Michael Bear's Blog (15)

I am pleased to announce that we have set up an ocean nonprofit group focused on shark related citizen science projects called Ocean Sanctuaries.org.



The first project, uses a pattern recognition algorithm to identify Sevengill sharks, called 'Wildbook' which as been used successfully to identify whale sharks.



The second, and most recent project, is one in which we have been selected by National Geographic to test their newest citizen science tool, called Fieldscope, which… Continue

By Michael Bear

Enter the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where citizen scientists from all over the world (without Ph.Ds or white lab coats) can enter data about their bird sightings and even discover new species.

“Collecting the observations of everyday birders for scientific use is a hallmark of the Lab. Bird watchers of all ages and skill levels help gather the data needed to capture the big picture about the distribution and abundance of birds.…

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This is from a recent blog post by Sheldon Wilde Greaves, Founder of Citizen Science League: 

"Thousands worldwide participate in citizen science projects, from counting backyard birds to searching for extraterrestrial communication. In-person and online, this popular pastime is evolving from hobby to serious science.

Uncertain future grant funding, the growing…

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Photo Credit: Marty Snyderman

Marty Snyderman is the Marine Life Editor and a long time monthly columnist for Dive Training magazine and the Senior Editor of California Diving News. He has been involved in underwater…

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Emily Tripp is publisher, editor and owner ofMarine Science Today, an online publication devoted to providing quality scientific information on marine biology and the oceans for the general public.…

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SciStarter.com is a website devoted to tracking citizen science projects involving everything from bees to sharks to the Mars landing, or as their website says:

SciStarter will bring together the millions of citizen scientists in the world; the thousands of potential projects offered by researchers, organizations, and companies; and the…

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This should really NOT be happening..........

PADI DIVE CENTER in Larnaca, Cyprus, killing Sharks by offering Shark-Fishing Tour....

No question to boycott such facility, but even more – share this wherever you can and make it public

Nireas Marine Research from Cyprus has already started a petition against it:…

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Photo by Howard Ehrenberg

John Chatterton’s name first came into the public consciousness as one of the main subjects of Robert Kurson’s bestselling book…

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In October of 2009, I began hearing reports of encounters between local San Diego divers and Sevengill sharks [Notorynchus cepedianus]. Having been diving locally since 2000, I thought this unusual, since this was the first I had heard of these encounters in nearly a decade. Between 2000 and 2006, almost no reports were…

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San Diego diver John Huber was able to video both a Sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) and a Tope or Soupfin  Shark (Galeorhinus galeus) the other day at La Jolla Cove.

The Sevengill shark is seen almost…

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Rebecca Ziegler, a Volunteer Diver at California Science Center who is studying Marine Science at University of Hawaii at Hilo, took this remarkable video of a Grey Whale they encountered while diving off Laguna Beach, shortly before Christmas, 2011.

--Used with Permission

My interview with John Chatterton will appear in the Jan/Feb. 2012 issue of California Diver Magazine:

"Our January/February 2012 issue was printed yesterday (Dec. 23) and will be mailing to our…

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