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Oceana is accepting nominations for their Ocean Hero award until April 27th. There are two categories: adult (over 18) and junior (under 18). According to the contest rules: “Any individual who has volunteered, organized, cleaned up or otherwise acted in a way that benefits the world’s oceans, its inhabitants or the communities and peoples that … Read More “Nominations now open for the Oceana Ocean Hero award!” »
[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:
Read More “Severely injured great white shark found, are scientists responsible?” »
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.
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” »
All this month we’ve be showing talks about how nature and evolution have inspired technology and design. I’d like to end with this talk by Jim Toomey, about how the nature simply inspires us as human beings. What stories have the oceans shared with you?
Amongst my field gear is a buzz off shirt, hat, and bandana that were purchased in Alaska to ward off the state bird – the mosquito. Upon arriving to Fairbanks, I realized within the space of a few days that I would need some better bug gear for my tenure there and found a local store stocked with an entire floor of their store featuring buzz off gear.
Ex Officio definitely has a style that carries over into their bug gear, making it a cross between travel gear and classic field clothes. I kind of wish they had included their travel pockets in the shirt, for instance. But they’ve included the buzz off chemical, whatever that may be, into their quick-dry cloth, meaning that you can wash and wear while traveling.
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.
Read More “Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Rejects Shark Conservation Policies” »
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.
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
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.
Read More “Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System” »
