Southern Fried Science

Dear Shark Man, do open ocean sharks use nursery areas?

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Welcome to Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

I know that sharks that live close to the coast sometimes use “nursery areas” when they are young. Do open ocean sharks also use nursery areas?
Sincerely,
Nosey in North Carolina

Conservation has a Trolley Problem

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 Andrew Thaler

Conservation

A train screams down the tracks. Dead ahead, a pile of of giant pandas frolic, inexplicably, through a bamboo stand growing through the rails. But wait! There’s a switch. Pulling it will divert the train onto another track, where a tank containing one of the last 30 vaquita will surely be crushed. Do you pull the lever, dooming the vaquita, or hold the line, flattening the frolicking pandas? Do you stammer indecisively, wondering how you ended up in this situation as you careen, inexorably, into into an increasingly unavoidable outcome?

What if, rather than the conductor’s seat, you’re at the helm of a conservation organization? What if the train wasn’t a hundred tons of steel and steam, but the relentless press of public will, funding, and focus upon which it is your duty to shape and direct into action?

What if conservation has a Trolley Problem?

Ah the Trolley Problem, the thought experiment turned pop-philosophy darling whose use and misuse is, at best, an annoyance to every ethicist I know. Regrettably, I do them no favors here.

Skate saunas, clone armies, deep news from deep-sea mining, an ocean of plastic, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 12, 2018.

February 12, 2018February 13, 2018 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Attack of the clones! A Pet Crayfish Can Clone Itself, and It’s Spreading Around the World!

One of the take-home points in the talk I gave last Friday is that we barely know anything about the services hydrothermal vents provide to the rest of the ocean ecosystems. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are nurseries for skates.

ROV framegrab of Pacific white skate egg sacs near a black smoker in the Galapagos. Photo Courtesy Ocean Exploration Trust

Insect-eating salmon and cloned crayfish: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 8th, 2018

February 8, 2018 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow wildlife illustrator Marc Dando on twitter! The rise of fishing apps. By the Fisheries Blog. Misled penguins swim to fishing grounds that no longer have food. By Katie Peek, for Scientific American Spoils (long reads and deep dives): A pet crayfish is cloning itself and spreading around the world. By Sarah … Read More “Insect-eating salmon and cloned crayfish: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 8th, 2018” »

Canada proposed revisions to the Fisheries Act. Here’s how science and conservation experts reacted.

February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 David Shiffman

Science

Yesterday, the government of Canada announced some proposed amendments to the national Fisheries Act. The full text of the proposal can be viewed here. So far, it’s gone through the First Reading in the House of Commons (for my non-Canadian readers, here is what that means). I reached out to fisheries and conservation policy experts across Canada to ask what they think of these proposed changes.

Image courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada, **modified by Hakai Magazine**

Hacking tractors, foraging in the surf, mini-boats, Mardi Gras beads, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 5, 2018.

February 5, 2018 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This little video is a master class in natural history: Foraging on a beach in Wales.

Tractor Hacking: The Farmers Breaking Big Tech’s Repair Monopoly.

Texting about ichthyology and climate change’s effects on indigenous culture: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 1st, 2018

February 1, 2018February 1, 2018 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow Skye Augustine, a marine biologist studying traditional indigenous fisheries management practices, on twitter! A plate of lies: seafood mislabeling. By Meghan Fox, for the Fisheries Blog. 2017 was the hottest year yet for the world’s oceans. By Sarah Gibbens, for National Geographic. Helping sound out of water: new materials could help … Read More “Texting about ichthyology and climate change’s effects on indigenous culture: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 1st, 2018” »

The State of the Environment Address

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 Chris Parsons

Conservation

US President Donald Trump said “I believe in clean air. I believe in crystal clear beautiful water.”

Image via gify.com

However, in last night’s State of the Union Address he declared his support for promoting coal-based energy* and he gave public notice of his intentions to curtail the environmental impact assessment process and environmental regulation for construction and road-building. This would be the latest in a series of executive actions that are removing or hindering environmental protection including, amongst others:

Dear Shark Man, is the aquarium trade a major shark conservation issue?

January 31, 2018 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Welcome to Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail).

Dear Shark Man,

What are your thoughts on elasmobranchs in the pet and aquarium trade? Is this a serious conservation issue?

Sincerely,
Nonchalant in New Zealand

2 minutes to midnight, 3D printed turtle eggs, awkward fiddlers, Egyptian welders, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: January 29, 2018.

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Good morning. The time is now 2 minutes to mid-night. Doomsday Has Never Been Closer. Good luck.

Despite the fact that we live in extremely dangerous times, the scientists in charge of the clock said there is hope. The clock has been wound backwards before, in the wake of the Cold War or during times when nuclear superpowers expressed interest in not mutually assuring destruction.

The scientists argue that civil society should turn the screws on government to reduce carbon emissions and push for even more ambitious climate action than what the Paris Agreement calls for. That sounds like a more fruitful plan than huddling in a bunker.

Source.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Some technology is pretty good, though: Cracking down on poaching with 3D-printed fake turtle eggs