Stony Brook University course aims to dispel misconceptions about sharks

In a classroom at Stony Brook University's Southampton campus this week, a group of students pored over underwater camera footage, tasked with identifying the marine life swimming past the lens. In another corner of the room, students hunched over surgical tools, practicing the delicate stitches used to implant shark tracking tags.

The exercises, different as they may seem, served the same purpose: teaching the next generation of scientists how to study, and protect, sharks.

The lessons unfolded over the course of the past two weeks, part of the university's shark biology and conservation class. This is the second year the course has been offered, and through activities such as boat surveys, shark dissections and behind-the-scenes tours of local aquariums, high school and college students gained hands-on experience in marine research.

“A lot of these students have never seen a shark, especially in the wild, before,” said Marissa DeBonis, lecturer at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. “It gives them the opportunity not just to see a shark in person, to feel the really weird texture of their skin, but also to participate in ongoing scientific research.”

DeBonis launched the course last year to teach students about sharks' role in marine ecosystems while dispelling misconceptions that often portray them as dangerous. More than a dozen shark species inhabit waters off Long Island each summer, including sand tiger, sandbar, dusky and thresher sharks. Several are considered vulnerable or protected, making research and public education increasingly essential, DeBonis said. 

“Sharks are really important for maintaining ecosystem balance as members of the very top of the food chain,” DeBonis said. “They’re controlling population levels of all the species that are underneath them.”

Isabella Hitchcock, who is studying marine science at Stony Brook, was one of the 19 students who attended this year's class. She is planning on pursuing animal training and outreach conservation efforts.

Hitchcock, 19, of upstate Mahopac, said the most important lesson she took away from the course was “knowing how to really advocate for the species and learning the proper wording, because even Shark Week themselves, they don’t word things well enough, to the point that it makes the species look negative."

Leah Nehme also attended the class, which ended Friday. Nehme, who is studying marine vertebrate biology at Stony Brook, hopes to become a marine biologist specializing in sharks.

“I think [the class] has definitely solidified my choices and my interest in sharks,” said Nehme, 20, of Albany. “Learning more just makes me more curious.”

As students leave the course with new skills and a deeper appreciation for sharks, DeBonis said the work of understanding the animals is only beginning.

“The more we find out about sharks, the better we’re able to protect them and protect the ocean's ecosystems as a whole," DeBonis said. “We are just starting to scratch the surface on our understanding of these populations.”