Science – Page 56 – Southern Fried Science

Shark Science Monday: Jen Caselle discusses the recovery of shark populations in California

September 12, 2011September 11, 2011 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Science

In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Jen Caselle of UC Santa Barbara discusses how the banning of gill nets in Southern California led to population recoveries of several species of sharks. If you have a question for Jen, leave it below and I’ll make sure she gets it.

Hope for Fiji’s Sharks?

September 8, 2011September 4, 2011 David Shiffman

Conservation, Science

Check out this trailer for “Shark Hope”, a soon-to-be-released documentary chronicling efforts to make a National Shark Sanctuary in Fiji! This movie is a partnership between Shark Defenders, the Coral Reef Alliance, and the Pew Environment Group. The movie will be released in Fiji later this month, and will soon be available online.

Hooray for California, but there’s still much work to be done to save sharks

September 6, 2011September 6, 2011 David Shiffman 7 Comments

Conservation, Science

MarinePhotoBankJessicaKingFins — Photo credit: Jessica King, Marine Photobank

Earlier today, the California legislature voted to approve AB 376, the excitingly titled “act to add section 2021 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to sharks”. The ocean conservation community is happy, and we should be. The bill and its backing from Hollywood stars have generated substantial media coverage of the plight of sharks, and, if signed into law by the Governor and properly enforced, it could well save a lot of sharks. However, fin bans aren’t the perfect solution to the shark conservation crisis, and we still have a lot of work to do to protect sharks and closely related species around the world.

Shark bites snorkeler… who happens to be my friend

September 5, 2011September 16, 2011 David Shiffman 37 Comments

Science

On June 30th, while vacationing in the Turks and Caicos, a 28 year old man was bitten by a large shark. This particular attack got my attention in a hurry. For the first time in my life, a friend of mine was bitten by a shark. Obviously I know some shark biologists who have been bitten while handling sharks in the field, but that isn’t what happened in this case. This victim was simply snorkeling during a vacation. He agreed to answer some of my questions about the incident, and prefers to remain anonymous.

Shark Science Monday: Grant Galland discusses sharks and marine protected areas

September 5, 2011September 4, 2011 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Grant Galland from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography discusses marine protected areas and sharks. If you have a question for Grant, please leave it as a comment below and I’ll make sure he sees it.

Happy Hour Science – Domesticating Microbes for Beer

September 2, 2011September 2, 2011 Bluegrass Blue Crab

Science

Saccharomyces_pastorianus_Weihenstephan_34_70 — Little yummy beer yeasts, thanks www.diArk.org

As our ancestors transitioned from hunter-gatherer to agricultural society, they had to domesticate the plants and animals we know today as farm life. Corn kernels became larger and more full of starch, cows became more docile, and all farm organisms became accustomed to life in rows or pastures tended by humans. But some of what we eat depends on more than just these plants and animals – example, take beer. A new study in PNAS by Diego Libkind et al. describes the domestication of the microbes and yeast needed to make lagers of old and describes an unwitting process paralleling agricultural domestication.

Saving Coral Reefs, today at 3 EDT

September 1, 2011 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

ScienceLIVE will be featured noted marine biologists Dr. John Bruno and Dr. Mark Eakin who will be discussing the state and future of coral reefs. From the website: Coral reefs from Australia to the Gulf of Mexico are some of the planet’s most vibrant ecosystems. They’re also among the most threatened habitats in oceans today. … Read More “Saving Coral Reefs, today at 3 EDT” »

Climbing Mount Chernobyl

August 30, 2011June 6, 2012 Andrew Thaler 5 Comments

Conservation, Science

In the last century, humans have made dramatic changes to both local and global ecosystems. Some of these changes have been subtle and remained unnoticed until very recently, while others were so visible and so destructive that their names are indelibly etched into our collective consciousness. Despite a legacy of desolation, many of these places, unsafe and long-abandoned, have made dramatic recoveries. Standing tall, but not alone, among these environmental catastrophes is the melt-down of reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Read More “Climbing Mount Chernobyl” »

Shark Science Monday: Austin Gallagher discusses shark stress physiology

August 29, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Austin Gallagher of the University of Miami discusses the stress physiology of sharks. If you have a question for Austin, please leave it as a comment below.

What killed this lemon shark? University of Miami scientists perform necropsy to solve this mystery

August 15, 2011 David Shiffman 9 Comments

Science

Last week, volunteers monitoring a sea turtle nesting beach on Virginia Key came across a beached lemon shark. They called in scientists from the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation program, including myself . Dunlap program director Dr. Neil Hammerschlag decided to film the necropsy to use as an online teaching tool. The end … Read More “What killed this lemon shark? University of Miami scientists perform necropsy to solve this mystery” »