David Shiffman

17 amazing and important things about sharks and rays that scientists discovered in 2017

December 22, 2017December 22, 2017 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Science

2017 was… yeah. Of all the years I’ve lived through, 2017 was definitely one of them. Anyway, some interesting things happened in the world of shark research. Here, in no particular order, are 17 amazing and important things that scientists discovered about sharks and rays over the last year.

1 Sharks can switch between sexual and asexual reproduction. We’ve known that several shark species can reproduce asexually for over a decade now, but this year, Dudgeon and friends showed an individual shark switching between sexual and asexual reproduction for the first time!

Noteworthy media coverage: CNN, National Geographic, Gizmodo

Narwhal stress and coral disease: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 14th, 2017

December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this amazing scene from Blue Planet 2!
Follow Cat Horswill, a PostDoc studying the life history of marine predators, on twitter!
In the Arctic, at least, diplomacy works. Bloomberg Editorial.
Mysterious “white plague” threatens South Florida coral reefs. By the Associated Press.
Climate change and overfishing are pushing seabirds to extinction. By Matthew Taylor, for the Guardian.
Not all that glitters is gold, some is plastic. By George Leonard, for the Ocean Conservancy Blog.

Galeophobia, Shark Teeth, and Non-Expert Awareness Campaigns: Dear Shark Man, Volume 5

December 13, 2017December 14, 2017 David Shiffman 1 Comment

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Welcome to Volume #5 of Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

What’s the history of the shark’s cultural image as a sneaky aggressive predator? Do other cultures see it differently?

Sincerely,
Imaginative in Irvine

Dear imaginative,

Much of the large-scale public fear of sharks we see today can be traced to the movie “Jaws” (read my Gizmodo article about this here). Shark conservation biologists actually use the term “the Jaws effect” in peer reviewed scientific literature. Terror of sharks resulting from that movie is fairly common even among people you wouldn’t expect; for example, both of my parents are outdoorsy and have post-graduate degrees, and yet both reported being afraid to go swimming in pools or lakes the summer after Jaws came out. Personally, I don’t think that modern shark b-movies like “SharkNado” or “Two-Headed Shark Attack” inspire the same level of public misunderstanding because they’re obviously silly, but others disagree.

Media coverage of shark bites also plays a major role. If someone gets bitten by a shark anywhere in the world, it’s headline news everywhere even if the bite isn’t severe enough to require more than a band-aid. In Australia, 38% of reported “shark attacks” didn’t even involve any injury at all. This is part of why I, along with many other shark scientists, have called on the popular press to avoid the inflammatory and inaccurate term “shark attack” in favor of a typology of other terms (shark sighting, shark encounter, shark bite, fatal shark bite).

Other cultures absolutely see sharks differently. Where I now live in western Canada, coastal First Nations have stories about a supernatural being called the Dogfish Woman. In some South Pacific cultures, sharks are seen as spirits of ancestors called aumakua (briefly referenced in Moana, see below), and there are even shark gods like Dakuwaqa.

Maui in the form of a shark, from Moana. You’re welcome.

#PlanetEarthChat: Watch Planet Earth 2 and tweet along with us!

December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 David Shiffman

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Join a team of conservation biologists and wildlife experts for a live science communication event! We are going watch the award-winning BBC documentary series Planet Earth 2 together, tweeting expert commentary and reactions throughout using #PlanetEarthChat. Anyone is free to join in the discussion, and is free to ask questions of our expert team.

We’ll be starting our episodes all at exactly the same time, so anyone who wants to participate can be sure to be synched with us. I’ll make a Storify of all the tweets transcript at the end.

Pacifist fighting fish and entangled right whales: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 4th 2017

December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this manta ray in footage from Blue Planet 2!
From Blue Planet 2
Follow Dr. Douglas Rasher, a marine ecologist, on twitter! (And read my interview with him for Gizmodo’s Earther here)
Sea lions have unique whiskers that help them catch even the fastest fish. By Robyn Grant, for the Conversation.

Vegetarian sharks, non-lethal research, and friggin’ laser beams: Dear Shark Man, Volume 4

December 6, 2017December 6, 2017 David Shiffman 1 Comment

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Welcome to Volume #4 of Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

I feel more and more guilty about my own meat consumption. I wonder, are there any vegan sharks?

Sincerely,
Eager in England

Dear Eager,

There are more than 500 species of sharks, and they range widely in shape, size, habitat, and behavior. However, every single species eats animals. Many eat fish, some eat invertebrates, and few eat mammals and birds, but they all eat animals. Even the filter-feeders like whale sharks are eating zooplankton, which are (tiny) animals.

Bonnethead sharks have been documented with seagrass in their stomachs, which is likely the result of accidentally ingesting seagrass while eating crabs that live among the grass. (Sometimes I fail to pick all the lettuce off of my turkey sandwich and eat it accidentally, that doesn’t mean I’m seeking out lettuce or that lettuce is a major component of my diet). Recent work by Samantha Leigh has shown that bonnetheads may be able to partially digest this seagrass, which is pretty neat. However, that does not make them vegans, or even vegetarians.

Incidentally, a member of an influential marine conservation family whose name rhymes with Mousteau once claimed that there are more than 1,000 species of sharks and most of them are vegetarian, which is…extremely not correct.

Parasitic mussel babies and big whale brains: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, November 30th, 2017

November 30, 2017November 30, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this incredible footage from Blue Planet 2!
Follow Annmarie Fearing, a graduate student researching sawfish conservation, on twitter!
Lobster found with Pepsi logo fuels fears over ocean litter. By Ashifa Kassam, for the Guardian.

#GivingTuesday, freshwater sharks, and hammerhead schooling: Dear Shark Man, Volume 3

November 28, 2017November 28, 2017 David Shiffman

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Welcome to volume #3 of Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

Since it’s #GivingTuesday, what are some shark conservation charities you recommend?

Sincerely,
Generous in Georgia

Upside-down fish, shellfish poaching, and the value of whale poop: Thursday Afternoon Dredging: November 16, 2017

November 16, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this tiger shark hunting a hammerhead shark, in amazing National Geographic footage!
Footage by National Geographic
Follow Sarah Popov, a marine spatial ecologist interested in fisheries and conservation, on twitter!
Whales in polluted water develop a new feeding strategy. By Jason Goldman, for Scientific American.

Shark species names and hurricane sharks: Dear Shark Man, Volume 2

November 15, 2017 David Shiffman

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Welcome to volume #2 of Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

I know how you feel about sandbar sharks (even though I’m still #teamgoblinshark), but can we agree that Ninja Lanternshark is the best common name for a shark? Also, if you had an opportunity to name a shark, what would you name it? I’d name mine Storm Shark, not because of the meteorological event, but because Storm is Aquaman’s mighty seahorse steed.

Sincerely,
La Requin in Lake Buena Vista

Dear La Requin,

Ninja Lanternshark is a pretty sweet common name. My friend Vicky Vasquez was involved in the discovery and description of that species, which also has a cool scientific name (benchleyi, named after Jaws author and eventual shark conservationist Peter Benchley). If you haven’t read the great Hakai magazine story about this species, you should.

As an ecologist and conservation biologist, I am unlikely to get the opportunity to name a shark, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about this. I’d love to see shark species named after influential shark conservation advocates, particularly those who engage in science-based conservation advocacy. If a new species of cownose ray is discovered, I hope that folks will consider naming it after Shark Advocates International President and frequent Southern Fried Science guest blogger Sonja Fordham, for example. And I certainly wouldn’t turn down a species named after me, if any taxonomists are reading this, though there are certainly plenty of more deserving people.

Incidentally, I have a colleague who studies marine mammal parasites. I’ve told her that I will donate to a conservation charity or her choice if a parasite that significantly annoys (but does not kill) dolphins is named after Southern Fried Science.