Welcome to the personal web site of Dr. Jeffrey C. Carrier, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Albion College.
Dr. Jeffrey Carrier became a faculty member at Albion College in 1979. He retired from Albion College in December, 2010. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Miami in 1974. Dr. Carrier also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Research Scientist with Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota and Summerland Key, FL) and a courtesy appointment as Professor of Biology, Florida International University. In addition to extensive writing and editing technical reference texts on all facets of the biology of sharks and other elasmobranch fishes, he serves as a consultant, providing public lectures on a variety of topics related to his shark research and south Florida ecosystems.
Dr. Carrier was the Biology Department’s Physiologist and taught classes in General Physiology, Pathophysiology, Marine Biology, Medical Endocrinology, and the Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes. He also participated in the introductory biology sequence, teaching labs and lecturing in Cell and Molecular Biology. Outside the Biology Department, he team-taught Art and the Environment as a first-year seminar course.
His primary research interests center on studies of aging, growth, migration, and reproductive biology of nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) in the Florida Keys. His studies with long-time colleague Harold L. “Wes” Pratt documented the courtship and mating behaviors of nurse sharks, and his work has been featured on numerous television shows.
The Biology Department has long been committed to faculty/student research. With the Biology Department’s Geneticist, Dr. Ken Saville, Carrier, two Albion College students, and Wes Pratt, published a paper in 2002 revealing multiple paternity in litters of nurse sharks. Additionally, a paper written with former student, Dr. Nick Whitney (Class of 2000) and Wes Pratt, examining reproductive behaviors in whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus), appeared in the December 2004 issue of Animal Behavior, and a second paper examining three-dimensional accelerometry as a tool for characterizing mating activity in nurse sharks appeared in Endangered Species Research in February, 2010. His collaboration with Whitney continued with papers published in 2018 in Environmental Biology of Fishes documenting the migratory behaviors of nurse sharks and in 2022 in PLoS ONE reviewing thirty years of study of shark mating in the Dry Tortugas islands of the western Florida Keys. Another paper published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (October, 2007) was published with Carrier and former student Dr. Derek Burkholder (Class of 2004) and documented changes in shark populations through time in the Florida Keys.
Carrier’s first book, a comprehensive review of the phylogeny, zoogeography, physiological processes, and ecology and life histories of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras, Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives, co-edited with Dr. Jack Musick of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences and Dr. Mike Heithaus of Florida International University, was published by CRC Press, LLC (March, 2004). The book was awarded a 2004 Choice Award by the American Library Association. From the A.L.A. announcement: “Choice editors base their selections on the reviewer’s evaluation of the work, the editor’s knowledge of the field, and the reviewer’s record.
Three of Carrier’s books have been named as “Best Marine Biology Books of All Time.” As featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc – BookAuthority identifies and rates the best books in the world, based on recommendations by thought leaders and experts. His top ranked volume, Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology, and Conservation came in at #22!!! Shark Research: Emerging Technologies and Applications for the Field and Laboratory was ranked #33 and the Second Edition of Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives was ranked #68. Here are the complete RANKINGS.
Edition 3 of The Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives was published June 9, 2022. With 25 chapters and 98 contributing authors, the book will continue to showcase the most comprehensive examination of the biology of elasmobranch fishes.
Edition 3 of “The Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives”
The first Edition was completely revised and Edition 2 of that volume was published in April of 2012.
A second Volume – Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology, and Conservation – was published in March of 2010.
Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP) released Carrier’s book, Sharks of the Shallows in August of 2017.
Carrier’s other recent work, Shark Research: Emerging Technologies and Applications for the Field and Laboratory was published in September, 2018, by CRC Press. From the Preface:
“Each chapter is designed to identify the types of studies
that are appropriate for the use of the various technologies
presented within each chapter, the kinds of results that can
be expected from their use, and what information the studies
reveal that advances our understanding of elasmobranch
biology. Most certainly these techniques are equally
applicable to studies of other marine groups, as well.
Of equal importance, we also believed that each chapter
should include a discussion of where such techniques
are inappropriate, not likely to succeed, or are otherwise
probably not applicable to the study of elasmobranch
biology. Choosing an inappropriate study methodology
simply leads to wasted time and dashed expectations. We
hoped that our treatments would prevent investigators from
making such mistakes or having unrealistic expectations. In
that sense, the chapters serve as a rudimentary “how to,” at
least with respect to making more informed choices about
a particular approach to address questions of biological
interest. We expected that such information would prove
useful to students just beginning their formal studies of
elasmobranch biology while also serving as a guide for
more seasoned scientists seeking to apply new techniques
to ongoing studies.”
Carrier has been a longtime, active member of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), having served as Secretary, Secretary-Editor, and a member of the Board of Directors for multiple terms. He completed two terms as President of AES at the end of 2007. In 2023, Carrier was named as an AES DIstinguished Fellow of the Society, the highest honor awarded by the Society in recognintion of his research and contributions to the Society. Only 11 Fellows have been named since the Society’s formation in 1983.
He has also maintained a longtime affiliation with the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute (NHMI) at Seacamp where he served as Program and Facilities Director before coming to Albion College, and served as a member of the Board of Directors until 2010. An environmental education/marine science facility located on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, NHMI has provided logistical support for Carrier’s Florida Keys studies for more than 40 years. Numerous Albion College students and graduates have completed internships at NHMI and many have served as staff members. In the summer of 2015, in conjunction with Seacamp and Jillian Morris, President and Founder of Sharks4Kids, Carrier developed a S.T.E.M. Program for middle school girls in Monroe County (Florida Keys) to introduce them to the marine sciences and basic shark research.
Carrier and his students appeared in 17 shows produced for network and cable television, ranging from National Geographic Explorer and Discovery Channel specials to Florida Public Television documentaries and segments for Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures and FOX Television’s Wild Animal Moments series. His collaboration with the remote imaging laboratory of the National Geographic Society and Dr. Mike Heithaus of Florida International University resulted in the production of an episode for the National Geographic Television series Crittercam Chronicles.
Photo ©Harold L. Pratt, Jr. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
In addition to his studies of shark reproductive behavior, Carrier collaborated with the National Geographic Society’s Remote Imaging Laboratory to utilize Crittercam, an animal-borne video and data recording system, as an adjunct to studies of courtship and mating behaviors. A Crittercam carried by a 256cm (8.4 feet) male nurse shark during the 2001 pilot study is shown above as the large object attached below the first dorsal fin. A small Ultrasonic Transmitter, the smaller, red, cylindrical object below the second dorsal fin, is also used to aid in tracking these animals.
Carrier currently resides in south Florida where he continues to enjoy diving and wildlife and underwater photography. He is an avid fly-tier and fly fisher. He spends time fly fishing the shallow and offshore waters of south Florida and the Florida Keys with his wife, dive buddy, and first mate, Carol (shown holding a juvenile nurse shark in the photo above and photographing the tagging and placement of a Crittercam on a nurse shark ).
Dr. Carrier is a veteran, having served in the United States Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve from 1964-71. He continued to work with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary through 2014 in Alpena, Michigan (Flotilla 091-26-04), serving as Coxswain of a 25′ Defender Class vessel (“Response Boat – Homeland Security”) used for Search and Rescue and Marine Assistance by the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Alpena.
