Discovery Channel's Daily Planet

"Barracuda Bite" segment
airing in July 2008

Discovery Channel filming a segment “Barracuda Bite” for Discovery Channel Canada series Daily Planet. Graduate student Laura Habegger and advisor Philip Motta explore the feeding biology of great barracuda by first investigating the muscular control of biting through electromyography. Fine wires are implanted under anesthesia in the jaw muscles of barracuda. Electrical signals synchronized with high speed video indicate which muscles are active during biting. Then anatomical dissection of barracuda specimens donated by fishermen allow measurement of muscle mass and 3-D geometry of the jaw closing linkages. Finally biomechanical calculations predict the bite force in both small and large barracuda. The bite force at the posterior jaw teeth of a 1.2 meter barracuda is 209 N (47 pounds). Together with their razor shark teeth this makes the barracuda a formidable predator in the marine ecosystem.

Setting up the sound and lighting to film
Laura and Phil

Laura digitizing while the camera films over
Phil's shoulder

Laura knocking out the barracuda for surgery

Laura, Sam, Kyle, and Phil prepping for the surgery

Laura inserting a wire into a jaw muscle

Kyle and Phil crimping the ends of the wires

The barracuda with wires implanted

Laura gluing the wires to the suture

National Geographic Explorer:

Shark Superhighway
originally aired April 8, 2008

National Geographic Explorer television crew filming the National Science Foundation funded research on the function and evolution of hammerhead sharks. This joint research project with Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Colorado was featured in "Shark Superhighway."

to see the episode guide for the show, click here

Phil and Kyle with the National Geographic crew

Recording bite force data

Kyle catching a shark

Taking data