Sharks of Coastal SC w/ Dan Abel
The public either loves or hates shark; few are indifferent about this comparatively small group of predators. In this presentation suitable for all audiences, I’ll tell you about what I’ve learned about these amazing beasts over a career studying and writing about them. Specifically, I’ll dispel some very common myths about sharks, highlight the attributes of sharks that endlessly fascinate us, and discuss the real threats that human pose to them, as well as their irreplaceable roles in ecosystems. I’ll conclude with an overview of the Coastal Carolina Shark Project’s research in Winyah Bay. A world without sharks is simply too horrifying to allow. What can be done to prevent this from happening?
Program will take place at the Kimbel Center at Hobcaw Barony (147 Pond Pine Rd Georgetown, SC 29440) Registration required.
Daniel C. Abel is Professor of Marine Science at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. He earned his M.Sc. in marine biology from the College of Charleston and his Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He was a postdoctoral fellow in marine biomedicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. His research focuses on the physiology and ecology of sharks and rays. In addition to numerous scientific papers, he is author/co-author of the books Environmental Issues (4th ed, Pearson.), Environmental Oceanography (Jones and Bartlett), Environmental Geology (Jones and Bartlett), Shark Biology and Conservation (Johns Hopkins), Tooth and Claw: Top Predators of the World (Princeton), The Lives of Sharks (Princeton), Sharkpedia (Princeton) and Shark: The Illustrated Biography (2025, Princeton), and the forthcoming Biology of the Skates and Rays (Princeton). He has been an award-winning environmental columnist and was also founding director of Coastal Carolina University’s Campus and Community Sustainability Initiative from 2006 – 2012. He taught at sea and in > 30 countries on the M/V Explorer with Semester at Sea in spring 2010 and summer 2012, 2013, and 2014, and his annual Biology of Sharks course held at the Bimini Biological Field Station in The Bahamas has run for nearly thirty years. Dr. Abel was a Senior Fellow of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, and was the inaugural Honors Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Coastal Carolina University. He has appeared on CNN, CBC, CBS, NBC, The Weather Channel, and five National Geographic documentaries. He is a native South Carolinian.
