Category: Uncategorized

It’s 2025. Why do so many scientific journal articles still display weird when shared on social media?

Posted on By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Social media is, despite it’s challenges and limitations, an incredibly powerful (and widely used) professional tool for scientists. One common use of social media is to share one’s research with colleagues, or to find papers shared by others to read. And yet, despite the idea that sharing links to research online is not exactly new, … Read More “It’s 2025. Why do so many scientific journal articles still display weird when shared on social media?” »

These are the 10 most-cited shark science papers of all time

Posted on By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Nature recently shared a list of the most-cited papers of all time in any scientific field. That got me thinking: what are the most-cited papers in my field? And do they have any traits in common? Me at the New England Aquarium Methods: Simple! I performed a Web of Science database search for “shark,” and … Read More “These are the 10 most-cited shark science papers of all time” »

Cherry, Maple, and Walnut: My 2023 woodworking year in review.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

2023 was a pretty good year for woodworking. After the whirlwind furniture building of the last few years, I had a chance to sit down and work on some smaller projects to practice my skills and progress as a craftsman. January Though not exactly find woodworking, I spent January rebuilding the solar shed and adding … Read More “Cherry, Maple, and Walnut: My 2023 woodworking year in review.” »

The research rundown: an abbreviated list of my current ocean science, policy, education, and conservation technology efforts.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

OpenCTD and Oceanography for Everyone Ten years ago, Kersey, Russell, and I set of on a quixotic quest to make the tools of ocean science more accessible to more knowledge seekers at a price the reflects the reality of research budgets. The OpenCTD, a low-cost, open-source, oceanographic instrument was born. Since that first ambitious announcement, … Read More “The research rundown: an abbreviated list of my current ocean science, policy, education, and conservation technology efforts.” »

A wild week for the future of the ocean

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

Biden unveils an Ocean Climate Action Plan

President Biden unveiled the nation’s first climate action plan specifically targeting ocean health. The Ocean Climate Action Plan advance several key climate initiatives, including providing 40% of federal investment benefits relating to climate change to disadvantaged communities; producing 30 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind by 2030; conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030; and achieving zero emissions from international shipping no later than 2050. It’s a huge step forward and possibly one of the most consequential pieces of ocean policy since the Guano Islands Act.

Biden also announced plans to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Monument, this would dramatically increase the proportion of protected oceans in US waters and get us closer to the 30 by 30 goal. The call also includes potentially renaming the Monument and several of the islands to recognize the history and heritage of Pacific islanders rather than the legacy of imperialism and colonization.

No word yet on the expansion of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

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What does the high seas biodiversity treaty means for the future of deep-sea mining?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

This month, delegations from around the world agreed upon a treaty to protect biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction — ocean life beyond the limit of any country’s borders. The High Seas Treaty represents the culmination of over 2 decades of debate and negotiation. Once adopted, it establishes a framework for the protection and equitable sharing of marine genetic resources — animals and their DNA; promotes the implementation of marine protected areas in the high seas; and creates a scientific and technical body to review environmental impact assessments for ocean activities beyond borders.

While this treaty is a monumental achievement for protecting the common heritage of humankind, it still leaves several loopholes for ocean exploitation. Chief among them is the exemption of deep-sea mining from the final regulations.

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A roundup of recent deep-sea mining news

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized
The author, pondering a polymetallic nodule.

The third part of the 27th session of the International Seabed Authority, a meeting where the rules and regulations about how the deep ocean will be mined, begins today. If process is your jam, you can watch the UN negotiations here: https://isa.org.jm/web-tv

For a very concise overview of where we currently stand, I published the transcript of my recent talk, here: Deep-Sea Mining: A whirlwind tour of the state of the industry and current policy regimes

Some recent press to get you up to speed

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Discovery of a Great Hammerhead Nursery

Posted on By Catherine Macdonald
Conservation, Exploration, Uncategorized

Happy Shark Week (if you celebrate), and I’m so excited to share our newly published open access paper about our research on juvenile great hammerheads (Sphyrna mokarran) with you! (It’s been hard to keep this one to ourselves).

Great hammerheads are an iconic shark species which have undergone significant population declines globally. In 2019, they were assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, which reported overfishing as the greatest threat to their survival. Great hammerheads are known to make incredible long-range migrations and cross state and international boundaries, making them challenging to protect as adults. Little is known about where they are born or where they spend their early years of their life, although there have been scattered reports of juveniles from the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, and one report from Georgia.

Identifying habitats that are important to juvenile sharks matters because young sharks are often the most vulnerable individuals in a population, and their survival is vital to the future of their species. Many juvenile sharks spend time in “nursery areas”—places where they are less likely to be eaten by predators, or where food resources are abundant. They then expand their ranges as they age, covering more distance as they grow larger. Identifying nurseries has long been a conservation priority for managers and scientists. After several years of research, our team has collected the first scientific evidence of a nursery area for great hammerhead sharks on the Atlantic coast of the United States—within sight of the skyline of Miami, Florida.

There’s a three-part established test for an area to be identified as a shark nursery: 1) Juvenile sharks are more commonly encountered in that habitat than elsewhere; 2) they remain in the area for extended periods; and 3) The area is used repeatedly over years. Our results demonstrate that this area definitely meets two of these criteria, with preliminary evidence that it also meets the third. We’ve found the same habitat may be a nursery area for several other shark species too, including scalloped hammerheads, another Critically Endangered species!

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