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Putting science behind the stingray shuffle and other observations with the round stingray (Urobatis halleri)

Around the coastal United States, stingray strikes account for nearly 2,500 emergency room visits on an annual basis, in addition to the several hundreds to thousands of less-serious injuries that do not yield a trip to the hospital. Along California beaches, the Haller’s Round Ray (Urobatis halleri), is responsible for the majority of these interactions, with anywhere between 200 and 400 stingray-related injuries being reported each year from Seal Beach alone. During summer months, round stingrays aggregate in warm, shallow sandy-bottom areas along our coast, often coinciding with beach goers. While stingray strikes are generally non-life threatening, their barbs are capable of inflicting deep lacerations while potentially envenomating the victim. Despite the rate at which these encounters occur and the threat that they pose to public safety, very little is known about the behavior of these stingrays and their tail strike events. We use multiple high-speed cameras and motion tracking software to record and describe the tail strike behavior across the size range of the round stingray. This information, along with other experiments we are conducting in my lab with round stingrays, will provide applications relevant to beach safety.

Dr. Benjamin Perlman

Dr. Benjamin Perlman is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University, Long Beach. He is also the principal investigator of his recently formed STABB Lab (Stingray And Butterfly Biomechanics). His lab studies the kinematics, kinetics, and morphology of animals, currently focusing on the round stingray. Using high-speed cameras, material testers, 3D scanners, and X-ray imaging, Ben and his team describe the form and function of stingrays. The STABB Lab is putting the science behind the colloquial SoCal saying, “do the stingray shuffle!” Ben teaches an introduction to evolution and diversity course, general ecology, human anatomy, ichthyology, and scientific communication. He also collaborates with the Catalina Island Conservancy, taking undergraduate students to Catalina to conduct various field studies across the island, focusing on the introduced Argentine ant and the endemic shrew. Before he arrived at CSULB, Ben studied the swimming performance of surfperches at MLML for his Master’s degree, then completed his Ph.D. at Wake Forest University studying the jumping and swimming kinematics and muscle physiology of an amphibious fish in Belize. He then became a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University focusing on bird wing biomechanics, then conducted experiments on frog jumping and dragonfly larvae swimming at UC Irvine for his second postdoctoral position.