Beyond the Bite: How Stony Brook Scientists Are Changing the Way We See Sharks

When Jaws hit theaters in 1975, it helped spark an entire generation’s fear of sharks. The terrifying great white at the center of the movie turned sharks into Hollywood villains. And for decades, that fear stuck.

But 50 years later, the tide is starting to turn.

“Jaws painted this really negative perception of sharks as these bloodthirsty killers that were chasing people down, eating boats,” said Oliver Shipley, a shark conservation ecologist and assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University. “But the reality is, it was focused on a single species of shark in a single area and, as with any Hollywood movie, it overemphasized a lot of aspects.”

Ironically, the same film that scared so many also helped spark curiosity. Shipley remembers being scared of sharks after watching Jaws as a child and going on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios amusement park. Now, he spends his days studying and protecting them.

Around the world, the way people think about sharks is beginning to shift. Once seen as monsters, they’re now being recognized for the important role they play in marine ecosystems. Shark Week, once known for its over-the-top programming on the Discovery Channel — billed as the “summer’s most-anticipated television programming event” — is becoming a platform for science and conservation.

“Jaws is seen as this pivotal movie that, yes, historically instilled fear, but is now a great example of how far we’ve come,” Shipley said. “People get excited about it because they’re excited about sharks, rather than the idea of sharks eating people.”

Off the coast of New York, Shipley and his team are documenting a surprisingly rich community of sharks, including sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, dusky sharks, thresher sharks, and even a population of juvenile great whites, to name just a few. 

“New York is a whole different animal than other geographic areas. It’s harder to find animals and can be much less predictable,” said Shipley. “But that’s what makes it so exciting. We still don’t know very much about sharks in New York, so everything we do feels pioneering.”

These sharks aren’t lurking near beaches in search of swimmers; rather, they’re part of a delicately balanced ecosystem. With some larger species serving as top predators, sharks help control populations of other marine life, remove the sick and weak, and move nutrients across different regions.

“Sharks are connectors,” Shipley said. “They eat in one area, move to another, and defecate there, recycling nutrients across vast distances. That connectivity is so important to ecosystem health and resilience.”

While reported shark sightings may have become more frequent along New York’s beaches, it doesn’t necessarily mean that shark populations are growing quickly. According to Shipley, the increase has more to do with technology and awareness than a spike in numbers.

“There’s no evidence to suggest there are suddenly significantly more sharks, only some species are beginning to show the early signs of recovery,” he said. “What’s changed is the number of people watching the water. We have drones, lifeguards, cameras, and more beachgoers than ever before. So naturally, sightings go up.”

Still, scientists are paying close attention to how changes to climate could influence where and when sharks appear. Warmer waters and shifting currents may already be playing a role, but data is limited.

That concern is echoed by Michael G. Frisk, professor and director of the Living Marine Resources Institute in SoMAS. “Decades of shark population declines have meant a loss of an important group of species needed for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems,” Frisk said. “In recent years, science-based conservation has had some success, but the work needs to continue to maintain healthy ecosystems and shark populations. An important question is how will the distribution and seasonal occurrence of sharks change in the New York Bight — the Atlantic Continental Shelf waters off Long Island and New Jersey — with the effects of climate change.”

While the public may still be catching up, researchers are already using some of the most advanced tools available to study sharks. Shipley and his team rely on stable isotope analysis to examine what sharks eat, where they feed and how they move.

“The premise is, you are what you eat, plus or minus a few per mil,” Shipley explained. “We study the molecular attributes of animals. Isotopes can tell us what a shark eats, where it eats, and even what stage of pregnancy it’s in.”

They’re now developing methods to use this analysis to assess the nutritional condition of sharks, which could further reveal how climate change, pollution and other stressors are impacting species’ physiology.

“We’re well poised to make significant scientific advances at the cutting edge of shark science,” Shipley said. 

For Shipley, returning to Stony Brook as a faculty member in 2023 was a full-circle moment. After earning his PhD in SoMAS and spending time with research groups and non-profits across the country, he came back with new insights, and a mission to help the next generation of shark scientists.

“When I was finishing my PhD, if somebody had said, ‘You’ll be back here in four years,’ I’d have said, ‘No way,’” he said. “But it really does feel like coming home — with a new perspective, new skills, and new ideas.”

He’s now mentoring graduate students who are studying topics like movement ecology, stress physiology and public perceptions of sharks.

Maria Manz is a PhD candidate in SoMAS whose research uses acoustic and satellite telemetry and stable isotope analyses to study the migratory timing of sharks along the east coast of the United States, and their potential response to future ocean warming conditions, community and feeding dynamics among shark species along the south shore of Long Island, and three-dimensional habitat use of sandbar sharks throughout their southern migration.

“I am excited about this work because we are still just beginning to understand so many important aspects of shark ecology, and the New York Bight, in particular, remains relatively understudied in regard to shark ecology,” Manz said. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the growing understanding of shark ecology in this relatively understudied region to hopefully facilitate conservation efforts, sustainable fisheries, and an overall greater understanding of and appreciation for these amazing animals.”

The hope is that with more research and more education, the public’s perception surrounding sharks can finally move past fear and into understanding and respect.

“Sharks don’t pose a significant risk to humans,” Shipley said. “They’ve been part of this system for longer than most people realize. It’s time we start seeing them not as monsters, but as marvels.”

— Beth Squire