David Shiffman

Bachelor contestant wears a shark costume and calls it a dolphin costume

January 3, 2017March 7, 2017 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Uncategorized

Last night was the premiere of the Bachelor, which is just about the only reality TV show that I do not watch. However, an incident occured on last night’s episode that several of you brought to my attention. Apparently, one of the contestants wore a shark costume for the entire episode…but kept referring to it as a dolphin costume. (While not everyone can reasonably be expected to know the difference between a shark and a dolphin, this contestant stated that she wants to be a dolphin trainer.)

Here is a screenshot:

Screenshot from the Bachelor season 21 premiere, H/T Buzzfeed

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 29th, 2016

December 29, 2016December 29, 2016 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Watch how slowly this Greenland shark swims, from a NOAA Okeanos video. These sharks have the slowest swimming speed ever measured in a fish. Follow sawfish conservation expert Dr. Tonya Wiley-Lescher @TonyaRWileyL on twitter! A Florida State research team, with help from our friends at Field School, became the first people … Read More “Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 29th, 2016” »

Here’s what top science news stories of the year listicles said are the top marine science news stories of the year

December 23, 2016 David Shiffman

Blogging

Year-in-review news roundups are one of my favorite parts of December. I really enjoy remembering all of the interesting and inspiring things that happened over the past year, especially after a rough year like this one. I especially enjoy “top science news of the year” roundups, and I was pleased to see marine science stories make the cut on many of them. For your “but why is this considered a top story but that isn’t” debating pleasure, here are the marine science news stories that made top science news stories of the year listicles!

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 22nd, 2016

December 22, 2016 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Watch this hammerhead shark hunt and catch a stingray, from “Hunting the Hammerhead” on the Smithsonian Channel

From the Smithsonian Channel's "Hunting the Hammerhead" — From the Smithsonian Channel’s “Hunting the Hammerhead”

Follow Dr. Mariana Fuentes @Fuentes_MMPB, a Florida State University marine megafauna researcher, on twitter! Follow her for updates from her research, which involves sharks and sea turtles.
Check out my interview on the Speak up for Blue ocean science and conservation podcast!

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 15th, 2016

December 15, 2016December 14, 2016 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet):

How thresher sharks use their tails, from this paper by Oliver and friends.

Thresher shark tail whip, from Oliver and friends 2013, "Thresher Sharks Use Tail-Slaps as a Hunting Strategy," PLoS ONE — Thresher shark tail whip, from Oliver and friends 2013, “Thresher Sharks Use Tail-Slaps as a Hunting Strategy,” PLoS ONE

Follow Brit Finucci @BritFinucci on twitter! Follow her for awesome photos of her research with deep sea sharks.
I love this commerical and I’m pretty sure that you will too.

Help save the oceans in honor of David’s Ph.D.!

December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 David Shiffman

Blogging

Earlier this week, I announced that I have officially earned my Ph.D.! I am hoping to use this occassion to raise funds for a variety of environmental causes. If you’re able to help, I’ve created a JustGive.org campaign that allows you to donate to my favorite environmental and human rights causes in honor of my … Read More “Help save the oceans in honor of David’s Ph.D.!” »

37 things I learned about shark ecology and conservation for my dissertation

December 12, 2016August 24, 2017 David Shiffman 5 Comments

Conservation, Science

The fam attending my dissertation defense

After a little more than 5 years of hard work, I’ve officially completed my Ph.D.! You can read my dissertation (“An Integrative and Interdisciplinary Approach to Shark Conservation: Policy Solutions, Ecosystem Role, and Stakeholder Attitudes”) online here in its entirety.

In case there are some among you who don’t really want to read a 281 page dissertation but are curious about what I found, I’ve prepared this blog post to summarize my key conclusions. (Note: this does not include every conclusion. Some are aggregated together, and some more technical conclusions are omitted for this summary).

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 8th, 2016

December 8, 2016 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Rays chew. Who knew? From this paper by Kolmann and friends
From Kolmann and friends 2016, “Always chew your food. Freshwater stingrays use mastication to process insect prey.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Follow Dr. Leanne Currey @LeanneMCurrey, a postdoc working on the Global FinPrint project, on twitter! Follow her for great videos of sharks and other marine life approaching baited underwater video stations around the world.
Our friends at the Fisheries Blog surveyed their readers about their peer review habits. Do these results match your experience?

Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 1, 2016

December 1, 2016December 1, 2016 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet):

How a sawfish uses its saw, from this paper by Wueringer and friends.

How a sawfish uses its saw, from Wueringer and friends (2012), the function of the sawfish saw, Current Biology

Follow Kim Bassos-Hull @MsHullRay , a spotted eagle ray researcher at Mote Marine Laboratory, on twitter! Follow her for news (and awesome pictures) of her spotted study subjects.
A call for more scientists and engineers to run for public office (by Sheril Kirshenbaum). Would you consider running for public office?

Applications now open for the Elasmobranch Society’s diversity in marine science initiative

September 15, 2016 David Shiffman

Academic life, Education, Science

The American Elasmobranch Society is the world's oldest and largest professional association of shark and ray scientists — The American Elasmobranch Society is the world’s oldest and largest professional association of shark and ray scientists

The American Elasmobranch Society, the world’s oldest and largest professional society focusing on the scientific study and management of sharks and their relatives, is now welcoming applications for the 2nd year of our Young Professional Recruitment Fund diversity initiative. Awardees will be given one year of Society membership, in addition to specialized professional development training, mentorship, and networking opportunities specific to their needs as scientists and professionals from developing nations or historically underrepresented minority groups.

Applications, which can be found here, are due by 5 P.M. U.S. eastern standard time on Tuesday, November 15th. All winners will be notified by Friday, December 16th.

To be eligible for a Young Professional Recruitment Fund award, applicants must fill out the application and demonstrate that they: