00:00Spotty and shimmering, in this lab researchers are breeding epaulette sharks.
00:07We'll palpate the females, we just sort of feel her abdomen to see if we can feel if she's got eggs.
00:14Known as a walking shark, it moves on its fins, surviving with little to no oxygen.
00:20It doesn't look really tough in terms of a shark face, and it's not very bitey, but it's really tough in terms of what it can tolerate.
00:28Making it an ideal species to study.
00:31So I'm currently working with what would be considered an early juvenile stage, so about two to three months old.
00:37Eggs have been incubated at different temperatures and exposed to varying acid levels.
00:42The juveniles are also tested in how they adapt.
00:46As babies we know that they're a lot more sensitive to elevated temperatures.
00:50That could compromise growth, it could compromise their metabolism, and it could compromise their survival.
00:55The epaulette shark can be found along the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef.
01:00But with little movement between colonies, the species has genetic diversity.
01:05Ideal for studying the effects of climate change.
01:08That way we can really tease apart all of these different traits that are necessary to cope with these challenging stressors.
01:15Scientists hope the shark inspires reef conservation efforts.
01:19We just need to find that one thing that people can latch onto to care about, because it's so, so, so worth it. So worth it.
01:25When we introduce the community, the general public, the kids at school to the epaulette shark, everyone falls in love.
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