Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
As 2016 winds to a close, and in the spirit of the holiday season behold the world’s smallest snowman, measuring in at 3 microns. To put that into perspective, the smallest grains of sands are approximately 60 microns. This creation is the work of Canadian nanotechnologists from the Western Nanofabrication Facility. The snowman is made from … Read More “Fun Science Holidays – The World’s Smallest Snowman” »
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” »
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Read More “Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 22nd, 2016” »
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Read More “Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 15th, 2016” »
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Read More “Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 8th, 2016” »
If you plan to give up one thing in 2017, make it the social media trap that so many NPOs/NGOs/individuals have fallen into. We need more organizations and individuals talking about what they are doing in the real world and less that just talk. We going to need that now more than ever.
Read More “We can’t afford to substitute genuine outreach with social media metrics” »
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Dr. Bernie Kuhajda joined the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute staff in May 2012 after 25 years at the University of Alabama, where he managed a museum collection of one million specimens of preserved fishes from all around the world. Though his studies of fishes and other aquatic organisms have taken him around the United States, Mexico, and Central Asia, his particular expertise is surveying and monitoring threatened and endangered species from aquatic systems in the Southeast, in part to help evaluate the effectiveness of conservation programs. He currently teaches weekend courses at the University of Alabama Gadsden Campus and on the main campus in Tuscaloosa every summer. He serves on multiple USFWS Recovery Teams/Groups for endangered and threatened species.
Imagine possessing untold wealth but lacking the means to keep it safe. That is the broad-strokes reality faced by those of us who work to protect the Southeast’s rich aquatic biodiversity.
Our waterways are home to an incredible natural profusion, one that is unrivaled in the temperate world. More than 1,400 aquatic species reside in waterways within a 500-mile radius of the Tennessee Aquarium’s home in Chattanooga, including about three-quarters (73.1 percent) of all native fish species in the United States. More than 90 percent of all American mussels and crayfish species live within that same area, as do 80 percent of North America’s salamander species and half of its turtle species.
Read More “Protecting the freshwater riches of the Southeastern US” »
Southern Fried Science has at the forefront of trying to debunk fake news, such as faux documentaries about mermaids or giant sharks. In their article “Fish tales: combating fake science in the popular media” Andrew Thaler and David Shiffman asked that:
“scientists familiarize themselves with common sources of misinformation within their field, so that they can be better able to respond quickly when factually inaccurate content begins to spread”
Read More “Sifting the fact from the false in an internet full of fake ‘news’” »
Happy FSF! As some of you may know (and for those who don’t), I study the bottom of the ocean, and I do so primarily using innovative technology to image the seafloor (e.g., Wormcam). The interesting work I’ve conducted has resulted in me having the opportunity to present my work to a larger lay audience, in the form of a TEDx presentation.
I am giving my TED talk with my good buddy and colleague Steve Sabo. In our talk, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Worms”, Steve & I will illustrate the significance of the ocean floor through advancements in underwater camera technology and data visualization, making complex science more accessible for everyone.
