Daniel C. Abel
Professor, Marine Science
Education
Ph.D., University of California San Diego (UCSD) Scripps Institution of Oceanography
M.S., Marine Biology, College of Charleston
B.S., Marine Biology, College of Charleston
Research and Teaching Interests
Daniel C. Abel, Ph.D., is a professor of marine science at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. He earned his M.Sc. in marine biology from the College of Charleston and his Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and was a postdoctoral fellow in marine biomedicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Abel's research focuses on the physiology and ecology of sharks and rays. In addition to numerous scientific papers, he is co-author of the books Environmental Issues: Looking Towards a Sustainable Future (4th ed, Pearson.), Environmental Oceanography (Jones and Bartlett), Environmental Geology (Jones and Bartlett), Shark Biology and Conservation (Johns Hopkins) and the forthcoming Tooth and Claw: Top Predators of the World (2023, Princeton), The Lives of Sharks (2023, Princeton) and Sharkpedia (2024, Princeton).
He has been an award-winning environmental columnist, was the founding director of CCU’s Sustainability Initiative from 2006 – 2012, and served on the board of directors of the Dogwood Alliance, a forest protection organization. He taught at sea and in > 30 countries on the M/V Explorer with Semester at Sea in spring 2010 and summer 2012, 2013, and 2014, and his annual Biology of Sharks course held at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas has run for over twenty-five years. He has appeared on CNN, CBC, CBS, NBC, The Weather Channel, and five National Geographic programs. Dr. Abel has been a Senior Fellow of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development and was the inaugural Honors Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Coastal Carolina University. He is a native South Carolinian and resides in Pawley’s Island, SC.
Areas of Expertise
- Physiological ecology of sharks
- Environmental science
- Sustainability
- Informal environmental education
Recent Publications
Abel, D.C. and R.D. Grubbs. In Press (summer 2020). Shark Biology and Conservation: Essentials for Enthusiasts, Educators, and Students. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Larsen, M.E., D.C. Abel, D.P. Crane, et al. 2019. Unique osmoregulatory morphology in primitive sharks: an intermediate state between holocephalan and derived shark secretory morphology. Journal of Fish Biology 95(5): 1331-41. doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14139
Martin, K.L., D.C. Abel, D.P. Crane, . Hammerschlag and E.J Burge. 2019. Blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus presence at fishing piers in South Carolina: fidelity and environmental drivers. Journal of Fish Biology 94(3): 469-480. doi/full/10.1111/jfb.13917
Keller, B.A., J.S. Finger, S.H. Gruber, D.C. Abel and T.L. Guttridge. 2017. The effects of familiarity on the social interactions of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 489, 24-31. doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2017.01.004