Shark research emerging technologies and applications for the gield and laboratory
The remarkable pace of advancements in technology, particularly in the last two decades, has contributed to the development of a toolbox that greatly enhances the range of investigations into the biology and life history of elasmobranchs. In our preface to The Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives in 2004, Jack Musick, Mike Heithaus and I hinted at the potential impact of these advances when we noted that “…virtually every area of research associated with these animals has been strongly impacted by the revolutionary growth in technology and the questions we can now ask are very different than those reported in Perry Gilbert’s work not so long ago. A careful reading of the chapters we have presented in this work will show conclusions based on emergent technologies that have revealed some long-hidden secrets of these animals. Modern immunological and genetic techniques, satellite telemetry and archival tagging, modern phylogenetic analysis, GIS, and bomb dating, are just a few of the techniques and procedures that have become a part of our investigative lexicon.” Even then we did not anticipate the magnitude of expansion that was to occur in the fifteen years since that volume was produced and the improvements that would occur to existing methods. Now biologists, field biologists and laboratory biologists alike, are faced with a bewildering array of techniques and instruments with which to investigate almost every aspect of elasmobranch biology. From traditional studies of comparative morphology to satellite tracking and the almost limitless uses of DNA for examining species relatedness and assessing variability within and between populations, the questions that can be asked and the data that be obtained for analysis is providing new insights and understanding of this ancient line of aquatic vertebrates. The dilemma facing investigators, with such an extensive array of tools and techniques, is which investigative approach is most appropriate for a particular line of inquiry. Knowing how to use technology also assumes that the right choices are made with regard to selecting instruments and methodologies that will provide answers that are relevant to a particular line of inquiry. This applies not only to the technology or approach that is applied, but also the analytical methods with which the collected data are analyzed. Increases in computer power and statistical methods have progressed at similar rates to that of the technology applied to study these animals. One example of this is Network Analysis (Chapter 17) which until recently had not been applied to sharks or rays, but is now a fundamental tool in the analysis of data across a number of data collection techniques. When we began this project, our goal was straight forward: we intended to feature chapters presenting the various techniques and applications we identified as among the most useful approaches to broadening the ways we could better investigate and understand the biology and life history attributes of elasmobranch species. While some technologies, such as acoustic tracking, have been present for many years, miniaturization, data storage, and battery technology as well as advanced approaches to analysis of increasingly large volumes of data have helped to improve upon these tried and tested techniques and long accepted approaches. Outlining these changes was as important as introducing newer, more novel investigative approaches. We were also fully aware that no single volume could hope to present every possible technique, instrument, or technological advancement. Perhaps later volumes will expand on our initial attempts. Each chapter is designed to identify the types of studies that are appropriate for the use of the various technologies presented within each chapter, the kinds of results that can be expected from their use, and what information the studies reveal that advance our understanding of elasmobranch biology. Most certainly these techniques are equally applicable to studies of other marine groups as well. Of equal importance, we also believed that each chapter should include a discussion of where such techniques are inappropriate, not likely to succeed, or are otherwise probably not applicable to the study of elasmobranch biology. Choosing an inappropriate study methodology simply leads to wasted time and dashed expectations. We hoped that our treatments would prevent investigators from making such mistakes or from having unrealistic expectations. In that sense, the chapters serve as a rudimentary “how to,” at least with respect to making more informed choices about a particular approach to address questions of biological interest. We expected that such information would be useful to students just beginning their formal studies of elasmobranch biology while also serving as a guide for more seasoned scientists seeking to apply new techniques to ongoing studies. Our hope is that we will have succeeded in serving both groups. Our authors are a diverse group, all of whom have strong records of scholarship and all of whom have served as pioneers and leaders in applying these technologies to their own investigations. They thus provide a knowledge base from practical experience that we expect to serve as a valuable resource for our readers. We hope the information and “advice” we have assembled will accomplish that goal.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
Boca Raton, Florida, United States CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group
2020
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| Subjects: | Tiburones, Metodología científica, Investigación, |
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