Jessica Schulte
COMES, Oregon State University
Ethan Personius
COMES, Oregon State University
Taylor Chapple
COMES, Oregon State University
Sharks are incredibly important for maintaining structure, stability, and overall health of marine ecosystems, with known apex predator declines initiating mesopredator releases, trophic cascades, and even fishery collapses.
Despite evidence of their critical roles in ecologically and economically important systems, however, little is known about the role of these apex predators in the Pacific Northwest.
The Puget Sound is the second largest estuary in the United States with its nutrient-rich water and diverse habitats supporting marine mammals, seabirds, and fish, including threatened sturgeon and salmonid populations.
Outside studies on marine mammal and seabird impacts, little is known about the top-down dynamcis of other predators in these systems.
Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab, based in Newport, OR, aims to narrow this knowledge gap by using a variety of techniques, methods, and technologies to better understand the interactions that sharks have with important local fisheries, cultures, and economies.
Recently, the Big Fish Lab, working in collaboration with WDFW, NOAA, and local community members, captured and tagged the first scientifically verified Broadnose Sevengill (Notorynchus cepedianus) and Tope sharks (Galeorhinus galeus) in the South Puget Sound.
This research is ongoing – we will continue to study the foraging ecology of these species and track their movements through the Sound (and beyond) using an established acoustic array to learn more about their top-down roles in this critical ecosystem.