Exploring the complex world of sharks
A projection of a hammerhead shark lights up the walls of the "Sharks" exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences
Dave Boitano/ story and photos
Dave Boitano/ story and photos
Shark. The very word conjures up visions of a fierce undersea predator, devouring fish or humans unlucky enough to be in the water.
But in many ways, sharks are the most misunderstood fish in the sea. Sure, they are apex predators and some have killed people. But they are vital to a healthy ocean ecology and are endangered due to excessive commercial fishing.
The story of sharks is now on display in an engaging exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
“Sharks” skillfully blends the use of life-size models, fossils and multi-media technology to show the many sides of these hunters of the sea.
Your first impression on entering the exhibit is how big these creatures are. A huge gaping maw lined with razor sharp teeth fills one display case, and you can’t help but notice that it’s big enough to swallow a large animal or human in one massive chomp.
Other models are the size of boats, and a projection of the mighty Great White Shark fills almost one entire wall of the exhibit room.
Sharks have roamed the seas for more than 450 million years and predated the dinosaurs. Because their bodies were of made of soft cartilage, which does not survive eons in the soil, scientists rely on fossilized teeth when studying prehistoric shark remains. A long display case containing those teeth chronicles shark adaptations over millennia.
The largest shark ever to have lived was Megalodon, a 66-foot behemoth which was similar in appearance to today’s Great White sharks. Scientists said the creature was so strong it could crush the shells of giant sea turtles with a single bite.
Science has since identified more than 375 shark species. While all are carnivores, some, like the massive whale shark, are passive filter feeders opening their huge mouths while swimming through a swarm of microscopic plankton
Shark attacks continue today, especially involving Great Whites, which are found off the Northern California coast and in the waters around South Africa. The fearsome predator has also become a problem for swimmers off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod area. The attacks are eerily similar to the plot of “Jaws,” a bestselling book and movie released in 1974 which spread the fear of sharks throughout the nation. The United States leads the world in shark attack incidents and most of the encounters took place in the waters off Florida.
Still, the chance of being killed by sharks is extremely small (see odds list below), and most Great White attacks occur when the shark mistakes a surfer for a sea lion which form the basis of its diet.
Academy ichthyologist Luiz Rocha has had shark encounters while diving throughout the world. Once while underwater off Christmas Island disturbs in the Indian Ocean, a shark started displaying menacing behavior because Rocha was carrying a bag full of speared fish. Rocha got the hint.
“It was either give my fish to the shark or get out of the water, so I got out of the water,” he said.
Rocha said he has never heard of an unprovoked attack on a diver and most aggressive shark behavior occurs when a human disturbs the animal or simply gets too close.
But sharks have a positive side. Their voracious appetites help maintain a balance on reefs, where overpopulation of fish would rapidly deplete food sources. They also target weak or diseased fish, which keeps the fish stock healthy.
Though they have little to fear from other sea creatures, sharks face a deadly future brought about by human fishing.
Each year millions are caught and killed just for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asian restaurants. Others are caught inadvertently by fisherman angling for more profitable seafood. As so called “bycatch,” the sharks are simply discarded, according to Rocha
“When fishing for tuna, at least 30 percent of the hooks are going to have sharks on them,” he said. “When you release them, a lot of them are already dead so the damage has been done.”
Some species are now considered endangered and restocking the population is difficult, due to the shark’s slow reproduction rate. Educating the public is key to improving the species chances for survival.
The academy has been a leader in this area. The exhibit highlights the work of renowned shark expert and former director Dr. John McCosker along with Dave Ebert, whose Pacific Shark Research Center centers on the biological diversity in the shark kingdom.
And when visiting the exhibit, visitors are certain to become more interested in this most formidable fish. Sharks, Rocha said, spark people’s imagination.
“It’s the allure of them being the top predator in the ocean,” he said. “They are like the lions of the ocean, and biologically they are very important.”
Admission to "Sharks" is free with entrance to the academy. Due to pandemic conditions, advance reservations are required. For more information, visit calacademy.org.
But in many ways, sharks are the most misunderstood fish in the sea. Sure, they are apex predators and some have killed people. But they are vital to a healthy ocean ecology and are endangered due to excessive commercial fishing.
The story of sharks is now on display in an engaging exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
“Sharks” skillfully blends the use of life-size models, fossils and multi-media technology to show the many sides of these hunters of the sea.
Your first impression on entering the exhibit is how big these creatures are. A huge gaping maw lined with razor sharp teeth fills one display case, and you can’t help but notice that it’s big enough to swallow a large animal or human in one massive chomp.
Other models are the size of boats, and a projection of the mighty Great White Shark fills almost one entire wall of the exhibit room.
Sharks have roamed the seas for more than 450 million years and predated the dinosaurs. Because their bodies were of made of soft cartilage, which does not survive eons in the soil, scientists rely on fossilized teeth when studying prehistoric shark remains. A long display case containing those teeth chronicles shark adaptations over millennia.
The largest shark ever to have lived was Megalodon, a 66-foot behemoth which was similar in appearance to today’s Great White sharks. Scientists said the creature was so strong it could crush the shells of giant sea turtles with a single bite.
Science has since identified more than 375 shark species. While all are carnivores, some, like the massive whale shark, are passive filter feeders opening their huge mouths while swimming through a swarm of microscopic plankton
Shark attacks continue today, especially involving Great Whites, which are found off the Northern California coast and in the waters around South Africa. The fearsome predator has also become a problem for swimmers off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod area. The attacks are eerily similar to the plot of “Jaws,” a bestselling book and movie released in 1974 which spread the fear of sharks throughout the nation. The United States leads the world in shark attack incidents and most of the encounters took place in the waters off Florida.
Still, the chance of being killed by sharks is extremely small (see odds list below), and most Great White attacks occur when the shark mistakes a surfer for a sea lion which form the basis of its diet.
Academy ichthyologist Luiz Rocha has had shark encounters while diving throughout the world. Once while underwater off Christmas Island disturbs in the Indian Ocean, a shark started displaying menacing behavior because Rocha was carrying a bag full of speared fish. Rocha got the hint.
“It was either give my fish to the shark or get out of the water, so I got out of the water,” he said.
Rocha said he has never heard of an unprovoked attack on a diver and most aggressive shark behavior occurs when a human disturbs the animal or simply gets too close.
But sharks have a positive side. Their voracious appetites help maintain a balance on reefs, where overpopulation of fish would rapidly deplete food sources. They also target weak or diseased fish, which keeps the fish stock healthy.
Though they have little to fear from other sea creatures, sharks face a deadly future brought about by human fishing.
Each year millions are caught and killed just for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asian restaurants. Others are caught inadvertently by fisherman angling for more profitable seafood. As so called “bycatch,” the sharks are simply discarded, according to Rocha
“When fishing for tuna, at least 30 percent of the hooks are going to have sharks on them,” he said. “When you release them, a lot of them are already dead so the damage has been done.”
Some species are now considered endangered and restocking the population is difficult, due to the shark’s slow reproduction rate. Educating the public is key to improving the species chances for survival.
The academy has been a leader in this area. The exhibit highlights the work of renowned shark expert and former director Dr. John McCosker along with Dave Ebert, whose Pacific Shark Research Center centers on the biological diversity in the shark kingdom.
And when visiting the exhibit, visitors are certain to become more interested in this most formidable fish. Sharks, Rocha said, spark people’s imagination.
“It’s the allure of them being the top predator in the ocean,” he said. “They are like the lions of the ocean, and biologically they are very important.”
Admission to "Sharks" is free with entrance to the academy. Due to pandemic conditions, advance reservations are required. For more information, visit calacademy.org.
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Zoo exhibit shines light on illegal wildlife trade
Oakland Zoo CEO Nik Dehejia views a display of wildlife trinkets Dave Boitano/photo
It is the blackest of black markets.
Each year, thousands of wild animals are killed or taken from nature as part of the illegal wildlife trade, a multibillion dollar global business that is pushing many species to the brink of extinction.
It’s a trade that the leaders of the Oakland Zoo hope to stop by educating the public.
Banners hung throughout the zoo grounds point out the statistics of how many animals are sacrificed each year, and a hut in the African Savannah area displays related items confiscated by authorities.
“We wanted to create a center here at the zoo as part of a broader campaign,” said Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Officer Nik Dehejia,” This is just a piece of the larger campaign to help people understand what is happening with the wildlife trade.”
Many animals are poached from African wildlife sanctuaries, and slaughtered for their meat and body parts which are used in folk medicines, or as curios to be sold to tourists. Live animals, including everything from exotic parrots to scorpions, are caught and smuggled into this country to be kept as pets.
Smugglers are often connected to international organized crime gangs which employ impoverished locals to capture the animals and prepare them for shipment. To get past authorities, violators stuff animals into small containers or employ other devices which can prove fatal to their live contraband.
Other species die because they cannot adapt to a new environment. From 2015-2019 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service confiscated 48,000 live animals of which only 20 percent survived, Dehejia said in an exhibit video.
Certain species have been especially hard hit. During the last 100 years, lion populations have declined by 90 percent and tigers have dropped by 96 percent, according to the big cat advocacy group Panthera.
More than 20,000 elephants were poached and killed in game reserves in 2013 and a report predicts that “poaching levels remain alarmingly high and continue to exceed the natural elephant population growth rates, resulting in a further decline in elephant populations in Africa.”
The display includes a variety of wildlife trinkets, including a carved ivory elephant horn, a reptile skin purse and a pair of shark jaws. Even collecting seashells can be harmful if they are from an endangered species.
Tourists should think about what they buy, and determine if a souvenir being sold could cause the decline of a local species, Dehejia said.
“When you go to markets around the world and you think are supporting a community, you may be supporting illegal activities,” he said. “It may seem like something fun but at the end of the day, it may have a link to something disastrous.”
It’s no coincidence that the zoo has created this exhibit during the coronavirus pandemic. While the exact source of the infection has not been determined, suspicion has centered on a so-called “wet market” in Wuhan. China where wild animals were legally sold as meat. Rumors that the virus escaped from a laboratory in the city were discounted and market has since been closed down by authorities.
Coronaviruses are found in bats which can spread the disease to humans through another animal host. In a report to the United Nations, researchers warn that destruction of forest habitats may set the stage for more international disease.
“There are now a whole raft of activities – illegal logging, clearing and mining – with associated international trades in bush meat and exotic pets that have created this crisis,” said Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation at Duke University.
“In the case of Covid-19, it has cost the world trillions of dollars and already killed almost a million people, so clearly urgent action is needed.”
The campaign against the wildlife trade is part of the larger issue of humans interacting with the natural world, which is “pushing wildlife to the edges,” Dehejia said. It is not intended to lay blame on any nation but to define a global problem.
“This is a broader story of our challenging relationship with nature... We have to recalibrate our relationship with nature,” he said. “The pandemic has helped us all understand that this is a human problem.”
The campaign is the latest in the Oakland Zoo’s ongoing protection and advocacy efforts for wild animals. Staff in the veterinary clinic regularly treat victims of the illegal trade and try to determine where they will go after they recover.
At least half of the zoo’s animals were rescues including a pair of Australian wallabies that had been kept illegally. They will be part of a new Australian wildlife exhibit. Dehejia and others were instrumental in banning the bull hook, a painful device used by circus staff to subdue elephants.
Along with the exhibit, the campaign will include other activities throughout the year and zoo patrons can get on board now by signing a pledge on the zoo’s website.
“Each individual has a role to play, Dehejia said. “We can all do something.”
Each year, thousands of wild animals are killed or taken from nature as part of the illegal wildlife trade, a multibillion dollar global business that is pushing many species to the brink of extinction.
It’s a trade that the leaders of the Oakland Zoo hope to stop by educating the public.
Banners hung throughout the zoo grounds point out the statistics of how many animals are sacrificed each year, and a hut in the African Savannah area displays related items confiscated by authorities.
“We wanted to create a center here at the zoo as part of a broader campaign,” said Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Officer Nik Dehejia,” This is just a piece of the larger campaign to help people understand what is happening with the wildlife trade.”
Many animals are poached from African wildlife sanctuaries, and slaughtered for their meat and body parts which are used in folk medicines, or as curios to be sold to tourists. Live animals, including everything from exotic parrots to scorpions, are caught and smuggled into this country to be kept as pets.
Smugglers are often connected to international organized crime gangs which employ impoverished locals to capture the animals and prepare them for shipment. To get past authorities, violators stuff animals into small containers or employ other devices which can prove fatal to their live contraband.
Other species die because they cannot adapt to a new environment. From 2015-2019 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service confiscated 48,000 live animals of which only 20 percent survived, Dehejia said in an exhibit video.
Certain species have been especially hard hit. During the last 100 years, lion populations have declined by 90 percent and tigers have dropped by 96 percent, according to the big cat advocacy group Panthera.
More than 20,000 elephants were poached and killed in game reserves in 2013 and a report predicts that “poaching levels remain alarmingly high and continue to exceed the natural elephant population growth rates, resulting in a further decline in elephant populations in Africa.”
The display includes a variety of wildlife trinkets, including a carved ivory elephant horn, a reptile skin purse and a pair of shark jaws. Even collecting seashells can be harmful if they are from an endangered species.
Tourists should think about what they buy, and determine if a souvenir being sold could cause the decline of a local species, Dehejia said.
“When you go to markets around the world and you think are supporting a community, you may be supporting illegal activities,” he said. “It may seem like something fun but at the end of the day, it may have a link to something disastrous.”
It’s no coincidence that the zoo has created this exhibit during the coronavirus pandemic. While the exact source of the infection has not been determined, suspicion has centered on a so-called “wet market” in Wuhan. China where wild animals were legally sold as meat. Rumors that the virus escaped from a laboratory in the city were discounted and market has since been closed down by authorities.
Coronaviruses are found in bats which can spread the disease to humans through another animal host. In a report to the United Nations, researchers warn that destruction of forest habitats may set the stage for more international disease.
“There are now a whole raft of activities – illegal logging, clearing and mining – with associated international trades in bush meat and exotic pets that have created this crisis,” said Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation at Duke University.
“In the case of Covid-19, it has cost the world trillions of dollars and already killed almost a million people, so clearly urgent action is needed.”
The campaign against the wildlife trade is part of the larger issue of humans interacting with the natural world, which is “pushing wildlife to the edges,” Dehejia said. It is not intended to lay blame on any nation but to define a global problem.
“This is a broader story of our challenging relationship with nature... We have to recalibrate our relationship with nature,” he said. “The pandemic has helped us all understand that this is a human problem.”
The campaign is the latest in the Oakland Zoo’s ongoing protection and advocacy efforts for wild animals. Staff in the veterinary clinic regularly treat victims of the illegal trade and try to determine where they will go after they recover.
At least half of the zoo’s animals were rescues including a pair of Australian wallabies that had been kept illegally. They will be part of a new Australian wildlife exhibit. Dehejia and others were instrumental in banning the bull hook, a painful device used by circus staff to subdue elephants.
Along with the exhibit, the campaign will include other activities throughout the year and zoo patrons can get on board now by signing a pledge on the zoo’s website.
“Each individual has a role to play, Dehejia said. “We can all do something.”
Viewing wildlife in your home
Aquariums, zoos and science museums are closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but there are still plenty of ways to gain knowledge and experience the beauty of the animal world.
Most institutions have webcams that stream live images of everything from aquarium fish to elephants in real time. Others have assembled pre-recorded segments of lectures or highlights of streamed images for those who are too impatient to wait for the animals to appear.
Here is a sampling of the best online science programs and websites.
Explore.org
Is a nonprofit that links to dozens of live stream views of both wild animals and pets. Viewers can chose to watch birds, sharks, bears or rescued cats snoozing in their cat beds. Now is the best time to watch a golden eagle feeding her chicks in an Iowa nest.
Wild Earth—Safari Live
All the excitement of being on a real safari without the expense and 16-hour plane ride to get there. Guides drive jeeps along African game trails in search of lions, hyenas and leopards. The camera is situated in the back of the vehicle giving the viewer the feeling of being there. The drivers are very knowledgeable and online participants ask them questions via instant messaging.
Because it’s Africa, the time in reversed with the trips starting during nighttime hours here in the U.S. The site also features videos of memorable safaris, a line of clothing and a subscription to a series about big cats that took years to produce.
Aquariums
Georgia Aquarium
Is the nation’s largest and is so big it can house giant whale sharks and beluga whales. Check out the wonderful white belugas as they glide past the camera. Another winner is the piranha tank where the deadly fish hover listlessly. Haven’t seen them being fed yet but I’m sure it’s memorable.
Aquarium of the Pacific
A small facility located in Long Beach, California. But it boasts some of the best live view opportunities, including a colorful shark lagoon tank and a blue cavern display.
Shedd Aquarium
Located on Lake Michigan in Chicago, Shedd contains one of the largest collection of fresh and salt water aquatic life in the nation. The exhibit, “underwater beauty,” is designed to showcase how fish adapt to their environment and displays their colorful beauty. The live cam lives up to that billing and it not to missed.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
It’s by far the biggest tourist attraction in Monterey, California. The aquarium houses creatures native to Monterey Bay, a complex marine ecosystem thousands of feet deep that nourishes migrating whales, sea otters and sharks. Best viewing here is the open sea exhibit that includes exotic sunfish and the jelly live cam where jellyfish undulate to new age background music.
Zoos
San Diego Zoo
No visit to San Diego is complete without a trip to the city’s zoo. Hundreds of animals inhabit the zoo and Safari Park, which is located 35 miles away in Escondido. There’s a variety of webcams to choose from. Among the best are the giraffe cam (where rhinos regularly hang out) the polar bear cam and the burrowing owls.
Bronx Zoo
Is New York’s finest and is part of a system that also includes the New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and Prospect Park Zoo. Since closing, the staff has created a “virtual zoo” featuring videos of how keepers care for camels and train sea lions. A “moment of Zen” features pink flamingos and is designed to calm the viewer. Be sure to check out webcams of the zoo’s bird house and caged lemurs.
Museums
California Academy of Sciences
Located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the academy features an indoor rainforest, digital planetarium, natural history museum and aquarium. Live webcams show penguins in their indoor enclosure, a reef lagoon and the Farallon Islands, a unique rocky chain off San Francisco. The island cam changes direction frequently and one view shows sea lions playing in a cove.
In a series of “breakfast club” videos shown on YouTube, scientists talk about their areas of study. Of special interest is virologist Shannon Bennett talking about parasites and Morrison Planetarium Director Ryan Wyatt taking viewers on a trip through outer space.
Birds
Peregrine Falcons
A pair of peregrine falcons are nesting atop the UC Berkeley Campanile, a 200- foot bell tower and fossil repository on the college campus. The birds have become celebrities since a webcam was installed and viewers can now see the female nurturing her chicks.
This is only a partial list of resources. If you have a favorite webcam or video, contact me through: editor@scienceinview.com and I will add it to the list.
__Dave Boitano
Take a walk with giants
The ecosystems that comprise the San Francisco Bay Area’s natural environment are the focus of a new exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences.
Redwood trees, whales and earthquakes may not seem connected but after seeing “Giants of Land and Sea,” visitors will understand the natural forces that work in harmony to sustain these fixtures of local life. The exhibit opened Friday, June 15 at the academy, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
“This is really about connected systems that are on the Northern California coast that make this place we live in so unique,” said Scott Moran, the academy’s director of exhibits.
The exhibit occupies the space previously used for “The Color of Life,” the academy’s last big in-house produced show. For the first time, display captions are written in four languages, English, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino.
To bring the coastal nature story to life, designers drew upon much of the academy’s existing resources, including an extensive collection of marine mammal skeletons and an earthquake simulation chamber that was part of a separate earthquake exhibit.
Towering over the display area is a 50 foot skeleton of a blue whale that was brought to the academy in 1908. It has been hanging there since the building was reopened after a complete redesign in 2008. Prior to that the whale was displayed in a huge shed outside the main building.
The deceased cetacean is an integral element of the show and inspired the approach designers would take in creating the exhibit.
“We wanted to do an exhibit on California,” Moran said. “It’s in our name but the challenge was California is huge.”
“We had a blue whale overhead so we decided why not focus it towards the coastline and we can make sure to bring in the blue whale. It’s such a beautiful specimen.”
Skeletons of marine mammals including the jaws of whales and fully-articulated seals and sea lions are on display. Look at a nearby wall and you will see hundreds of California Sea Lion skulls from the collection of the late Raymond “Bones” Bandar, an academy volunteer who collected more than 6,000 animal skulls during more than 60 years of scouring beaches for remains.
He amassed the greatest collection of California Sea lion skulls and now 28 academy volunteers are moving his remaining specimens to the academy from his San Francisco home, said Maureen “Mo” Flannery, collections manager for birds and mammals.
The large elephant seal skeleton rearing up within the display is most likely the only specimen of its kind on display anywhere, Flannery said.
So why not simply display plastic models of the animals like other museums and aquariums? Flannery was asked.
Showing the genuine article, even in skeletal form, is part of the academy’s commitment as a research institution she said.
“We wanted people to see the interior workings and skeletons are beautiful,” she added. “The outside of the animal is beautiful but the skeleton shows you a whole different side.”
Fog, that atmospheric staple of San Francisco during the summer, also has a role in the “Giants” story. Designers have created a fog chamber where a thick mist descends upon visitors within moments after entering.
Is hard to see the hand in front of your face for a few seconds, and Moran said the effect is created by vibrating ultrasonic devices interacting with water in the chamber.
Fog provides a vital water source for California’s towering redwood trees which are well represented in the display.
An 8,500 pound cross section of a giant redwood that began growing around the year 1200, shows visitors just how big these trees can get. The tree was toppled during a 2011 storm. And the sample came from redwood’s higher branches, according to Moran.
“If we tried to show the base of the tree it wouldn’t even fit in the building,” he said.
Exhibit designers obtained the tree with the help of the Save the Redwoods League, a conservation organization that protects old-growth redwoods. Preserving the trees is important because of the two million acres of original redwood forest only 5 percent is left, said the organization’s Rosemary Cameron.
“We are trying to get millions of people out into the redwoods so that they can experience the peace and grandeur and gain a keen understanding of why their preservation is so important.”
Along with the tree section, the exhibit features an ultra-high definition video of researchers climbing the trunk of a huge redwood. The video was shot in a forest in Del Norte County using photographic drones and provides a stunning image of how small we humans are compared with nature’s giants.
Redwood trees, whales and earthquakes may not seem connected but after seeing “Giants of Land and Sea,” visitors will understand the natural forces that work in harmony to sustain these fixtures of local life. The exhibit opened Friday, June 15 at the academy, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
“This is really about connected systems that are on the Northern California coast that make this place we live in so unique,” said Scott Moran, the academy’s director of exhibits.
The exhibit occupies the space previously used for “The Color of Life,” the academy’s last big in-house produced show. For the first time, display captions are written in four languages, English, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino.
To bring the coastal nature story to life, designers drew upon much of the academy’s existing resources, including an extensive collection of marine mammal skeletons and an earthquake simulation chamber that was part of a separate earthquake exhibit.
Towering over the display area is a 50 foot skeleton of a blue whale that was brought to the academy in 1908. It has been hanging there since the building was reopened after a complete redesign in 2008. Prior to that the whale was displayed in a huge shed outside the main building.
The deceased cetacean is an integral element of the show and inspired the approach designers would take in creating the exhibit.
“We wanted to do an exhibit on California,” Moran said. “It’s in our name but the challenge was California is huge.”
“We had a blue whale overhead so we decided why not focus it towards the coastline and we can make sure to bring in the blue whale. It’s such a beautiful specimen.”
Skeletons of marine mammals including the jaws of whales and fully-articulated seals and sea lions are on display. Look at a nearby wall and you will see hundreds of California Sea Lion skulls from the collection of the late Raymond “Bones” Bandar, an academy volunteer who collected more than 6,000 animal skulls during more than 60 years of scouring beaches for remains.
He amassed the greatest collection of California Sea lion skulls and now 28 academy volunteers are moving his remaining specimens to the academy from his San Francisco home, said Maureen “Mo” Flannery, collections manager for birds and mammals.
The large elephant seal skeleton rearing up within the display is most likely the only specimen of its kind on display anywhere, Flannery said.
So why not simply display plastic models of the animals like other museums and aquariums? Flannery was asked.
Showing the genuine article, even in skeletal form, is part of the academy’s commitment as a research institution she said.
“We wanted people to see the interior workings and skeletons are beautiful,” she added. “The outside of the animal is beautiful but the skeleton shows you a whole different side.”
Fog, that atmospheric staple of San Francisco during the summer, also has a role in the “Giants” story. Designers have created a fog chamber where a thick mist descends upon visitors within moments after entering.
Is hard to see the hand in front of your face for a few seconds, and Moran said the effect is created by vibrating ultrasonic devices interacting with water in the chamber.
Fog provides a vital water source for California’s towering redwood trees which are well represented in the display.
An 8,500 pound cross section of a giant redwood that began growing around the year 1200, shows visitors just how big these trees can get. The tree was toppled during a 2011 storm. And the sample came from redwood’s higher branches, according to Moran.
“If we tried to show the base of the tree it wouldn’t even fit in the building,” he said.
Exhibit designers obtained the tree with the help of the Save the Redwoods League, a conservation organization that protects old-growth redwoods. Preserving the trees is important because of the two million acres of original redwood forest only 5 percent is left, said the organization’s Rosemary Cameron.
“We are trying to get millions of people out into the redwoods so that they can experience the peace and grandeur and gain a keen understanding of why their preservation is so important.”
Along with the tree section, the exhibit features an ultra-high definition video of researchers climbing the trunk of a huge redwood. The video was shot in a forest in Del Norte County using photographic drones and provides a stunning image of how small we humans are compared with nature’s giants.
Video courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences
"Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed" is more than just an exhibit
Photo courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is known for colorful and engaging displays but the latest exhibit is more than just a collection of sea creatures and bright computer graphics. It’s more like a story told to visitors as they walk through the darkened exhibit space at the academy’s Steinhart Aquarium.
“Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed,” now on display is sure to keep its audiences fascinated learning about an oceanic frontier more mysterious and unexplored than the surface of the Moon.
Like any good story, the exhibit has engaging characters who journey where no one has gone before and return to tell the tale. They are divers Luiz Rocha and Bart Shepherd, who admit that they work well together 500 feet below the surface and on dry land.
Rocha, an academy ichthyologist and Shepherd, director of Steinhart, dove into the shadowy depths in the Philippines the last two years collecting fish and corals for this display. A full size mockup of a diver in full gear is testimony to the difficulty of working at such a depth.
An elaborate black scuba outfit with multiple helium-filled tanks, depth gauges and a rebreather system confirms that this equipment is not for casual dives. It also confirms that Rocha and Shepherd are more like underwater astronauts than just scientists catching fish.
And like astronauts, the men are two of only a handful of humans who have ever ventured into these deep Mesozoic reefs. “We are part of a select group of people who have ever set eyes on these things,” Shepherd said, “They are very sensitive to light and few people will have the opportunity to see them.”
Nearby, fish and invertebrates move about in dimly lit tanks which cast a blue hue evocative of their natural environment. Shepherd pointed out a colorful comb jelly which undulated as if floating through the air. Dubbed “sea peeps” for their resemblance to Easter candy, the creatures are the first to be displayed in any aquarium outside of Japan.
Shepherd lightheartedly took issue the way the Japanese biologists obtained their jellies. “They collected them with a submarine which is cheating,” he said, “We collected ours by hand.”
Diving at 400 feet requires extensive training and certifications which most scientists are unwilling to do, Rocha said. That has allowed the dive team to collect dozens of unknown fish and coral species. While adding two similar fish collected at different times into a single tank, he noticed that the second fish had different coloring than the first; evidence of a new species.
“This is how much we don’t know about these deep reefs,” he said. “You could go there blindfold your eyes, collect things randomly and half of what you collect will be a new species.”
A long plastic cylinder in a nearby display is testament to the care the divers take in bringing live animals to the surface. Deep diving fish, which stay afloat by means of a swim bladder, will die from changes in water pressure as their bladder expands at shallower depths. Normally scientists offset the pressure by puncturing the animal’s bladder with a hypodermic needle underwater forcing bubbles out.
“Being an aquarium person since I was six years old, I don’t like poking holes in fish,” Shepherd said. The cylinder is a decompression chamber that holds the fish in two gallons of water. It is sealed at 200 feet and brought to the surface where academy staffers slowly release the pressure over several days until the fish are completely decompressed.
The exhibit is the first alteration of the aquarium since the academy building reopened in 2008. The decoration and lighting give the area a distinct atmospheric feeling unlike Steinhart’s other displays. Along with the hard science, visitors can recreate bioluminescence by waving their hands over a light display and a video game in which the player swims through the water collecting fish adds an element of fun.
But one question remains. How can the divers remain calm knowing that they are several hundred feet below the surface in such an alien environment?
Shepherd has logged more than 270 hours in the deep sea. A good dive team and experienced dive safety officer help build confidence, he says but it was not always that way.
“When I first started I had a lot of anxiety as you look over the ledge and start to make your descent. And I definitely felt that in the first deep dives but with proficiency it’s like anything else you put in the hours and you are comfortable. “
Now that’s a story.
“Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed,” now on display is sure to keep its audiences fascinated learning about an oceanic frontier more mysterious and unexplored than the surface of the Moon.
Like any good story, the exhibit has engaging characters who journey where no one has gone before and return to tell the tale. They are divers Luiz Rocha and Bart Shepherd, who admit that they work well together 500 feet below the surface and on dry land.
Rocha, an academy ichthyologist and Shepherd, director of Steinhart, dove into the shadowy depths in the Philippines the last two years collecting fish and corals for this display. A full size mockup of a diver in full gear is testimony to the difficulty of working at such a depth.
An elaborate black scuba outfit with multiple helium-filled tanks, depth gauges and a rebreather system confirms that this equipment is not for casual dives. It also confirms that Rocha and Shepherd are more like underwater astronauts than just scientists catching fish.
And like astronauts, the men are two of only a handful of humans who have ever ventured into these deep Mesozoic reefs. “We are part of a select group of people who have ever set eyes on these things,” Shepherd said, “They are very sensitive to light and few people will have the opportunity to see them.”
Nearby, fish and invertebrates move about in dimly lit tanks which cast a blue hue evocative of their natural environment. Shepherd pointed out a colorful comb jelly which undulated as if floating through the air. Dubbed “sea peeps” for their resemblance to Easter candy, the creatures are the first to be displayed in any aquarium outside of Japan.
Shepherd lightheartedly took issue the way the Japanese biologists obtained their jellies. “They collected them with a submarine which is cheating,” he said, “We collected ours by hand.”
Diving at 400 feet requires extensive training and certifications which most scientists are unwilling to do, Rocha said. That has allowed the dive team to collect dozens of unknown fish and coral species. While adding two similar fish collected at different times into a single tank, he noticed that the second fish had different coloring than the first; evidence of a new species.
“This is how much we don’t know about these deep reefs,” he said. “You could go there blindfold your eyes, collect things randomly and half of what you collect will be a new species.”
A long plastic cylinder in a nearby display is testament to the care the divers take in bringing live animals to the surface. Deep diving fish, which stay afloat by means of a swim bladder, will die from changes in water pressure as their bladder expands at shallower depths. Normally scientists offset the pressure by puncturing the animal’s bladder with a hypodermic needle underwater forcing bubbles out.
“Being an aquarium person since I was six years old, I don’t like poking holes in fish,” Shepherd said. The cylinder is a decompression chamber that holds the fish in two gallons of water. It is sealed at 200 feet and brought to the surface where academy staffers slowly release the pressure over several days until the fish are completely decompressed.
The exhibit is the first alteration of the aquarium since the academy building reopened in 2008. The decoration and lighting give the area a distinct atmospheric feeling unlike Steinhart’s other displays. Along with the hard science, visitors can recreate bioluminescence by waving their hands over a light display and a video game in which the player swims through the water collecting fish adds an element of fun.
But one question remains. How can the divers remain calm knowing that they are several hundred feet below the surface in such an alien environment?
Shepherd has logged more than 270 hours in the deep sea. A good dive team and experienced dive safety officer help build confidence, he says but it was not always that way.
“When I first started I had a lot of anxiety as you look over the ledge and start to make your descent. And I definitely felt that in the first deep dives but with proficiency it’s like anything else you put in the hours and you are comfortable. “
Now that’s a story.