Barbara Block

[3] Since then, she has spent multiple decades researching oceanic predators and teaching classes, specifically for the Stanford at Sea program.

Involved in the Census of Marine Life, Block was also the Chief Scientist for the Tagging of Pacific Predators program (TOPP).

For example, one study showed that white sharks maintain energy for long distance journeys by using up their lipid reserves in their livers, thereby changing the tilt at which they swim, which can be detected by the electronic tags.

[3] Block has published and helped conduct multiple research studies about the effect of temperature changes on physiology of a variety of species.

Temperature can have varying effects on organisms, and is especially hard to study for large oceanic species in the wild, so much of the research must be conducted in controlled environments like in the Tuna Research and Conservation Center, where Block and her team can make specific measurements and observations of bluefin tuna and other large oceanic species.

[9] To study metabolism in the wild, Block and researchers have been able to use specific types of tags with speed- and temperature-measuring capabilities, where they can make a correlation between the speed of the animal with the amount of oxygen entering through the gills.