In this new episode, David Sims is joining me to talk about some of his research. David is a marine ecologist based at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth. His research focuses on movement ecology and conservation of marine top predators, specifically sharks, skates and rays. His research focuses on the behavioural ecology of pelagic shark movements and spatial distributions, the environmental constraints, and the consequences of anthropogenic impacts.
David is part of the Global Shark Movement project, a movement about movement... with more than 150 sharks biologists from 26 countries and regrouping more than 100 institutions, David and colleagues all around the world study the movement of sharks across the globe in order to assess the spatial overlap between the distribution of sharks with areas of high anthropogenic pressures (e.g. fisheries, shipping routes).
In this episode, David tells us about two major threats shark populations are facing globally: fisheries & climate change, and how these two might act in synergy, increasing the pressure on shark populations already greatly reduced and endangered. David also tells us about local sharks found in Plymouth, some of his memories diving in Plymouth sound with incredible creatures, and the early findings he made on basking sharks, back in the days where almost nothing was known about this species.
If you're interested in sharks, want to know more about them, their biology and movement, the way they are being affected by fisheries and how climate change will exacerbate this, or want to listen to the great discoveries David has made on basking sharks... there's something for you to bite!
Hope you enjoy listening to this!!
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And if you want to know more about David's work:
Sims Lab: https://www.mba.ac.uk/fellows/sims-lab#b5 & on Twitter: @TheSimsLab.
Global Shark Movement project: https://www.globalsharkmovement.org.
Papers:
Nature, 2019: Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries.
Email: dws@mba.ac.uk
You can find me here:
Instagram: @plymouthbeneaththesurface.
Twitter: @twosealions.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisedelion/.
Email: louise.delion@live.fr / louise-oceane.delion@students.plymouth.ac.uk