Your Impact

Shedd Aquarium Your Impact
As a member of the Shedd Aquarium community, you spark compassion, curiosity and conservation for the aquatic animal world. Your deeply loyal support helps shape a world where resilient ecosystems and resilient communities thrive together, and aquatic life is sustained by people like you who love, understand, and protect it.

Compassion

River Planting Chicago River

Supporters like you know that compassion for animals is essential to creating a better world. Not only does it evoke empathy and understanding of our fellow creatures, but it also helps us develop a greater appreciation for all of nature — the marvelous, robust and equally fragile environment in which we live.

Introducing Animal Spotlights

At Shedd, every visit is an opportunity for guests to look nature in the eye. When people experience animals up close, it motivates an emotional, empathetic response that shifts attitudes and fosters stewardship of local waters, global oceans and wildlife everywhere. Shedd is an incubator that supports changemakers as catalysts for conservation and champions of the natural world.

In late-2021, we shifted the well-known paid aquatic presentation to a free, open flow, living classroom structure, called “Animal Spotlights.” Hosted by Shedd’s team of animal care and education experts, we present 7 to 9 free daily guest experiences highlighting a rotation of 4 species, providing greater access to our animals and experts for all to enjoy. Through this shift, 30% more guests attended these spotlights, making meaningful connections with Shedd’s animals and the amazing team of experts who care for them.

Guests learn why dolphins have finger bones in their fins, but yet no fingers. Guests marvel at why penguins shake their heads to remove ocean salt from their blood. Guests hear the gulp of an arapaima eating. Guests leave knowing more, caring more and motivated to be part of an ecological solution.

River Planting Chicago River

Curiosity

You are helping others embrace curiosity and explore the wonders of nature like never before. Bolstered by your support, Shedd stands at the forefront of community engagement and research. Our unique experience offers a chance to get up close with animals from around the world, while also deepening our understanding of the delicate relationships between species and their ecosystems.

When Learning and Nature Collide

As part of Shedd’s commitment to bring nature deeper into contact with people, we are proud of the continued support we have received to bolster accessible programming for Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods. Among these programs is Shedd’s Teen Council – a bright group of Chicago-area teens that serve as a sounding board for questions, feedback and suggestions related to Shedd’s teen programs and also supports teen growth and their development as leaders. Teen Council member Isabella Alnemri recounts what has inspired her to act for the environment in all aspects of her life and how she sees hope for the future of our blue planet.

Being a member of Shedd’s Teen Council allows me to have more frequent encounters with aquatic life like interacting with stingrays or simply walking around the aquarium. Building this relationship with nature impels me to protect it by volunteering for Shedd Aquarium Action Days along the Chicago River’s shoreline or pulling weeds in my community’s native garden.

Even simple things I do in my daily life are impactful, such as opting for reusable utensils, bags, straws or water bottles and limiting the amount of seafood I consume to take action against overfishing. I am also part of the Green Team at my high school where I help run our recycling program to reduce waste and conserve natural resources.

Being educated about and aware of environmental problems is just as important a means of inspiration for me. I wouldn’t have taken action in my community if I wasn’t aware of the health impacts potentially caused by the factories in my neighborhood. I started making different lifestyle choices after learning about the declining health of the ocean (destructive fishing techniques and plastic in the ocean hurting marine animals) from renown oceanographer Sylvia Earle at Shedd’s Immersion event this past spring.

All of these environmental problems may seem daunting, but there are actions being taken that give me hope for the future. It’s encouraging to see members of my community join these organizations in protests and hunger strikes, fighting to protect the health of our community.

I’m surrounded by teens in Shedd’s Teen Council who share the same curiosity and willingness to protect marine life as I do. I see other students dedicating their time after school to running our school’s recycling program. I hope to see increased awareness and support for environmental issues because together we can tackle these problems more effectively

Eco-Restoration: Revitalizing the Chicago River
Recently, Shedd Aquarium and Urban Rivers added new habitat to the South Branch of the Chicago River with the build and installation of a set of wetlands over 3,000-square-feet of floating islands. This new archipelago of floating wetlands is meant to mimic the island clusters found in less developed rivers and will provide food and shelter to native wildlife.

Located where the South Branch of the Chicago River intersects with Bubbly Creek, the new habitat features a diverse array of native plant species, which will create new habitat above and below the water’s surface, secure nutrients for local wildlife and improve water quality. This new habitat is the first floating wetland installation from Shedd Aquarium and Urban Rivers to be installed in this area, building on lessons learned from the Wild Mile on the river’s North Branch and expanding their partnership.

These new wetlands will also make this stretch of the river more inviting for local communities to enjoy recreational activities like kayaking and birding. Volunteers and community groups joined Shedd and Urban Rivers to build and install the floating islands in the river. This effort is part of an ongoing commitment to improving access to nature for the public and connecting Chicagoans to the Chicago River ecosystem to foster a community dedicated to restoring and protecting it.

This community-focused project at a heavily industrialized section of is the river is the embodiment of our Centennial Commitment. Moreover it lives out Shedd’s mission to make access to hands-on programming that enhances equitable access for communities that otherwise would have limited access to nature and wildlife.

Conservation

Your commitment to conservation efforts, both locally and globally, helps secure habitats and species that would otherwise be lost to us forever. Shedd is strategically advancing bold and durable solutions targeting the intersecting threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. Through research, educational efforts, and partnerships with our local communities, we strive to create a lasting positive change for our planet that can be enjoyed by future generations.

From Beak to Bottom: How Penguin Poop Can Inform Conservation
Members of Shedd’s animal care team, Megan Vens-Policky and Tracy Deakins, recently spent two weeks in Patagonia, working with partners Dr. Gabriela S. Blanco and Dr. Ralph Vanstreels to monitor a wild Magellanic penguin colony and collected guano samples for future analysis.

This effort is in collaboration with researchers at UC Davis from The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center’s Latin America Program and the Argentinian National Research Council’s Center for the Study of Marine Systems (CESIMAR-CONICET), who are working with Shedd in establishing a new methodology and non-invasive protocols to determine what the birds are eating. The samples will help reveal the diets of these animals, which live in a variable and unpredictable zone in terms of food resources, to ensure their prey are identified and protected. The collaborative team is collecting around 150 guano samples throughout the course of penguin nesting season, which will then be shipped to Chicago to begin analyzing back at Shedd.

Currently, there is no way to reliably assess the diets of wild penguins without significantly disrupting individuals in a nesting colony. By developing protocols to determine food sources through DNA sequencing of fecal samples, Shedd helps advance both the understanding of penguins and the application of field science. Access to Shedd’s molecular ecology lab means that the same information can be collected through fecal sampling requiring no handling of the wild penguins.

Because Shedd cares for a population of Magellanic penguins every day, the aquarium’s colony also helped validate the research methods as a control group. For several days, a group of penguins at the aquarium were fed a different, known mixture of fish, squid and shrimp. Then fecal samples were collected and analyzed in the lab to test storage methods and verify genetic DNA markers for these prey types.

“Our trusting relationships with the animals in our care gives us extraordinary access and a unique opportunity to advance conservation research, while at the same time improving welfare for animals well beyond our walls,” said Peggy Sloan, chief animal operations officer at Shedd Aquarium. “As we grapple with the impacts of climate change and widespread biodiversity loss, we’re honored to help support solutions to better protect this sentinel species.”

It will take several years of data to get a better idea of the penguins’ diets and how changes in the environment could be impacting their prey availability. The results of this effort will inform future protections for these food sources. In addition, in the long-term, Shedd hopes to assist partners in Argentina by strengthening local diagnostic capacities.

Magellanic penguins are declining, and the reasons for this are poorly understood. All penguin species face threats of habitat degradation, overfishing, incidental mortality in fishing nets, pollution and climate change. In particular, Magellanic penguins from central Patagonia may be suffering from distributional changes of their main prey, which may lead them to travel further distances. This could affect the frequency that they feed their chicks, and in turn, influence chick survival. By identifying the primary prey items for the penguins, then researchers can determine new ways to address and mitigate these impacts.

“At Shedd, we are privileged to work with these penguins every day, but it was also a rewarding experience to see their wild counterparts and gain a better appreciation for the work that has already been taking place,” said Tracy Deakins, senior animal care specialist at Shedd who returned from Patagonia. “It is part of our mission to act for animals here, there and everywhere and this new opportunity allows us to do just that.”

A New Plan to Save Endangered Zebra Sharks
Gazing up at Shedd’s shark reef habitat in Wild Reef, you may see a long and sleek caudal fin swaying behind a spotted body as it slowly glides through the warm, blue water. Although the adults’ spotted pattern doesn’t match their name, zebra sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum) are stunningly beautiful.

The zebra sharks at Shedd also serve as ambassadors for their species and bring attention to the challenges facing their wild counterparts. Zebra sharks are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with several populations across the globe at risk of extinction. But Shedd — as part of a new, international and collaborative effort to recover threatened sharks and rays around the world called ReShark — is taking immediate action to bolster zebra shark numbers.

Healthy populations of zebra sharks are essential to maintain thriving ecosystems in their native range in the Indian and west-central Pacific Oceans. And as a founding partner, Shedd is lending our expertise for the StAR Project to reestablish the population of zebra sharks in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

In recent years, zebra shark populations in Raja Ampat (West Papua province, Indonesia) have quickly and dramatically declined due to habitat degradation, overharvesting and finning. Additionally, zebra sharks — and many other shark species — take years to reach sexual maturity, which slows populations from naturally rebounding.

Even though Raja Ampat now contains an extensive network of some of the world’s most well-enforced marine protected areas, experts believe additional efforts are needed to ensure that this population can effectively recover.

Recently, Shedd senior animal care specialist Lise Watson — who has more than 30 years of shark husbandry experience — journeyed 9,000 miles to the Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Center to help share her skills and support the staff who are raising the pups for future release.

“It has been an amazing experience being part of this program aimed to make an impact on shark populations in the wild,” Watson said. “The team of biologists and staff in Indonesia caring for the sharks are hard-working, dedicated and wonderful to work with. I’m thrilled the pups are growing and thriving in their care and can’t wait for the next steps of the program where we move the animals to sea pens and finally tag, release and monitor. I’m honored to be part of this conservation initiative.”

The hatchery pups are fed a diet of live foods like clams and snails and frozen foods including squid, prawn and crab. Eating live food, that might be a bit more difficult to catch, helps teach them the critical skills they’ll need to find invertebrates like snails, shrimp, crabs and small fishes that may be hiding in crevices and caves among coral reefs.

The pups are progressing well and will continue to grow and practice their survival skills until their release.

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