Science – Page 61 – Southern Fried Science

Severely injured great white shark found, are scientists responsible?

March 29, 2011May 3, 2011 David Shiffman 125 Comments

[Editor’s Notice – Comments have been suspended on this post. Please visit “Full video of injured shark shows numerous natural injuries” for an update on this controversy]

Last summer, I reviewed National Geographic’s “Expedition Great White” and interviewed the lead scientist. Several researchers and conservationists were concerned about the methods that Dr. Michael Domeier uses to study great white sharks, particularly after one shark was “foul hooked” through the gills. These methods (removing captured great white sharks from the water to study them using a forklift-like structure) make for excellent television, but may be harmful to the sharks. As I reported last year:

Shark Science Monday: Matt Baronio discusses using ROVs to study shark behavior

March 29, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Matt Baronio of Southern Cross University discusses using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to study shark behavior. If you have a question for Matt, please leave a comment on this post and I’ll make sure he gets it.

Beneath the Waves Film Festival: Spectacular When Spotted

March 27, 2011March 28, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

This year’s Beneath the Waves Film Festival was a huge success, and we’ve already started planning for next year. In the meantime, I’ll post some of the 2011 entries. “Spectacular when spotted” follows a spotted eagle ray research project in Bermuda. It has some great footage of these amazing animals, and shows some field scientists … Read More “Beneath the Waves Film Festival: Spectacular When Spotted” »

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Rejects Shark Conservation Policies

March 24, 2011 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

Last week, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission held their annual meeting in Sri Lanka. As one of the few international fisheries policy organizations in the region, the IOTC is also responsible for management of billfish and sharks. Several new shark conservation policies were proposed this year. These included species-specific protections for hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks, closing loopholes in existing policies that ban finning sharks and discarding the bodies at sea, and requiring fishermen to collect and report more types of data on their shark bycatch. All of these proposals were rejected.

A brief example of asymmetry in Sperm Whales

March 23, 2011 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Science

In the lecture we just posted, Keith Rittmaster mentioned that Sperm Whales are highly asymmetric. Below is just one examples of this dramatic asymmetry, the size difference between the left and right nostrils in the cranium.

Bonehenge: The afterlife of a Sperm Whale

March 23, 2011 Andrew Thaler

Science

Keith Rittmaster discusses Bonehenge. For more on Bonehenge, check out http://bonehenge.org/ Read our previous posts about the project: Visiting Bonehenge and Bonehenge – Community action in science outreach

Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System

March 23, 2011March 23, 2011 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Conservation, Science

As part of our Biodiversity Wednesday series, we’ve discussed amazing ecosystems all over the world. This week’s post will focus on an area a little closer to home (at least a little closer to my home). The Santee Cooper lake system, home to unique fish and a fascinating history, is less than an hour from Charleston. If you’ve ever driven on I-95 through South Carolina, you’ve gone right over it.

SanteeCooper — The Santee-Cooper system is marked with a white arrow. Image created with Google Earth

Science and the Arab Awakening

March 4, 2011March 5, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

In the last few months, the Middle East and North Africa have seen some of the most dramatic political changes since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled with an iron fist for more than 20 years, was overthrown. Shortly after, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who had also been a brutal dictator for decades, stepped down in the wake of massive public protests. As of this writing, similar protests are taking place in Yemen, Oman, Morocco, Iran, Djibouti, Jordan and Libya (where government retaliation to the protests has been particularly brutal). If you’re a CNN junkie like I am, you’ve read all about how these revolutions will affect human rights, international relations, oil prices, and the influence of terrorism in the region. There has been relatively little mainstream media focus on how science will be affected, however.

State of the Field: Shark Conservation Policies

March 1, 2011March 1, 2011 David Shiffman 6 Comments

Conservation, Science

Shark populations around the world are crashing. Researchers have reported that many populations have decreased by 90% or more since the 1970’s. The leading causes for these precipitous declines are bycatch, which kills tens of millions of sharks each year, and the shark fin fishery, which kills as many as 73 million sharks each year. In this edition of State of the Field, I will explain what different countries are doing about this problem.

In many parts of the world, it is still legal to cut the fins off of a still-living shark and dump the rest of the animal overboard where it will bleed to death or drown. Other nations have a variety of management policies.

Dead Zambezi Shark tangled in shark nets — Credit: Fiona Ayerst, Marine Photobank

Help identify this mystery machine from the darkest recesses of our lab

February 28, 2011 Andrew Thaler 10 Comments

Science

While cleaning out our lab the other day, we discovered this mysterious piece of equipment buried deep within a cabinet. After querying several dozen scientists of different eras, we have determined only that it was manufactured in the early 20th century and no one has any idea what it is. The optics were made by Bausch and Lomb, the motor was made by Dunmore. We have a few guesses about its intended purpose.

This machine is massive, it weighs about 50 pounds and is forged from Bakelite and steel. The drum is clearly some kind of centrifuge and the optics point into the center of the spinning drum. No one has yet been willing to plug it in and turn it on. There are two patent numbers listed on the plate – patent # 1,648,369 and patent # 1,907,803.