David Shiffman

Rumors of the lesser electric ray’s demise have been greatly exaggerated

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 David Shiffman

A lesser electric ray. Photo credit: Brandi Noble, NOAA Fisheries Service

The lesser electric ray, a small sand-dwelling ray that lives from North Carolina to Brazil, has been considered one of the most endangered marine fish on Earth. A 2005 paper reported that 98% of these rays had been wiped out, a decline attributed to shrimp trawling bycatch. This paper resulted in these animals getting classified as IUCN Red List “Critically Endangered,” the highest risk category for any species that is still found in the wild.

A new paper published today in the journal Endangered Species Research shows that these rays are in much better shape than previously believed. “There is no evidence of a decline in the relative abundance of lesser electric rays,” said Dr. John Carlson, a NOAA Fisheries Service Research Biologist and lead author of the new paper.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: February 23rd, 2017

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Logo by Ethan Kocak

Watch this shark walk across a reef during low tide, from the BBC Shark special!
Follow the JCU Seagrass Ecology Lab on twitter!
Bring out your dead: donation of fish carcasses helps the community. By Henry Hershey, for the Fisheries Blog

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: February 16th, 2017

February 16, 2017February 16, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Logo by Ethan Kocak

Watch cownose rays migrate past Destin, Florida, filmed by a parasailer

Follow Abby Lawson, a Ph.D. candidate researching alligators, on twitter!
Debunking myths about ocean garbage patches. From the NOAA restoration blog
What does BREXIT mean for UK fishing rights? By Daniel Boffey, for the Guardian

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: February 9th, 2017

February 9, 2017 David Shiffman

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Watch this frilled shark swim in unusually shallow water off Japan
Follow Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, an AMNH conservation researcher, on twitter!
Last call for vaquita, the panda of the sea. WWF reports that there are just 30 vaquita left in the wild, down from 60 last year.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: February 2nd, 2017

February 3, 2017 David Shiffman

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Watch how a goblin shark feeds in slow-motion. Footage originally from Shark Week’s “Alien Sharks.”
A goblin shark, from Shark Week’s “Alien Sharks”
Follow amphibian conservation biologist Dr. Wendy Palen on twitter!
The most wonderful pikes, pickerels, and muskies of the world! By Sasha Doss, for the Fisheries Blog.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: January 26, 2017

January 26, 2017 David Shiffman

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Watch this angel shark eat a horn shark!

A horn shark is consumed by an angel shark

Follow Connor Gervais, a Ph.D. student whose research looks at how climate change affects shark development, on twitter!
The proposed border wall will threaten more than 100 endangered species. By Wes Siler, for Outside Magazine.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: January 19th, 2017

January 19, 2017January 19, 2017 David Shiffman

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Watch this basking shark breach!

Follow GreatLakesCisco, a freshwater fish restoration citizen science project run by Ph.D. student Ellen George, on twitter!
Remember when 2014 was the hottest year on record? Then 2015? Now it’s 2016. By Brad Plumer, for Vox.
Dozens of false killers whales mysteriously strand in the Everglades. By Merri Kennedy, for NPR.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: January 12th, 2017

January 12, 2017January 12, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Look at all these basking sharks in drone footage from Basking Shark Scotland

Drone footage from Basking Shark Scotland

Follow Dr. Lindsay Marshall, a scientist and illustrator who recently became the first person in decades to illustrate an entire taxa, on twitter!
More than 1,000 new islands have been officially added to Indonesia, the largest archipelago nation.

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: January 5th, 2017

January 5, 2017January 9, 2017 David Shiffman

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Cuttings (short and sweet):

Here’s NOAA Okeanos video of a “ghost shark” from 2013.

Follow Dr. Brooke Flammang, a functional ecologist who works with sharks, robots, and lasers, on twitter!
Here are the 9 species named after President Obama, a new record. By Jessica Boddy, for Science

Bonnethead sharks, one of the smallest hammerheads, may actually be more than one species

January 5, 2017January 5, 2017 David Shiffman 2 Comments

Science

Bonnethead sharks, one of the smallest members of the hammerhead shark family Sphyrnidae, have a special place in my heart. For many years, the avatar I used for science communication efforts, including posts on this blog, was a picture of me with a bonnethead.

Remember this avatar? That’s a bonnethead (on the left).

These sharks, which can grow up to about 5 feet long, are found throughout North, Central, and South America. However, new research by Fields and friends suggests that they may actually be a species complex, not a true species. “A species complex is a group of distinct species that are incorrectly classified as one species because they look very similar to one another,” explained Dr. Demian Chapman, an Associate Professor of Biology at Florida International University and a co-author on this new study. “A great example is the white spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) that was once thought to be one, globally distributed species, but now has been shown to be a group of very similar-looking species, each of which lives in a particular region.”