This is just amazing!
Enjoy!
PS - and here's the long version - that's one helluva persistent bird lemme tell 'ya!
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Monday, January 29, 2018
In the Lion's Den!
Yes it is true.
Here she is in all her splendor.
She glided in nonchalantly in the middle of the shallow feed, and took up residence right next to the bait crate until some lumbering brute with a camera had her move away again.
Talk about a contender for the Darwin Awards!
Click for detail!
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Herwarth and Vreni - simply epic!
Remember this post - sure you do! :)
Well here they are in all their glory.
This was just the beginning as the gals were then coerced to mouth feed whilst topless - and of course the whole thing then ended in tears. And yes talk about Déjà vu huh = nihil novum, especially not the bikini bimbettes!
Huge H/T to the Saffron Pimpernel for having unearthed this gem!
Thursday, January 25, 2018
GHH in Beqa Lagoon!
Behold!
Yes they are definitely here!
This one is from Project Abroad's BRUV research - and for the moment, the specific location will need to remain a secret lest some eager Shark killer be tempted to go catch himself a set of valuable fins. But it is excellent GHH habitat and we will certainly start looking a bit more closely as this is not the first time a GHH has been sighted there.
This one is from Project Abroad's BRUV research - and for the moment, the specific location will need to remain a secret lest some eager Shark killer be tempted to go catch himself a set of valuable fins. But it is excellent GHH habitat and we will certainly start looking a bit more closely as this is not the first time a GHH has been sighted there.
To be continued - keep watching this space!
Friday, January 19, 2018
A Global Perspective on the Trophic Geography of Sharks - Paper!
Awesome!
Read this.
Yes that's a whole lot of authors, among which some people I like a lot = for once cooperation has been absolutely stellar and one has to congratulate Chris for having been able to pull this off, and for having laid the foundations for a global collective of researchers investigating Sharks by means of stable isotope analysis.
And no, all is so clear and exhaustive that I really got nothing to add!
Kudos - very impressive indeed!
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
What Rebecca said!
You really must read this.
Bravo Re - this is exhaustive, balanced, insightful and truthful.
Could not have said it better myself - and you are so much more objective, and also charming (!) than I will ever be - to wit you did not use the f word even one single time! :)
Kudos!
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Investigatory Bite?
And I cite,
It [the shark] opened its massive mouth and as it's closed its mouth it kind of ripped down as it went to swim away," she said. "There was one metre [missing] off Callum's body.
I was horrified, then I realised it was just the fin. We're just lucky that it was an investigatory bite and didn't involve any missing limbs. Once we got back on the boat I was pretty upset and a little bit shocked, but it's a really beautiful encounter with out of our most revered apex predator"
Right.
What a load of horse manure - beautiful encounter my ass!
No that was not an investigatory nibble.
That was a predatory attack, and like they often do, that GWS was trying to immobilize its prey and went for the propulsion; and the dude is really incredibly lucky that he merely lost a fin and not his leg. Seriously, can we please stop the bloody whitewashing and finally let Sharks be Sharks.
Thank you.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Breaching OWTs - Paper!
Read this!
It is obviously not only about breaching OWTs, but the breach it describes is totally spectacular - story here.
Yannis and Yuuki are quickly establishing themselves as the gurus of small multi-use electronic packages that can be temporarily affixed to the Sharks in varying configurations, and are thus able to help find answers to the most diverse scientific questions.
Way to go Team Predator!
Like always, very impressed.
Kudos!
Friday, January 12, 2018
Thursday, January 11, 2018
GWS and Diver!
Watch.
Scary scary shit - and probably legit!
This is apparently South Africa where Death by GWS is most definitely a reality!
Enjoy!
Inverted Trophic Pyramids - Paper!
Watch.
And with all that evidence, it appears pretty conclusive that those infamous counter-intuitive inverted trophic pyramids do indeed exist.
And the examples at top?
Still not at all convinced, see this post - and I cite from the paper,
However, instances in which energy is exogenously sourced to create top-heaviness (e.g. from another time or another ecological space) present more opportunity for healthy debate.
If, for instance, we allow ourselves to view the operation of communities at non-traditionally ambitious spatial and temporal scales, many of these systems become less top-heavy – or not top-heavy at all. Top-heavy coral reef communities in which mobile consumers draw energy from neighbouring pelagic communities, for example, begin to look more Eltonian when the dynamics of multiple communities are viewed collectively.
The underlying challenge is that by habit or necessity, the modus operandi of many ecologists is to survey the biomass contained within a community in a snapshot fashion – and such practices poorly acknowledge the spatially and temporally remote processes that shape community structure.
Bingo - exactly like I said!
Yes fished remote islands and atolls have less Sharks and big predators (because they have been fished away) and feature conventional trophic pyramids - but unless convinced of the contrary, I must insist that those pristine, unfished ones still don't feature those inverted trophic pyramids (read it!) - at least not permanently!
Anyway.
Enjoy the paper!
Sunday, January 07, 2018
Okinawa - bigass GWS!
Behold!
That's one big beautiful Shark - and some seriously krazy kamikaze divers!
This is the last population of GWS everybody knows about but nobody can properly study as there are no known hotspots like mating or feeding aggregations, or nurseries, and the sightings are rare and extremely widely spread geographically.
Story here - enjoy!
Monday, January 01, 2018
Ministry of Fisheries - awesome!
Love it!
Fiji's Ministry of Fisheries is showing some teeth - finally!
First they did effectively shut down the illegal trade in bêche-de-mer that has been driving the widespread poaching, and maiming and killing numerous young Fijians. And now they have banned the harvesting and trade in live rock and live coral that has equally been a scourge to our marine biodiversity. Hopefully the latter ban will be relaxed once the coral farmers can come up with a verified sustainable product - but for now the blanket ban is certainly the best solution.
Bravo Fisheries - we are proud of you!
Bravo Fisheries - we are proud of you!
Our Elasmobranchs next please!
PS - it is complicated - H/T Saffron Pimpernell!
Shark Bite!
Oh well - watch this.
PS - Hahahahahahaha - embedding has been disabled - but of course it has not been deleted as Freek wants to continue showcasing his heroic feat: you can watch it right here!
PPS - and now it has been retracted...
PPPS - and in case you missed it: here it is on another page!
Oh and here is the video - til it gets retracted again.... hahahahahahaha... seriously, how fucking pathetic is that!
Well what can I say.
PPS - and now it has been retracted...
PPPS - and in case you missed it: here it is on another page!
Oh and here is the video - til it gets retracted again.... hahahahahahaha... seriously, how fucking pathetic is that!
Well what can I say.
That baited reefie snorkel where Doc weans his students and select visitors off their selachophobia has always been sketchy as all it took was some wrong movement and/or highly competitive situation and/or a particularly frisky individual to trigger a bite - and q.e.d.!
Not really impressed by the lack of proper first aid materials (QuikClot please!) on the boat, not really impressed by the absence of a medical professional and not really impressed by what appears to be a rather nonchalant evacuation protocol - but this is obviously not a tourist setup but a science lab, and the risk assessment and liability implications may indeed be different. But still - so let the learning curve be steep as shit will continue to happen!
And the dude?
I must say that he did handle it quite well, and that my personal impression that he was a bit of a wanker has improved accordingly - tho was there really any urgent need to show this to the masses at large? So here's to said masses learning that Sharks are never, ever puppy dogs, and that engaging in stupid behavior with wildlife is, well, stupid.
In diesem Sinne - Happy New Year everybody!
PS Shark bite here and here and here - til that gets deleted, too!
And... he really is a wanker for leaving that shit online!
PS Shark bite here and here and here - til that gets deleted, too!
And... he really is a wanker for leaving that shit online!
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