David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈
@whysharksmatter
I am a marine conservation biologist studying sharks and a science writer. Posts are about science and the environment, science communication, and more! He/him
Sharks get cancer. People claiming otherwise are trying to sell something to the desperate. And even if sharks didn’t get cancer, eating shark wouldn’t cure your cancer any more than eating LeBron James would make you better at basketball.
I heard you people like animals with spinal deformities that change how they move. Meet Stella. www.msaquarium.org/p/animals/ve...
There was an interactive Directory of explorers! We found @drcatmac.bsky.social !
Friends of Da Burgh! Next weekend, I’m giving a free and family-friendly talk at the Pittsburgh Zoo! Saturday 7/25 at 1:30 PM! Bring the whole family, learn about sharks n’at! I’ll have copies of my book Why Sharks Matter for sale and am happy to sign them for you. See yinz there!
Bagged salads also don’t teach you about the critical role of apex predators in marine ecosystems. Win-win www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
Me preparing for my latest documentary on sustainable fisheries and their role in saving the ocean Why are other people just posting photos of themselves sitting and not actually being interviewed for a documentary I don’t understand this meme
The shark doctor is in, and hosting a special Shark Awareness Day edition of “ask me anything!” For the next two hours, if you have questions about sharks, shark science, or shark conservation, ask away! (If you ask later I’ll try to get to it later)
Happy Shark Awareness Day! If I had to distill my outreach goals into one post, it’d be for you to learn that: Sharks are awesome! Sharks aren’t a threat to you. Sharks are ecologically important! Sharks are threatened and need your help! We know how to help sharks! Follow for more.
You guys! I did it! It took literally ten years, I started playing Pokemon Go ten years ago this week, also at a conference in New Orleans. But I caught em all!
Yesterday, the American Elasmobranch Society passed a resolution asking southern California to permanently ban land-based shark fishing for large sharks. I was proud to support it. This practice is harmful to larger species which need the buoyant support of water, especially protected white sharks.
Seen at an improv comedy theater in New Orleans. Paging @petersagal.bsky.social
My public talk, “everything I needed to know in life I learned from a shark,” went great! And was follow by the Big Couch improv comedy group making sketches based on what I said. This lesson shown here is “everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it’s because you make bad decisions.”
Thanks to those who came to my talk at my local public library! Remember I’m always happy to speak to any group with an audience and a speaker budget! (Or free talks via zoom for public schools!)
While in town for a conference, I'll be giving a free public talk in New Orleans on Wednesday! Three scientists talk about our work, and then a local improv comedy group will create and perform a sketch! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/nerd-night...
Folks, if you're in the DC area, I'm giving a free public talk tomorrow/Tuesday July 7th at the Wheaton library. I'll have copies of my book Why Sharks Matter for sale (and signing) afterwards! mcpl.libnet.info/event/16557143 @hopkinspress.bsky.social 🦑🌍🧪🦈 #SciComm @themocoshow.bsky.social
Happy 4th of July from Sandy, the shark who lives in my office
The Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists has a conference app! The “leaderboard” feature may not mean much, but if there is a contest, I want to win!
Phil Weiser just won the Democratic Primary for Colorado Governor. If he wins, he’d be replacing Jared Polis, who bragged about how Colorado was “shark attack free” in at least 10 speeches. Don’t get cocky, Colorado. There’s one documented shark bite in neighboring (also landlocked)New Mexico!
The confederacy lasted 5 years. This year marks 38 years of Shark Week.
Thanks to those of you who joined today's Conservation Careers webinar on marine conservation careers! My online certificate is now available for signups, with a big discount if you sign up this week! More info here: www.conservation-careers.com/marine/
Last year, in the wake of Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Russ Vought, and Republicans trying to destroy the federal science funding infrastructure that has made the United States a technological and economic superpower, I wrote an essay for American Scientists magazine