Trump Shark Wins the First-Ever NSU Shark Race to the White House

** BREAKING NEWS ** BREAKING NEWS **

Trump Shark Wins the First-Ever NSU Shark Race to the White House

– We’re Nova Southeastern University and We Approved This Message –

FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. – It’s over.

After all the posturing, pontificating and prognosticating, we have a winner in the first-ever, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Shark Race to the White House and it’s YUGE!

The winner – Trump Shark!

After logging mile after mile from September 26 through noon, Fri. Nov. 4 the Trump Shark beat the Clinton Shark 652.44 miles to 510.07 miles.

“I’m not 100 percent convinced the sharks will predict the human race to the White House,” said NSU professor Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D. with a laugh. “What it does show, however, is that mako sharks do follow different patterns in the Atlantic Ocean – we’ve had some log more than 10,000 miles, which is pretty incredible. We’ve learned so much, and there is so much more for us to discover.”

Shivji said that the idea behind NSU’s Shark Race to the White house was to have some fun with the election season as a way to bring attention to the research he and his team are doing related to mako sharks. Shivji stressed that the two sharks in the race, and sharks in general, are non-partisan and our poll wasn’t rigged in any way; these sharks are just doing what sharks do – swimming in the ocean.

For the race, a special website was created – nova.edu/presidentialrace – where people from around the world could see, in near real-time, the migratory tracks of the Trump Shark and the Clinton Shark. Fans of sharks can also view the other sharks Shivji and his team have tagged and are tracking online via nova.edu/sharktracking.

Shivji leads the research at NSU when it comes to sharks – from makos to tigers to oceanic white tips. The two sharks selected for the Shark Race to the White House are part of the ongoing marine science research on shark migrations at NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. These sharks are contributing to the ongoing research by NSU scientists as they learn more about mako sharks in order to better protect them. While this was a fun, light-hearted way of looking at the 2016 Presidential Election, the research behind this project is pretty serious.

Shivji indicated that worldwide, sharks are being killed off in unimaginable numbers – some estimates say between 70-100 million sharks per year. Clearly, that is not a sustainable level of removal, since many shark species, including makos, reproduce at low rates. That’s why the work being done at NSU is vital – we must learn as much as we can about these majestic creatures so we can take steps to ensure they don’t vanish from the Earth. Research has been, and will always be, one of the pillars that supports a world-class education at NSU.

 

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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU and realizingpotential.nova.edu for more information on the largest fundraising campaign in NSU history.

 

About NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography: The college provides high-quality undergraduate (bachelor’s degree) and graduate (master’s and doctoral degrees and certificates) education programs in a broad range of disciplines, including marine sciences, mathematics, biophysics, and chemistry. Researchers carry out innovative basic and applied research programs in coral reef biology, ecology, and geology; fish biology, ecology, and conservation; shark and billfish ecology; fisheries science; deep-sea organismal biology and ecology; invertebrate and vertebrate genomics, genetics, molecular ecology, and evolution; microbiology; biodiversity; observation and modeling of large-scale ocean circulation, coastal dynamics, and ocean atmosphere coupling; benthic habitat mapping; biodiversity; histology; and calcification. The college’s newest building is the state-of-the-art Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, an 86,000-square-foot structure filled with laboratories; offices; seminar rooms; an auditorium; and indoor and outdoor running sea water facilities. Please visit cnso.nova.edu for more information.

 

November 4, 2016

Joe Donzelli | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-2159 (office) | 954-661-4571 (cell)
jdonzelli@nova.edu | www.nova.edu

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