Category: Education

Smart Buoys, Deep-sea Mining, Marine Careers, and Dungeons & Dragons: 2025 in Ocean Science Podcasts

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Conservation, Education, Exploration

2025. Holy Mola was that a long year. I made a concerted effort to appear on more podcasts last year across more topics than I usually do. Excepting the weekly ocean science podcast I’m a part of, I hit a little more than 1 podcast a month throughout the year. If you need an expert … Read More “Smart Buoys, Deep-sea Mining, Marine Careers, and Dungeons & Dragons: 2025 in Ocean Science Podcasts” »

I’m getting married! Want to honor us? Here are some great charities you can donate to.

Posted on By David Shiffman
Conservation, Education

Some, as they say, personal news: I’m getting married! I’d love to use this happy occassion to spread good news around. To that end, if you’re so inclined to make a donation “in honor of David and Eileen getting married,” here is a list of some great charities I love, and some instructions on how … Read More “I’m getting married! Want to honor us? Here are some great charities you can donate to.” »

That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop
Education, Featured

Well, it finally happened. Over the last two week, my usually well-curated feeds of videos from the deep sea have been overrun with AI slop masquerading as authentic images of strange and delightful creatures of the abyss. AI slop is permeating everything, but it’s particularly noxious when dealing with images from the deep. We generally … Read More “That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop” »

Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.

Posted on By David Shiffman
Conservation, Education, Science

Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, and accordingly many scientists who study sharks want their research to be useful for conservation. However, most scientific training does not include a detailed explanation of the policymaking process, resulting in lots of shark research being positioned as relevant to conservation and policy when it … Read More “Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.” »

Teaching with D&D: My favorite source books for running a great Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Education, Featured

For the last several years now, I’ve been running educational themed Dungeons & Dragons campaigns through my local library, as well as with student groups in a variety of settings. While you only need the core rulebooks to run a good campaign (and not even that if you use the free System Reference Documents) there … Read More “Teaching with D&D: My favorite source books for running a great Dungeons & Dragons campaign.” »

“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant

Posted on By David Shiffman 3 Comments on “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant
Blogging, Education, Featured, Science

My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educators, and science communicators. I presented these results at the 2025 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Our study confirms a trend that’s … Read More ““Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant” »

Friends of the Mariana Trench Congratulate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Local CNMI Leaders on the Ribbon-Cutting of the Mariana Trench Visitor Contact Station

Posted on By Angelo Villagomez 1 Comment on Friends of the Mariana Trench Congratulate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Local CNMI Leaders on the Ribbon-Cutting of the Mariana Trench Visitor Contact Station
Conservation, Education, News, Uncategorized

The Friends of the Mariana Trench extend heartfelt congratulations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and local leaders from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on the momentous occasion of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mariana Trench visitor contact station. This important milestone marks a significant step towards enhancing public understanding … Read More “Friends of the Mariana Trench Congratulate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Local CNMI Leaders on the Ribbon-Cutting of the Mariana Trench Visitor Contact Station” »

Sustainable Seafood, Endangered Species, and Jaws: Some upcoming talks and panels

Posted on By David Shiffman
Blogging, Conservation, Education, Policy, Science

I have several upcoming public talks, panels, and workshops in May and June. Here they are all in one place! Public talk! Endangered Species in U.S. Waters: What threatens, them, and how can we save them? May 16th in Baltimore through the Natural History Society of Maryland. Get tickets here. Talk description: Over 100 marine … Read More “Sustainable Seafood, Endangered Species, and Jaws: Some upcoming talks and panels” »