Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow YouTube science communicator Kurtis Baute on twitter! Ottawa designates two new areas as critical habitat for killer whales in B.C. waters. CHEK news. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): Arctic lakes are vanishing by the hundreds. By Chelsea Harvey, for Scientific American. Even fish get the bends. By Anna Saleh, … Read More “Orca protection and vanishing Arctic lakes: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 20th, 2018” »
“Logic is a tweeting bird” – Spock, Star Trek
Social media can be a great tool for spreading and disseminating published science. Potentially it can reach a wide audience and for free !
Most platforms allow you to insert links to direct readers to the original paper or publication. If you are working in an area that is relevant to conservation or policy, social media can be a great way of getting papers to the right audience that may need that information (Parsons et al., 2014). Moreover, there is now increasing data that using social media can increase download and citation rates of scientific papers, which in turn is good for the careers of scientists in an academic setting.
Read More “To tweet to whom – a tweeting guide for marine scientists” »
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow UBC’s wildlife conservation economics lab on twitter! The Deep-Sea Fish with the Telescopic Tubular Eyes. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News. How to take action to help endangered species near you. A Revelator News Podcast by John Platt. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): Why does halibut cost so … Read More “Amazing fish eyes, the real cost of halibut, and protecting local species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 13, 2018” »
After months of expert and public consultation, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced the draft text of new regulations that will govern land-based shark fishing. It’s mostly very good news that directly addresses most of our concerns!
A review of the problem
Land-based anglers in Florida (those who fish from beaches, docks, and piers) catch large numbers of threatened, protected species, handling them in needlessly cruel ways that likely result in mortality or permanent injury. Anglers are aware that what they’re doing causes harm to certain species and violates some existing regulations. Hammerhead sharks in particular are extremely physiologically vulnerable and need to be released much faster than they are currently being released or else they will very likely die.
(Learn more: see my paper on this subject, my blog post summarizing that paper, an open letter calling for action, an op-ed I wrote about this, a review of the existing rules and how they’re regularly violated, and a years-old blog post describing one problematic incident with land-based shark fishing)
Read More “Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations” »
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow Joe Cunningham, a marine engineer who was just elected to Congress, on twitter! The dive bombing birds of Newfoundland. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News How much does it cost to save a species? Less than you think! By Erik Vance, for the last word on nothing. Spoils (long … Read More “Dive bombing birds, octopus intelligence, and a red tide update: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 6, 2018” »
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
Climate change affects the natural, built, and social systems we rely on individually and through their connections to one another. These interconnected systems are increasingly vulnerable to cascading impacts that are often difficult to predict, threatening essential services within and beyond the Nation’s borders.
The Gam (conversations from the ocean-podcasting world)
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
The process of blood transfusions, started in the late 19th century and perfected in the early 20th century, were a big advancement in modern medicine and the treatment of human health. Part of the improvements in this procedure was the discovery of the various blood types in humans, and how that affects how the immune system responds to and “accepts” blood transfusions. Recently, researchers from the University of British Columbia may have found a reliable way to use a bacterial enzyme from the human gut to convert any type of blood into type O – which is compatible with nearly everyone.
Read More “Fun Science FRIEDay – Gut Enzyme Turns Blood Into Type O” »
