Join us on for a Surfrider chapters meeting with a presentation from Lorena Silva of the CSULB Shark Lab. Sometimes we forget that the beach is a "wild place" with unregulated environmental conditions and wildlife, and it is important to remember that we are guests in someone else's home. What can you expect while enjoying the ocean?
https://surfrider-org.zoom.us/j/98284991451
Despite historic pollution, degradation, over harvesting and killing of marine life, environmental protections and regulations put in place to restore water quality and protect marine life have been working in many places in California. As a result we're now regularly seeing large marine predators such as seals, sea lions, dolphins, and sharks that we haven't seen for years along public beaches. So, to ensure safety for all parties involved it's important for you to know who's front yard you're playing in and how to do so safely, without offending our hosts.
Speaker bio:
Lorena Silva recently completed her master's degree in Marine Biology at the CSULB Shark Lab, where she is now a Science Educator. Her thesis research focused on the round stingray’s metabolism and how climate change will impact the energetic requirements of this stingray population. During her time at the CSULB Shark Lab, she has had the chance to collaborate in data collection, research, and outreach talks for the Juvenile White Shark project (2017-2021), and she had the opportunity to collaborate with U.S. and Mexican research institutions.
Lorena is a Fulbright fellow from Lima, Peru. Prior to starting her master’s program, she was an intern researcher for over four years at several institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, and other environmental NGO's in Peru. During that time, she worked on a variety of research projects, including study of stingray and shark diet in Peru, mobula ray fisheries in Peru, green sea turtle nesting and recruitment in the Galapagos Islands, and humpback whale census in Peru. Her research interests lie in understanding how the environment affects the physiology and behavior of sharks and rays, particularly under the effect of human activities.
About the Shark Lab:
The mission of the Shark Lab is to study the physiological and behavioral ecology of marine animals, emphasizing the effect of human activity on the ocean; to utilize and develop innovative technology to answer challenging questions important for the conservation and restoration of depleted populations; and to train the next generation of marine biologists.
