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Dr. Catherine Macdonald

@drcatmac.bsky.social
10K followers 632 following 535 posts

Marine scientist and teacher Field School & University of Miami. Director of sharktagging. NatGeo Explorer. Shark & ray ecology, biology, conservation. She/her.

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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 2h
You are incredible, it was not a chance, and I am so proud. Looking forward to many years of chasing crazy ideas together.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
That’s what I get for not getting part the headline, but also very much checks out that being monstrous isn’t good for people’s mental well-being.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yeah, no shit that relentless public abuse of a small group that experiences extensive and growing discrimination isn’t good for their mental well-being. Take action now to make life safer, easier, and more welcoming for trans people.
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
78% of surveyed professional women in marine science experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, in case anyone still wrongly believes this is a matter of just partying too much in college. www.womeninoceanscience.com/sexual-haras...
womeninoceanscience.com
Sexual Harassment in Marine Science — WOMEN IN OCEAN SCIENCE
\u2026and we\u2019re open! Shop now \u2192
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Congratulations—that’s a huge accomplishment!
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🤔
The America.gov search again correctly describing that the Trump administration is breaking the law.
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SICB journals @sicbjournals.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
IOB "Cephalofoil curvature and sexual #dimorphism In both locations, males had more pointed cephalofoils than females, as exemplified in Fig. 5. from Liu et al A Head of the Curve: Bonnethead #Shark (Sphyrna tiburo) Cephalofoil #Morphology and Trophic #Ecology doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
Differences in cephalofoil shape between females and males were not always visually distinct but a Tukey post-hoc test revealed significant differences between sexes (Fig. 6). Female cephalofoils were pointier in immature individuals and became significantly rounder with maturity in both Biscayne Bay and Tampa Bay. Mature Tampa Bay females had the roundest cephalofoils. Male cephalofoils also trended towards the cephalofoil becoming rounder with maturity (clasper calcification)."
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Craig Pittman @craigtimes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New study finds #Florida waterway, Biscayne Bay, provides critically important refuge for sharks & rays. www.wlrn.org/environment/... via @jenstaletovich.bsky.social
wlrn.org
Biscayne Bay provides a critical refuge for sharks and rays, new global study finds
A first-of-its-kind shark and ray mapping effort found the bay, along with waters off the southern Everglades and a tiny South Florida key, plays an essential part in their survival. “Biscayne Bay is ...
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Literally every time one does something strange for the rest of my career it’s going to be “Emily, come get your boy”
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Jenny Staletovich @jenstaletovich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Biscayne Bay provides a critical refuge for sharks and rays, new global study finds www.wlrn.org/environment/...
wlrn.org
Biscayne Bay provides a critical refuge for sharks and rays, new global study finds
A first of its kind shark and ray mapping effort found the bay, along with waters off the southern Everglades and a tiny South Florida key play an essential part in their survival. “Biscayne Bay is Mi...
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
@emilyyeager9.bsky.social they’re at it again
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IUCN SSC Marine Conservation Committee (MCC) @sscmarine.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
NEW PUBLICATION ALERT Read the latest publication released by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group with an update on the Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) project: North American and Caribbean Atlantic: A regional compendium of Important Shark and Ray Areas Read here: doi.org/10.59216/ssg...
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
No fear! The Rainbows follow Scarface through Coral City ✌️🌈🦜🐟🍋🦈 #lemonshark #sharksofcoralcity #scarface #nofear #coralcitycamera
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Concern that executive action on recreational fishing and shark fishing may threaten the status of US fisheries as being well-managed, sustainable and science-based www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump’s executive order on recreational fishing is a ‘giveaway of fish and ocean ecosystem’, advocates warn
Federal agencies told to prioritize recreational fishing and to reconsider scientific standards as well as regulations
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Dean Napolitano @dinonapolitano.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“Thousands of the salmon were recorded passing a former dam site in 2024 and 2025, researchers say, and have reoccupied nearly the full extent of their known historical range.” By Rebecca Dzombak
nytimes.com
Salmon Are Thriving After Klamath Dam Removals, Study Finds (Gift Article)
The first fall runs of chinook salmon since the project in California and Oregon was completed have surpassed researchers’ expectations.
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IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group @iucnshark.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
NEW PUBLICATION ALERT | 259 important shark, ray, and chimaera habitats mapped across North America and the Caribbean New additions to the global ISRA eAtlas reveal major migration corridors, nursery grounds, and aggregation sites across Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific waters.
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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026
We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/
a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My latest for @therevelator.org is all about the important shark and ray areas project, a global-scale collaboration that has identified over 1,000 places significant for migration, reproduction, and more. 🧪🌎🦑🦈 To Save Sharks and Rays, Protect These Places therevelator.org/save-sharks-...
therevelator.org
To Save Sharks and Rays, Protect These Places • The Revelator
The Important Shark and Ray Areas project has identified thousands of critical habitats for some of the world’s most threatened fishes. Now saving these sites is up to us.
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Gettin' Fishy With It Podcast @gettinfishypod.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today is #worldmantaday and we are throwing back to our episode all about cloacal diving! Guest @emilyyeager9.bsky.social spoke to us about these amazing animals and how symbiosis may be a bit more complicated than you think! Did you know that manta are basically mobile ecosystems? Check out our ep!
Episode 78 of the Gettin' Fishy With It Podcast, entitled "Cloacal Diving and the Symbiosis continuum" with guest Emily Yeager. Released originally on May 29th 2026. Inset photos include guest Emily Yeager and a photo of a remora tail sticking out of the cloaca of a manta.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is a legally and morally indefensible argument with horrifying potential repercussions for threatened species and habitats.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I think so—it’s a behavior that might be seen by cleaner organisms “cheating” at cleaning stations by snatching a chunk of host during times of low parasite abundance, for instance. The organisms they clean definitely aren’t normal prey for them, and the relationship is typically mutualistic.
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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.” The @USFWS's new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, as revealed by Nesvik's memo, is the perfect blend of evil and stupidity. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Moves to Gut a Core Endangered Species Protection
An internal memo reinterprets the law so that only the intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm, is illegal.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Throwback this #WorldMantaDay to our paper on the little (and sometimes not so little) personal-space-violating fish mantas would probably like to forget.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I know there are many things to be righteously, importantly angry about, and many of them are more important than this decision (!) …and yet, I hope you all will still find it in yourselves to save just a little anger to deploy on behalf of science and scientists, too.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Chinook salmon have recolonised 88% of their historic range on the Klamath River, with more than 13,000 fish passing the old Iron Gate Dam site in 2025, up from 7,700 the year before. Two years after the dams’ removal, it’s going better than anyone predicted. buff.ly/pToC9gB #ShareGoodNewsToo
nature.com
Rewilding the upper Klamath River Basin: rapid recolonization of Chinook salmon following the world’s largest dam removal - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Rewilding the upper Klamath River Basin: rapid recolonization of Chinook salmon following the world’s largest dam removal
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is seismic news for fisheries scientists. Northern cod is *the* iconic symbol of total fisheries collapse due to overfishing (and other factors) *and* the iconic symbol of a complete failure to recover for decades afterwards. This is like announcing the complete recovery of bison on land.
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Save Our Seas Foundation @saveourseas.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
One young researcher discusses the project that offered the first valuable insight into marine science, from fieldwork to publication, reflecting on the fieldwork, mentorship and practical experience that shaped his path into marine science. More below in Ryan McMullen’s blog.
saveourseas.com
Starting ‘em young: rethinking how we mentor undergraduate student researchers to succeed in today’s ever-changing science landscape
For many marine scientists, their undergraduate years are a time of unparalleled independence, growth, and self-discovery.   During no other period of one’s life is there such freedom to pursue one’s ...
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Lantern sharks are bioluminescent (produce light via chemical reactions and photophores) so they can produce light patterns, and don’t glow all over. Much better for stealth. In some cases they can use distributed light to pass for a school of much smaller bioluminescent fish in the dark!
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Science Magazine @science.org · 04/09/2026
Butterfly populations across the U.S. are in alarming decline, a 2025 Science study found. ⁠ The authors note that butterflies have the potential for rapid recovery under favorable conditions, showing the importance of proactive conservation strategies.⁠ scim.ag/46vegsb #NationalWildlifeDay
Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The US House passed the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act (H.R. 9436) by a vote of 219-196, which stops NOAA from protecting endangered right whales through to 2035 by requiring more expensive ropeless lobster pots. 1/n defenders.org/newsroom/hou...
defenders.org
House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections
The House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, a bill that will delay conservation protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence. Wendell Berry, What Are People For?
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Tom Near @tjnear.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
1/11 🐟 2nd new preprint today from @chasedbrownstein.bsky.social We investigated how losing the swim bladder, the organ that most fishes use to control their buoyancy, has shaped the diversity of ray-finned fishes over 90 million years of Earth history. The results surprised us. 🧵
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Today day was sharky, very very sharky! Three species, nurse, lemon, and bull; more than fifty passes!! 🩺🦈🍋🦈🐂🦈 #nurseshark #lemonshark #bullshark #sharksofcoralcity #coralcitycamera
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
NSF just announced its GRFP solicitation due in October - deadline varies by field: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... Now for the bad news... * NSF estimates they will issue 1,500 awards, down from 2,500+ last year. * NSF removed STEM Education and Learning Research as a Major Field.
nsf.gov
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
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Fredrik Jutfelt 🐠 @jutfelt.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Come join us, PhD and postdoc positions! Please spread! Supervisor @patricepottier.bsky.social (patricepottierlab.com), me as co-supervisor. Impacts of climate change on different life-stages in fish.🐟🧪 PhD web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103... Postdoc web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I love this one every time I see it!
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Yes hello when your swamp is on fire is that A) bad or B) very bad? Asking for a region.
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Scarface checks in. The injury from a fight with a fisherman continues to heal from last year when the corners of his jaw was completely shredded. Sadly his jaw may never heal. He’s a bit skinnier than we’d like to see but he must be eating well enough to keep on swimming ✅🍋🦈 #coralcitycamera
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I started my Ph.D. program 15 years ago this week. Which means I've now known @drcatmac.bsky.social and @drjuliawester.bsky.social for 15 years! I really hit the lottery with my Ph.D. cohort!
Julia, Catherine and I, along with other friends, at my wedding a few weeks ago.
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Minorities in Shark Sciences @misselasmo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
There are only 5 tickets left! 🎟️ Are you ready to experience sharks beyond what you see on a screen? Join us on September 27 as we head out on a live research vessel to learn about (and tag!) these amazing animals! 🦈 donate.misselasmo.org/event/shark-...
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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Big new @adriftlab.bsky.social paper - we show for the first time that plastics affects seabirds at the POPULATION level. Plastic ingested as a chick reduces recruitment of birds to the breeding population. And the story is pretty grim. 🧵 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Save Our Seas Foundation @saveourseas.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Freckled guitarfish occur in the western Atlantic Ocean, favouring sandy, muddy or weedy shorelines near patch reefs, when not actively hunting. As with all guitarfish, they swim like sharks usually do: through side-to-side sweeps of their tail. 📷: Bryant Turffs | © Marine Megafauna Foundation
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Graysby shows off what nice teeth it has #graysby #grouper #teeth #showoff #coralcitycamera
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Frank Burdon @fburdon.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
What co-benefits do we gain when planting trees along stream margins? We don't fully know. Fully-funded PhD going now — mapping food webs across Mt Taranaki's "ring of restoration" 🌱🐟 Please repost among your networks Email: frank.burdon@waikato.ac.nz
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
We love our eels in Coral City! (That’s a moray!) 🙌🐉 #spottedmoray #moray #eel #thatsamoray #coralcitycamera
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 06/08/2026
In 1963, WHOI biologist Dick Backus set his sights on a question that had puzzled scientists for decades: what caused the daily vertical movement of plankton? The sun or an internal clock? During an eclipse, Backus was able to monitor that the migration was triggered by changing light levels!
Whoi biologist, Dick Backus, is using a machine to see if plankton are migrating with the eclipse. The room is filled with complex equipment and wires, suggesting a scientific or technical environment.
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
ICYMI, the longest-ever post on Southern Fried Science contains answers to 50 (ish) of the most commonly-asked questions about careers in marine biology, answered by me and a panel of experts. Please share! www.southernfriedscience.com/marine-biolo...
southernfriedscience.com
Marine Biology Career Advice
You asked us questions about marine biology careers, and our panel of experts answered them! In April, I solicited your questions about careers in marine biology, and we received nearly 100 questio…
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Chuck “Charles” Bangley, PhD @dogfishwalker.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Dusky sharks have been a prohibited species in US fisheries since 1999. These big adults are a sign that policy is working. A fully grown dusky shark can reach 14 feet in length and stand toe-to-toe with white sharks in the food web.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Not sure if this makes me more or less deserving of sympathy, but tiger sharks have definitely vomited grosser things than that on me.
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Dr. Catherine Macdonald @drcatmac.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
A tiger shark once threw up a partially digested pig’s foot on me. We thought that was pretty weird, but it got weirder when we also found pig DNA in samples of tiger shark poop. Turns out crab fishermen use it as bait (and dump the leftovers when emptying their traps).
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