Science – Page 62 – Southern Fried Science

Science Fails in Pop Music Songs

February 17, 2011February 17, 2011 David Shiffman 17 Comments

I’ve found that I enjoy certain types of music more when I don’t listen to the words too closely. However, a mild addiction to karaoke and a lifelong inability to “just let it go” has made it impossible for me to avoid knowing the lyrics.

We’ve been known to criticize how science is portrayed in movies and television shows here on Southern Fried Science. Pop music is far from innocent when it comes to scientific misunderstandings, and it seems only fair that I criticize that genre as well. Here are some recent examples that have been driving me crazy.

State of the Field: Satellite tagging sharks

February 15, 2011 David Shiffman 2 Comments

Science

Modern shark researchers have access to a variety of high-tech tools. Acoustic tags with noises specific to each individual shark signal a receiver (or network of receivers) every time the shark passes nearby. Some tags have three-dimensional accelerometers, allowing researchers to study the small scale movement patterns and behaviors of sharks. Others, which are placed in the stomach, measure pH before, during, and after digestion. The most advanced technology on the market, however, is undoubtedly the satellite tag.

State of the Field: Is catch-and-release fishing harmful to sharks?

February 8, 2011February 2, 2011 David Shiffman 10 Comments

Conservation, Science

In the wake of the new Marianas Islands shark conservation law, a debate has been raging on the shark listservs. The law wouldn’t have been possible without support from several local recreational fishermen- people who often take tourists catch-and-release fishing for sharks.

“When I heard of your effort in Hawaii to ban the sale,trade and possession of shark fins I knew if the CNMI was to follow someone with inside connections to the fishing world there had to espouse it and grow it. They do not like being told what to do from outsiders. I was not an outsider, and I fished alongside two of the very top level fishermen who happened to be upper level politicians whom I respected. Rep. Diego Benevente was one of them. I spoke with him and asked him to introduce a bill which replicated Hawaii’s law, and he did so. I kept constant contact with him and his staff in the effort to see this bill become law.”- Captain William McCue

shark_fishing_web_copy — Image from FishingDestin.info

Many shark conservationists support catch-and-release fishing, claiming that it allows fishermen the thrill of catching a large animal without killing it. Captain McCue reports that in the last 20 years:

“I’ve caught over 300 sharks in the that time a killed four- and if you include spiny dogfish it’s caught well over 2000 sharks and still killed only four- two of which were promptly eaten.”

However, some (such as “My Sunset Rendezvous” author Ila France Porcher) claim that even when a shark is released, the stress from being caught often still causes long-term damage or even death.

“As a shark ethologist, I have personally witnessed sharks who were hooked and fought, and who broke the line, emerge from the ordeal with a jaw so damaged that they lost weight and died over the following weeks or months. A high fraction of sharks caught suffered this fate, and they suffered greatly as a result of this enjoyable passtime pursued by sports fishermen. It would be great news to hear that you switched from a blood sport to a sport that celebrates the life that still remains in our seas, such as diving and photography.” – Ila France Porcher

A couple of tips when requesting papers

February 2, 2011February 3, 2011 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

Science

As search algorithms are getting better and better, some scientific papers are getting more difficult to access. Journal subscriptions are expensive and many institutions are foregoing all but the highest impact journals. For those working outside of academia, only open access journals are a viable option. I’m fortunate that my university subscribes to most scientific journals, which means that many of my colleagues will drop me an e-mail, tweet, or phone call along the lines of “Hey, I don’t have access to this article. Can you send me a copy?”

The answer is, without hesitation, always yes. Science can only progress when we have access to the literature. At this point, I’m fielding 4 or 5 paper requests per week, and I imagine many other scientists are doing the same. Most of the time the requests are simple and straight forward. Sometimes they’re so cryptic that it takes another round of e-mails before I even know it’s a paper request. I thought it would be helpful to compile a short list of advice for how to make it all just a little easier.

Send testimony to help protect Guam’s sharks!

January 26, 2011January 26, 2011 David Shiffman 14 Comments

Conservation, Science

The sharks of Guam need your help! Bill number 44-31, which would make selling or possessing shark fins illegal in Guam, was just introduced by members of the Senate. The Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the bill next Tuesday night Guam time, which is Monday night our time.

This bill is expected to face strong opposition from the fishing industry, which has a powerful voice. However, you can help! You send a letter in support of this policy to Shark Defenders, and they will make sure that it gets into the right hands. Many of the letters will be read out loud as testimony, and receiving a large number of letters in support of the law will be a big help!

Please send these letters to Info AT SharkDefenders DOT com by Monday afternoon U.S. East Coast time (sooner would be better).

State of the Field: Too big, too small, just right – the Goldilocks Conundrum of Conservation

January 25, 2011January 28, 2011 Bluegrass Blue Crab

Science

Scale seems like a simple term with a simple definition, a concept certainly not up for debate. Well, digging just a little deeper we find that the nuances of a term that is used in almost every discipline make it important to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Furthermore, it’s important to make sure that the concept gets some attention, some time on the agenda, and some problem-solving energy.

In the world of conservation, scale mismatches are often a visible failure of policies, leading to recent calls for ecosystem-based management that trace scales of governance according to ecosystem boundaries instead of political boundaries. This has led to the existence of “peace parks” protecting wildlands that cross national borders, watershed management plans, and attention to habitat protection in environmental species conservation, to name a few examples. However, matching governance to ecosystem scale is only one type of scale adjustment that needs to occur.

Pirate fishing: far less awesome then it sounds

January 25, 2011January 25, 2011 David Shiffman 6 Comments

Conservation, Science

Earlier this month, NOAA provided a list of “pirate fishing” countries to Congress. This report identifies Portugal, Italy, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama as nations whose vessels engage in “illegal, unreported, unregulated” fishing.

Russell Smith, NOAA deputy assistant secretary for international fisheries, explains why this so-called pirate fishing is such a big deal:

“Illegal fishing must be stopped as it subjects our fishermen to unfair competition and undermines efforts to sustainably manage the valuable fish stocks around the world that so many communities depend on for food and jobs.”

The Pew Charitable trusts reports that an estimated 20% of all fish removed from the oceans are fished illegally. NOAA claims that this results in an annual loss of $23 billion to legal fisheries worldwide. Specifically, the six violator countries listed here are guilty of having:

“fishing vessels that did not comply with measures agreed to under various international fishery management organizations, such as closed fishing seasons, vessel registry lists, and a ban on the use of driftnets. Other violations included illegal gear modifications, fishing without authorization, and possession of undersized bluefin tuna.”

Conservation and the Concept of Species in a Biodiversity Crisis (Part 1)

January 24, 2011January 23, 2011 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

Conservation, Science

In The Mass Extinction of Scientists Who Study Species, Dr. Craig McClain argues that we are loosing a fundamental unit of biological science – the Taxonomist. He’s right, of course. Taxonomy is a shrinking field. Entire phyla sit, unstudied, as the expertise necessary to understand them retires and expires. With few to train the next generation of taxonomists, the field could slowly vanish. Molecular tools are supplanting traditional taxonomy (once described to me as “the ability to identify hundreds of species of centimeter-long worms by counting ass-hairs under a microscope”) as the de rigueur method for identifying organisms.

I do not disagree with Craig. Losing skilled taxonomists is tragic for the biological sciences. Unlike many leading the charge in support of taxonomy, I did not benefit from a rigorous taxonomic study in my early career. I fall into the same camp as Dr. Holly Bik, relying primarily on molecules, not morphology, to draw the distinctions between my samples. I never identified species by counting the ass-hairs on a worm, and my education is poorer for it.

Dive into the mushroom reefs of Brazil with Dr. Al Dove

January 20, 2011 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Science

Beginning today, Dr. Al Dove of Deep Type Flow will be floating somewhere of the coast of Brazil exploring the Abrolhos reef platform. They will be using the Johnson Sea Link, the tragically mothballed US submersible once described as “a shining legacy of deep sea research“, which has been granted a second life under long-term contract with CEPEMAR Environmental Services. Follow along with the adventure at Deep Type Flow or under the twitter hashtag #Abrolhos2011.

Can marine protected areas save the oceans? Under certain circumstances, maybe.

January 20, 2011December 31, 2011 David Shiffman 4 Comments

Conservation, Science

Although marine fish face many threats, one of the greatest is large-scale modern commercial fishing. Technology makes it all too easy for so-called “factory ships” to remove enormous numbers of fish from the oceans, sometimes with devastating effects on the populations of those fish and their habitat.

Marine conservationists have proposed a variety of policies to protect fish populations around the world. Of these, the concept of the marine protected area (MPA) is arguably the most popular. Though technically a marine protected area is any area of the ocean where human activities are restricted in some way, the best known version is an area where fishing is banned with the goal of letting exploited fish stocks recover.