Melissa Márquez

Australia

Freelance Writer at Forbes

Multi-hyphenate #LatinainSTEM 🇵🇷🇲🇽 (she/her) | wildlife educator & marine scientist 🦈 #sharks #scicomm | writer: @forbesscience @CosmosMagazine

Articles

How ‘Jaws’ Sank Shark Conservation Before It Began

1 week ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss stand next to a shark with a hook piercing through it in a scene ... More from the film 'Jaws', 1975. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Getty Images)Getty ImagesWhen Jaws hit theaters in 1975, it changed the way people saw sharks literally overnight. Before the film, most beachgoers didn’t think twice about what swam below the waves. But after that ominous music and the now-iconic dorsal fin? Well, sharks became public enemy number one.
How Miami’s Waters Are A Lifeline For Hammerheads

1 week ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

An eight-year study highlights Biscayne Bay as a vital nursery and seasonal refuge for great ... More hammerhead sharks, underscoring its importance across life stages and for long-term shark conservation. ulia Wester/Shark Research and Conservation ProgramIn the warm, shallow waters just off the city of Miami, is a haven for one of the ocean’s most iconic yet critically endangered marine predators.
How Sharks Got Their Reputation Back From “Jaws”

1 week ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

The fictional fear sparked by Jaws triggered decades of real-world harm, but today’s science and ... More tourism are turning things around. (Photo by Chris Polk/FilmMagic for Universal Studio Home Video)FilmMagic for Universal Studio Home VideoIn 1975, a mechanical great white shark terrorized beachgoers on the big screen in Jaws, launching a cultural phenomenon and an ecological crisis.
O Que o Megalodon Realmente Comia? Provavelmente Tudo

2 weeks ago | forbes.com.br | Melissa Márquez

Durante décadas, o gigantesco tubarão pré-histórico conhecido de forma ameaçadora como “The Meg”, megalodon, foi retratado como um enorme predador que caçava o único oponente à altura nos oceanos da época: as baleias. Mas uma nova pesquisa sugere que a realidade era mais complexa — e muito mais interessante.
The Hidden Language Of Shark Scars

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

A new classification of white shark injuries is helping scientists understand the behavior and ... More biology of this top ocean predator. GettyDespite decades of research, some of the most basic facts about great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) remain unknown. We don’t know how long their gestation period is, where they mate or give birth, or how they interact with one another beyond occasional surface observations. Now, this isn’t due to a lack of interest or effort.
Fore! The Most Unexpected Hazard In Disc Golf History: Falling Sharks.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Jonathan Marlowe holding the dropped shark. Jonathan MarloweToday I learned that the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) has a rather odd, but fitting, nickname: “fish hawk.” The reason for this moniker? It’s the only bird species known to have feet specifically adapted for grabbing slippery, fast-moving prey from the water. Unlike most birds of prey, ospreys can rotate their outer toes to grasp fish with two talons facing forward and two facing back, giving them a better grip mid-flight.
What Did Megalodon Really Eat? Probably Everything.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Lead study author Jeremy McCormack of Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, holds up a fossilized ... More megalodon tooth. Uwe Dettmar for Goethe UniversityFor decades, the giant prehistoric shark known ominously as “The Meg" has been portrayed as a massive apex predator that hunted the only formidable opponent in the oceans at the time: whales. But new research suggests the reality was more nuanced — and a lot more interesting.
These Sharks Aren’t Gone, Just Harder To Find

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Angelshark in Cardigan Bay. Jake Davies JD Scuba Project SIARCFor years, the future for Wales’ angelshark population has looked… well, pretty bleak, to be honest. Once common in the coastal waters of the British Isles, the angelshark has become a rare and mysterious figure. Official assessments suggest their numbers have plummeted by as much as 70% since 1970, and they’ve been listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2006.
‘Jaws’ Anniversary Coincides With Real-Life Shark Sighting In Rhode Island

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Basking sharks, despite their size, pose no threat to humans. They have tiny teeth, no interest in ... More large prey, and spend most of their time following plankton blooms. HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesJust in time for the 50th anniversary of Jaws, a real-life shark sighting had New Englanders channeling their best “shahk in the pawnd” impressions this week.
Experts Question Queensland’s New Shark Control Strategy

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | Melissa Márquez

Queensland’s Shark Control Program is about to undergo its most significant expansion in decades, with the state government pledging nearly $90 million to install new shark nets, increase the number of drumlines and broaden the reach of drone patrols along the coastline. The move comes amid growing public concern about unprovoked shark bites, especially during peak swimming seasons.