Southern Fried Science

New “Rescue a Reef” citizen science project focuses on coral restoration. You can help!

February 25, 2014 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Coral reefs provide critical habitat to countless unique species of animals and plants. However, many reefs are in trouble, being hammered by climate change, destructive fishing techniques, pollution, disease, and other threats. A coral restoration project at the University of Miami’s (UM) RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program aims to rescue Florida’s reefs through coral restoration. The … Read More “New “Rescue a Reef” citizen science project focuses on coral restoration. You can help!” »

Angler gives up world record to release massive shark alive

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014 David Shiffman 16 Comments

Blogging, Conservation

Scranton attorney Michael Roth has been fishing since 1959, and has traveled around the world to pursue his hobby. “Fishing simply takes me to amazing places,” he told me, “from Alaska to Panama to the Eastern Caribbean.” In January, Roth went on a fishing trip to the Turks and Caicos. While targeting sharks off Provo, … Read More “Angler gives up world record to release massive shark alive” »

Want to name a shark and track it with Google Earth? Donate to my SciFund project!

February 18, 2014 David Shiffman

Blogging

Thanks to the 73 people who have donated to my SciFund Challenge shark feeding ecology project so far, helping me to meet and surpass my minimum funding goal! I can still accept additional funds beyond my minimum funding goal, and all funds raised will still be used exclusively for lab processing fees. As before, donations … Read More “Want to name a shark and track it with Google Earth? Donate to my SciFund project!” »

Help support marine biology SciFund projects!

February 18, 2014 David Shiffman

Blogging

Thanks for everyone who has donated to my SciFund Challenge shark feeding ecology project so far! Though I have surpassed my minimum funding goal of $3,000, I am still able to receive additional funds and all will be used for sample analysis fees. The offer to join us for a day of shark research still stands.

There are also other marine biology projects involved in the SciFund Challenge that need your support! A brief description of some (provided by the lead scientist on each project) is below, along with a link to learn more and donate.

Gills Club launches to inspire girls to pursue a career in marine biology

February 17, 2014 David Shiffman 2 Comments

Uncategorized

A new organization called the Gills Club is connecting girls with female marine biologist role models. Cynthia Wigren, President of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, told me that, “Through Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC), I’ve met a lot of young girls who love sharks. The goal in founding the Gills Club was to connect girls … Read More “Gills Club launches to inspire girls to pursue a career in marine biology” »

Fun Science Friday – My Heart Will Go On

February 14, 2014February 14, 2014 Kersey Sturdivant

Uncategorized

Valentine’s Day is generally filled with love, flowers, and lots and lots of anatomically incorrect hearts. See —> <3 This week on FSF we revel in the spirit of VDay and bring you hearts, but the appropriately shaped kind.

For years, in order to transplant a heart or a lung, there is a narrow window between the death of the donor and the surgical input of the recipient. How narrow, about 5 to 10 hours! Yes, basically doctors have 5 -10 hours to surgically remove the heart from a donor, transport it to the recipient, and surgically implant it. Crazy! The Doctors are battling the period of time it takes for a heart or lung to stop beating once senescence of a person’s body is achieved.

Want to participate in a day of shark field research? Donate to my SciFund project!

February 12, 2014 David Shiffman

Blogging, Science

After one week, my SciFund project is more than 70% funded! Thanks to the 50 people who have donated so far! I’m making lots of progress, but I still need your help to make sure the project gets completely funded. Any donation helps, but larger donations have rewards, including getting to join me for a … Read More “Want to participate in a day of shark field research? Donate to my SciFund project!” »

#DrownYourTown Coastal States Road Trip is coming to your (virtual) town

February 11, 2014 Andrew Thaler

#DrownYourTown, Science

Last week, I kicked off the #DrownYourTown Coastal States Road Trip with a cruise through California. Over the next few weeks, we’ll visit every coastal US state (and territory) and see what they look like after 5 meters of sea level rise. The first week of images is available at the #DrownYourTown tumblr and you can follow along in real time on twitter @DrownYourTown.

Panama City, FL after 5 meters of sea level rise.

The 45 most influential female ecologists alive today according to twitter

February 10, 2014 Guest Writer 26 Comments

Blogging, Science

Melissa Giresi is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University interested in using genetic methods to assess population structure, connectivity and biodiversity of exploited marine fishes and invertebrates. For her dissertation, she is testing the null hypothesis that the dusky smoothhound shark, Mustelus canis, is a single genetically-panmictic population in U.S. waters and utilizing molecular and morphological markers to assess how many smoothhound species are present in the Gulf of Mexico. She is also involved with projects to investigate population connectivity in fine tooth sharks, black nose sharks, cobia, and amberjack.

Monica Turner, image courtesy University of Wisconsin

On Thursday, I tweeted “Name the most influential female ecologist (alive today) that you can think of.” After it was re-tweeted by several of my much more twitter-savvy colleagues and friends, I received an overwhelming number of responses. In retrospect, I should have created a hashtag to keep track of the responses. Forty-five influential female ecologists were named in this search, some of whom responded to the question themselves, naming their colleagues (but never naming themselves). The most influential female ecologists (alive today) according to the twitter-verse are listed in the table below in alphabetical order by last name.

Changes Proposed for U.S. Fisheries Management: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

February 9, 2014February 10, 2014 Chuck Bangley 13 Comments

Conservation

This past Tuesday, the draft bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act was released by the U.S. House. The Magnuson-Stevens Act is a big deal because this is the law that lays out how fisheries management works in the United States. This time, a number of changes have been proposed by Representative Doc Hastings, some of which could fundamentally change fisheries management and fisheries science in U.S. waters. The proposed changes immediately became controversial, garnering overwhelming support from witnesses to the House Natural Resources Committee hearing of the bill (witnesses included representatives from the recreational and commercial fishing industries as well as the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council) while the Pew Charitable Trust strongly opposed the bill, calling it the “Empty Oceans Act” (translated into GIFs by Upwell for your viewing pleasure).

How might the Hastings bill affect your favorite marine species (both in the water and on your dinner plate)? Read on to see the good, bad, and ugly aspects of these proposed changes, at least according to this particular fisheries scientist.