Taylor

Award-winning shark photographer dives underwater with mission to inspire “I love seeing sharks so if I can bring sharks to people who can’t go see them, maybe go inspire an elementary school kid who wants to be a shark researcher in the future, if I can do that, that’s an…

Award-winning shark photographer dives underwater with mission to inspire

Canada to take steps to protect vanishing North Atlantic right whales from ships The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters.

Canadian government taking steps to protect North Atlantic #rightwhales this year:
Patrick Whittle for @apnews.com
"Canada is enforcing mandatory protection measures for the whale this summer... All vessels of 42.7 feet (13 meters) in length or more must comply with speed restrictions"
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PhD student Emilie Stepien uses satellite tags, CATS Cams and drones to observe seal reactions to shipping in the Wadden sea 🇩🇰
Watch a pregnant seal reacting to a sea eagle caught on drone video 🦅🦭

@emstepien.bsky.social 🧪🌐

#Wildlife #WaddenSea #HarbourSeal #AnimalBehaviour #MarineEcology

Background: A person snorkeling next to a coral reef and fishes. Logos: The EcotoxBlog; marum Text: #JobPosting 15PhD positions in Marine Environmental Sciences

The University of Bremen at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences - is seeking to fill 15 PhD positions 🌊🐠

Find out more about it 👉 rptu.de/s/qwnxbh

#marineecology #phdfellowship #carbonsequestration

🚨The UK Govt is asking the public to give their thoughts on whether they should extend bottom trawling bans in 41 English protected areas. 🌊 This is our chance! Use your voice to help kick this wasteful, destructive practice out of ocean havens! 👇
only.one/act/uk-mpa-c...

To protect wildlife as offshore wind grows, we need the best ecological data. Monash University researchers created a practical guide to seabird flight—how high, how fast & when they fly.

📄 Journal of Applied Ecology: bit.ly/4eXfqQw

#Seabirds #ClimateAndNature

Call for Symposia and Workshops WSC4 Wings of Adaptation: Seabirds in a Changing Climate Call for Symposia and Workshops The call for symposia and workshops is now open! propose a symposium or workshop for WSC4 on or before 01 August …

🌊 Calling all seabird scientists, researchers & conservationists! 🐦
Shape the future of seabird science at WSC 4: “Wings of Adaptation: Seabirds in a Changing Climate.”

📝 Proposals due 1 Aug 2025
📍 Hobart, Tasmania | 7–11 Sept 2026
🔗 bit.ly/4e6wQdc

🌊 Reminder: Eklipse Open Call for Experts!
Help create a blueprint for site-specific conservation objectives for Marine Natura 2000 sites.
Deadline: July 23, 2025
Apply: eklipse.eu/calls/#CfE
#CallForExperts #MarineConservation #Natura2000 #SciencePolicy

Giant supertrawlers routinely fish in Scotland’s marine protected areas Giant supertrawlers fish in Scotland’s protected waters, impacting marine life and fish stocks, despite the UK Government’s power to stop them since Brexit.

🚨🚨 GIANT SUPERTRAWLERS (+100m) routinely fish in Scotland’s marine protected areas, devastating precious marine life & fish populations, DESPITE the UK Government having had the powers to stop them since Brexit. This must end! @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social @theferret.scot
theferret.scot/supertrawler...

Print screen from the paper's cover with author names and abstract.

It's Carnival Tuesday in Brazil and I'm happy to share the newest #SharkScience paper we just published at Fish and Fisheries!
@allieamc.bsky.social and I co-led this analysis on the at-vessel and post-release mortality for sharks caught in longline and/or gillnet fisheries 1/9

tinyurl.com/2v2rjwmd

Trump Just Made Life More Dangerous for One of the Rarest Whales on Earth There may be fewer than 100 Rice's whales left in the Gulf of Mexico, but the Department of the Interior doesn't believe that should stop ships from traveling as fast as they choose.

Another piece, this time in @gizmodo.com by @adamjkovac.bsky.social on rescinding the protections for the #GulfofMexico whale.

Comment: Balaenoptera ricei is also the Gulf of Mexico whale. What did Dale Rice do to deserve the opprobrium of his name being tied to a whale that'll go extinct?
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Leucochloridium! This genus of parasitic flatworms turns snails into disco-eyed zombies. Worms infect snails, then produce colorful broodsacs that migrate into a snail's eyestalks. The sacs pulse like undulating caterpillars. This attracts birds—definitive hosts for worms, where they reproduce 🧪

Cartoon style illustration of SMAST open cod end visual trawl survey system. The system mounts in under an hour to a fisherman's trawl net -sewn in between the belly and cod end. The illustration shows a fishing boat at top left of image with view underwater of net and it's parts, the open mouth with fish "entering" it, the ring sewn between the belly and the open cod end with fish passing into the belly, through the ring and out the open cod end. Callouts diagram the ring configuration and a frame of video captured by the system showing an number of cod in the frame. The system is used on normal commercial trips, with the cod end closed and not recording for most of the tows, but for 1 of every 5 or 10 tows (depending on boat and agreement) being a 15 minute tow with cod end oipen and cameras being recorded. This system allows us to accurately identify and count fish (and other animals) being "harvested" - with precise GPS location and time - while not actually harming any animals. For an example of video from this system see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHLy9Wwbbxw

While doing my postdoc I did a number of outreach efforts based on the fisheries visual sampling system we developed. Putting a video system between the belly and cod end of a trawl net ( see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHLy... ).
This piece ended up in a couple pubs and a Museum exhibit:
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We’re making a new marine conservation science and policy textbook. What do you want to be in it? The leading textbook in Marine Conservation Biology (Norse and Crowder) is 20 years old. It’s great and it shaped the field for a generation, but a lot has happened since it came out. There are new…

We're having our Zoom town halls about the ocean conservation science and policy textbook we're writing tomorrow and Thursday. If you want to join, there's still time to sign up! We'd love to hear what features would make this textbook more useful to you!

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Fine-scale habitat selection of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Northwest Iberian Peninsula waters - Marine Biology The escalating impact of human activities on marine ecosystems necessitates a thorough understanding of how marine predators, such as cetaceans, respond to environmental changes. Our investigation…

Fine-scale habitat selection of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Northwest Iberian Peninsula waters - Marine Biology https://buff.ly/40tNFJR 🧪🦑🌎

The beauty of nature is absolutely mind blowing

Save ecology field studies from extinction! Even though they are less productive, they are vital for generating ideas and fine-tuning intuitions. 🌐🪶🧪

The major climate groups monitoring global temperature released their estimates for 2024. The anomalies range from +1.46 to +1.62°C, likely the first post-industrial year with Earth +1.5°C above pre-industrial conditions. The 30-year climate average is still ~1.2°C but obviously increasing 🧪 +...

Bird Flu Samples From Very Ill Patient Had ‘Concerning’ Mutations (Gift Article) Tiny genetic alterations could help the bird flu virus enter cells in the upper respiratory tract, the C.D.C. said. But there is no sign that mutations are widespread in nature.

🧪🛟😷 medsky

Introducing "Sonic Connexions", a series of online meetups designed for casual conversations about animal bioacoustics. It is open to anyone, so join us and become part of this vibrant community!

First meetup on January 29th, 2025!

Sign up here: forms.office.com/r/qhPcMUKz6w

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How long can North Atlantic right whales live? Scientists may finally have an answer The endangered right whales' median age at death is about 22. Southern right whales, a closely related species, generally live into their seventies. The difference? Southern whales aren’t facing entan...

Good article by @evezuckoff.bsky.social for @wcai-npr.bsky.social on our paper about right whales' longevity, and the problems facing North Atlantic #rightwhales

@alaskaraven.bsky.social interviewed. Also commentary from Scott Kraus, who's not here.
Well done
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Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimates These marine mammals are still feeling the effects of whaling. For most species, it may be another 100 years before there are enough old whales for scientists to confirm their lifespans.

And, a piece in The Conversation on the recent paper:

Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimates

"It’s possible, even likely, that many other whale species will also prove to have long lifespans."
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Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales Whale life spans have likely been greatly underestimated.

New paper alert
Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales
by @alaskaraven.bsky.social , Els Vermeulen, and me.

2 messages:
♀Southern rights could live much longer than we thought (10% >130);
♀North Atlantic rights' lives are truncated (10%>47)
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Science job!
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Reduce whale-ship strikes by making 2.6% of ocean surface safer, study says Researchers identify collision hotspots around world but reveal almost all these lack preventive measures Collisions between whales and ships can prove fatal for the marine mammals, but researchers say expanding mitigation measures to just 2.6% of the…

Reduce whale-ship strikes by making 2.6% of ocean surface safer, study says

Two fieldworkers sit on a clifftop amongst the grass and wildflowers watching seabirds with a telescope and binoculars. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the sea is shimmering turquoise, and all is good!

JOB VACANCIES!
We're seeking 3 Conservation Scientists to join our friendly team of #seabirders at the RSPB. We're an inclusive team where everyone is welcome.

DEADLINE: Friday 3rd January.

#conservationjobs #ornithology #seabirds #science

Details: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

Two monarch butterflies are pictured. Headline reads: "Monarch Butterflies Are Recommended for Protected Status." Photo credit: Nic Coury for The New York Times.

U.S. wildlife officials proposed that monarch butterflies receive protection as a threatened species. nyti.ms/4fcCYja

Who Will Speak For The Animals? Wild animal populations are in free-fall, the average population size now nearly 75% smaller than just fifty years ago.

Wild animal populations, on land and at sea, are collapsing. Species which existed on this Earth for millions of years are no more. It is a moral abomination for one species to seal the fate of millions of others. We need to fix it. My latest: www.donotpanic.news/p/who-will-s...

For Japan, Whaling Is Intertwined With Maritime Sovereignty Japan argues that whaling is part of its history and culture. A rigid insistence on maritime sovereignty offers a more convincing explanation for Tokyo’s stance.

Thoughtful article in @thediplomat.com on Japanese whaling

"For Japanese political elites, any restriction on their maritime activities – even one as economically small as whaling – is simply unfathomable"
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It's about geopolitics, not about whether people eat whale meat
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