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What’s black and white and studied all over?
Majestic, no? Hi there DSN readers, nice to meet ya. I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. He’s a little on the big side, but as gentle as they come, unless you happen to be a krill, in which...
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Inside the Outside
*Ed. Note: Al’s post was selected by the staff at PLoS One as the April Blog Pick of the Month! Awesome Job Al! – KAZ (Oh boy, have I been looking forward to writing this post! This one is 2 years in...
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Who’s your daddy?
Jenny Schmidt from U. Illinois and her co-authors have uncovered a fascinating nugget of biology of the whale shark in a recent (and Open Access – w00t!) paper in Endangered Species Research. In it,...
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Spotting the difference between whale sharks
It’s getting to that time of year again. It’s hot here in Atlanta, and really hot down in Mexico, where, in between the tropical storms and occasional hurricanes, dog days are settling over the Yucatan...
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Sir Fish grabbing headlines, but it’s not all good
Whale sharks (in Vietnamese: Ca Ong, literally “Sir Fish”), have been in the headlines quite a bit lately. Here’s a roundup: WA WS, OK? A whale shark was seen far from home back in January; it was...
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TGIF – curious whale shark
To go with the whale shark news roundup this week, I thought I’d post a video from my group’s whale shark research work in Mexico for Georgia Aquarium and Project Domino. This clip is from 2010 and...
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Sharks and lasers, not just for entertainment!
In midsummer 2009, under the intense Mexican sun, a whale shark, MXA-182, arrived at Holbox. He is injured. A nasty cut nearly severs his right pectoral fin. His fin eventually heals, but a hole...
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Whale shark ecotourism: the good, the bad and the ugly
Practically nothing was known about the biology of whale sharks up until about 15 years ago. Since that time there has been a veritable explosion of interest in the world’s largest fish. As we have...
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Whale Sharks and Giant Squids: Big or Bu!!$hit?
The bubbles around me clear and as I regain my visibility my first thought is how wide is the mouth coming for me. Five feet? Six Feet? Will my whole body fit in there? As the whale shark closes the...
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DSN community, I need your help
I’m going to shameless co-opt the DSN soapbox for selfish research purposes for a moment. Do you know anyone who lives near Seadrift TX, east of Corpus Christi/West of Houston? I have a satellite tag...
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TGIF – Magical Quintana Roo
Every year, the world’s largest fish gathers to feed (and feed, and FEED) in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo in eastern Yucatan, in numbers larger than those seen anywhere else in the world. But...
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Megalodon…phhh…most sharks are Microlodons.
Dr. M measuring one of the ocean’s largest sharks A year ago, I jumped off the side of a perfectly good boat. Infinite water hides the land to the west and the ocean floor below. Moments ago, the...
View ArticleWhere are all the ladies at?
Last week 70-odd of the world’s whale shark researchers converged on Atlanta for the 3rd International Whale Shark Conference. It was an unusual meeting in having so many exotic tropical countries...
View ArticleAn Oceanic Ode
This guest post is brought to you by Sheanna Steingass. Shea is a graduate student at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute studying the behavioral ecology of pinnipeds. She is also author...
View ArticleWhale Shark and Manta Ray Gif Roundup
Dr. Simon Pierce (@simonpierce) is a marine biologist extraordinaire focusing on whale sharks. He is the Principal Scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation and Science Coordinator of the Global...
View ArticleDead Elasmobranchs on the Seafloor are Not as Appetizing as One Might Assume
Most fauna in the deep-sea rely upon a drizzle of particles of decaying animals and feces. This marine snow is of low food quality as you might expect death and feces to be. Occasionally, deep-sea...
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Before Giant Plankton-Feeding Sharks, there were Giant Plankton-Feeding Sharks.
In the fossil history of sharks, a unique evolutionary experiment happened much earlier than anyone thought. The largest fishes in the oceans feed on some of the sea’s smallest organisms. Several...
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Whale Shark and Manta Ray Gif Roundup
Dr. Simon Pierce (@simonpierce) is a marine biologist extraordinaire focusing on whale sharks. He is the Principal Scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation and Science Coordinator of the Global...
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