Data, the word, is plural. Everyday English slips into treating the word as a singular, data is, but data are. Understanding the biodiversity of the ocean requires data that are very very plural, the effort of thousands of scientists observing thousands of species. OBIS-SEAMAP plays an important role in centralizing the data we have for… Read More
The Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke University and the University of Exeter, UK are undertaking a collaborative project to support the process of defining marine turtle high use areas, including ways to handle the data that can contribute to answering this question. This pilot effort will focus on loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Northwest… Read More
Globally, seafood consumption is at an all-time high, but consumers are often given little information about the origins of the food on their plate. Due the systematic lack of transparency within the seafood industry, seafood companies rarely disclose what or where they are fishing and consumers might not be eating the seafood they purchased. The… Read More
Sticky fish in a changing climate Not all fish are the same, especially in their responses to climate change. By: Sarah Roberts A lot of us these days try to make sustainable choices about the fish on our plates. From tracking apps like FishWatch, to asking waiters where the fish came from (remember those? Waiters? Restaurants?),… Read More
The Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL) at Duke University seeks a Postdoctoral Associate or Research Scientist for immediate hire to model spatiotemporal distributions of marine species, particularly marine mammals. We are seeking a highly motivated individual who is interested in modeling marine species distributions for immediate use in U.S. management actions. This is a two-year… Read More
This study was co-authored by Brian Wong, a MGEL Research Associate alum The authors of this study have revealed the largest known case of illegal fishing by a single fleet. Over 900 Chinese vessels were caught operating illegally in North Korean waters, and over 200,000 tons of fish were caught in illegal actions. A Global… Read More
This summer the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab is lucky enough to have three bright interns to help conduct research on the high seas! Brandon Gertz, Claire Mullaney, and Lisa Snodgrass are all rising second year Coastal Environmental Management (CEM) graduate students at Duke University focusing on emerging and pressing challenges that affect our ocean. This… Read More
This year MiCO was recognized for their efforts to bridge the gap between science and policy. The Innovation Award recognizes the individual or group that has introduced innovative technologies and practices that help aid ocean conservation. Now in its fifth year, hosted by BOAT International and held in partnership with Blue Marine Foundation (one of the… Read More
By Elisabetta Menini, PhD Student in Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. The world has been talking about deep seabed mining since the 1970’s when the process to establish the United Nation Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) began. Currently, it is one of the strongest international legislative… Read More
By: Brian Wong Global Fishing Watch (GFW) uses cutting-edge technology to visualize, track and share data about global fishing activity in near real-time and for free. Their primary dataset comes from data about a vessel’s identity, type, location, speed, direction and more that is broadcast using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and collected via satellites… Read More
by Guillermo Ortuño Crespo and Gabrielle Carmine We are in the midst of two global crises on climate and biodiversity. Fewer places represent the seriousness of these challenges better than the global ocean. The global ocean has absorbed much of the excess carbon dioxide and heat that humans have generated, while experiencing a ruthless loss… Read More
Innovations in animal tracking technology are changing the way we think about how the world’s oceans are connected, providing knowledge on the migratory connectivity of populations and species to inform worldwide conservation and sustainable use. An new study is available in Proceedings B on “The importance of migratory connectivity to global ocean policy,” co-led by… Read More
The Duke University Marine Lab hosted a Girls Exploring Science & Technology (GEST) event on April 13th, 2019, where over 200 middle school girls from local, neighboring, and distant counties (even as far as Virginia!) came to learn and have fun with a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities. … Read More
by Sarah Poulin From February 2-9, 2019 the MiCO sea turtle team migrated down the coast to Charleston, South Carolina for the 39th International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS) Symposium. The symposium convenes each year to help bring together the community of sea turtle biologists, conservationists, educators, and advocates to promote the sharing of knowledge and… Read More