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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Prof Helen Bostock @oceanhelen.bsky.social · 6m

I rarely advertise any projects. I mostly have students come through from undergraduate projects. So I know them well beforehand. I Australia we put forward students for scholarships and they are ranked by our graduate school following a set of criteria.

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13m

Does the student working for someone you already know and trust help?

Does it help if the student met you at a conference?

Any other tips for prospective students to shine in a graduate school application?

Your advice on any or all of this is greatly appreciated.

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13m

How highly do you weight undergraduate GPA?

How highly do you weight recommendation letters? What kind of stuff do you look for in a recommendation letter?

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13m

How do you choose who makes the short list? What skills or experience makes someone move to the top of the pile?

How much does having a publication already matter?

How much does having lab/field experience already matter?

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13m

If you have a spot for a graduate student in your lab, do you advertise it publicly, internally, or not at all?

How many people people typically apply for an advertised spot? What percentage of them are reasonably qualified?

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13m

Colleagues in ocean science academia: 🧪🦑🌎

I am working on the section of my marine biology career advice book about applying to graduate school. I have lots to say here from both my own experience and years of teaching this stuff, but I’d welcome your input on any or all of this if you’re willing.

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

SICB journals @sicbjournals.bsky.social · 29m

ICB
"How Republican Support for #Science Led to My Career as a #Biologist" @thomsanger.bsky.social

"Publicly funded innovation and the rapid pace of scientific output were points of bipartisan national pride..."

integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/h...

#biology #editorial

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 1d

Western Alaska was hit hard by the recent storms. Houses floated away in Kipnuk, houses flipped over, people lost everything from the flooding that came with the storms. Please donate if you can. This group has a long history of supporting AK communities.

alaskacf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/c...

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Emily Taylor @emilytaylorscience.com · 9h

Cal Poly is hiring! We are looking for multiple tenure-track colleagues, including animal physiology, cell biology, and microbiology! Please spread the word. Links in thread. bio.calpoly.edu

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 9h

Oh hey, I’m not sure I’ve seen that shark costume before.

COYOTE @coyotemedia.org · 14h

NEW: @soleilho.com went to Portland to investigate Antifa “hellfire.”🔥 All they found was an exceptional brunch 🍳 🥐 The real terror? Having to choose between Pine State Biscuits and Mémoire Cà Phê for breakfast. (They chose both.)

Portland Is a ‘War Zone’? OK, Sure. So How’s the Food?

COYOTE’s war correspondent grabs brunch.

www.coyotemedia.org

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 10h

three elderly women are sitting at a table with a hamburger and the words where 's the beef

ALT: three elderly women are sitting at a table with a hamburger and the words where 's the beef

media.tenor.com

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 10h

Please DM me your email address and I’d be happy to send you a copy tomorrow.

Offer also good for anyone else reading this.

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 10h

The chapters in Moby Dick where he just lists facts about whales are good, actually

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 23h

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Dr. Jaimi Gray @jaimiagray.bsky.social · 17h

When you visit Friday Harbor Labs, @fishguy.bsky.social always has cool fish to discuss 🐟 Last week we pondered the horned searobin (Bellator militaris), & what its spines could be for. CT scan available on MorphoSource for you to explore
www.morphosource.org/media/000027546
Images made in 3D Slicer

Colored rendering of a CT scan of Bellator militaris, in anterior and anterolateral view

Colored rendering of a CT scan of Bellator militaris, in dorsal, left lateral, and ventral views

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 11h

When you rediscover an important thought you once jotted down in your Notes app.

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Sharks Pacific @sharkspacific.bsky.social · 11h

We tagged it, so what? Tags reveal where sharks travel and when, giving us a glimpse into their secret lives. These insights guide better protections (and make cool squiggly lines on maps). We are so close to funding the next tag. Let’s goooo! Invite your friends!

sharkspacific.org?give=G2EXWJD6

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Mark Andrachuk he/him @markandrachuk.bsky.social · 5d

The IUCN Guidebook for Assessing and Improving Social Equity in Marine Conservation launched this week. Available to download now: portals.iucn.org/library/node...

You can also join us for a webinar on October 28th to learn more!
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

#consocsci #marsocsci #marineequity

Guidebook for assessing and improving social equity in marine conservation | IUCN Library System

portals.iucn.org

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 20h

This is a powerful account from a PhD student whose fellowship was terminated by NIH because it was part of a "diversity" program without any other considerations or understanding of what the program or the students were actually doing.

undark.org/2025/10/09/o...

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NIH Student Grant Cancellation Will Weaken Scientific Innovation

The termination of federal F31 diversity fellowships puts many graduate students in a bind — and U.S. science at risk.

undark.org

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 14h

Was worried that this was going to be *yet another* of the "people should all go back to Twitter" nonsense pieces, but @ianbetteridge.com's law of headlines rarely fails. The answer here is a clear "no" with good reasons:

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that that is the reason why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

Those who stayed behind have lost something, too: the ability to not have their worldview shaped by some of the maddest people on the internet. One of the Tories’ big conference announcements was the promise of an Ice-style border force that would deport [citation needed] 150,000 people a year. That mass deportations of most existing migrants is not actually popular in the UK – that such a policy places yet more distance between the Tories and the mainstream centre which deserted them last year – seems not to have occurred.

It’s hard not to connect this to the fact that much of the political class remains on a platform now dominated by the political extremes. They might do well to remember: Twitter is not the real world.

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 15h

Abandoning Antarctic krill management measure threatens conservation progress (commentary) news.mongabay.com/2025/10/aban... 🧪🦑🌎

Abandoning Antarctic krill management measure threatens conservation progress (commentary)

All along the western Antarctic Peninsula, whales, penguins and seals in their millions depend on krill (Euphausia superba) throughout the year. In the most rapidly warming region on the continent,…

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Katie Matthews, PhD @katieocean.bsky.social · 15h

Hey @oceanknigge.bsky.social look at our friend! :)

Oceana in Europe @oceanaeurope.bsky.social · 1d

We're happy to announce that @verampcoelho.bsky.social has been appointed as Oceana in Europe's Vice President & Executive Director!👏

She has been key in securing 20+ policy wins for our ocean and will now lead our campaigns to protect & restore European seas.

➡️ europe.oceana.org/press-releas...

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 18h

Right whales in Hermanus: why their calf production is slowing down

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 18h

Southern right whales are having fewer calves: what this says about ocean health

The link between feeding and breeding makes whales a living barometer of ocean health.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

Denis Gilbert 🌎 @denis-gilbert.ca · 16h

Statistics on how scientists feel about their presence on Bluesky versus Twitter. My personal experience (before closing my Twitter account in August 2023) was that engagement for my tweets had dropped to close to zero. No longer worth the effort...

#Bluesky #Twitter #X #socialmedia

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 23h

ICYMI, here is the press release for my study with @drjuliawester.bsky.social - we surveyed over 800 scientists who use social media. They overwhelmingly agree that Twitter is no longer useful or pleasant, and that for all professional online scientist goals, Bluesky is superior.
🧪 #SciComm 🌍

“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant

My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…

www.southernfriedscience.com

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 16h

High take of mobulid rays in East Java, Indonesia: landing trends and socio-economic context | "This study highlights a critical need for improved conservation of all mobulid ray species in Indonesia given their high extinction risk "

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

High take of mobulid rays in East Java, Indonesia: landing trends and socio-economic context - Environmental Biology of Fishes

Mobulid rays (genus Mobula) comprise ten species of highly threatened filter-feeding rays, seven of which occur in Indonesia and five of which are caught in small-scale fisheries off Muncar, East…

link.springer.com

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 18h

What the WTO’s deal to curb fisheries subsidies means and what it could achieve theconversation.com/what-the-wto...

What the WTO’s deal to curb fisheries subsidies means and what it could achieve

For decades, government subsidies have helped industrial fishing fleets to expand, often with little regard for sustainability.

theconversation.com

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