TGIF – Handy with a knife
TGIF – Handy with a knife avatar

By , on November 30th, 2012 2 comments   Pictures and Movies   , , ,  

There’s a video been doing the rounds this week showing a remarkable bit of quick work with a knife, wherein a diver near Baja Mexico removed ropes that had entangled a large female whale shark. Don’t try this at home, kids…

A first look at the biochemistry of whale sharks
A first look at the biochemistry of whale sharks avatar

By , on November 15th, 2012 One comment   Fish, New Research, Open Access, Organisms   , , , , , ,  

My very first post at Deep Sea News was a tongue in cheek look at how much we don’t know about the largest of all 28,000-ish species of fishes, the whale shark, Rhincodon typus. Since 2006 I’ve been part of a group that is trying to help fix the surprising lack of information on this . . . → Read More: A first look at the biochemistry of whale sharks

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Kalloo Kallay, It’s International Whale Shark Day!
Kalloo Kallay, It’s International Whale Shark Day! avatar

By , on August 30th, 2012 One comment   Fish   ,  

Yes, August 30 is officially International Whale Shark Day, so declared after the 2nd WS Symposium in Mexico a few years back. There’s been a lot of news in the whale shark department over the last couple of years, so here’s a link fest that ought to satisfy the spottiest of appetites. Nom Nom, AKA . . . → Read More: Kalloo Kallay, It’s International Whale Shark Day!

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Whale shark ecotourism – epilogue
Whale shark ecotourism – epilogue avatar

By , on August 29th, 2012 One comment   Uncategorized   , ,  

Relevant to my recent post about whale shark ecotourism, this news article came across my news feed today. It seems the Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines region called Visayas, which includes Cebu province, has ordered the cessation of the practice of feeding whale sharks in Oslob, which was . . . → Read More: Whale shark ecotourism – epilogue

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Notes from the field: Mexico whale shark research 2012
Notes from the field: Mexico whale shark research 2012 avatar

By , on July 22nd, 2012 3 comments   Coral, Expeditions, Fish, Life At Sea, New Research, Organisms, Plankton   , , , , ,  

Science is about discovery, observation and understanding, but it doesn’t always proceed smoothly and inexorably towards success. Real science, especially RealBiology®, is often messy and complicated, and the real challenge of being a biologist is distilling out of that sloppy chaos some meaningful patterns that might advance the field. I am with a team from . . . → Read More: Notes from the field: Mexico whale shark research 2012

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Fishy phone home
Fishy phone home avatar

By , on June 5th, 2012 2 comments   Ecology, Fish, Gadgets & Gear, Scientist!, Vessels and Equipment   , , , , , , , ,  

If you’re at all interested in charismatic megafauna (it’s OK, embrace the shame), then you’ve probably heard of satellite tagging before. This is the idea that you can attach a small device to some species of interest and follow its progress and know its location without actually having to be able to see it all . . . → Read More: Fishy phone home

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Dr. M and Miriam swim with manta rays & whale sharks in world’s biggest tank
Dr. M and Miriam swim with manta rays & whale sharks in world’s biggest tank avatar

By , on November 9th, 2011 3 comments   Scientist!   , , , ,  

Dr. Al aka para_sight: “Hey, while you’re visiting Georgia Aquarium for the Deep Sea News retreat, I can offer you the opportunity to dive in the Ocean Voyager exhibit, which is our (and the world’s) biggest tank, featuring 4 whale sharks, 4 manta rays and about 8,000 other sharks and fishes.” Dr. M & I: . . . → Read More: Dr. M and Miriam swim with manta rays & whale sharks in world’s biggest tank

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One for the bizarre-o files
One for the bizarre-o files avatar

By , on September 13th, 2011 4 comments   Organisms, Weird   ,  

Check out this 2 ton plastinated partial whale shark dissection on display in a pedestrian shopping mall in Dalian, China: I can’t decide whether this is really cool or just flat-out bizarre. I guess it depends where the specimen came from. . . . → Read More: One for the bizarre-o files

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Postcard from Mexico
Postcard from Mexico avatar

By , on August 20th, 2011 2 comments   Expeditions, Life At Sea, New Research, Uncategorized   ,  

Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet lately, but this whale shark fieldwork thing has a way of consuming every available moment. I’ll get to some new content soon, but in the meantime, the weather is here, I wish you were beautiful! Praying to Argos, the mighty satellite god . . . → Read More: Postcard from Mexico

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Hello old friends
Hello old friends avatar

By , on July 20th, 2011 One comment   Expeditions, Life At Sea, New Research, Organisms   , , , , , ,  
Come in and play!

So here we are in Mexico for the first of two Georgia Aquarium research trips this summer. This is the logistically simpler of the two, for exciting reasons I am not yet at liberty to discuss. On this one we are focusing on photo ID as part of the ECOCEAN project. Yesterday was our first . . . → Read More: Hello old friends

Hello old friends avatar