Barbara Wueringer, vertebrate biologist

From ABC Science: In Depth, Meet A Scientist: Barbara Wueringer, vertebrate biologist

Dr Barbara Wueringer has been investigating one of the most mysterious fishes in the sea.

From a school girl who didn't like biology, Barbara is now a passionate scientist whose experiments show how sensitive sawfish are to electric fields and where a sawfish can detect them.

Right now, I am working on ...
Several publications. After writing up my research outcomes in my thesis, it is now important to get these chapters published. Some of the work on sawfish senses is in print right now, while other behavioural work with sawfish will be published soon!

A typical day is ...
There is no typical day for me. Sometimes I spend days in the laboratory dissecting sawfish and other sharks and rays that were accidentally caught in fishing gear. Other days I am out in the field taking measurements of the environment that my study animals live in. And there are days when I do experiments with animals in tanks.

That research has to be analysed later (which means hours of watching the footage and taking measurements from it, and then analysing it statistically), and written up.

On days when I do experiments with the animals, their activity determines when I start to work, and on days when I write, I might get up later and write until late at night.

My research is important because ...
We do not know much about sawfish. As these animals are endangered globally, there is an urgent need to understand them better in order to implement more directed conservation measures. I have also worked with other sharks and rays and similarly I think it is important to better understand these animals.

My most memorable day at work was ...
I cannot remember a particular day, but a time of two months during which I did lots of behavioural experiments with three little sawfish.

Sharks and rays have a sense that allows them to detect electric fields in their environment. This allows them to hunt in darkness and also in murky waters. My experiments tested how sensitive sawfish are to electric fields and where a sawfish can detect them.

For weeks my experiments did not work, either the electrodes flooded with saltwater or the connectors were loose, or the video camera gave up. Whenever I got upset because nothing was working I put everything aside and just sat in front of the tank watching the animals. I think sawfish are some of the most amazing creatures on this planet and I probably learned most about them just sitting there watching them.

My biggest disaster/disappointment in the field was ...
None. Even on a bad day in the field I just look around me and appreciate the amazing places my work takes me to.

At school I was ...
Not very interested in biology. I always loved being out in nature, but I never realised this could be a career. I chose to study architecture. After one year I realised that the most interesting thing that I had learned was how many modern buildings integrate designs from nature. For example, some buildings in warm areas have air cooling systems that are designed after those of termite mounds.

I wish I hadn't ...
I normally try to make decisions in way that I do not regret them afterwards, even if they were wrong. I find a bad decision can be a good learning process.

One thing people don't know about my work is ...
That I do spend a lot of time behind a desk. Working with endangered species requires a lot of paper work and it is also important to publish research findings to make them available to the wider research community.

My biggest achievement in the field has been ...
To change our understanding of the importance of the use of the sawfish's saw.

I'm always being asked ...
If I spend a lot of time diving with sharks and rays and sawfish. I don't because most of the research with such large predatory animals means that you catch them from a boat. Also, sawfish live in really murky waters in Northern Australia where you also find saltwater crocodiles, so it's probably not a good idea to snorkel with them.

One day, I would like to ...
Travel to Antarctica. It's the only continent I have not been to and I would love to see it.

In the next life, I'd like to come back as ...
A great white shark. I would swim to South Africa and find a nice spot where I can breach a lot. But only in a world without shark finning.

My secret non-science obsession is ...
Travelling. Luckily I get to travel a lot as part of my job. I love the moment when I step out of the airport in a country I have never been to. When you breathe in you know that the place is new as the smell is unfamiliar. And then you have to find your way around in unknown places and discover new cultures. Travelling is addictive. You never know how your day will end, what you will experience and whom you may meet.

Barbara Wueringer is research assistant at the University of Western Australia and an Australian 2011 Fresh Scientist . She was interviewed by Abbie Thomas.