Ben D’Antonio (He/Him)
@bendantonio.bsky.social
Research Scientist at the #Shark Research Foundation 🦈 Interested in the biophysical drivers of the movement and behaviour of #MarineMegafauna 🐋🐢🦭🐟
🧵 (1/3) 🚨 NEW #OpenAccess paper in #LandscapeEcology 🧪📃 Using a free Seascape data product, we extend core concepts from landscape ecology into the pelagic ocean to identify dynamic process-defined habitats for marine megafauna 🦈🐢🐋 🔗 rdcu.be/fxd5j 📸 Neil Hammerschlag, Derek M. Aoki & DFO-Quebec
When blue whales and humpbacks dive, their heart rates slow as their systems adjust to reduce oxygen consumption. But when they actively lunge, their heart rates rise to power acrobatic sprints to engulf massive volumes of prey-laden water. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/6Q1o50Zv3oz
🦈 As Discovery Channel's Shark Week plays to our primal fears, researchers are finding that the world's most-feared predator has potential to actually save the humans... by improving hurricane and climate change predictions. 📲Find out how sharks are like oceanographers: go.whoi.edu/shark-tags
New whale shark research! 🌏 A review of all known whale shark behaviours + new observations from animal-borne cameras 📸🦈 link.springer.com/article/10.1... @drlucianaferreira.bsky.social @drsharkmeekan.bsky.social @robharcourt.bsky.social
An ethogram for the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) with insights into foraging plasticity - Marine Biology
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are large filter-feeders that reside in oligotrophic tropical waters. The feeding behaviours that enable these sharks to survive in such nutrient poor environments are n...
link.springer.com
Our new article in @theconversation.com explains what we learned from attaching cameras to whale sharks! 🦈📸 @drlucianaferreira.bsky.social theconversation.com/we-attached-...
We attached cameras to whale sharks and captured krill chases never witnessed before
New video captures what whale sharks do when nobody is watching.
theconversation.com
We also built a free Shark & Ray MPA Explorer so researchers, managers, and conservationists can explore species-level MPA coverage for all 1,158 species. If you're interested in sharks and rays, take a look! tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPAExplorer @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @society4conbio.bsky.social
🚨JOB ALERT 🚨 The deadline is approaching! ⏰ Apply to join BirdLife's marine team by the end of next week 🌊🐧
BirdLife Marine@birdlifemarine.bsky.social · 2mo ago🚨JOB ALERT🚨 We are looking for Marine Sites Science Officer to support our Marine Programme by analysing seabird tracking data to identify important areas ⏱️Deadline: 03/07/2026 🐧Fixed term 2 years, 35 hrs/pw 📌Cambridge/ Hybrid Come join our fantastic team! Details ➡️ tinyurl.com/marinesitesj...
How's this for a feedback loop? Ice sheets build up lowering sea level → reduced water load leads to increased mid ocean ridge volcanism after a 10-20 kyr lag → volcanism releases iron → iron causes plankton blooms → atmospheric CO₂ goes down → ice sheets build up www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ocean iron fertilization from enhanced mid-ocean-ridge volcanism due to ice-age sea-level falls - Nature Geoscience
Increased hydrothermal iron inputs from mid-ocean ridges, triggered by ice-age sea-level falls, supported higher surface primary productivity during the last two glacial terminations, according to pro...
nature.com
New evidence shows a major climate shift ‘within a lifetime’ 13,000 years ago.
The Gulf Stream suddenly moved north during an ancient cold snap – and it’s a warning for our future
New evidence shows a major climate shift ‘within a lifetime’ 13,000 years ago.
tcnv.link
Mesothermic fishes require nearly four times more energy than other fish, and as oceans warm, their tendency to generate heat faster than they can lose it may push these already vulnerable species closer to the brink of extinction, according to a new Science study. scim.ag/3QedKKw
Mesothermic fishes face high fuel demands and overheating risk in warming oceans
Body size and temperature set metabolic rates and the pace of life, yet our understanding of the energetics of large fishes is uncertain, especially of warm-bodied mesotherms, which can heavily influe...
scim.ag
"Why people whose job is to find and eliminate problems in the world often cannot tell when their work is done" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Prevalence-induced concept change in human judgment
Social problems may seem intractable in part because reductions in their prevalence lead people to notice more of them.
science.org
More than a third of global fish stocks are being fished unsustainably. TNC is using artificial intelligence to help address the problem. ⬇️ Read more at Reuters
Real-time AI tracks sustainable seafood as High Seas Treaty kicks in
With the global treaty to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas in effect since 17 January, countries have a legal framework to tackle threats such as overfishing as they strive to meet a target to ...
reuters.com
'I want them to stop': Sawfish and sharks found mutilated: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-22/sawfish-shark-turtle-found-dead-in-carnarvon/106254342
'I want them to stop': Sawfish and sharks found mutilated
Residents and experts say they are shocked and concerned after social media images showed a number of endangered and protected marine animals impaled and severed on a stretch of WA coastline in just a few weeks.
abc.net.au
as trump keeps beating up on renewables, a new analysis shows that we can basically offset data center emissions simply by boosting wind and solar a little bit more:
The AI Boom Will Increase US Carbon Emissions—but It Doesn’t Have To
A new analysis finds that data centers’ energy demands will drastically increase power plant emissions over the next decade. Renewables, though, could cut them while helping keep prices from rising.
wired.com
Join the AIMS–UWA interface of science, policy and industry. We’re seeking a Research Fellow for a major offshore wind–fisheries project across nationally significant regions. Full-time, 3-year Level B role ($118–140k + super) external.jobs.uwa.edu.au/en/job/52229...
Watch tiny plankton ‘surf’ ocean currents. These microscopic creatures hitch a ride on turbulent waters to travel faster. Learn more: https://scim.ag/4sBbHin
Fishing fleets serve as apex predators in the marine ecosystem, indicating the presence of fish prey. A study of fleet movements indicates northward shifts of albacore and bluefin tuna during heatwaves and extreme shoreward shifts of albacore. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/n26e50XOZsA
2025 Georgina Mace Review now out in #ProcB - How monitoring matters for nature #conservation: 15 reasons framed in a theory of change #OpenAccess royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
How do you stop dolphins stealing bait from drumlines? We looked at data from the NSW Shark Management Program. ❌ acoustic pingers ✅ change bait type (1/3) connectsci.au/wr/article/5...
Minimising dolphin-induced bait depredation in a bather protection shark management program
Dolphins can interfere with shark fishing equipment used in bather protection programs by removing bait, which increases program costs and reduces effectiv
connectsci.au
Our newest research in @currentbiology.bsky.social: www.cell.com/current-biol... We find dominant baboons have more interrupted and less rest at night. Author list and story in comments below :-)
Fish alter locomotor and feeding kinematics to capture aerial prey #ProcB #OpenAccess #Biomechanics royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
The latest result on dispersal in vulturine guineafowl: dispersing females selectively use roads to reduce the cost of transport when making large displacements. Out now in @royalsocietypublishing.org Proc B: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Every machine in a Hospital that diagnoses your body without cutting you open is based on a principle of Physics, discovered by a Physicist who had no interest in Medicine. If you think the world doesn’t need Basic Science, or that somehow Science has failed you, think again. #sciencematters
New PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳 #marine #mammals #consgen #popgen #phylo #molevol #evolution yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...
The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds - Yorkshire Environmental Sciences • Doctoral Training Network
Project summary Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walrus) are keystone marine predators, and sentinels for marine ecosystem health. Advances in genomic technology open up the possibility to u...
yes-dtn.ac.uk
Although we're not where we should be, we're on a significantly better trajectory than we were 10 years ago.
10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are (Gift Article)
Has anything really changed in the decade since the Paris Agreement was reached? Actually, quite a lot.
nytimes.com
Allow us to reintroduce ourselves! We're Scripps Oceanography and we'd love to connect with people who are interested in: 🔬 Marine Science 🌍 Earth Science 📈 Climate Change ⚠️ Hazards 💊 Biotechnology and Biomedicine 🌊 Oceanography 🪸 Coral Reef Ecology 🌧️ Atmospheric Science ➗ Geophysics ⚛️ Bioscience
🌊 As #oceans warm, reef #fishes are shifting their ranges. Relying on a single method can miss species at their range edges, while combining #eDNA and visual surveys supports more accurate assessments of #speciesdistribution 🐠 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/ddi....
For Scientific American’s 180th birthday, we’ve updated a classic graphic comparing different forms of animal locomotion, first published in this magazine in 1973.
The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike
A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom
scientificamerican.com
Our new paper looking at movement and connectivity of predators in remote coral reefs using acoustic telemetry and network analysis link.springer.com/article/10.1... @robharcourt.bsky.social @imos-aus.bsky.social
Marine predator movements create seascape connectivity in remote coral reef ecosystems - Movement Ecology
Background Movement of marine predators can connect different habitats and create links that are key for maintaining metapopulation dynamics, genetic diversity, energy flow and trophic links within and between systems. This key ecological process is known as ecological connectivity. Methods We used a combination of acoustic telemetry data, network analysis (graph theory), habitat modelling and machine learning methods to quantify movement patterns and habitat use of three coral reef predators (grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus and red bass Lutjanus bohar). We also assessed how movements and habitat preference influence connectivity in two remote reef systems (Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef) off Northwest Australia. Results Grey reef shark movements created more substantial connections within reef systems, greater than silvertip sharks and red bass, with occasional long-ranging movement linking distant atolls. Core use areas (nodes with high degree centrality) were represented by low complexity habitats in shallow areas near passages in the reef crest, but varied among species, time of the day and sex. Overall, female sharks had larger networks with greater movement extent than males indicating potential sex-specific patterns in movement and connectivity of sharks at both local (within an atoll) and regional (within reef system) spatial scales. Red bass movements resulted in local-scale connectivity between the lagoon and nearby forereef areas, whereas reef shark connectivity operated at broader scales with movement along the forereef creating stronger connections across distant areas within the reef systems. Conclusions The combination of animal tracking data, network analyses and machine learning allowed us to describe complex patterns of movement and habitat use within and between remote coral reef ecosystems and how they influence ecological connectivity over local and regional scales. Importantly, we suggest that the existing spatial protection across these remote coral reefs is effective in protecting the local-scale connectivity of mesopredators, yet broad-scale protection is required to effectively encompass the seascape connectivity of large predators which is crucial for the long-term health and stability of coral reef ecosystems.
link.springer.com
