Open Thread – Ghostwriters, academic integrity, and the Shadow Scholar

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 18 Comments on Open Thread – Ghostwriters, academic integrity, and the Shadow Scholar
Uncategorized

The academic blogosphere is bursting with discussion over this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education: The Shadow Scholar. A professional academic ghostwriter spills the beans on how his business works, who buys his services, and how the system enables it. Go ahead and give it a read, we’ll be right here. So what do … Read More “Open Thread – Ghostwriters, academic integrity, and the Shadow Scholar” »

Submit to the Beneath the Waves Film Festival

Posted on By David Shiffman 5 Comments on Submit to the Beneath the Waves Film Festival
Popular Culture

I am excited to announce that I am now a part of the planning team for the 2nd Annual Beneath the Waves Film Festival!

This festival, which is associated with the Benthic Ecology conference, provides a unique opportunity for scientists and filmmakers to interact. Since the festival is part of a scientific conference, filmmakers will be able to get feedback from scientists, and even plan collaborations for the future. Scientists who make movies for fun will be able to ask professional filmmakers for tips.

Unlike many other film festivals, Beneath the Waves is free to enter, which makes it an ideal showcase for films by students, amateur naturalists, and starting filmmakers.

The focus is on marine/coastal/freshwater science and conservation issues. They must be shorter than 30 minutes, and we request that they be shorter than 20 minutes if at all possible. The submission deadline is January 15th, 2011.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional, a young filmmaker just getting started, or a scientist who has taken some cool video, the Beneath the Waves Festival is for you.

Read More “Submit to the Beneath the Waves Film Festival” »

Shark News Roundup: the ecology of fear, curious whale sharks, and saving the manta rays

Posted on By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

The shark blog-o-sphere has been busy lately. Here are some of the headlines from the world of shark science and conservation.

Chuck from Ya Like Dags has a fantastic post explaining the ecology of fear and how it relates to sharks. As it turns out, predators can have a major impact on an ecosystem just by being there- prey change their behavior in ecologically significant ways because they want to avoid being eaten. If you’re looking for scientific reasons why sharks are important to the ocean or if you’re just looking for a cool ecology story, check it out!

Al Dove of the Georgia Aquarium explains that whale sharks are curious animals that will  sometimes swim over to check out humans. I’ve found that most sharks tend to avoid people, but he has a pretty convincing video.

Read More “Shark News Roundup: the ecology of fear, curious whale sharks, and saving the manta rays” »

Finding Melville’s Whale – Cetology (Chapter 32)

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 10 Comments on Finding Melville’s Whale – Cetology (Chapter 32)
Uncategorized

Chapter 32 of Herman Melville’s classic – Moby Dick. Read along with us and discuss this chapter or the book as a whole in the comments. Visit this page for the complete collection to date: Finding Melville’s Whale. Cetology Let this be the book of the whale, chronicle of tortured naturalists. For who could fathom those … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale – Cetology (Chapter 32)” »

Urea and Shark Osmoregulation

Posted on By David Shiffman 6 Comments on Urea and Shark Osmoregulation
Science

One of the challenges inherent in a marine lifestyle is in maintaining an internal balance against external osmotic pressures. Cell membranes are permeable to water, and water tends to flow from areas of low ion concentration to areas of high ion concentration (which is called ‘osmosis’). Though the cell is incredibly complex, from an osmotic perspective it is basically a small sack of water with some ions in it. If cells aren’t isosmotic (i.e. containing the same  concentrations of ions) to the surrounding environment, then water will flow across a cell membrane. Depending on the relative ionic concentration of the cell to the environment, water may flow either into or out of a cell. Either way, this water flow is bad for the organism and may result in cells shriveling up or bursting.

Image from PhSchool.com

Read More “Urea and Shark Osmoregulation” »

Shades of Gray: Gray literature, peer-review, and the struggle for data in fisheries management

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 5 Comments on Shades of Gray: Gray literature, peer-review, and the struggle for data in fisheries management
Conservation, Science

The dissemination of science follows the conventional route of rigorous peer-review followed by publication in an accredited scientific journal. This process has been the standard foundation from which the general public can trust that the science is, at the very least, valid and honest. Of course this system is not without its flaws. Scientific papers of questionable authority, dishonest methodology, or simply flawed design frequently make it through the gates of peer-review. Politically charged papers possess strong biases and many high impact journals favor sexy or controversial topics.

Beyond the conventional route of peer-review, there exist a vast accumulation of gray literature – conference reports, technical notes, institutional papers, various articles written for specific entities that enter into general circulation without the filter of peer-review. Much of gray literature is valid, robust science, but much of it is not. The challenge is that sometimes gray literature is the only science available.

Read More “Shades of Gray: Gray literature, peer-review, and the struggle for data in fisheries management” »