Dr. Neil Hammerschlag has been awarded funding by the Guy Harvey Foundation to study apex predators.
The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) announced that it has awarded funding to Neil Hammerschlag, Ph.D., director of the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami for his research "Assessing the Cascading Ecosystem Impacts of Marine Apex Predator Declines."
Hammerschlag aims to determine the effects of declining populations of tunas, billfish and sharks on the overall health of the ocean environment. This will be accomplished through a series of integrated field and laboratory studies including field surveys, stable isotope analysis, genetic studies and blood hormone analysis. The GHOF has previously partnered with Hammerschlag on several shark research projects and is pleased to once again, support his top-tier research.
"The ocean's top predators are under unprecedented pressure from unsustainable fishing practices and changes in the ocean chemistry", says world renowned marine artist and biologist Dr. Guy Harvey. "Dr. Hammerschlag's research will give us great insight into how their removal will impact the entire marine ecosystem." This project will build on previous research funded by the GHOF to promote the conservation and enhancement of the world's pelagic fisheries.