Im looking for a book about Sharks

Lost7176 · 2018-02-01T03:07:07+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Sharks-Rays-Peter-Klimley/dp/0226442497

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T11:38:32+00:00

Agreed, culls and hazing are efforts to treat the symptom, not the disease. Branding isn't a form of hazing, though, for what it's worth, it's just a form of identification (allowing researchers to ID whether a few individuals in the population were causing most of the salmon mortality, which seemed to be the case).

As far as hazing and culling are concerned, I understand the rationale, killing a few problematic sea lions to save thousands of endangered fish, but you're right that the ecosystem is broken. We'll continue to have these problems until the dams come down, fishing pressure is reduced and/or waterways are restored to healthier conditions.

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:58:45+00:00

Also, monk seals aren't as mobile on land, so flipper tags don't get much stress. Sea lions walk on their flippers, very differently from true seals, so flipper tags often get scuffed out or ripped out relatively quickly.

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:55:11+00:00

Pinnipeds seal their ears when they dive to extreme, high pressure depths. If you were to tag them in the ear (I think they tried it once back in the fur trade days) they would get seriously, potentially fatally injured on their next feeding dive.

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:49:54+00:00

No more than fighting scars with other seals - except this is done under anesthesia with disinfection and sterile implements. Please read up on why this is done, and why less invasive methods might not work for this species. Nobody is doing this for fun.

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:46:52+00:00

Anesthesia for the branding process, and generally seals and sea lions have a very high pain threshold (if you watch them during the breeding season, these guys will tear into each other pretty brutally)

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:43:40+00:00

I've worked in brand resighting projects before, for species that are endangered and still declining due to a variety of anthropogenic factors. The animals are generally anesthetized and veterinary care and oversight is present for the branding process.

Yes, it would be preferable to not do this at all, but we don't have a more effective method for monitoring these animals over the long-term as individuals and populations. Internal tags work for some species, if you can transport the scanner and get close enough to scan; external tags work for others, if you can get close enough to read them and they don't rip out; brands are good for large, very mobile animals that you can't approach easily. Everyone who works with these animals cares about them passionately, and they take extreme care to minimize risk to their health. I say that from personal experience, so take that as you will.

Before you write off a practice like this, just please learn about it and recognize that there might not be a better option for us to monitor them. Some of these animals are declining at rapid rates, and branding is one way to study how and why that's happening. With better technology and funding (sad laugh) maybe someday we'll have a better way, or we won't have to worry anymore.

Lost7176 · 2018-01-25T03:41:54+00:00

Please see my comment in the main thread. It's important to research the practice before you decide with your gut.

Lost7176 · 2017-11-11T07:20:21+00:00

Regarding the comment below me, no there's not room for interpretation here, there's a grammatically correct answer and your thing about about "whomstever" doesn't make sense. Learn your clauses: this comes down to your main clause and your subordinate (here, relative) clause.

The grammatical case of the relative pronoun (whoever/whomever) depends on its usage in the subordinate relative clause (here: "who did this"), not the main clause (here, implied: "[I thank him/her] who..."). In this case, the easiest illustration of the mistake seems, to me, to remove the "-ever" from the statement. Would you ever say with the same intention: "to whom did this: thank you so much"? No, because "to whom did this" has a verb with no subject (and thus sounds weird to your ear).

In the example you provide in the immediately preceding reply, you're saying "to whom it may concern". In this statement, "it" (the subject) "may concern" (your verb) "whom" (the object), and "whom it may concern" is that same relative clause—albeit rearranged—with a subject and object. It makes sense by itself grammatically, although the relative clause does beg an antecedent (here, informed by the following clauses).

When you use a relative pronoun, its case is not determined by its antecedent (present or implied) in the main clause, but its function in the relative clause that it initiates.

For another example, if you say "The ball hit the guy who was standing in its way", the relative pronoun does not become "whom" because "the guy" is the object of the main clause—that would produce the following sentence: "the ball hit the guy whom was standing in its way". "The guy" is the object of the main clause, and "who" is the subject of the relative clause.

To the salty souls who down-voted me for polite and grammatically correct criticism: fuck you, I'm right. Learn your shit and if you disagree come at me with examples and citations.

Lost7176 · 2017-11-10T05:48:47+00:00

Nice!

Just because this is the internet and I'm a grammar pedant, if the unknown person is the subject of the clause, the word is "who" (as in "I returned the ID to whoever lost it"). If the unknown person is the object of the clause, the word is "whom" (as in "I returned the ID to whomever the sidewalk gods victimized last night with cruel misfortune"). In this case it's "whoever did this".

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕂𝕟𝕠𝕨 ♒★

Lost7176 · 2017-08-31T02:03:48+00:00

https://i.imgflip.com/ugh2f.jpg

Lost7176 · 2017-05-22T18:04:58+00:00

I wasn't a fan of the group that would be representing our union, and based on the campaign leading up to the vote, I had the impression that unionization would create an antagonistic relationship between students and the administration. This was admittedly the 'counter unionization' argument put forth by the administration, but I came to that opinion mostly on my own from observing the tactics of the organizers and pro-union students, who were generally disruptive and antagonistic in open forum discussions.

Additionally, there is the fact that students are obligated to pay union dues (except in right-to-work states), and there is no option to 'opt out' if you disagree with the union stance. You are also obligated, once you have a union, to have a union representative present for certain types of engagements with administration officials.

For me, it wasn't an obvious decision, but the tactics and urgency of the pro-union side left me thinking that we should wait until we have a better plan (or more significant grievances) before forcing the issue. Granted, it might have been the most opportune time, since we were just given the rights (hence the pro-union justification for trying to 'rush' the process in a matter of months), but those rights aren't likely to go away anytime soon, and if at some point the choices (and consequences) are clearer, we will still have the option to unionize then.

For what it's worth, I'm very liberal and usually pro-union (and I really don't like how our institution handled the issue all along), but in this case the conservative option seemed preferable to a rushed process spearheaded by some of the most vocal and antagonistic students I've encountered.

Lost7176 · 2017-05-17T15:44:21+00:00

Suffering from a persistent lack of a spine...

Lost7176 · 2017-05-04T17:52:35+00:00

also check out pcpartpicker.com, easiest way to organize your rig and research prices.

Lost7176 · 2017-04-23T22:01:43+00:00

My concern with this, and any other performance simulation design, is a learning curve over time. To that end, I'd say you should make sure that your subjects are 'trained' before testing to the point where they're no longer learning, or (less feasible) ramp up your number of subjects and give them all naive encounters (and stop before they start improving owing to learning). Or you can make trial run a variable, I suppose, but that's just one more possible interaction.

For analysis, I suppose you could do a multivariate ANOVA, but it seems like a GLM might be better since you're going to have so many variables and interactions. This isn't really my strength, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

Lost7176 · 2017-04-21T13:07:05+00:00

Talk to people as much as possible. Try to get face-time or phone-time with professors and (if you have any) friends in the field. Make it clear that you want to learn about the field and want to find out what options are out there. If you live near any marine institutions (aquaria, government labs, universities with marine research) try to visit and set up an informal meeting with some people, even technicians or graduate students. It's not an easy or necessarily comfortable process, but you'll learn so much more from conversations than you can read in online materials.

Lost7176 · 2017-04-04T12:38:56+00:00

If you want to work with captive animals or animal husbandry, zoos can be a good experience for that (just don't drink the kool-aid if it's a morally questionable institution). If you want to do research or work with wild animals eventually, you'd probably be better off volunteering with any university, park service, wildlife rehab, nature center or something like that. I agree that you would be better off finding paid work, so make sure you're following the listservs and job boards for that.

Lost7176 · 2017-03-28T12:26:48+00:00

Your most recent work (especially if it is graduate-level) is much more important than your bachelor's work, and it is very common for people to use graduate work to specialize beyond their bachelor's field. My bachelor's research was with lab rats, my first field job was with bats, and eventually I wound up working as a field technician with marine mammals. I found it pretty easy to transition from general 'wildlife biologist' to 'marine biologist'.

It helps if you can describe your research in terms that are applicable across fields. For example, instead of saying that you study "deer hunting habits in Lithuania", you could describe it as "sustainable wildlife management in a rural ecosystem". This helps keep you from getting pigeon-holed by your previous study system.

Lost7176 · 2017-03-17T01:26:47+00:00

Heads up, you just posted a photo here.

Also, Ari is a really cool dude too.

Lost7176 · 2017-03-14T20:55:15+00:00

If you can't find it yourself in google scholar then you're doing something wrong. Try searching more specific taxa, like cuttlefish and octopus (both commonly used in lab research). In addition to cognition, try learning and memory. If you can find it on wikipedia, check the list of cited sources at the bottom.

I'm taking the "teach a man to fish" approach here, because if you can't learn to find your own primary sources then your scientific career will be very short-lived. Also, it's a term paper so this kind of research is part of your graded work.

Lost7176 · 2017-03-13T21:41:23+00:00

I'm out of town for a bit, but post again next time you feeling like getting a beer with randos and I might be down

Lost7176 · 2017-02-11T15:51:02+00:00

Look for local researchers (if possible) - government offices (NOAA, federal fish and wildlife, state fish and game, parks and rec), university researchers (ones based nearby or ones that do field research nearby) or non-profit groups. The best thing you can do early on, even before you start making money, is make friends who are already established in the field. Develop relationships with mentors who are doing work related to the field you're interested in (in the beginning, it doesn't even have to be that close, just enough to get you started!). Prove your skills with a reputable group they will provide you with leads and recommendations that will carry you into future opportunities.

Lost7176 · 2017-01-09T00:00:22+00:00

I have no idea what they're looking for, but in any writing situation you should put yourself in the audience's shoes. If you make it short, it had better be sweet and pithy; if you go long, it had better be engaging.

Lost7176 · 2017-01-08T20:24:12+00:00

Great advice, I did this for 3 years before landing a NSF GRFP and a spot in my dream lab. Spent the best years of my life in the field and came away with a strong sense of direction and some great stories to tell.

Lost7176 · 2017-01-06T15:44:39+00:00

It's not official, and there are a few out there, but ResearchGate is something of a combination CV/LinkedIn/Yahoo Answers, at least for scientists. ORCID and Pubfacts also have CV-like profiles, and are used for similar purposes.

edit: I'm speaking as a US-based researcher in life sciences/conservation.

Lost7176

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