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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Cell Press @cellpress.bsky.social · 2d

"Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimaeras" www.cell.com/current-biol...

@seaprinceaaron.bsky.social & colleagues
@currentbiology.bsky.social

Schematic of two potential impact pathways (direct benthic impacts and midwater impacts) of deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides, and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Jeffrey Marlow @jjmarlow.bsky.social · 5d

A huge field of hydrothermal vents - driven by serpentinization and formed by a massive hydrogen explosion - recently discovered in the western Pacific!

www.science.org/doi/full/10....

A large intraplate hydrogen-rich hydrothermal system driven by serpentinization in the western Pacific: Kunlun

A hydrogen-rich hydrothermal system in the western Pacific reveals potential for hydrogen resources and early life.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 5d

From gentle giants to ghostly hunters, sharks face an unseen peril | ScienceDaily

From gentle giants to ghostly hunters, sharks face an unseen peril

New research reveals that deep-sea mining could dramatically threaten 30 species of sharks, rays, and ghost sharks whose habitats overlap with proposed mining zones. Many of these species, already at…

www.sciencedaily.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 5d

First observation of a leucistic false catshark Pseudotriakis microdon link.springer.com/article/10.1...

First observation of a leucistic false catshark Pseudotriakis microdon - Marine Biodiversity

Marine Biodiversity -

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Infopoint #Klimawandel #Artensterben @infopointa.bsky.social · Aug 3

"Overfishing the largest species in nearshore and pelagic habitats risks loss of ecomorphotypes and a 5 to 22% erosion of functional diversity."

Ecological erosion and expanding extinction risk of sharks and rays
Dulvy @nickdulvy.bsky.social et al 2024

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Chris Mull @cgmull.bsky.social · 7d

New paper led by @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social in @currentbiology.bsky.social looking at the threats deep sea mining poses for sharks, rays, and chimaeras. We found 30 species are threatened via various pathways including collector impact and plumes at depth and pelagic discharge plumes.

Figure 1: highlighting various pathways through which mining can impact sharks, rays, and chimaeras including collector impact and plumes, and discharge plumes.

Figure 2: The diversity of sharks, rays, and chimaeras impacted by deep sea mining operations. Nearly 2/3 of these species are already at an elevated risk of extinction.

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

#deepseamining #polymetallicnodules #conservation #marineconservation #marinebiodiversity #mantaray #whaleshark #ghostshark #whiteshark #cookiecuttershark #chocolateskate #baskingshark #megamouthshark #sharkconservation #marinebiology #mining #ocean #deepsea #chimaera #marinelife #sharkscience

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Great to team up with @cgmull.bsky.social @nickdulvy.bsky.social @britfinucci.bsky.social, Victoria and Jeff, to bring sharks, rays, and chimaeras to the larger discourse on deep-sea mining. This paper is also my first first-author publication and I am excited it could be this one!

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

What we need:

1. Updates to ISA, IUCN, and other assessments incorporating the risks of mining to chondrichthyans.

2. Enhanced sampling and monitoring.

3. Spatial management tools to protect at-risk species.

4. A deeper discharge plume, but must assess biodiversity impacts and further risks

a dolphin is jumping out of the water in the ocean

ALT: a dolphin is jumping out of the water in the ocean

media.tenor.com

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Where should the discharge plume go? Some results:

1️⃣ Deeper than 2000 m where there is limited chondrichthyan overlap. But ecosystem impacts remain.

2️⃣ At the seafloor to limit pelagic disturbance BUT this will further threaten benthic biodiversity (inc. chondrichthyans, see sulphide mining - PMS)

This figure shows the percentage of species richness present over the depth range in comparison to the discharge plume and benthic impacts. Species richness in most areas reaches 0 at 2,000 m or so, however in polymetallic sulphide areas, as many as 4 species remain at-risk in deeper systems.

Figure 4 Vertical conservation benchmarks for discharge and mining depths based on the potential overlap of chondrichthyans with the mining footprint. Each line is a contractor (see Table S3), and dashed lines denote where 50% and 75% of assemblages no longer overlap by depth (i.e., 50% and 25% species richness remaining). An additional dashed line denotes 2,000 and 3,000 m and the number of species remaining at or below these depths. The dark gray areas refer to depths of direct benthic impacts, while light gray areas refer to discharge plume scenarios. Mining types are PMNs (polymetallic nodules), PMSs (polymetallic sulphides), and CFCs (cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts).

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Potential depth overlap:

🌊 25 species overlap directly with seabed impacts, 17 have > 50% of their depth range overlapping

🌊 All species overlap with discharge plume scenarios

🌊 The chocolate skate has a 75% depth overlap and is egg-laying and benthic (traits which elevate its vulnerability)

This figure shows the depth ranges of species in relation to the discharge plume and benthic impacts from mining. Species vary in their overlap but 25 overlap vertically in depth and 17 of these species have > 50% depth overlap.

Figure 3 Potential depth range overlap of chondrichthyans with the deep-sea mining footprint.
Potential depth range overlap of chondrichthyans with (A) PMN, (B) PMS, and (C) CFC mining. Depth ranges are minimum and maximum depths of species, and overlap statistics are calculated based on the minimum and maximum depths of discharge plume scenarios and the mining type. The gradient in overlap for each species reflects a moving window where the discharge plume is moved 1 meter down with each scenario, and the overlap is subsequently recalculated at the meter scale. The dark gray areas refer to direct benthic impacts, while light gray areas refer to discharge plume scenarios. Numbers reflect species that have 50% or higher depth overlap for benthic impacts specifically.

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

30 species overlap:

🦈 Unique deep-sea species such as two chimaeras, the megamouth shark, great lanternshark, and cookiecutter shark

🦈 Deep divers such as devil and manta rays, the whale shark, and white shark

🦈 > 60% already threatened with extinction, 12-16 at-risk species per contractor

Figure 2 Phylogenetic tree and heatmap displaying the chondrichthyans (n = 30) that intersect with deep-sea mining areas.

The heatmap shows the mining types within which each species occurs (PMNs, polymetallic nodules; PMSs, polymetallic sulfides; CFCs, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts), whether they occur in the Areas of Particular Environmental Interests (APEIs) (located in the Clarion-Clipperton zone), whether they are Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) listed, their functional group, and their International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status. An alternative color palette and extended trait data are available (Figure S1; Table S1).

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Mining poses risks via 2 pathways. 1) seabed impacts from the collector vehicle, especially to #nurseries and foraging areas. 2) impacts via the midwater #dischargeplume which could disrupt vertical migration, filter feeding, bioluminescence, and cause toxic metal accumulation.

🖼️Molly Wells

This figure illustrates two pathways for which deep-sea mining could impact sharks, rays, and chimaeras. The first pathway describes impact on the seabed, specifically through the collector vehicle and the plume generated from the vehicle. This pathway is especially of concern for benthic, benthopelagic, and egg-laying species and poses a threat to foraging areas and nurseries. The second pathway focuses on the midwater discharge plume. This plume will likely disrupt vertical migration and behaviour, filter feeding, and bioluminescence. Also, the plume may cause respiratory distress, reuslt in the accumulation of toxic metals in upper trophic levels, and further affect trophic functioning.

Figure 1 Schematic of two potential impact pathways (direct benthic impacts and midwater impacts) of deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides, and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts. The discharge plume is depicted at a depth of 1,000 m for illustrative purposes. Illustration by Molly Wells (https://www.mollywells.ca/).

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Mining in ABNJ could begin within the next few years, however #chondrichthyans have been left out of recommendations for environmental baselines, which are required by the #InternationalSeabedAuthority. This novel industry poses considerable risks to #biodiversity and #ecosystemfunctions

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Deep-sea mining will target three primary mineral types: polymetallic nodules (abyssal seafloor), polymetallic sulphides (vents), and cobalt-rich crusts (seamounts). The goal is to extract rare earth metals for the green transition (eg. for batteries)

🖼️ Miller et al. 2018

A world map showing the distribution of mineral resources considered for deep-sea mining.

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

🚨 NEW PUBLICATION 🚨

Today in @currentbiology.bsky.social, we found that 30 species of #sharks, #rays, and #chimaeras overlap with proposed #deepseamining in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction #ABNJ - over 60% are already #threatened with #extinction 🦈

📸 Blue Planet Archive / Masa Ushioda

The Pygmy Shark (Euprotomicrus bispinatus), the world’s second smallest shark species and one of the species with a high overlap with proposed deep sea mining. Credit: Blue Planet Archive / Masa Ushioda.

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Katie Matthews, PhD @katieocean.bsky.social · 8d

🧪🌏🦑🌊🦈 New paper alert #deepseamining #sharks

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 8d

New #sharkscience out in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social and colleagues.
Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras. A must read for this looming threat to many already threatened species.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
@iucnshark.bsky.social

Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras

Judah et al. identify 30 species of chondrichthyans that overlap with proposed deep-sea mining activities, nearly two-thirds of which are already threatened with extinction. Precautionary management o...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 8d

And for more on #shark #conservation, check out this well-aged review from @sharkcolin.bsky.social and colleagues

www.cell.com/current-biol...

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · 7d

Thank you so much Colin!!!

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 8d

New #sharkscience out in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social and colleagues.
Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras. A must read for this looming threat to many already threatened species.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
@iucnshark.bsky.social

Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras

Judah et al. identify 30 species of chondrichthyans that overlap with proposed deep-sea mining activities, nearly two-thirds of which are already threatened with extinction. Precautionary management o...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Brian Schlining @schlining.bsky.social · 10d

Fantastic biography from Dr. Bruce Robison, a midwater researcher and one of the founding scientists of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

What's down there?

Abstract. My career has been a series of adventures and occasional misadventures that have been both physically and intellectually challenging. I suspect t

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 27d

Today is “drag and tag,” tagging sharks with drag queens while raising money for LGBQT+ youth organizations in Florida!

www.scientificamerican.com/article/drag...

Drag Queens Tag Sharks in Annual Florida Science Celebration

The annual “Drag ’n Tag” expedition takes place amid a wave of antitransgender legislation

www.scientificamerican.com

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Aaron B. Judah🔱 @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social · Sep 4

First first-author paper just got accepted!!!! New deep-sea shark, ray, and chimaera science inbound 👻🦈

Shark National Geographic GIF

ALT: Shark National Geographic GIF

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Global Change Biology @globalchangebio.bsky.social · Aug 31

Outlasting the Heat: Collapse of Herbivorous Fish Control of Invasive Algae During Marine Heatwaves

🔗 buff.ly/YrXrJfn
@jeroenbrijs.bsky.social

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Reposted by Aaron B. Judah🔱

Helen Yan @helenyan.bsky.social · Aug 22

🚨New PhD paper out today in @natcomms.nature.com with @renatoamorais.bsky.social and Dave Bellwood! 🚨

Marine fishes exhibit extraordinary patterns of diversity, but how does this diversity relate to their productivity? 🐟🐠🐡

🌐
🦑🧪

🔗 nature.com/articles/s41...

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