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Posts

May 10, 2013

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5:07 PM | Republicans Behind the Scenes Struggle to Overcome Climate Denial
A concerted push has begun within the party—in conservative think tanks and grassroots groups, and even in backroom, off-the-record conversations on Capitol Hill—to persuade Republicans to acknowledge and address climate change in their own terms, according to a feature story today in the National Journal.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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5:05 PM | Friday Roundup: This Week's Wildlife Links (May 10th, 2013)
In the last few weeks there has been a story circulating about an Alabama man who was bitten by a Timber Rattlesnake, used his venom extractor kit, and then headed to the hospital. In the e-mail about the story that has gone viral, the man who was bitten by the snake said his medical doctor told him that based on the size of the bite mark he would have died if he had not used the kit. That's
Living Alongside Wildlife
Conservation | Ecology
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2:05 AM | Citizen Science in Formal Education
Citizen science is a powerful and emerging discipline focused on improving research outcomes and engaging the public in scientific inquiry. Projects like BudBurst have allowed us to better observe and compare weather […]
NYC Ecology
Conservation | Science Communication

May 09, 2013

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10:35 PM | Bird photo for Friday
It really feels like winter has arrived in New Zealand. The recent torrential rain and dips in temperature have signaled the warm dry weather is at an end. With the onset of winter comes the local birds foraging for food. Their searches become increasingly demanding as their warm weather food sources wane.This is the time of the year when we get the local groups of tauhou (silver-eyes) visiting. These small birds like the 'high octane' diet of nectar and fruit.
Chthonic Wildlife Ramblings
Conservation
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6:30 PM | The 5 Most Endangered Canine Species
Domesticated dogs are some of the most popular animals on the planet, but their cousins in the wild aren’t always as beloved. For thousands of years humans have persecuted wolves, jackals, dingoes, foxes and other members of the family Canidae, pushing many species into or close to extinction. Here are five of the most endangered [...]
Scientific American - Extinction Countdown
Biology | Conservation
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4:51 PM | The Whipsaw: Tornado Edition
The recent very low tornadic activity in the US is even stranger than the very high tornadic activity of 2010-2011, according to an analysis by tornado expert Patrick Marsh.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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2:00 PM | Documenting Scientific Knowledge One Handwritten Note at a Time
Connecting Content: The Wonderful World of Field BooksThe California Academy of Sciences and our partners (all of whom are also BHL member institutions) are in the midst of a 3 year IMLS National Leadership Grant titled "Connecting Content: A Collaboration to Link Field Notes to Specimens and Published Literature." This project aims to digitize published scientific findings, their related field books and specimens, and metadata for these items, link all of these resources, and make them […]
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Biology | Conservation
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5:46 AM | Canadian Scientists’ Letter to Minister of Natural Resources
The CBC reports: A group of 12 prominent Canadian climate scientists called out the federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver on his support for the expansion of oil infrastructure in a letter released today. The group went on to say that if Canada wants to avoid dangerous climate change it “will require significantly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making a transition to cleaner energy.” “I’m not arguing necessarily for totally closing down the tarsands.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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5:12 AM | It’s Existential
Just another climate rant. “It’s like watching space Nazis launch asteroids at us and the mainstream media talks exasperatedly about ‘those space Nazi people’ who are so quaintly concerned that we are all going to be vaporized in a giant fiery cataclysm while our top political leaders argue about who is more pro-asteroid.”
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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4:40 AM | Bill Gates: GDP Can Be an Inadequate Metric of Growth
Bill Gates says "it is very difficult to compare the value of baskets of goods across different time periods". One surprising conclusion, "that GDP understates growth", notwithstanding, he also points to a book by SFU prof Morton Jerven, "Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It" and concludes that we should not focus on GDP in estimating "growth".
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy

May 08, 2013

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6:00 PM | How Poachers Stole 10% of an Entire Tortoise Species…and What Happened Next
On Friday, March 15, authorities in Thailand intercepted two wildlife smugglers trying to carry hundreds of endangered tortoises through Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Among the animals recovered were 54 critically endangered ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) from Madagascar. The entire wild population for this species is estimated at just 400 to 600 tortoises, meaning this seizure represented [...]
Scientific American - Extinction Countdown
Biology | Conservation
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5:46 PM | Hansen: More Science, Not Less
In a remarkable communication, James Hansen summarizes his position, and announces that he will get more science done in his retirement, not less.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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12:52 AM | Predation Matters
Today, Pew unleashed a mini-media blitz on the importance of predation in fisheries management.  This got my attention because the interaction between marine predators and fisheries is one of my major research interests.  They do a great (and slickly-designed) job explaining the basics of why paying attention to predation matters in fisheries management, and bonus [...]
Southern Fried Science
Conservation | Marine Biology
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12:00 AM | headlikeanorange: Gold Coast, Australia (onepalmMEDIA)
headlikeanorange: Gold Coast, Australia (onepalmMEDIA)
Mad as a Marine Biologist
Conservation | Marine Biology

May 07, 2013

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9:25 PM | Readers Write In: Are My Children Safe From This Snake?
"Can you please tell me what kind of snake this is? We have small dogs and children running around and my grandfather wants to make sure they're safe. Amberly K. Winder, Georgia" I assured Amberly that it seems as though it's the snakes that need to be worried, not Grandpa. But surely we can all understand the concern one might feel when an unidentified snake makes an appearance in the yard (
Living Alongside Wildlife
Conservation | Ecology
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7:51 PM | Genie Scott on Denial
There's a new video lecture from Genie Scott: Denialism of Climate Change and Evolution.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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6:03 PM | Texas Drought Continues – Water Legislation Fails
Texas Climate News reports that the Texas state House of Representatives failed to pass new water management legislation despite support from the governor and other powerful officials at a time when 98.55 percent of the state’s area was in one or another category of dryness ranging from “abnormally dry” to the driest of all, “exceptional drought.”
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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4:37 PM | A Tale of Two Elephants: celebrating the lives and mourning the deaths of Cirrocumulus and Ngampit
On March 21st, the organization Save the Elephants posted on their Facebook page that two African elephants had been poached inside a nearby reserve: "Sad news from the north of Kenya. Usually the national reserves are safe havens for elephants, and they know it. But in the last two weeks two of our study animals have been shot inside the Buffalo Springs reserve. First an 18 year-old bull called Ngampit and then, yesterday, 23 year-old female called Cirrocumulus (from the Clouds family)."
Featured news from mongabay.com
Conservation
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5:20 AM | deepseafauna: Alvinocaris chelys is concerned for your...
deepseafauna: Alvinocaris chelys is concerned for your safety. Photo by  Tin-Yam Chan, WoRDSS.
Mad as a Marine Biologist
Conservation | Marine Biology
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4:37 AM | A Realpolitik Defense of Cap and Trade
J B Rosser argues that, with prominent US economists pushing the idea of a carbon tax, the attitude in Europe is highly negative, along the lines of "Why should we try to do what you want us to do yet again when you shafted us the last time we did so?" The answer, of course, is that American voters don't care what Europe thinks, while the reverse is not true. The world just isn't fair sometimes.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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4:25 AM | Arctic Ocean Acidifying Rapidly
The Arctic Ocean is less effective at chemically neutralizing carbon dioxide’s acidifying effects, and being cold, favors the transfer of carbon dioxide from the air into the ocean. Newly open water opens the door for an ocean acidification crisis in the Arctic, which will alter ecosystems and commercial fisheries.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy

May 06, 2013

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9:15 PM | Ant Diversity & The Uni Project
On Saturday I joined The Uni Project at the Ideas City Festival in downtown Manhattan to present my research on urban ants and science education. The Uni is a project [...]
NYC Ecology
Conservation | Science Communication
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8:52 PM | Join us tonight at 8:30 for Blue Pints Episode 7: Big Fish Stories
Blue Pints, a casual conversation about marine science and conservation, returns tonight! Join us at 8:30 P.M. EST. The Southern Fried Science team will be telling our favorite “Big Fish” stories–a collection of our most ridiculous adventures doing field work. We’ll share the link to watch shortly before the hangout starts here in this post [...]
Southern Fried Science
Conservation | Marine Biology
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7:50 PM | Citizens’ Climate Lobby
The Citizens' Climate Lobby is active in the US and Canada. It's expressed purpose is "To create the political will for a stable climate. To empower individuals to have breakthroughs in exercising their personal and political power." They are pushing for the revenue neutral carbon tax idea in the US, and hope to break through the wall of stubborn foolishness that characterizes the federal Republican party these days.
Planet 3.0
Conservation | Policy
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7:13 PM | Readers Write In: A Snake in my Garage I Cannot Identify
"Sir, I happened upon a snake in my garage that I cannot identify… it was a large snake in the 10’ to 12’ range, gold and brown on the back with a diamond pattern and it had a black head that looked like a king snake or rat snake?  I live just north of Montgomery Alabama and I cannot find it anywhere online. (Tommy attached several photographs he found online but I am not posting them
Living Alongside Wildlife
Conservation | Ecology
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3:34 PM | Goliath Groupers Under Review
This year, the critically endangered Goliath grouper is once again under review by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). On the table, the possibility of opening killing season for this fragile species. Learn the facts from my recent peer reviewed scientific manuscript published in Oryx, the International Journal of Conservation. Click here for a FREE pdf [...]
Grouper Luna
Conservation | Marine Biology
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1:08 PM | All the world's rarest birds in one book: photo contest enlivens new guide
The World's Rarest Birds is an extraordinary bird book. 590 different bird species are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, with many species only existing in captivity. A new book, The World's Rarest Birds, catalogs all of these species. Each species is shown with remarkable color-photography and illustrations. Threats to species habitat are described, population estimates per species are given, and each species has a quick response (QR) code that takes the reader to a […]
Featured news from mongabay.com
Conservation
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10:39 AM | biologicalmarginalia: The earliest illustration of Sunfish,...
biologicalmarginalia: The earliest illustration of Sunfish, presumably Mola mola, from A) Rondelet in 1554 and B) Gesner in 1558. Considering this is from the era of terrible walruses, the fact that they’re at all recognizable is pretty amazing.Johnson, G. & Britz, R. (2005) Leis’ Conundrum: Homology of the Clavus of the Ocean Sunfishes. 2. Ontogeny of the Median Fins and Axial Skeleton of Ranzania laevis (Teleostei, Tetraodontiformes, Molidae). Journal of Morphology 266 11–21.
Mad as a Marine Biologist
Conservation | Marine Biology
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2:40 AM | underthevastblueseas: Cookie Cutter Shark Teeth- by JKG II
underthevastblueseas: Cookie Cutter Shark Teeth- by JKG II
Mad as a Marine Biologist
Conservation | Marine Biology
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12:34 AM | Precious Point Lobos
Although not considered part of Monterey Bay (unless you’re a geologist), Point Lobos is a short drive to the south and on most days too gorgeous to ignore. I met my friend Deborah at the park and on this slightly … Continue reading →
Bay-to-Beach Life
Conservation | Marine Biology
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