Dr. Catherine Macdonald
@drcatmac.bsky.social
Marine scientist and teacher Field School & University of Miami. Director of sharktagging. NatGeo Explorer. Shark & ray ecology, biology, conservation. She/her.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Dynamic mounds made of methane at a depth of some 3,640 meters act like “frozen reefs” for a bizarre array of deep-sea creatures, new observations reveal
Bizarre Ecosystem Discovered More Than Two Miles beneath Arctic Ocean
Dynamic mounds made of methane at a depth of some 3,640 meters act like “frozen reefs” for a bizarre array of deep-sea creatures, new observations reveal
www.scientificamerican.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Dynamic mounds made of methane at a depth of some 3,640 meters act like “frozen reefs” for a bizarre array of deep-sea creatures, new observations reveal
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
BBC News - The prehistoric shark found in a suburban town in Scotland
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The shark found among the suburbs of a Scottish town
The fossil was so complete experts could see remains of the last meal it ate, 330 million years after dying.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 27, 2025 at 10:56 AM
BBC News - The prehistoric shark found in a suburban town in Scotland
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
One of the most incredible shots I've ever gotten, in Yellowstone. This coyote walked over a ridge in the blowing snow and posed for me, with a small grin on its face, the snowfalkes like stars in the background.
The desolation and beauty of life and nature is grounding, and so good for the soul.
The desolation and beauty of life and nature is grounding, and so good for the soul.
December 28, 2025 at 2:03 AM
One of the most incredible shots I've ever gotten, in Yellowstone. This coyote walked over a ridge in the blowing snow and posed for me, with a small grin on its face, the snowfalkes like stars in the background.
The desolation and beauty of life and nature is grounding, and so good for the soul.
The desolation and beauty of life and nature is grounding, and so good for the soul.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
✍️ A review of manta and devil ray courtship and mating
📊 This study compiled 87 new photographic and video records of courtship and mating behaviour from 18 countries, using internet searches, social media footage, literature and engagement with the scientific community.
👉 lnkd.in/gUMF4gN7
📊 This study compiled 87 new photographic and video records of courtship and mating behaviour from 18 countries, using internet searches, social media footage, literature and engagement with the scientific community.
👉 lnkd.in/gUMF4gN7
December 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
✍️ A review of manta and devil ray courtship and mating
📊 This study compiled 87 new photographic and video records of courtship and mating behaviour from 18 countries, using internet searches, social media footage, literature and engagement with the scientific community.
👉 lnkd.in/gUMF4gN7
📊 This study compiled 87 new photographic and video records of courtship and mating behaviour from 18 countries, using internet searches, social media footage, literature and engagement with the scientific community.
👉 lnkd.in/gUMF4gN7
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
🚨NEW 🐟 PAPER 🚨
On this episode of unusual animal friends…
@juliasaltzman.bsky.social was in the right place at the right time to record and generate an ethogram of a stingray-cobia pair, an interaction fishers have relied on to find and sight-fish for cobia!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
On this episode of unusual animal friends…
@juliasaltzman.bsky.social was in the right place at the right time to record and generate an ethogram of a stingray-cobia pair, an interaction fishers have relied on to find and sight-fish for cobia!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Behavioral Evidence of Predator–Predator Commensalism: Cobia Track and Feed on Prey Disturbed by Southern Stingrays
We documented a novel predator–predator commensal foraging interaction between cobia (Rachycentron canadum) and a southern stingray (Hypanus americanus) in a shallow coastal habitat of Biscayne Bay, ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
🚨NEW 🐟 PAPER 🚨
On this episode of unusual animal friends…
@juliasaltzman.bsky.social was in the right place at the right time to record and generate an ethogram of a stingray-cobia pair, an interaction fishers have relied on to find and sight-fish for cobia!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
On this episode of unusual animal friends…
@juliasaltzman.bsky.social was in the right place at the right time to record and generate an ethogram of a stingray-cobia pair, an interaction fishers have relied on to find and sight-fish for cobia!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Rainbows on parade in Coral City ✊🌈🌈🌈🦜🐟🪸🌆 #rainbowparrotfish #parrotfishjungle #parrotfishcapitaloftheworld #rainbowparade #rainbowpride #parrotfish #coral #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity
December 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Rainbows on parade in Coral City ✊🌈🌈🌈🦜🐟🪸🌆 #rainbowparrotfish #parrotfishjungle #parrotfishcapitaloftheworld #rainbowparade #rainbowpride #parrotfish #coral #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Lizardfish coming in hot!! #lizardfish #predator #ambush #fangs #teeth #cominginhot #coral #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity
December 21, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Lizardfish coming in hot!! #lizardfish #predator #ambush #fangs #teeth #cominginhot #coral #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
December 20, 2025 at 11:36 PM
So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
👀 Funded PhD: 'Capturing stories of the coast'
"oral histories are a common & widely used approach in Env History, here we seek to extend their use, to explore how such knowledges can be integrated into climate adaptation & resilience planning ..." #DeepMapping
www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/capt...
"oral histories are a common & widely used approach in Env History, here we seek to extend their use, to explore how such knowledges can be integrated into climate adaptation & resilience planning ..." #DeepMapping
www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/capt...
Capturing stories of the coast | Courses | University of Liverpool
Oral histories provide a direct route to the past through people’s memories and experiences, with opportunities to transcend lifetimes and recall generational narratives, providing valuable insights i...
www.liverpool.ac.uk
December 20, 2025 at 1:28 AM
👀 Funded PhD: 'Capturing stories of the coast'
"oral histories are a common & widely used approach in Env History, here we seek to extend their use, to explore how such knowledges can be integrated into climate adaptation & resilience planning ..." #DeepMapping
www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/capt...
"oral histories are a common & widely used approach in Env History, here we seek to extend their use, to explore how such knowledges can be integrated into climate adaptation & resilience planning ..." #DeepMapping
www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/capt...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
So excited to see this out! Metabarcoding shows fishes shift diets on degraded reefs; growth rates similar, condition diverged → species-specific coping strategies buff.ly/kGkEDpw @mattleray.bsky.social @nancyknowlton.bsky.social @odealab.bsky.social @sbac-manmetuni.bsky.social @stri_panama +others
December 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
So excited to see this out! Metabarcoding shows fishes shift diets on degraded reefs; growth rates similar, condition diverged → species-specific coping strategies buff.ly/kGkEDpw @mattleray.bsky.social @nancyknowlton.bsky.social @odealab.bsky.social @sbac-manmetuni.bsky.social @stri_panama +others
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Doing a PhD is - at heart - one long discussion with your mentor. The discussion changes over time - with unexpected turns and ups & downs - but through it all is a pair of people discussing a topic endlessly to make sense of it.
PhD students: choose someone you like to talk to!
PhD students: choose someone you like to talk to!
December 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Doing a PhD is - at heart - one long discussion with your mentor. The discussion changes over time - with unexpected turns and ups & downs - but through it all is a pair of people discussing a topic endlessly to make sense of it.
PhD students: choose someone you like to talk to!
PhD students: choose someone you like to talk to!
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
🌊 🐟🦭🐋🐧 I have a PhD position available (4 years, start Mid-2026) at NRM Stockholm to work on the macrogenomics of sea warming.
Apply here:
recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...
#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics
Apply here:
recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...
#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics
December 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
🌊 🐟🦭🐋🐧 I have a PhD position available (4 years, start Mid-2026) at NRM Stockholm to work on the macrogenomics of sea warming.
Apply here:
recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...
#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics
Apply here:
recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...
#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics
I’m going to be honest—the vast majority of academic jobs I haven’t gotten never even told me THAT I didn’t get them, much less WHY.
One thing that absolutely definitely happens for real in the academic job market is that when you do not get a job, the Dean calls you and explains why you didn't get it. This is extra-super true when the explanation is something legally actionable on its face.
You’ll never guess who else experienced ‘racism’ on the job market despite their unimpeachable academic credentials.
December 19, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I’m going to be honest—the vast majority of academic jobs I haven’t gotten never even told me THAT I didn’t get them, much less WHY.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
I don’t smell live sharks too often, but Sharks have urea in their blood. Which means that Shark tissue in a lab setting can smell like rotting pee.
What does a shark smell like? (if they smell of anything)
December 19, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I don’t smell live sharks too often, but Sharks have urea in their blood. Which means that Shark tissue in a lab setting can smell like rotting pee.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Check out our new publication on the growth rates and habitat use of nurse sharks in Biscayne Bay, FL compared to nearby Bimini, Bahamas which came out today (open access) in Environmental Biology of Fishes! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Is the seagrass greener on the other side? Faster growth in Biscayne Bay, Florida’s nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) compared to neighboring conspecifics of Bimini, The Bahamas - Environmental Bi...
Effective management of vulnerable species requires a precise understanding of life history. In 2024, Fadool et al. published the first von Bertalanffy growth model for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma ...
link.springer.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Check out our new publication on the growth rates and habitat use of nurse sharks in Biscayne Bay, FL compared to nearby Bimini, Bahamas which came out today (open access) in Environmental Biology of Fishes! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
PS Get yourself a PI that conveniently already has the data to answer random questions. Shoutout @drcatmac.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM
PS Get yourself a PI that conveniently already has the data to answer random questions. Shoutout @drcatmac.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
🚨New 🦈 paper🚨
Who would have thought that only 80 km of separation across the Straits of Florida would be enough to create significant differences in age and growth of Atlantic nurse sharks? Well… now us!
Curious? Open access article linked below
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Who would have thought that only 80 km of separation across the Straits of Florida would be enough to create significant differences in age and growth of Atlantic nurse sharks? Well… now us!
Curious? Open access article linked below
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Is the seagrass greener on the other side? Faster growth in Biscayne Bay, Florida’s nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) compared to neighboring conspecifics of Bimini, The Bahamas - Environmental Bi...
Effective management of vulnerable species requires a precise understanding of life history. In 2024, Fadool et al. published the first von Bertalanffy growth model for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma ...
link.springer.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM
🚨New 🦈 paper🚨
Who would have thought that only 80 km of separation across the Straits of Florida would be enough to create significant differences in age and growth of Atlantic nurse sharks? Well… now us!
Curious? Open access article linked below
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Who would have thought that only 80 km of separation across the Straits of Florida would be enough to create significant differences in age and growth of Atlantic nurse sharks? Well… now us!
Curious? Open access article linked below
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
New PhD opportunity - which I'm delighted to be co-supervising! 'From Catch to Kitchen: Learning from Recreational Anglers to Diversify UK Seafood Choices' www.findaphd.com/phds/project... #phd #seafood #angling #fisheries #recreationalfishing #sustainability @thembauk.bsky.social Please share!
December 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
New PhD opportunity - which I'm delighted to be co-supervising! 'From Catch to Kitchen: Learning from Recreational Anglers to Diversify UK Seafood Choices' www.findaphd.com/phds/project... #phd #seafood #angling #fisheries #recreationalfishing #sustainability @thembauk.bsky.social Please share!
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
I would like to be as unbothered as this skate. @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 880 #argentiniandeepseeps #MarineLife
December 17, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I would like to be as unbothered as this skate. @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 880 #argentiniandeepseeps #MarineLife
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Our latest research on Rice's whale media coverage is included in this 2025 wrap up by @therevelator.org: therevelator.org/this-year-in...
This Year in Conservation Science: Whales, Birds, and Killer Roads • The Revelator
We asked conservation researchers around the world to send us their favorite papers of 2025. They address the planet’s most pressing problems — and important solutions.
therevelator.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Our latest research on Rice's whale media coverage is included in this 2025 wrap up by @therevelator.org: therevelator.org/this-year-in...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
New paper alert!
We reconstructed the diversification trajectory of sharks & rays over the past 145 myrs to answer:
When did they experience major extinction events?
Does age play a role in extinction selectivity?
If so, does it change with extinction intensity?
👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
We reconstructed the diversification trajectory of sharks & rays over the past 145 myrs to answer:
When did they experience major extinction events?
Does age play a role in extinction selectivity?
If so, does it change with extinction intensity?
👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
December 17, 2025 at 12:50 PM
New paper alert!
We reconstructed the diversification trajectory of sharks & rays over the past 145 myrs to answer:
When did they experience major extinction events?
Does age play a role in extinction selectivity?
If so, does it change with extinction intensity?
👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
We reconstructed the diversification trajectory of sharks & rays over the past 145 myrs to answer:
When did they experience major extinction events?
Does age play a role in extinction selectivity?
If so, does it change with extinction intensity?
👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
If you need a happy science story today - another piece how male dolphins who bond better with their mates* age slower
@aunz.theconversation.com piece by @liviagerber.bsky.social @kjpeters.bsky.social and Lee Rollins
*Aussie dolphins, so the Aussie meaning of mates
🐳🦑🧪
@aunz.theconversation.com piece by @liviagerber.bsky.social @kjpeters.bsky.social and Lee Rollins
*Aussie dolphins, so the Aussie meaning of mates
🐳🦑🧪
Friendship is magic: male dolphins with close friends age more slowly
Like friendship itself, the slower ageing is more than just skin deep.
theconversation.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
If you need a happy science story today - another piece how male dolphins who bond better with their mates* age slower
@aunz.theconversation.com piece by @liviagerber.bsky.social @kjpeters.bsky.social and Lee Rollins
*Aussie dolphins, so the Aussie meaning of mates
🐳🦑🧪
@aunz.theconversation.com piece by @liviagerber.bsky.social @kjpeters.bsky.social and Lee Rollins
*Aussie dolphins, so the Aussie meaning of mates
🐳🦑🧪
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Marine Megafauna Foundation finds that young Caribbean manta rays often swim with groups of other fish, creating small, moving ecosystems that support a variety of marine species.
Manta rays create mobile ecosystems, study finds
A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Marine Megafauna Foundation finds that young Caribbean manta rays (Mobula yarae) often swim...
phys.org
December 15, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Marine Megafauna Foundation finds that young Caribbean manta rays often swim with groups of other fish, creating small, moving ecosystems that support a variety of marine species.