Another Albion Shark Tale
Amy Hupp, '06, Shares Research Story
July 24, 2005

Amy Hupp completed her second FURSCA project this summer, again working with biology professor Jeff Carrier studying nurse sharks in the Florida Keys.

Every morning we have breakfast (prepared by a French chef, who is also a registered nurse and a dive master!) and then begin our nurse shark watches on the scaffolding we have set up near Long Key. Every four hours there is a "shift change" and a new shift captain takes the scaffolding to be on the look out for mating events.

I am never a shift captain because I am testing water quality for my FURSCA project. I look at water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen among many variables, looking for clues as to what drives the nurse sharks to keep coming back to the Dry Tortugas.

Usually, I am at our research site from at least 8 a.m. until 6, 7 or 8 p.m. every day. We generally kayak to and from the site from the “Tiburon,” the boat we're living on for two weeks. It’s an awesome way to start and finish every day!!

The shark observation area at low tide, overlooking coral beds.  During daylight hours, the observation area is continually monitored from the scaffolding, pictured at center-right on the horizon above. Albion College biology professor Jeff Carrier, Hupp, and Derek Burkholder, '04,who also worked with Carrier in 2003 and returned this summer (Burkholder will enter graduate school at Florida International University this fall).

The rest of the team is catching and tagging the sharks as part of an ongoing research project for Dr. Carrier. A few of the sharks we captured were fitted with a Crittercam (a camera attached to the sharks dorsal fin, sponsored by National Geographic) All sharks received transmitters so we can track their movements with underwater monitors. Some of the females were equipped with an instrument that records water temperature every 2 hours.

As an educational experience, this has been extremely rewarding. I refined my tagging and shark mating observation skills. I was also able to practice skills for helping on the boat (tying lines and such) and was able to see the importance of being able to communicate ideas and suggestions for making the study run more smoothly.

And I would have to say that the number one thing I learned while being at Tortugas was teamwork! I eat, sleep, and breathe with the same people for 15 days and it's not like you can get up and go for a walk if you get sick of someone.

The experience was simply great.  I got to work with amazing biologists, all very well known and respected in their fields. These past two years working in the Keys have been my favorite part of going to Albion.