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Chapter 12
“Sharkology”
Who studies sharks?
Unlike ichthyology—the study of fishes—there is no accepted term for
the study of sharks. Condrichthyology covers all the groups but is kind of
clumsy. Elasmobranchology would work, but it excludes the holocephalan
ratfishes (and is even clumsier). Most shark researchers think of themselves
as just that, shark researchers, or as ichthyologists who focus on sharks and
related fishes.
Regardless of name, the study of sharks and their relatives is a large,
valid, and active branch of biology. Shark researchers determine how to tell
different species of sharks apart and work out the evolutionary relation-
ships among sharks. They study ecology, behavior, physiology, genetics,
distribution, and conservation of sharks to answer many of the questions
addressed in the first eleven chapters of this book. In fact, most of the in-
formation you’ve been reading about was at some point the subject of care-
ful scientific study. Fishery biologists use this information plus additional
information on life histories and population sizes to manage shark popula-
tions so that we can continue to harvest fishes for food and sport without
endangering the survival of species.
Most shark researchers in North America are members of the American
Elasmobranch Society (AES; http://www.elasmo.org). AES is a nonprofit scien-
tific organization with an international membership of more than 400 in-
dividuals who work for universities, government agencies, and nongovern-
mental organizations, and as private individuals. AES “seeks to advance the
scientific study of living and fossil sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras, and
the promotion of education, conservation, and wise utilization of natural