Anastasia Smith
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anastasiasmith.bsky.social
Anastasia Smith
@anastasiasmith.bsky.social
PhD Researcher at Lancaster University Studying Ecological and Social Impacts of Reef Fisheries in Kenya🪸🇰🇪

Interested in all things Marine Conservation 🌊 Social Science 🌊Community management 🌊 Ecosystem Based Management!
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend my first international conference, MARE,at the University of Amsterdam!I had an incredible time attending lots of insightful talks as well as getting the opportunity to pitch the first chapter of my PhD, and presenting a poster about my research! #Mare2025
July 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
🚨 Bottom trawling is destroying our ocean. But right now, we have a shot to stop it!

The government is considering banning bottom trawling in 41 protected areas, but they want to hear from YOU before they do.

📢 ADD YOUR VOICE before the 1 Sept deadline: only.one/act/uk-mpa-c...
June 25, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Leatherback sea turtles can grow up to 1.8 metres long and weigh up to 450 kilograms. That’s heavier than a grand piano 🐢😲

🎥: ausmashmash
March 10, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Trump’s withdrawal of foreign aid and dismantling USAID will cause annually:

18 million cases of malaria, 166k deaths; 200k children paralyzed with polio; 1 million children not treated for severe acute malnutrition, often fatal; >28k new cases of diseases such as Ebola and Marburg

Why? Why??
U.S.A.I.D. Memos Detail Human Costs of Cuts to Foreign Aid (Gift Article)
The world is likely to see millions more malaria infections and 200,000 cases of paralytic polio each year, according to an agency whistle-blower.
www.nytimes.com
March 4, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Small-scale fisheries account for 40% of global catch, providing 20% of micronutrient intakes for up to 2.3 billion people and livelihoods for 1 in 12 people.

Huge effort involving @fao.org & 800 experts, out now in @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Illuminating the multidimensional contributions of small-scale fisheries - Nature
A study aimed at revealing the role of small-scale fisheries in sustainable development shows they provide at least 40% of the global fishing catch and affect the livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the ...
www.nature.com
January 15, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
#BREAKING: We’re taking the Trump administration to court!

Oceana, alongside other environmental groups, is challenging President Trump's attempts to revoke ocean protections & open up millions of acres to offshore drilling. More 👉 oceana.ly/3EMOhSt
February 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Some amazing marine life photos, , incredible talent !🐟🐠🦈
February 23, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Seals, sharks and spiny squat lobsters: Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025 – in pictures
Seals, sharks and spiny squat lobsters: Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025 – in pictures
The annual competition draws thousands of entries from across the world and brings together images from below the water’s surface that show the diversity and challenges of subaquatic life
buff.ly
February 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
A thread explaining our new discovery about humpback whale song published today in Science... We found key statistical properties that characterise all human languages in another species for the first time. We have more in common with whales than we previously thought! doi.org/10.1126/scie...
February 7, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Sea ice in the Arctic and around Antarctica cool our climate, drive ocean circulation across the planet, and provide a unique habitat for polar ecosystems.

Sea ice amounts have now fallen to their lowest since we started measuring them. This is not good.

🌊🥼❄️🧪

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
World's sea-ice falls to record low
The world's frozen oceans keep the planet cool, but they currently have less ice than ever recorded before.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 15, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Underwater Mountains Are Teeming With 41 Times More Sharks Than The Open Ocean | IFLScience
Underwater Mountains Are Teeming With 41 Times More Sharks Than The Open Ocean
“Predators appear to use seamounts as ‘hubs’ to gather, socialise, mate or rest.”
buff.ly
February 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Heyyy!!! #marineresearchers!!!
Look at this interesting paper from #GES4SEAS in @FrontSustain
Management of #jellyfish outbreaks to achieve good environmental status #GES #MSFD

Increasing problem and some solutions

www.frontiersin.org/journals/oce...
Frontiers | Management of jellyfish outbreaks to achieve good environmental status
Jellyfish and gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) in general, fulfill important ecological roles with significant impacts, although they are often oversimplified or ...
www.frontiersin.org
November 16, 2024 at 8:07 AM
A great starter pack to connect with people working on #ecology at a large scale 🌍🧪

Global Ecology Vol. 2 👉 go.bsky.app/L37W5uH

DM @global-ecology.bsky.social to join the pack, there’s still room for more ! 😊
February 23, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Global Ecology 🌐 starter pack vol 1 & 2 are full and curated !! ✨💚

Please share so they will fly into the blue sky 🦋🌈

Vol1 👉 bsky.app/starter-pack...

Vol2 👉 bsky.app/starter-pack...

Will start a Vol. 3 soon, please reply if you want to be in !

🌐🧪🌍🦤🍁🦑🪴🦉🐍🌾
February 12, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Great Barrier Reef fish reveal that large-scale macroecological patterns have changed significantly 🐟🐠

We found that changes in latitudinal diversity gradient & rising species turnover were strongly correlated with shifts in coral composition

Out now in Nature Comms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Emergent patterns of reef fish diversity correlate with coral assemblage shifts along the Great Barrier Reef - Nature Communications
Coral reefs have been severely affected by anthropogenic stress. Using long term data from the Great Barrier Reef, this study found temporal changes in the latitudinal diversity gradient, and stronger...
www.nature.com
January 13, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Really interesting paper on coral reef composition!
Great Barrier Reef fish reveal that large-scale macroecological patterns have changed significantly 🐟🐠

We found that changes in latitudinal diversity gradient & rising species turnover were strongly correlated with shifts in coral composition

Out now in Nature Comms www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Emergent patterns of reef fish diversity correlate with coral assemblage shifts along the Great Barrier Reef - Nature Communications
Coral reefs have been severely affected by anthropogenic stress. Using long term data from the Great Barrier Reef, this study found temporal changes in the latitudinal diversity gradient, and stronger...
www.nature.com
January 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Dolphins as villains? I've been guilty of that. What's behind the joke, why perpetuate it, and are there consequences? www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
Social media loves to villainize dolphins. Here's why it's wrong.
These marine mammals have a bad reputation online, but the truth behind their behavior might surprise you.
www.nationalgeographic.com
December 17, 2024 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
For anyone newly interested in #behaviour and/or #macroecology since #BES2024, check out our paper that outlines #Macrobehaviour - a merger of the two to address challenges of rapid env change www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Let's grow this community!
Macrobehaviour: behavioural variation across space, time, and taxa
We explore how integrating behavioural ecology and macroecology can provide fundamental new insight into both fields, with particular relevance for understanding ecological responses to rapid environmental change. We outline the field of macrobehaviour, which aims to unite these disciplines explicitly, and highlight examples of research in this space. Macrobehaviour can be envisaged as a spectrum, where behavioural ecologists and macroecologists use new data and borrow tools and approaches from one another. At the heart of this spectrum, interdisciplinary research considers how selection in the context of large-scale factors can lead to systematic patterns in behavioural variation across space, time, and taxa, and in turn, influence macroecological patterns and processes. Macrobehaviour has the potential to enhance forecasts of future biodiversity change.
www.cell.com
December 13, 2024 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
December 13, 2024 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Bosses of major polluters could face jail time under Scotland's new Ecocide Prevention Bill. Making Scotland the first part of the UK able to properly sanction executives responsible for major environmental harm, like oil spills. #BigOil polluters, we're coming for you 🛢️🫵
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Bill to jail bosses of major polluters set to be introduced in Scotland
The Ecocide Prevention Bill would impose harsh penalties on executives responsible for major environmental damage.
www.bbc.com
December 12, 2024 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
Frontiers | First satellite track of a juvenile shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the Mediterranean Sea https://buff.ly/4gwKJS7
Frontiers | First satellite track of a juvenile shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the Mediterranean Sea
The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is a highly mobile, coastal littoral, and epipelagic oceanic species broadly distributed in tropical, subtropical...
buff.ly
December 11, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
New protections for vulnerable shark and ray species in SA - PIRSA https://buff.ly/3OPOWEs
New protections for vulnerable shark and ray species in SA
The State Government has introduced new rules for shark and ray fishing aimed at protecting vulnerable species from overfishing and preventing inhumane treatment.
buff.ly
December 11, 2024 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
New #GlobalSharkTrends study published in @science.org reveals #overfishing has more than halved shark & ray populations over the past 50-years causing widespread erosion of ecological function and exceptionally high extinction risk
👉Full article bit.ly/GlobalSharkTrends
🧵1/20
December 5, 2024 at 10:05 PM
go.bsky.app/8ENH6cC

Marine Conservation Starter Pack
Let me know if I've missed anyone or want to be added! 😊🐟🪸
December 8, 2024 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Anastasia Smith
📢New Paper Alert📢 (and first chapter of my PhD!)

We show that scale matters when quantifying motile cryptofauna on tropical coral reefs 🦀

Paper in MEPS: www.int-res.com/abstracts/me...
December 5, 2024 at 4:43 PM