spencer roberts 🦈
@unpopularscience.bsky.social
marine ecologist 🤿
investigative journalist 🎥
environmental activist 🐠🐟🐡
diver, musician, coder, engineer
words in Science, Wired, The Intercept…
Blue Marble lab at U Miami RSMAES 🌴
linktr.ee/fish_defender ⓥ
investigative journalist 🎥
environmental activist 🐠🐟🐡
diver, musician, coder, engineer
words in Science, Wired, The Intercept…
Blue Marble lab at U Miami RSMAES 🌴
linktr.ee/fish_defender ⓥ
November 23, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Pack hunting is a social behavior that demonstrates cooperation between predators.
Once thought a uniquely mammalian capability, we now acknowledge pack hunting behavior across the animal kingdom, including many fish species. This interspecific jack pack is especially impressive.
#MarineLife
Once thought a uniquely mammalian capability, we now acknowledge pack hunting behavior across the animal kingdom, including many fish species. This interspecific jack pack is especially impressive.
#MarineLife
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Pack hunting is a social behavior that demonstrates cooperation between predators.
Once thought a uniquely mammalian capability, we now acknowledge pack hunting behavior across the animal kingdom, including many fish species. This interspecific jack pack is especially impressive.
#MarineLife
Once thought a uniquely mammalian capability, we now acknowledge pack hunting behavior across the animal kingdom, including many fish species. This interspecific jack pack is especially impressive.
#MarineLife
fish farming industry is really pissed off about this lol
November 7, 2025 at 2:42 PM
fish farming industry is really pissed off about this lol
November 4, 2025 at 10:57 PM
world vegan day
In the past few years, corporations have turned their backs on vegans and, more importantly, animals. They want us to believe one person can’t make a difference.
But that’s why we act collectively. The truth is that our economic choices matter more than ever.
In the past few years, corporations have turned their backs on vegans and, more importantly, animals. They want us to believe one person can’t make a difference.
But that’s why we act collectively. The truth is that our economic choices matter more than ever.
November 2, 2025 at 4:51 AM
world vegan day
In the past few years, corporations have turned their backs on vegans and, more importantly, animals. They want us to believe one person can’t make a difference.
But that’s why we act collectively. The truth is that our economic choices matter more than ever.
In the past few years, corporations have turned their backs on vegans and, more importantly, animals. They want us to believe one person can’t make a difference.
But that’s why we act collectively. The truth is that our economic choices matter more than ever.
90% of marine fishes in the aquarium trade were born free. (Lin et al. 2025) 🧪
This little jewel is the coveted indigo hamlet. You can find them online for $100, but I’ve never seen one in Florida — and I’m not going to tell you where I did.
#MarineLife
This little jewel is the coveted indigo hamlet. You can find them online for $100, but I’ve never seen one in Florida — and I’m not going to tell you where I did.
#MarineLife
October 27, 2025 at 2:16 PM
90% of marine fishes in the aquarium trade were born free. (Lin et al. 2025) 🧪
This little jewel is the coveted indigo hamlet. You can find them online for $100, but I’ve never seen one in Florida — and I’m not going to tell you where I did.
#MarineLife
This little jewel is the coveted indigo hamlet. You can find them online for $100, but I’ve never seen one in Florida — and I’m not going to tell you where I did.
#MarineLife
Babe wake up, new righteous animal retribution headline just dropped.
October 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Babe wake up, new righteous animal retribution headline just dropped.
THE SAND TILEFISH
Tilefish engineer ecosystems by excavating burrows that provide habitat to all sorts of other life. Sadly they remain widely hunted, both recreationally and commercially. The deep-dwelling great golden tilefish is now endangered.
#MarineLife
Tilefish engineer ecosystems by excavating burrows that provide habitat to all sorts of other life. Sadly they remain widely hunted, both recreationally and commercially. The deep-dwelling great golden tilefish is now endangered.
#MarineLife
October 16, 2025 at 1:34 PM
THE SAND TILEFISH
Tilefish engineer ecosystems by excavating burrows that provide habitat to all sorts of other life. Sadly they remain widely hunted, both recreationally and commercially. The deep-dwelling great golden tilefish is now endangered.
#MarineLife
Tilefish engineer ecosystems by excavating burrows that provide habitat to all sorts of other life. Sadly they remain widely hunted, both recreationally and commercially. The deep-dwelling great golden tilefish is now endangered.
#MarineLife
Thanks, but this does not address the core of the argument, which is that sentience has been conflated with consciousness for motivated reasons. Consciousness is ambiguous and sentience is not. It does not deal with subjective experience. It deals with nociception and the broader tactile sense.
October 9, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Thanks, but this does not address the core of the argument, which is that sentience has been conflated with consciousness for motivated reasons. Consciousness is ambiguous and sentience is not. It does not deal with subjective experience. It deals with nociception and the broader tactile sense.
scenes from Neon Reef
Our local movement is fighting to make this soft coral forest off Miami Beach a no-take MPA. There’s only one other on the entire Atlantic coast of FL.
The city has officially passed the funding. Now we fight for recognition from the state.
sorry for the crop
#MarineLife
Our local movement is fighting to make this soft coral forest off Miami Beach a no-take MPA. There’s only one other on the entire Atlantic coast of FL.
The city has officially passed the funding. Now we fight for recognition from the state.
sorry for the crop
#MarineLife
October 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
scenes from Neon Reef
Our local movement is fighting to make this soft coral forest off Miami Beach a no-take MPA. There’s only one other on the entire Atlantic coast of FL.
The city has officially passed the funding. Now we fight for recognition from the state.
sorry for the crop
#MarineLife
Our local movement is fighting to make this soft coral forest off Miami Beach a no-take MPA. There’s only one other on the entire Atlantic coast of FL.
The city has officially passed the funding. Now we fight for recognition from the state.
sorry for the crop
#MarineLife
ABUNDANCE AGENDA
This could be your yard — your patio, even. All you need is a single giant milkweed plant.
Bring back the monarchy!
This could be your yard — your patio, even. All you need is a single giant milkweed plant.
Bring back the monarchy!
October 6, 2025 at 2:13 PM
ABUNDANCE AGENDA
This could be your yard — your patio, even. All you need is a single giant milkweed plant.
Bring back the monarchy!
This could be your yard — your patio, even. All you need is a single giant milkweed plant.
Bring back the monarchy!
a life lived in defiance of patriarchy and human supremacy
There will never be another Jane.
RIP Queen
There will never be another Jane.
RIP Queen
October 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
a life lived in defiance of patriarchy and human supremacy
There will never be another Jane.
RIP Queen
There will never be another Jane.
RIP Queen
There’s a bill in the senate right now designed to revive the US shark longlining industry.
Today we’re launching a campaign to stop it and this film trailer to expose this American shark cull conspiracy.
Details and action items below:
🦈🧵
Today we’re launching a campaign to stop it and this film trailer to expose this American shark cull conspiracy.
Details and action items below:
🦈🧵
September 26, 2025 at 10:50 PM
There’s a bill in the senate right now designed to revive the US shark longlining industry.
Today we’re launching a campaign to stop it and this film trailer to expose this American shark cull conspiracy.
Details and action items below:
🦈🧵
Today we’re launching a campaign to stop it and this film trailer to expose this American shark cull conspiracy.
Details and action items below:
🦈🧵
I’m presenting at this free online @faunalytics.bsky.social conference today.
See you there.
faunalytics.org/fauna-connec...
See you there.
faunalytics.org/fauna-connec...
September 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I’m presenting at this free online @faunalytics.bsky.social conference today.
See you there.
faunalytics.org/fauna-connec...
See you there.
faunalytics.org/fauna-connec...
The extinction impact of the beef industry is immense. Eating even a little bit multiplies a diet’s impact on endangered species.
insane chart from a new open access study comparing extinction impacts of different food production systems
t.co/Nc7c8ynR0N
insane chart from a new open access study comparing extinction impacts of different food production systems
t.co/Nc7c8ynR0N
September 14, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The extinction impact of the beef industry is immense. Eating even a little bit multiplies a diet’s impact on endangered species.
insane chart from a new open access study comparing extinction impacts of different food production systems
t.co/Nc7c8ynR0N
insane chart from a new open access study comparing extinction impacts of different food production systems
t.co/Nc7c8ynR0N
truly sickening to see liberal politicians eulogize kirk without a word for these children whose lives he called the price of gun freedom
September 10, 2025 at 10:09 PM
truly sickening to see liberal politicians eulogize kirk without a word for these children whose lives he called the price of gun freedom
stole another dying fish from petsmart
Here’s Glowi’s one-week glow-up.
Here’s Glowi’s one-week glow-up.
September 6, 2025 at 12:26 AM
stole another dying fish from petsmart
Here’s Glowi’s one-week glow-up.
Here’s Glowi’s one-week glow-up.
This sounds insane to speak out loud, but is a real statistic:
The global seafood industry kills at least 1 trillion wild fish every year to supply 1% of the world’s food.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The global seafood industry kills at least 1 trillion wild fish every year to supply 1% of the world’s food.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
August 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This sounds insane to speak out loud, but is a real statistic:
The global seafood industry kills at least 1 trillion wild fish every year to supply 1% of the world’s food.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The global seafood industry kills at least 1 trillion wild fish every year to supply 1% of the world’s food.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Latest target in the fishing industry blitz on marine protected areas:
THE OCULINA BANK.
Only place in the world with giant ivory coral formations, only 10% remain — the rest destroyed by fishing gear.
They want to drag shrimp trawls across this.
Take action:
www.floridaocean.org/protect-ocul...
THE OCULINA BANK.
Only place in the world with giant ivory coral formations, only 10% remain — the rest destroyed by fishing gear.
They want to drag shrimp trawls across this.
Take action:
www.floridaocean.org/protect-ocul...
August 22, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Latest target in the fishing industry blitz on marine protected areas:
THE OCULINA BANK.
Only place in the world with giant ivory coral formations, only 10% remain — the rest destroyed by fishing gear.
They want to drag shrimp trawls across this.
Take action:
www.floridaocean.org/protect-ocul...
THE OCULINA BANK.
Only place in the world with giant ivory coral formations, only 10% remain — the rest destroyed by fishing gear.
They want to drag shrimp trawls across this.
Take action:
www.floridaocean.org/protect-ocul...
All things considered, seafood is the most environmentally damaging food type.
a great interactive interpretation of Halpern et al. 2022 by Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
a great interactive interpretation of Halpern et al. 2022 by Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
August 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
All things considered, seafood is the most environmentally damaging food type.
a great interactive interpretation of Halpern et al. 2022 by Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
a great interactive interpretation of Halpern et al. 2022 by Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
August 14, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This engineering mosquito extinction thing is a great example of how people aren’t unwitting victims of misinformation.
They seek out bullshit to support their preconceptions.
This idiocy was literally popularized by Bill Gates. Yet “I won’t eat the bugs” bros think it’s awesome.
They seek out bullshit to support their preconceptions.
This idiocy was literally popularized by Bill Gates. Yet “I won’t eat the bugs” bros think it’s awesome.
August 12, 2025 at 2:01 PM
This engineering mosquito extinction thing is a great example of how people aren’t unwitting victims of misinformation.
They seek out bullshit to support their preconceptions.
This idiocy was literally popularized by Bill Gates. Yet “I won’t eat the bugs” bros think it’s awesome.
They seek out bullshit to support their preconceptions.
This idiocy was literally popularized by Bill Gates. Yet “I won’t eat the bugs” bros think it’s awesome.
Commercial longlining in Johnston Atoll, one month before and after:
For over a decade, it was virtually untouched.
All of this was illegal.
For over a decade, it was virtually untouched.
All of this was illegal.
August 11, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Commercial longlining in Johnston Atoll, one month before and after:
For over a decade, it was virtually untouched.
All of this was illegal.
For over a decade, it was virtually untouched.
All of this was illegal.
Bad computer-generated illustrations of fake animals are getting published in scientific journals. Also I believe the citation in the figure’s caption is wrong.
August 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Bad computer-generated illustrations of fake animals are getting published in scientific journals. Also I believe the citation in the figure’s caption is wrong.
Frontiers journal is literally running ads with AI slop figures. 🧪
August 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Frontiers journal is literally running ads with AI slop figures. 🧪