Madison Miketa

Starlet is a goodie. I’m also a big fan of India!

The Law That Saved the Whales Is Under Attack Proposed amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act would cut down protections to whales, dolphins, polar bears and other species

Proposed amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act would cut down protections to whales, dolphins, polar bears and other species

Manufacture and use of allogrooming tools by wild killer whales Michael Weiss and colleagues report on wild orcas using kelp as a tool for social grooming.

Killer whales work together to make nifty exfoliating scratchers out of kelp.

This is the first time tool use has been documented for grooming in cetaceans; it's probably also the first time a tool is made that benefits two animals simultaneously.
🧪🐋

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database - Scientific Data Scientific Data - Mapping nonhuman cultures with the Animal Culture Database

Happy to share our new paper introducing the Animal Culture Database in Scientific Data: We’re putting together a resource consolidating primary research on cultural behaviors in wild animal populations and how they’re affected by human activity (1/5) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Humpback whale masked hearing thresholds in noise measured with modified behavioral observation audiometry - Communications Biology Humpback whale masked frequency-dependent hearing measured in environmental noise.

Humpback whale masked frequency-dependent hearing measured in environmental noise reveals their hearing range overlaps with anatomical predictions but extends to higher frequencies, with implications for assessing noise impacts on marine mammals

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

For a Quiet Ocean

Exciting news from #UNOC2025! The High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, led by Panama and Canada with 35 countries joining them, will work towards practical and ambitious solutions to reduce underwater noise and restore a quieter, healthier ocean: foraquietocean.org

New paper in @asab.org !

With both social & diffusion models, we assess the role of social transmission in the acquisition of depredation by social units of killer whales, as well as the extent to which social units engaged in this behaviour once acquired.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Drivers and impacts of global seed disperser decline Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of...

Pollinator decline has captured global attention, but another plant-animal mutualism is quietly unraveling.

Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity article synthesizes global evidence on seed disperser decline and what it means for plant biodiversity, ecosystem recovery, and climate adaptation. 🧵

Ocean noise contributors in southern resident killer whale habitat The contributions of different marine sectors to underwater noise pollution within endangered Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) habitat were inves…

New paper on the contributions of different marine sectors to underwater noise pollution within endangered Southern Resident killer whale habitat, highlighting potential impacts of vessel activity on acoustic habitat quality #SRKW
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1925

New theme issue in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B @royalsocietypublishing.org:

Animal culture: conservation in a changing world

Edited by @pbrakes.bsky.social, @lucymaplin.bsky.social, @emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten and @ellengarland.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Scientists' Letter in Opposition to Rescinding the Regulatory Definition of “Harm” in Endangered Species Act Regulations May 19, 2025 Submitted via: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 Public Comments Processing Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W 5275 Leesbu...

Scientists-- Please sign onto this open letter from scientists in defense of habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act. The comment period for the proposed regulation intended to diminish habitat protections closes on May 19. Any scientist is welcome to sign on. Thanks for sharing.

Animal culture recognized as key factor in new conservation strategies Exeter scientists are among those who have discovered many animals learn and pass on behaviors through social learning or culture, which could have important implications for conservation.

phys.org/news/2025-05...
Unravelling some of the complexity of animal cultures & conservation with @lucymaplin.bsky.social,
@emma-carroll.bsky.social, Alison L Greggor, Andrew Whiten, @ellengarland.bsky.social & contributors to our theme issue
doi.org/10.1098/rstb... @royalsocietypublishing.org

Network indicators of cultural resilience to anthropogenic removals in animal societies | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Social learning, information transmission and culture play vital roles in the lives of social animals, influencing their survival, reproduction and ability to adapt to changing environments. However, the effect of anthropogenic disturbances on these ...

New paper:
Network indicators of cultural resilience to anthropogenic removals in animal societies

comparative analysis with data from @amboselibaboonrp.bsky.social, @sb-dolphins.bsky.social and the Samburu Elephant Project

doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0144

Culture and conservation in baleen whales | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Culture, defined as information or behaviours shared within a population and acquired from conspecifics through social learning, acts as a second inheritance system which has important implications for species' ecology and evolution. Understanding the ...

New paper:
Culture and conservation in baleen whales

@ellengarland.bsky.social, @petercorkeron.bsky.social, Mike Noad, Briana Abrahms, @jennyallen13.bsky.social, @rconstantine.bsky.social, @lrendell.bsky.social, Renata Sousa-Lima, Kate Stafford, @emma-carroll.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

What DEI threatens isn’t merit. It’s monopoly. Political science professor Hakeem Jefferson argues for DEI's importance to de-monopolizing universities.

A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.

I hope you’ll read and share the piece.

stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...

Interesting article in Science today about why we should safeguard animal cultures too

doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Beyond the Numbers: The Hidden Fragility of Animal Societies Wolves, Grizzlies, and Black Bears still roam our landscapes, yet beneath the surface, fractures appear: knowledge slips away, social bonds…

“Predators are not clusters of interchangeable items that can be reduced, increased, or reshuffled at will. They constitute complex societies composed of individuals who cooperate, transmit knowledge, & learn behaviours from one another that enable them to adapt to ongoing environmental pressures.”

"Feminism in the Wild": Cleaning Up Studies of Animal Behavior A new book explains how biases from sexism, homophobia, racism, and much more have tainted the science of animal behavior and how we can free ourselves from this narrow status quo.

"We will come to a greater, stronger understanding of animal behavior once we stop expecting—or demanding!—animals to behave according to our preconceived human notions."

@ambikamath.bsky.social & Melina Packer answered questions about "Feminism in the Wild" for Psychology Today:

A new and exciting @nature.com Communications study reveals baleen whales operate the planet's largest nutrient transport system, moving tons of nitrogen and carbon from polar feeding grounds to tropical breeding areas. Great job @jjkiszka.bsky.social and coauthors ✨

Africa’s elephants have been in dramatic decline for 50 years. What can be done to save them – new study Maintaining current elephant numbers, let alone reversing declines, requires new thinking and conservation innovation.

Africa’s elephants have been in dramatic decline for 50 years. What can be done to save them – new study

I am excited to announce that @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social and I are co-editing a special collection in the journal Animal Cognition on "Cognition in the Wild". Submissions are due by June 15. We are excited to see the amazing work you have been doing! link.springer.com/collections/...

Science at Risk: Protect NOAA Scientists & experts: Add your name to this open letter calling on Congress and the Trump administration to ensure that NOAA and its sub-agencies remain fully funded and staffed, and that the independ...

Sign-on to this open letter from @ucsusa.bsky.social “calling on Congress and the Trump administration to ensure that NOAA and its sub-agencies remain fully funded and staffed, and that the independent, trusted science the agency produces is protected.”

Humans activities are already threatening these whales and they need increased protections.

Threats include:
🐋 Vessel strikes
🐋 Chronically elevated noise levels
🐋 Pollution (e.g., Deepwater Horizon oil spill)
🐋 Entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris
🐋 Climate change

BOEM has rescinded the ‘Expanded Rice’s Whale Protection Efforts’ under the Secretary of the Interior’s Order ‘Unleashing American Energy.’ Rice’s whales are Critically Endangered with ~50 animals left (as of 2017/8 data). NMFS estimates that < 1 whale every 10 years may be removed to remain viable.

Join us! Science Homecoming helps scientists reconnect with communities by writing about the importance of science funding in their hometown newspapers. We’ve mapped every small newspaper in the U.S. and provide resources to get you started. Help science get back home 🧪🔬🧬 🏠

sciencehomecoming.com

Constitutional issue impedes elimination of Wyoming’s protected wildlife list A bill to authorize game wardens to deal with sometimes-pesky otters turned, for a moment, into an effort to altogether eliminate Wyoming’s 72-year-old “protected” wildlife list.

👀

Today we've announced 43 new Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) spotlighting whale, manatee & other marine mammal habitats needing protection in NW Atlantic & Caribbean. See our news story here: www.marinemammalhabitat.org/news/
See the IMMA e-Atlas: www.marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas/

I am a climate scientist and this is correct ⬇️

Two weeks ago I said "hey we should use this crazy new map projection" and today there is python code! Showing here global vessel presence density (from AIS) using the spilhaus projection in a single view where you can see the whole ocean.

Federal protection for monarch butterflies could help or harm this iconic species, depending on how it’s carried out Will protecting monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act improve their chance of surviving? Not necessarily, 2 entomologists caution.

Federal protection for monarch butterflies could help or harm this iconic species, depending on how it’s carried out