Dr. Ann Williams, Professor of Biology at UT, recently presented to the Honors students on her research into the bacteria found in shark mouths. She and a number of students swabbed the mouths of sharks and took water samples where they caught the sharks (then released the sharks). They then cultured the samples and found a wide array of bacteria, some of which were antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The takeaway – swimming with open cuts or a weakened immune system in the Hillsborough River or in parts of Tampa Bay is more dangerous than are sharks!
