Changing Seas, an Emmy award-winning WPBT2 original production, returns to television and the Internet Wednesday, June, 6, 7:30 pm on WPBT2.  In the premiere episode, “Tracking Tigers,” the Changing Seas crew works with scientists from Nova Southeastern University’s Guy Harvey Research Institute. Experts use satellite tags and DNA forensic tools to better understand migrations of the magnificent tiger shark and also investigate the impacts of the world’s shark fin trade.

One of those scientists is Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute and an international shark expert, who has spent years tagging and tacking the movements of tiger sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.

“To come face to face with a predator as awe-inspiring as a 10-foot tiger shark is the experience of a lifetime,”  says Series Producer Alexa Elliott.  “We want our audience to see these animals through the eyes of the scientists studying them, so they can gain an appreciation for the sharks.  It’s also important to raise awareness of the drastic decline of shark populations around the world targeted by the fin trade.”

In addition to the WPBT2 broadcast, viewers can watch an online preview of “TrackingTigers” on Thursday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. EST at http://www.wpbt2.org/webcast. The Changing Seas crew and featured experts will be online to chat with viewers and answer questions.

Watch a sneak peek of “Tracking Tigers” here.

Changing Seas, in its fourth season, focuses on ocean issues and exploration.  The series goes to sea with  explorers and scientists, enabling viewers to experience up close how oceanographers and other experts study earth’s last frontier.  Changing Seas is currently carried by 86 percent of PBS stations nationwide. Internationally the series is broadcast in 30 countries, ranging from Spain to South Korea.

 

EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS:
*Coming Wednesdays at 7:30 pm*

Broadcast Date: June 6, 2012
SHOW #401: Tracking Tigers
Tiger sharks are the ultimate apex predators.  Scientists use satellite tags and DNA forensi c tools to better understand the migrations of this magnificent species and to investigate the impacts of the world shark fin trade.  

Broadcast Date: June 13, 2012
SHOW #402: Mysterious Microbes
On coral reefs, microorganisms are copious creatures.  Throughout Florida, scientists painstakingly work to identify key players within this microbial community and directly link a devastating coral disease to a human pathogen.

Broadcast Date: June 20, 2012
SHOW #403: Grouper Moon
During the winter full moons Nassau grouper gather in large numbers to spawn. Most of the known spawning sites have been fished out, but the Cayman Islands are home to the last great reproductive population of this endangered species.

Broadcast Date: June 27, 2012
SHOW #404:Coastal Carnivores
A co-production with Symbio Studios
Scientists studying the coastal Everglades have made some perplexing discoveries. Bull sharks are living upstream where alligators should thrive, and gators are swimming out to the ocean to feed. 

 

 

 

About the Producer
Despite the fact that she is prone to seasickness, Alexa Elliott loves to scuba-dive and spend time on the water. So when she was asked to develop a new, three-year environmental series for WPBT2 back in 2007, she jumped on the opportunity to cover some of the exciting ocean research that is conducted in Florida.

Alexa has worked in public broadcasting for the last fourteen years, both in public radio news as well as in television production. She has produced television programs of various genres, but nature and environmental programming have always been her favorite. In 2004, she was a journalism fellow at the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island School of Oceanography and in 2008 she participated in another journalism fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod.

Alexa has received numerous awards for her work, including a regional Emmy, a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, and an award from the Society of Environmental Journalists. She has two degrees in Broadcast Journalism – a BA from Morehead State University and a MA from the University of Florida.

When not working, Alexa loves to spend time outdoors - hiking, skiing or scuba-diving with her husband Andrew.