Matt Larsen
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mattylarsen30.bsky.social
Matt Larsen
@mattylarsen30.bsky.social
450 followers 1.7K following 1 posts
Sharks, Rays, and Sea Turtles are kind of my thing. UCF MTRG Ph.D. Candidate. East Coast Biologists Scientist. He/Him/His All views are my own. 🦈🐡🐠🐢
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Matt Larsen
aoc.bsky.social
I will be damned if I allow a bunch of Confederate-waving January 6th apologists give the American people a lecture on flag waving.

There is ZERO reason to enter an argument about patriotism with people who still worship traitors to America 150+ years later.

They. Are. Breaking. The. Law.
June 11, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
charlie-huveneers.bsky.social
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
June 9, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
iucnshark.bsky.social
Happy International Day for Biological Diversity from the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group! This year's theme is "Harmony with nature and sustainable development".

#BiodiversityDay #GlobalGoals #KMGBF #shark #ray #chimaera
May 21, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
drsl.bsky.social
The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.

www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program
In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...
www.spencer.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Under Trump, US retreats from global fisheries and oceans leadership news.mongabay.com/2025/04/unde...
Under Trump, US retreats from global fisheries and oceans leadership
This is Part 2 of a two-part series on fisheries management and oceans governance under the second Trump administration, which took office Jan. 20. Part 1 looks at the potential impacts that cuts and…
news.mongabay.com
May 1, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Why Scientific Collaboration Matters Now More Than Ever • The Revelator
Why Scientific Collaboration Matters Now More Than Ever • The Revelator
As the Trump administration strips away environmental protections, collaboration is more than just a tool — it’s a form of resistance.
therevelator.org
April 29, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Here's part two of my series with @brettfavaro.bsky.social on tips for speaking to journalists as a scientist, this week focusing on things every scientist should know about how interviews work (and do not work). Please read and share!

www.southernfriedscience.com/advice-for-t... 🧪#SciComm
Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 2, mechanics of the interview
By  David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness o…
www.southernfriedscience.com
March 19, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
DESANTIS AXES MARINE SANCTUARY RESTORATION PLAN IN STATE WATERS
DESANTIS AXES MARINE SANCTUARY RESTORATION PLAN IN STATE WATERS
In a move striking a critical blow to the Florida Keys’ marine ecosystem, Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed all components of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s (FKNMS’) newly-finalized…
buff.ly
March 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
esqueer.net
People with doctorates are the most liberal and progressive. The entire mission of destroying academia is to eliminate entire voting demographics. They explicitly spell this out.

Shutting down PhD programs isn't an accident, it's the goal.
"A line graph from Pew Research Center compares the political affiliations of registered voters based on their education level from 2019 to 2023. The four categories shown are: High school or less, Some college, College degree, and Postgraduate degree. Each graph displays the percentage of voters who identify as Republican/Lean Republican (red line) and Democratic/Lean Democratic (blue line). High school or less: The Republican-leaning group starts at 51% in 2019 and ends at 52% in 2023, while the Democratic-leaning group starts at 45% and ends at 44%. Some college: The Republican-leaning group starts at 49% in 2019 and ends at 50% in 2023, while the Democratic-leaning group starts at 49% and ends at 45%. College degree: The Democratic-leaning group is consistently higher, starting at 56% in 2019 and ending at 55% in 2023, while the Republican-leaning group starts at 42% and ends at 42%. Postgraduate degree: The Democratic-leaning group is significantly higher, starting at 64% in 2019 and ending at 61% in 2023, while the Republican-leaning group starts at 35% and ends at 37%. The note states that the data is based on registered voters, with no answer responses not shown. The source is the American Trends Panel surveys of U.S. adults conducted between 2019 and 2023."
February 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM
mattylarsen30.bsky.social
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-doge-b...

“Rather, it will be felt over the span of decades and defined in metrics like intellectual talent lost.”
The DOGE Brain Drain Has Begun
It’s not just jobs cut and agencies gutted. It’s the talent that will be lost for generations to come.
www.thebulwark.com
February 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
climateadam.bsky.social
How is climate research impacting the mental health of researchers?

I spoke with two researchers on this topic that's incredibly close to my heart.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

(search "Working Scientist" wherever you get podcasts 🎵🧪)
‘Researching climate change feels like standing in the path of an approaching train’
Studying the impacts of extreme weather events can exact a heavy mental toll. Finding your ‘happy place’ is an important coping strategy.
www.nature.com
February 17, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
joeymaier.bsky.social
🦑 #Marineresearch

"They found that cod from the 10th to 12th centuries were, on average, 25% larger and up to three times older than the cod we see and eat today."

phys.org/news/2025-02...
Research finds we're eating younger, smaller cod—and that matters
That bag of cod filets you pick up at the grocer comes from fish much likely much smaller and younger than its ancestors that were eaten by people in the distant past, according to a new study that in...
phys.org
February 17, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
jael.bsky.social
The Trump admin has sent NOAA officials a broad set of keywords to search grants that would cover most climate change-related projects

Reports @afreedma.bsky.social @axios.com

www.axios.com/2025/02/09/n...
NOAA told to search its grants for climate change terms
The search would provide a list of NOAA's climate change-related grants.
www.axios.com
February 9, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
mcuban.bsky.social
This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen.

Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !”

globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca
In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.
globalnews.ca
February 9, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
🚨Academic scientist friends who are members-ideally leaders- of scientific professional societies, I need your help. 🚨

There is a sign-letter being prepared that will speak out against recent politicization of scientific funding and demonization of scientific researchers.

🧪🌎🦑
February 6, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
The response to this has been overwhelming- thanks! But there’s still time to get *your* professional society involved.
whysharksmatter.bsky.social David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Feb 6
🚨Academic scientist friends who are members-ideally leaders- of scientific professional societies, I need your help. 🚨

There is a sign-letter being prepared that will speak out against recent politicization of scientific funding and demonization of scientific researchers.

🧪🌎🦑
February 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
ayanaeliza.bsky.social
As expected, the Trump team is already deleting climate info from government websites. In anticipation, our team at Urban Ocean Lab created a permanent archive of 100+ key resources and published a permanent archive: www.urbanoceanlab.org/resource-hub 👩🏽‍💻
January 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
We’re getting lots of new Bluesky friends!

Please share your favorite science and conservation starter packs as a reply here and I’ll share them. Let’s get our science and conservation friends lots of followers! 🧪🌎🦑
January 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
hannahrudd.bsky.social
"Establishing a new North Pole marine reserve where industrial activities such as shipping, oil and gas exploration and fishing are banned could provide an ocean sanctuary for wildlife."

theconversation.com/why-we-need-...
Why we need to transform the Arctic Ocean into a North Pole marine reserve
Explorer Pen Hadow is campaigning for a North Pole marine reserve to protect the Arctic’s peoples, its species and its natural landscape.
theconversation.com
January 2, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Nine books to help shape your science career in 2025 https://buff.ly/4g1fiPO 🧪
Nine books to help shape your science career in 2025
Researchers seeking to banish workaholic behaviours, boost their pay, have more influence at work or quit academia will find plenty of advice in these books, all published this year.
buff.ly
December 9, 2024 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
nickdulvy.bsky.social
New #GlobalSharkTrends study published in @science.org reveals #overfishing has more than halved shark & ray populations over the past 50-years causing widespread erosion of ecological function and exceptionally high extinction risk
👉Full article bit.ly/GlobalSharkTrends
🧵1/20
Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) IUCN Critically Endangered © Masayuki Agawa_Ocean Image Bank
December 5, 2024 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
frodsan.bsky.social
1/ Important read for anyone using, contributing, or building large databases by aggregating data sources. Discusses issues with data quality, duplication, credit attribution, etc, and includes recommendations for improvement

doi.org/10.1111/gcb.... #ecopubs
Improper data practices erode the quality of global ecological databases and impede the progress of ecological research The scientific community has entered an era of big data. However, with big data comes big responsibilities, and best practices for how data are contributed to databases have not kept pace with the collection, aggregation, and analysis of big data. Here, we rigorously assess the quantity of data for specific leaf area (SLA) available within the largest and most frequently used global plant trait database, the TRY Plant Trait Database, exploring how much of the data were applicable (i.e., original, representative, logical, and comparable) and traceable (i.e., published, cited, and consistent). Over three-quarters of the SLA data in TRY either lacked applicability or traceability, leaving only 22.9% of the original data usable compared with the 64.9% typically deemed usable by standard data cleaning protocols. The remaining usable data differed markedly from the original for many species, which led to altered interpretation of ecological analyses. Though the data we consider here make up only 4.5% of SLA data within TRY, similar issues of applicability and traceability likely apply to SLA data for other species as well as other commonly measured, uploaded, and downloaded plant traits. We end with suggested steps forward for global ecological databases, including suggestions for both uploaders to and curators of databases with the hope that, through addressing the issues raised here, we can increase data quality and integrity within the ecological community.
November 29, 2024 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
biminisharkgirl.bsky.social
Small Business Saturday!

Grab a JAWsome shark shirt and support @sharks4kids.bsky.social education and outreach programs. Multiple colors and sizes. $25 includes shipping in the continental US.
****Message us for multi-shirt orders or international****
www.sharks4kids.com/sharkshop
November 30, 2024 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Matt Larsen
brendangodley.bsky.social
Hi All
We started a starter pack for those interesed in sea turtle ecology and conservation. Add a comment if you would like to be added. 🐢🌍🧪🦑 #seaturtles #marineturtles
go.bsky.app/LkUCfem
November 22, 2024 at 11:29 AM