The Big Fish Lab
Shark and Fish Ecophysiology
Dr. James Sulikowski's Shark and Fish Ecophysiology Lab is a part of The Big Fish Lab, housed within Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station at Oregon State University
The lab’s research is dedicated to the study of charismatic fish such as sharks, skates and rays. By studying movement patterns, growth rates, reproductive biology, resiliency to climate change and fishing pressure, Sulikowski and his team of student researchers discover ways to more effectively manage, conserve and utilize fish populations.
Our group is diverse and promotes equity and inclusion. Undergraduate and graduate students are critical to the lab’s research. The involvement of dedicated, responsible, and motivated students is not only essential to advance understanding of the ecology of fishes, but it also provides a stepping-stone for the training of future marine scientists.
About James Sulikowski
In addition to being the Director of the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Dr. James Sulikowski is a marine biologist and professor at Oregon State University. He has 25 years of experience working with cartilaginous and bony fish. He has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and his research has garnered more than $13 million in external grant funding.
James has appeared on numerous local and national television shows including the Today Show, Ocean Mysteries, the BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic. Dr. Sulikowski has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Denison University, masters’ degrees in marine biology (Nova Southeastern University) and physiology (Depaul University), as well as a Ph.D. in Zoology (UNH).
In The News
Oregon researchers find first-ever evidence of attack on ‘phantom’ shark
A team of scientists from Arizona, Oregon and Rhode Island had been tracking a pregnant, porbeagle shark for hundreds of miles from New England...
Oregon researchers find first-ever evidence of attack on ‘phantom’ shark
“Little did we know that a big shark, like a porbeagle – a fast-moving shark – was food for something bigger,” Dr. James Sulikowski, the...
Researchers shocked after 8-foot shark is eaten by a predator. But who's the culprit?
Porbeagle shark was eaten by a warm-blooded predator, team says. Sulikowski said the team put two different tags on their subject sharks.
Did you know...
Sevengills are known to inhabit waters less than 200 m deep (Ebert 1996; Barnett et al. 2012) but have been recorded as deep as 360 m in Tasmania (Stehfest et al. 2014).
(Ebert DA (1996) Biology of the sevengill shark Notorynchus cepedianus (Peron, 1807) in the temperate coastal waters of southern Africa. South African Journal of Marine Science 17:93–103; Stehfest K, Patterson T, Barnett A, Semmens J (2014) Intraspecific d)
Sevengill sharks are capable of "spy hopping," a behavior where animals elevate their head out above the water. This behavior is thought to help in prey detection.
(Ebert 1991)
Whale sharks can give birth to up to 300 pups at once.
(Galapagos Whale Shark Project)
