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Charlie welcomes southern summer with some sun tea
Science
When people learn that I’m a marine biologist, they often assume I got into this career because I want to be a dolphin trainer. The general public seems to believe that marine mammals are cute and cuddly and innocent, but sharks are cruel and evil and bad. In reality, nature is an amoral place- our morality is, by necessity, anthropocentric and doesn’t really relate to the wild behavior of animals. If this wasn’t the case, though, here are ten reasons why marine mammals aren’t as cute and cuddly and innocent as people sometimes think they are.
Read More “10 reasons why marine mammals aren’t as cute as you think they are” »
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Charlie and Amy hanging out at the meeting.
Conservation
Lots has been written about the recent failure of CITES to protect marine species. Most of it focuses on blaming countries like Japan and China for putting commerce ahead of science and conservation. However, SCUBA operator and blogger Mike Da Shark has a different perspective- he criticizes the NGOs who advocated for conservation.
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Charlie of the bush.
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Managing for stability just doesn’t work.
This epiphany has helped forge the development of ecosystem based management (EBM), theoretically a more holistic approach to natural resource management that is more in tune with natural processes. However, we still haven’t worked out the kinks so something good in theory often falls flat. A couple of recent papers in Conservation Biology discuss the need for measureable endpoints in EBM in order for the plan to be successful. But first, a little background.
There is a slow awakening among management agencies that stability policies aren’t effective – in fact, they often produce the opposite of the desired effect. Need examples as proof?
Read More “Ecosystem Based Management: Managing for Everything or Nothing At All” »
Conservation
from The Right Blue ~Southern Fried Scientist
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Flashback to BEM2010. Charlie in tow.
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Welcome to the April 5 Edition of Scientia Pro Publica – Science for the People!
An inordinate fondness for Sea Horses
I got my start in Marine Biology working at the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Syngnathid Breeding Program, so the abundance of sea horse and pipefish related submissions get the prime real estate. Maniraptora: Tastes Like Chicken reveals that bigger is better, even for pipefish. Save Your Breath For Running Ponies covers the same research.
Conservation, Science
Our latest reader mail comes from my friend Mike, who writes for the conservative political blog SaveTheGop. Though we don’t agree on much, he’s usually a reasonable guy. His question concerns a post I recently wrote about Hawaii’s proposed bill to ban the sale of shark fins within their state.