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Tag: sharks

Boaty McBoatface triumphs, Narluga ascends, Sharks decline, too many bro-authors, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: June 24, 2019

Posted on June 24, 2019June 23, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

In every issue of the Monday Morning Salvage, we try to highlight 2 to 5 papers from the scientific literature. In doing so, we attempt to provide a broad and diverse cross-section of the diversity of people conducting scientific research. However, our priority is in highlighting papers of particular interest to ocean science, and occasionally that means that we end up recommending papers that are exclusively authored by men. A new paper by Salerno and friends highlights the extreme extent to which papers led by men excludes women co-authors.

To do our small part to push back against this phenomenon, we are adopting a new style guide for paper citations. Conventionally, at Southern Fried Science, we use the colloquial “and friends” instead of “et al.” to make paper citations more approachable and less jargon-y. Going forward, in cases where a paper contains only male co-authors, we will instead replace “et al.” with “and some other dudes“.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • It is the hero we deserve. Boaty McBoatface Just Helped Solve a Deep-Sea Mystery.
Boaty McBoatface, fresh off of doing science. Photo: NOC
  • Shark populations in NC coastal waters are down, despite uninformed opinions based on absolutely nothing.
  • It may be formed from rock and plastic, but ‘plasticrust’ is by far the most Metal name they could have come up with. A Strange New Blend of Rock and Plastic Is Forming on a Portuguese Island.
“Plasticrust” sticking to rocks on the shores of Madeira. Photo: Ignacio Gestoso

Read More “Boaty McBoatface triumphs, Narluga ascends, Sharks decline, too many bro-authors, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: June 24, 2019” »

Hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, the social value of a hydrothermal vent, more ways plastic booms could kill the ocean, and hagfish. Monday Morning Salvage: January 28, 2019.

Posted on January 28, 2019January 27, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

It’s all hagfish today, baby!


Hagfish appear to use slime to avoid predators like sharks (top) and large fish (bottom). The images above are from videos showing fish eating a hagfish, which then produces slime and is able to escape (Images from wikimediacommons).
  • No One Is Prepared for Hagfish Slime
  • Found: The First Fossil of the Slime-Spewing Hagfish and ‘Like finding a sneeze’: fossil identified as 100m-year-old hagfish.
  • Slime, baby, slime!

Read More “Hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, hagfish, the social value of a hydrothermal vent, more ways plastic booms could kill the ocean, and hagfish. Monday Morning Salvage: January 28, 2019.” »

Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations

Posted on December 11, 2018December 13, 2018 By David Shiffman 2 Comments on Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations
Uncategorized

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” »

LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.

Posted on November 19, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Congratulations to Dr. Hal Holmes of Conservation X Labs for earning a Moore Foundation Inventor Fellowship for his DNA Barcode Project.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Reef RangerBot becomes ‘LarvalBot’ to spread coral babies.

LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media
LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media

  • Turn of the tide: Seeing dolphins differently by National Aquarium Director John Racanelli.

Read More “LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.” »

Apple’s war on repair, mining the deep sea, reflecting on the mid-terms, (not) repelling sharks, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 12, 2018.

Posted on November 12, 2018November 11, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Take a moment. Breathe. Then get back to work.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Here Are All the Candidates With Science Backgrounds Who Just Got Elected. Note, my representative, Dr. Andy Harris, MD, also has a science background and he’s an awful, incompetent, ineffectual, and embarrassing representative, so having a “science background” isn’t everything.
  • Mining the deep ocean will soon begin. What will that mean for existing denizens of the abyss? Featuring Drs. Diva Amon and Leigh Marsh!

Read More “Apple’s war on repair, mining the deep sea, reflecting on the mid-terms, (not) repelling sharks, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 12, 2018.” »

Don’t boop the snoot: an interview with the creators of the “life of sharks” webcomic

Posted on September 14, 2018September 14, 2018 By David Shiffman
Blogging

Christian and Sophie

The “life of sharks” webcomic, which features real facts about sharks along with clever humor, is taking the internet by storm! Creators Christian Talbot (writer) and Sophie Hodge (Illustrator) were kind enough to answer some of my questions about their comic and where they get their ideas. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check out their online store. Responses are lightly edited for length and clarity. 

David: Tell me about your comic. Why sharks? 

Sophie: Mostly the comic is about the minutiae of everyday life, relationships and emotions. That’s kind of funny when you put it into the mouths of fish that are perceived to be cold hearted killers.

Christian: They can be about anything, really. I just like the way we can anthropomorphize the sharks. Sharks just seemed like the funniest animal to try and give human emotions to and put into relationships because they’re seen as being cold, solitary, killing machines. Plus sharks are just cool. Also, sharks can’t claim royalties.

https://www.facebook.com/LifeofSharks/photos/a.849154768625597/973874562820283/?type=3&theater

Read More “Don’t boop the snoot: an interview with the creators of the “life of sharks” webcomic” »

Eat hagfish, work at LUMCON, clone Vaquita, question floating trash collectors, and more! Monday Morning Mega-Salvage: August 13, 2018

Posted on August 13, 2018August 12, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • It’s time for Africosh! The annual Africa Open Science and Hardware Summit Heads is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania this year!
  • LUMCON is hiring! They’re looking for two exceptional coastal and marine science faculty hires in any discipline. And they have the best “come work for us” video!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Hakai Magazine is my jam this month.
    • How an Epidemic Exposed the Ecological Importance of Sea Stars: The near eradication of British Columbia’s sea stars demonstrated the dynamic role they play in regulating kelp forests.
    • How to Dismantle a Blue Whale: In Chile, a team of volunteers confronts stench and gore to ensure a new life for a dead whale. [Warning: Link contains graphic pictures of whale evisceration]
  • I’ve been following this project for almost 2 years. Awesome to see how far they’ve come. NinjaPCR is a WiFi enabled, Opensource DNA Amplifier and Thermocycler for Polymerase Chain Reaction developed by 2 hackers in Tokyo.
  • Plastic wrap made from shellfish and plants is completely compostable.

Hagfish (just Hagfish)

  • Yes, people do eat hagfish. Yum! Snake-like creature writhes, squirms on grill.
  • Hagfish are the emissaries of love, not war. Stop it. Synthetic ‘Slime’ To Help US Navy Trap Enemy Ships.

Read More “Eat hagfish, work at LUMCON, clone Vaquita, question floating trash collectors, and more! Monday Morning Mega-Salvage: August 13, 2018” »

Gregarious gars, surprising crocs, mustachioed monkeys, ocean wilderness, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 30, 2018

Posted on July 30, 2018July 29, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Logo for Monday Morning Salvage.

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Completely shameless Patreon Plug! Today marks the 1-year anniversary of our Jaunty Ocean Critter Stickers campaign. We’re going to continue making new red-capped sticker until the end of the year, then the theme will change! Sign up now if you want to support Southern Fried Science and get a very Gregarious Gar!

A gar wearing a red cap.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Did you see marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez on Shark Week this week? Read more about her experience here: Marine Biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez Was Bitten and Dragged by a Crocodile…and Lived to Tell Her Story. And, of course, follow her on Twitter.

 marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez
Marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez

The Gam (conversations from the ocean-podcasting world)

  • I swung by the Speak Up for the Blue Podcast to celebrate their 500th episode with a reflection on 10 years of online ocean outreach.

Read More “Gregarious gars, surprising crocs, mustachioed monkeys, ocean wilderness, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 30, 2018” »

#JacquesWeek returns! Falling glaciers, fish that don’t eat plastic, sharks and the women who study them, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 16, 2018

Posted on July 16, 2018July 15, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Jacques Week is coming! Have no fear. Our annual answer to Shark Week’s ocean madness will be back for a forth season!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Saving the Vaquita was always about understanding human cultures and how social structures intersect with the ecosystem. Investigation reveals illegal trade cartels decimating vaquita porpoises.

Fishermen with an illegal haul of totoaba. Image courtesy of Elephant Action League.

  • Keep beating this drum until it sinks in: Plastic Straw Bans Leave Out People With Disabilities.
  • Climate change may be a boon for archaeology: Scorching Heat Wave Reveals Signs of Ancient Civilization in the UK.

Photo: Toby Driver (RCAHMW)

Read More “#JacquesWeek returns! Falling glaciers, fish that don’t eat plastic, sharks and the women who study them, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 16, 2018” »

Crab industry in crisis, world’s largest deep-sea mining vessel takes to sea, Bayou Women, ocean trash, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 7, 2018

Posted on May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Crab industry in crisis, world’s largest deep-sea mining vessel takes to sea, Bayou Women, ocean trash, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 7, 2018
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • The Eruption at Kilauea on Hawai’i’s Big Island is truly spectacular, however hundreds of people are displaced from their homes. The mayor has directed those interested in giving donations to contact the Salvation Army at +1 (808) 756-0306.
  • Yale study: Newspaper op-eds change minds and The Long-lasting Effects of Newspaper Op-Eds on Public Opinion. Scientists and conservationists, this May, make an effort to publish a Letter to the Editor or OpEd in your local paper. If you’ve done so, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Without seasonal workers, the Maryland crab industry is barreling towards a crisis. “Nearly half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses have no workers to pick the meat sold in restaurants and supermarkets.” Crab crisis: Maryland seafood industry loses 40 percent of work force in visa lottery.
  • Trash on the seafloor. Megan McCuller has an eye-opening thread on all the trash they’re finding on the deep seafloor.

  • Lionfish Traps! Jake Levenson has been trying something similar in Dominica. New Weapons in the War on Lionfish, a Beautiful but Deadly Invader.

A second trap design from Gittings. Lionfish are attracted to the structures inside. (Steve Gittings/NOAA)

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

  • Women of the Bayou: Stories of resilience and ingenuity in south Louisiana’s changing landscape.
  • Listen to the Bayou Women radio production, too!

Read More “Crab industry in crisis, world’s largest deep-sea mining vessel takes to sea, Bayou Women, ocean trash, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 7, 2018” »

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