Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives

About the Author

Jeffrey C. Carrier, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Albion College (MI) where he was a faculty member from 1979 to 2010. He earned a B.S. in Biology in 1970 from the University of Miami and completed a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Miami in 1974. While at Albion College, Dr. Carrier received multiple awards for teaching and scholarship and held Endowed Professorships in Biology. His primary research interests center on various aspects of the physiology and ecology of nurse sharks in the Florida Keys. His most recent work has investigated the reproductive biology and mating behaviors of this species in a long-term study from an isolated region of the Florida Keys. Dr. Carrier has been a long-time member of the American Elasmobranch Society, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Sigma Xi, the Society for Animal Behavior, and the Council on Undergraduate Research. He served multiple terms as President of the American Elasmobranch Society and received several distinguished service awards from the society. He holds an appointment as an Adjunct Research Scientist with Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research. In addition to his publications in the scientific literature, he has written and edited six previously published books on sharks and their biology, and numerous articles in the popular press.

Colin Simpfendorfer, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University and Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science at the University of Tasmania. He has also worked at in the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory (Florida) and the Shark Fisheries Section of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (Perth, Australia). He received his BSc. (Marine Biology and Zoology) in 1986, and Ph.D. (Fisheries Science) in 1993, both from James Cook University. He has spent his career studying the life history, ecology, status and conservation of sharks and rays with the principle aim of providing scientific information for improving their management. He regularly provides scientific advice to governments, NGOs and industry. Dr. Simpfendorfer is an author on over 250 peer-reviewed scientific papers on sharks and rays, and has trained more than 30 MSc and Ph.D. students (some of which have authored or co-authored chapters in this book). He was Co-Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group from 2012 to 2020, working to improve the conservation status of this important group of ocean predators through assessing their status, developing conservation plans and delivering quality scientific information to decision makers. He also serves on many national and international committees, including Australia’s national Threatened Species Scientific Committee.

Michael R. Heithaus, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education at Florida International University in Miami, FL where he has been a faculty member since 2003. He received his B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College (1995) in Ohio and his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University (2001) in British Columbia, Canada. He was a postdoctoral scientist and staff scientist at the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory and also served as a research fellow at the National Geographic Society’s Remote Imaging Department. At FIU, Dr. Heithaus served as the Director of the Marine Sciences Program before becoming the Director of the School of Environment, Arts, and Society. Dr. Heithaus is a behavioral and community ecologist. His main research interests are in understanding the ecological roles and importance of large predators, especially their potential to impact community structure through non-consumptive effects. His work also explores the factors influencing behavioral decisions, especially of large marine taxa including marine mammals, sharks and rays, and sea turtles, and the importance of individual variation in behavior in shaping ecological interactions. Dr. Heithaus is the co-lead of the Global FinPrint project - a world-wide survey of elasmobranchs on coral reefs. His lab is engaged in marine conservation and research projects around the world and has ongoing long-term projects in Shark Bay, Australia and the coastal Everglades of southwest Florida. Dr Heithaus is an author on over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters. He is a member of the Inaugural Board of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.

Kara E. Yopak, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). Dr. Yopak received her B.A. from Boston University (Biology with a specialization in marine science) in 2002 and completed her Ph.D. (Sensory Neuroethology) at the University of Auckland (New Zealand) in 2007. She was a postdoctoral scientist at the University of California San Diego and later a Research Assistant Professor the University of Western Australia (Perth). She is currently Director of the UNCW ZoMBiE Lab (Zootomical Morphology of the Brain and its Evolution; http://yopaklab.com/), whose research focuses on the evolution of the brain within and across cartilaginous fishes, particularly the ways in which variation in brain size, structure, and cellular composition underlies complex behaviors and sensory specialization. Dr. Yopak and her students use novel techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT & m CT), and flow cytometry, in conjunction with traditional neuroanatomical methods to explore the processes driving brain evolution in this unique group of fishes. Her current collection of fish nervous system tissue comprises over 1000 specimens (and counting!). Dr. Yopak is a longtime member of the American Elasmobranch Society (for which she serves a number of administrative roles, including several terms on the Board of Directors), as well as the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, and the JB Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscience. She is currently Co-Editor of the journal Brain, Behavior and Evolution and is a proud mentor for the Gills Club, a signature action by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which encourages young girls with a passion for shark biology. Dr. Yopak has contributed to chapters in previous Editions of this book as an author.