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
This was amazing. There was something incredibly inspiring about seeing these massive beautiful creatures wrestled out of the water and then scienced on the boat and then returned to their home as if they just had a brief time-out. Max and I are so grateful.
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
This was amazing. There was something incredibly inspiring about seeing these massive beautiful creatures wrestled out of the water and then scienced on the boat and then returned to their home as if they just had a brief time-out. Max and I are so grateful.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Today @mikegrunwald.bsky.social and his son Max joined us for a day of shark research! Thanks for the book!
November 11, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Today @mikegrunwald.bsky.social and his son Max joined us for a day of shark research! Thanks for the book!
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
🚨 Fully funded PhD alert 🚨
Want to use big data to tackle to help biodiversity loss?
Apply for a PhD quantifying how human pressures are affecting the resilience and extinction risk of vertebrate populations 🌍🦴
📍University of Bristol 🎓 Starts Sept 2026
🔗 tinyurl.com/cfdzrsj9
Want to use big data to tackle to help biodiversity loss?
Apply for a PhD quantifying how human pressures are affecting the resilience and extinction risk of vertebrate populations 🌍🦴
📍University of Bristol 🎓 Starts Sept 2026
🔗 tinyurl.com/cfdzrsj9
November 11, 2025 at 11:17 AM
🚨 Fully funded PhD alert 🚨
Want to use big data to tackle to help biodiversity loss?
Apply for a PhD quantifying how human pressures are affecting the resilience and extinction risk of vertebrate populations 🌍🦴
📍University of Bristol 🎓 Starts Sept 2026
🔗 tinyurl.com/cfdzrsj9
Want to use big data to tackle to help biodiversity loss?
Apply for a PhD quantifying how human pressures are affecting the resilience and extinction risk of vertebrate populations 🌍🦴
📍University of Bristol 🎓 Starts Sept 2026
🔗 tinyurl.com/cfdzrsj9
Thanks, NOAA!
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Thanks, NOAA!
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
PhD position - Changing Ecological Role of Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas.
One of the new @exageo-dla.bsky.social advertised projects: www.exageo.org/phd-student-... - deadline for applications 9th January. International applications welcome.
Come and join us @lec-reefs.bsky.social
One of the new @exageo-dla.bsky.social advertised projects: www.exageo.org/phd-student-... - deadline for applications 9th January. International applications welcome.
Come and join us @lec-reefs.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM
PhD position - Changing Ecological Role of Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas.
One of the new @exageo-dla.bsky.social advertised projects: www.exageo.org/phd-student-... - deadline for applications 9th January. International applications welcome.
Come and join us @lec-reefs.bsky.social
One of the new @exageo-dla.bsky.social advertised projects: www.exageo.org/phd-student-... - deadline for applications 9th January. International applications welcome.
Come and join us @lec-reefs.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Thanks to @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and the University of Miami team for letting me join! We caught and tagged 2 sharks!
Today @cbquist.bsky.social of @scifri.bsky.social joined us for a day of shark research!
November 9, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Thanks to @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and the University of Miami team for letting me join! We caught and tagged 2 sharks!
Carolina hammerheads are visually indistinguishable from scalloped hammerheads (also prohibited in FL). Most people probably can’t tell them apart from great hammerheads (also prohibited in FL) either. So, this change makes sense and also as a practical matter changes nothing.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has added Carolina Hammerheads, a recently-discovered species, to it's list of protected species prohibited from harvest.
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLF...
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLF...
FWC classifies Carolina hammerhead as a prohibited species
FWC classifies Carolina hammerhead as a prohibited species
content.govdelivery.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Carolina hammerheads are visually indistinguishable from scalloped hammerheads (also prohibited in FL). Most people probably can’t tell them apart from great hammerheads (also prohibited in FL) either. So, this change makes sense and also as a practical matter changes nothing.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Everything is fish
November 5, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Everything is fish
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Frogs = fishes
Birds = fishes
Humans = fishes?
Birds = fishes
Humans = fishes?
November 5, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Frogs = fishes
Birds = fishes
Humans = fishes?
Birds = fishes
Humans = fishes?
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Oxygen supersaturation has been reported to protect aquatic animals from heat waves. We tested this in a large collaborative experiment on many species of fish and crustaceans. Our new paper in @plosbiology.org shows that the effect of hyperoxia on thermal tolerance is negligible. Unfortunately.
November 5, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Oxygen supersaturation has been reported to protect aquatic animals from heat waves. We tested this in a large collaborative experiment on many species of fish and crustaceans. Our new paper in @plosbiology.org shows that the effect of hyperoxia on thermal tolerance is negligible. Unfortunately.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
New evidence in @science.org that herring🐟 spawn where they were spawned (natal homing) adds urgency to the work @projectfishistory.bsky.social is doing @sosbangor.bsky.social - identifying unmapped spawning areas using historical sources 📜 & living knowledge 🎣🗣️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Direct evidence of natal homing in an Atlantic herring metapopulation
Herring return annually to their natal spawning sites, highlighting the need for sensitive coastal management.
www.science.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:58 AM
New evidence in @science.org that herring🐟 spawn where they were spawned (natal homing) adds urgency to the work @projectfishistory.bsky.social is doing @sosbangor.bsky.social - identifying unmapped spawning areas using historical sources 📜 & living knowledge 🎣🗣️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This is a good example of an environmental problem that is about people’s values and priorities, and so isn’t really solvable by data. The shark part is pretty simple: tourism can change shark behavior at least a little, but in most examples it’s not clear that change matters much.
🦈 A balanced article:
“Problematic practices can be regulated, and specific activities can be banned, but banning all baited and chummed shark dives seems, to the researchers, conservationists and dive operators I spoke with, to be extreme and unnecessary.”
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning...
“Problematic practices can be regulated, and specific activities can be banned, but banning all baited and chummed shark dives seems, to the researchers, conservationists and dive operators I spoke with, to be extreme and unnecessary.”
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning...
Will Banning Baited Shark Diving Off Florida Make Our Seas Safer?
Bipartisan legislation would ban the practice of feeding sharks off Florida’s coast, which supporters say will keep people safer and reduce conflict with recreational anglers. But the scientific evide...
www.scubadiving.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This is a good example of an environmental problem that is about people’s values and priorities, and so isn’t really solvable by data. The shark part is pretty simple: tourism can change shark behavior at least a little, but in most examples it’s not clear that change matters much.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
My latest for SCUBA diving magazine is about a proposed law to ban shark feeding dives in Federal waters off Florida.
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning... 🦑🧪🌎🦈
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning... 🦑🧪🌎🦈
Will Banning Baited Shark Diving Off Florida Make Our Seas Safer?
Bipartisan legislation would ban the practice of feeding sharks off Florida’s coast, which supporters say will keep people safer and reduce conflict with recreational anglers. But the scientific evide...
www.scubadiving.com
October 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
My latest for SCUBA diving magazine is about a proposed law to ban shark feeding dives in Federal waters off Florida.
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning... 🦑🧪🌎🦈
www.scubadiving.com/will-banning... 🦑🧪🌎🦈
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
New - my first piece for @science.org !
Absolutely crazy footage of rat behaviour in Germany.
Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time | Science | AAAS share.google/WAsAIQ8j0MKp...
Absolutely crazy footage of rat behaviour in Germany.
Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time | Science | AAAS share.google/WAsAIQ8j0MKp...
Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time
Stunning hunting behaviour captured in German cave
share.google
October 24, 2025 at 6:40 PM
New - my first piece for @science.org !
Absolutely crazy footage of rat behaviour in Germany.
Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time | Science | AAAS share.google/WAsAIQ8j0MKp...
Absolutely crazy footage of rat behaviour in Germany.
Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time | Science | AAAS share.google/WAsAIQ8j0MKp...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Scientists say North Atlantic right whale population slowly increasing
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Scientists say North Atlantic right whale population slowly increasing
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the most venerable of the leviathans now numbers 384, up eight from past year
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Scientists say North Atlantic right whale population slowly increasing
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
📣 New Science Alert!
Bycatch in tropical tuna fisheries is a major threat to manta and devil rays. A new study by Cronin et al. (2025) explores a fisher-designed solution: the mobulid sorting grid, which allows rapid and safe release of these rays.
🔗 research.mantatrust.org/publications
Bycatch in tropical tuna fisheries is a major threat to manta and devil rays. A new study by Cronin et al. (2025) explores a fisher-designed solution: the mobulid sorting grid, which allows rapid and safe release of these rays.
🔗 research.mantatrust.org/publications
October 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
📣 New Science Alert!
Bycatch in tropical tuna fisheries is a major threat to manta and devil rays. A new study by Cronin et al. (2025) explores a fisher-designed solution: the mobulid sorting grid, which allows rapid and safe release of these rays.
🔗 research.mantatrust.org/publications
Bycatch in tropical tuna fisheries is a major threat to manta and devil rays. A new study by Cronin et al. (2025) explores a fisher-designed solution: the mobulid sorting grid, which allows rapid and safe release of these rays.
🔗 research.mantatrust.org/publications
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
MSc by Res opportunity - developing behavioural indicators to inform killer whale conservation with
@exeter.ac.uk @whaleresearch.bsky.social @seadocsociety.bsky.social
People from underrepresented groups in marine science encouraged to apply.
Deadline 19Dec
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
@exeter.ac.uk @whaleresearch.bsky.social @seadocsociety.bsky.social
People from underrepresented groups in marine science encouraged to apply.
Deadline 19Dec
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
October 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM
MSc by Res opportunity - developing behavioural indicators to inform killer whale conservation with
@exeter.ac.uk @whaleresearch.bsky.social @seadocsociety.bsky.social
People from underrepresented groups in marine science encouraged to apply.
Deadline 19Dec
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
@exeter.ac.uk @whaleresearch.bsky.social @seadocsociety.bsky.social
People from underrepresented groups in marine science encouraged to apply.
Deadline 19Dec
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
🚨New Paper Alert🚨
My first coauthorship on a publication! So thankful for the opportunity to be part of this project. Huge congrats to PhD candidate Sophia Emmons at USF and JCU. I learned so much from her and can’t wait to see what she does next!
My first coauthorship on a publication! So thankful for the opportunity to be part of this project. Huge congrats to PhD candidate Sophia Emmons at USF and JCU. I learned so much from her and can’t wait to see what she does next!
October 23, 2025 at 11:03 AM
🚨New Paper Alert🚨
My first coauthorship on a publication! So thankful for the opportunity to be part of this project. Huge congrats to PhD candidate Sophia Emmons at USF and JCU. I learned so much from her and can’t wait to see what she does next!
My first coauthorship on a publication! So thankful for the opportunity to be part of this project. Huge congrats to PhD candidate Sophia Emmons at USF and JCU. I learned so much from her and can’t wait to see what she does next!
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
📢 PhD opportunity at @cebc-chizelab.bsky.social @ifv-whv.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social
🎓 Interactions between contaminants and parasites in common terns
📅 Apply by 12/12/2025 at euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/380142
#seabirds #ecotoxicology
@univ-larochelle.fr @commonternproject.bsky.social
🎓 Interactions between contaminants and parasites in common terns
📅 Apply by 12/12/2025 at euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/380142
#seabirds #ecotoxicology
@univ-larochelle.fr @commonternproject.bsky.social
October 20, 2025 at 9:22 AM
📢 PhD opportunity at @cebc-chizelab.bsky.social @ifv-whv.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social
🎓 Interactions between contaminants and parasites in common terns
📅 Apply by 12/12/2025 at euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/380142
#seabirds #ecotoxicology
@univ-larochelle.fr @commonternproject.bsky.social
🎓 Interactions between contaminants and parasites in common terns
📅 Apply by 12/12/2025 at euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/380142
#seabirds #ecotoxicology
@univ-larochelle.fr @commonternproject.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
#Oregon: Just months after the historic removal of four major dams on the Klamath River, scientists and tribal leaders are stunned by what they’re seeing—salmon are returning in far greater numbers, and much faster, than anyone expected. www.activenorcal.com/salmon-are-s...
Salmon Are Surging Far Beyond Expectations After Klamath River Dam Removal
Just months after the historic removal of four major dams on the Klamath River, scientists and tribal leaders are stunned by what they’re seeing—salmon are returning in far greater numbers, and much f...
www.activenorcal.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:13 AM
#Oregon: Just months after the historic removal of four major dams on the Klamath River, scientists and tribal leaders are stunned by what they’re seeing—salmon are returning in far greater numbers, and much faster, than anyone expected. www.activenorcal.com/salmon-are-s...
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
Please pass along, I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study phys ecology, macroecology, biodiversity - spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested🧪🌐🌾
October 21, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Please pass along, I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study phys ecology, macroecology, biodiversity - spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested🧪🌐🌾
And some faculty—mind-bogglingly!—are willing to frame and understand even very high programmatic attrition rates as a marker of “rigor” or “excellence” rather than toxicity.
Oh my goodness--yes. And "status" can have a REAL cost/ The Department I entered at Harvard was abusive to its students--within a year many had left, including me
October 20, 2025 at 10:05 PM
And some faculty—mind-bogglingly!—are willing to frame and understand even very high programmatic attrition rates as a marker of “rigor” or “excellence” rather than toxicity.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
I'm compiling a list of resources for grad students in the sciences!
What are some free/cheap online tools for learning a new skill or concept?
The ones I've advised my students to use are ConservationTraining .org, the UNFAO Academy, and DataCamp. What else is out there?
Any tips welcome! 🧪
What are some free/cheap online tools for learning a new skill or concept?
The ones I've advised my students to use are ConservationTraining .org, the UNFAO Academy, and DataCamp. What else is out there?
Any tips welcome! 🧪
August 22, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I'm compiling a list of resources for grad students in the sciences!
What are some free/cheap online tools for learning a new skill or concept?
The ones I've advised my students to use are ConservationTraining .org, the UNFAO Academy, and DataCamp. What else is out there?
Any tips welcome! 🧪
What are some free/cheap online tools for learning a new skill or concept?
The ones I've advised my students to use are ConservationTraining .org, the UNFAO Academy, and DataCamp. What else is out there?
Any tips welcome! 🧪
Do they…think a professor’s job is just to provide factual information?
My first-year students have no trouble understanding the difference between “saying facts” and “making meaning”—educators aren’t replaceable in that way, even if AI were capable of delivering facts that aren’t hallucinated.
My first-year students have no trouble understanding the difference between “saying facts” and “making meaning”—educators aren’t replaceable in that way, even if AI were capable of delivering facts that aren’t hallucinated.
Wow. Just wow.
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Do they…think a professor’s job is just to provide factual information?
My first-year students have no trouble understanding the difference between “saying facts” and “making meaning”—educators aren’t replaceable in that way, even if AI were capable of delivering facts that aren’t hallucinated.
My first-year students have no trouble understanding the difference between “saying facts” and “making meaning”—educators aren’t replaceable in that way, even if AI were capable of delivering facts that aren’t hallucinated.
Reposted by Dr. Catherine Macdonald
I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...
October 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...