Adrianus Kalmijn, a pioneer in studying sharks “sixth sense,” died on December 7, 2021. He was 88 years old and died from severe myeloid leukemia in a medical facility in La Jolla, California, his boy Jelger Kalmijn tells The San Diego Union-Tribune. According to an obituary by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, his partner Vera Kalmijn explains his research study and life philosophy as sticking to Faradays principle to “remove error and discover truth.”Adrianus KalmijnTHERA KALMIJNKalmijn was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands on November 7, 1933. His daddy was a math instructor and his mom was a childrens book author, according to the Union-Tribune. After high school, he served in the military for about 3 years and then went on to study at Utrecht University, eventually signing up with the universitys faculty.In 1971, he released what would end up being one of his most acknowledged research contributions, a study on the electrical sense of sharks and rays in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The paper recognizes unique pores on rays and sharks, called ampullae of Lorenzini, as having receptors that pick up on electrical signals from other fish.Kyle Newton, a Washington University in St. Louis shark physiologist and behaviorist, explains Kalmijns research findings as “significant” in the Scripps obituary, explaining that “He basically discovered that the ampullae of Lorenzini are the organ responsible for electroreception and he kept in mind that this is a major tool for searching victim that hide buried in the sediment.”See “Jaws, Reconsidered”Kalmijn conducted research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts from 1974 to 1982, according to the organizations obituary. While here, he built an electromagnetic research study facility. In 1981, he signed up with Scripps Oceanography at UC San Diego, where he remained for the rest of his research study profession as a professor of environment, atmospheric sciences, and physical oceanography. At that organization, he continued to research electromagnetism in marine animals, as well as shark hearing and other sensory systems.”My dad felt a deep humility towards animals,” and thought they had so much to teach individuals about the world, Kalmijns son Jelger– a researcher who dealt with his father on projects– tells the Union-Tribune. He is endured by his spouse, reports the newspaper, along with two sons, a child, and six grandchildren.
