White sharks vs. killer whales: white sharks not always fearful of kil White sharks vs. killer whales: white sharks not always fearful of killer whales While killer whales (Orcinus orca) can trigger immediate departure of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

Are white sharks really fleeing every time killer whales show up? 🦈

New research from @flindersuniversity.bsky.social, published in @wildliferesearchj.bsky.social suggests the story isn’t so simple.

www.scimex.org/newsfeed/whi...

#WildlifeResearch @bellareeves.bsky.social

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Glad this has seen the light of day- thanks to my wonderful coauthors, @meyer-sci.bsky.social, and @charlie-huveneers.bsky.social, Adam Barnett and David Donnelly.

Great infographic by the talented @emmaluck22.bsky.social

At the Neptune Islands, 12 years of observational + acoustic data show white sharks respond to killer whale presence with short-term avoidance, not long-term disappearance.

Context matters. Killer whales aren’t always a driver of shark absence.

🔗 connectsci.au/wr/article/5...

Special Issue: CONSERVATION GENOMICS ‐ MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Molecular Ecology: Vol 34, No 23 Molecular Ecology is an international journal for research using molecular genetic techniques to address questions in ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation.

New special issue in Molecular Ecology on Conservation Genomics #popGen #evolution 🧪🧬🖥️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1365294x...

🌊 🐟🦭🐋🐧 I have a PhD position available (4 years, start Mid-2026) at NRM Stockholm to work on the macrogenomics of sea warming.

Apply here:

recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...

#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics

Wonder about shark-bite mitigation? Check out our new paper reviewing all previous scientific studies assessing the efficacy of mitigation measures doi.org/10.1016/j.ma... @conservbytes.bsky.social @flindersuniversity.bsky.social

New paper out in Heredity: 'Evidence of long-term purging of mutation burden in killer whale genomes'. Time calibration of purging was through inclusion of an ancient (7.5Kyr) genome which was close to directly ancestral to the present-day population with signature of purging.
rdcu.be/eM25j

Postdoc position in eDNA/eRNA based in beautiful Faroe Islands, with some time in Greenland for fieldwork and research visit. “Tracking spatial and temporal distribution of marine mammals in the Atlantic Arctic with environmental DNA”
setur.totalview.cloud/recruitment/...
🐋🐬🧬🧪🛥️

Climate variations and a local PCB hotspot have altered metabolomic profiles in ringed seals Environmental contaminants and climate change pose ongoing threats to Arctic marine mammals, yet their combined physiological impacts remain poorly un…

🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨 We show that during warm, low-ice years in the Canadian Arctic, ringed seals exhibit thinner blubber, depleted fatty acids, and elevated metabolic stress. We also show that high PCB and mercury levels contribute to oxidative damage in the liver.

I am pleased to share our new review paper detailing killer whale interactions with commercial fisheries in Frontiers in Marine Science!

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

Woohooo ✨

'Ancient stickleback genomes reveal the early stages of parallel adaptation' - now published online in Evolution @journal-evo.bsky.social‬

My first-first author paper is out! We found that overall healing in sharks was comparable between sutured and non-sutured incisions. But sutured incisions had significantly more bacteria present. www.publish.csiro.au/wr/pdf/WR25009 Forever thankful to Jordan Matley & @charlie-huveneers.bsky.social

New lab preprint led by Jana Nickel (not on BS): doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Investigating hitchhiking mutation load in threespine sticklebacks. I'll be presenting this work in a few hours at #Stickleback2025 here in beautiful Bamfield

New paper out! We found that a climate change-driven warming off Sydney has increased the amount of time bull sharks spend around Australia's biggest city. #sharks #climatechange #sydney #bullsharks
@jcuofficial.bsky.social @drrossdwyer.bsky.social @imos-aus.bsky.social @saveourseas.bsky.social

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.

New orca tool use alert!!

@drwhale.bsky.social and colleagues introduce ‘allokelping’. Pairs of killer whales collect kelp strands and then together roll them along their bodies, keeping the kelp between them. The longest bout lasted over 12 minutes. It’s not play, and may be linked to molting 🧪🛠️🌊

The most commonly sighted shark species in Norfolk Marine Park use the region in different ways: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

New study led by Jordan Matley

@parksaustralia.bsky.social @imos-aus.bsky.social

‼️ Dear MARMAM community,
We, at the DEI Committee of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, are beginning the process of establishing an Indigenous Representation Subcommittee, the idea of which came out of an ad hoc meeting held at the SMM conference in Boorloo (Perth) in the Whajuk region of WA (1/n)

New Science paper: 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species to identify spatial conservation targets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social

Cell Press: STAR Protocols STAR Protocols is an open access, peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press. We offer structured, transparent, accessible, and repeatable step-by-step experimental and computational protocols from all are...

Interested in measuring genetic load? We have a new paper out providing a modified version of GERP which is more user friendly in wildlife species and with scripts to automate making input files and pulling out derived alleles in your species #consgen #popgen star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4202

@emmaluck22.bsky.social

@meyer-sci.bsky.social @urbanedgesharks.bsky.social

Last call ⏳🚨

If you have any elasmobranch and killer whale interaction records we want to hear about it!

Please reach our team with the email below, would love to include them in our global review!

Interactions Between Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Neonate Long‐Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) off South Iceland This study documents two encounters off south Iceland where neonate pilot whales were observed in the company of killer whale groups, with no other pilot whales in the vicinity. The interactions invo...

New paper about unusual encounters in Icelandic waters…

In June 2022 and 2023, neonate pilot whales were observed swimming alone among groups of killer whales off south Iceland - with no other pilot whales in sight.
🧶⬇️

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Leveraging Synteny to Generate Reference Genomes for Conservation: Assembling the Genomes of Hector's and Māui Dolphins Escalating concern regarding the impacts of reduced genetic diversity on the conservation of endangered species has spurred efforts to obtain chromosome-level genomes through consortia such as the Ve...

The first paper from my PhD is out 🧬🐬

Thanks to all the co-authors of this project and my amazing supervisor @laninsky.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The cover of the Special Issue: Experimental approaches in conservation translocations. Photo shows an aquatic warbler with leg bands held in hand.

Out now in Animal Conservation: our Special Issue on #conservation #translocations, following #ICTC2023, showcasing 12 awesome studies on the complexities of translocations. Feat. #birds, #marsupials, #lizards and #genetics, check it out here: zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1469...

Ever thought about using shark jaws for stable isotopes from teeth? This is a must read: doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...

#StableIsotopes @meyer-sci.bsky.social @sawsharkman.bsky.social

The Evolution of Cetacean Societies

Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social and.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself

Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Will share more details closer to release date

#whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour

🧬🌊 Hola! I'm Sebastian Alvarez-Costes, a Mexican PhD Candidate in Aotearoa, New Zealand. My research focuses on the evolutionary genomics of Hector's and Māui dolphins 🐬. Always happy to connect with fellow researchers in evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, and conservation genomics!