead at the Galapagos Islands
- Charles Darwin Foundation
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