Nick Whitney is a marine biologist with three decades of field research experience, including leading a long-term shark study at the world’s only marine protected area created to protect a shark breeding ground. That work now informs an effort to secure international recognition as an IUCN Important Shark and Ray Area. His research has been supported by millions in federal funding and featured in testimony before the U.S. Senate. He has also spoken to audiences of thousands, from TEDx to national television news and documentaries, translating science into stories that build public trust in conservation.

Whitney was one of the first researchers to deploy accelerometers on wild sharks, pioneering a method now used worldwide to study fine-scale behavior in marine animals. He has since applied the technology to white sharks, sea turtles, Burmese pythons, and other species. His work has appeared on CBS, ABC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and the History Channel, and he has contributed shark articles to World Book Encyclopedia Online.

He began his shark research career as an undergraduate at Albion College, working with Jeffrey Carrier and Wes Pratt on nurse shark mating behavior in the Florida Keys—a study he continues to lead today. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa under Kim Holland.

Nick lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and three children.

Education

Ph.D., Zoology – University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
M.S., Zoology – University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
B.A., Biology, Summa Cum Laude – Albion College