Shark Net: Dr. Barbara Block/TOPP release great app to track California's white sharks

I have been fortunate to meet and speak with many accomplished marine scientists and researchers. One who is definitely on my Top 10 list is Dr. Barbara Block. Based at Stanford University, California, she oversees TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Predators), a program started in 2000 that tracks pelagic animals from tuna to swordfish to turtles to great white sharks, and more. (Couple of previous posts on the subject here & here.) Barbara is a spunky taskmaster but, working with her staff, it is that very drive  that  has  enabled TOPP to discover many of the secrets involving the migration patterns of these large and critically important animals.  It was TOPP that coined the phrase "White Shark Cafe" to describe where great white sharks from California and Mexico migrate to in the Pacific Ocean. One particularly important finding regarding these migration patterns was the possible explanation for the seasonal nature of the sharks' sojourns: Mid-Pacific upwellings which bring nutrients that feed the food chain and ultimately replenish the larger fish that the sharks feed on. Cyclical weather and ocean movement patterns produce these upwellings - and as climate change continues to present itself, there is always the possibility of shifts in the upwelling cycle that could have unknown consequences...

Read More........→February 08, 2013

Number of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Mexico is Way Up–Doubling the Forest Acreage Over Last Year

Monarch butterflies in Michoacán, Mexico forest by Alex GuillaumeThe number of monarch butterflies overwintering this year in Mexico has nearly doubled, according to the annual census released last week by the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico and their partners.During the last few months in 2025, the population of eastern monarchs occupied 4.42 acres of central Mexico’s forests—up from 2.22 acres during the previous winter.The encouraging survey was conducted with help from Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Natural Areas and local communities, and it serves as an important indicator of the health of a monarch population that has been clawing its way back from dangerously low levels this century.“It’s now time to turn this year’s increase into a lasting trend with an all-hands approach where governments, landowners, conservationists, and citizens continue to safeguard critical habitats along the monarch’s North American migratory route,” said Jorge Rickards, director general of WWF Mexico, who recognized the key role of local communities and the government of Mexico in conserving the forest that provides an annual respite to this iconic species.Scientists attribute much of this year’s population growth to better weather conditions in 2024—with less severe drought than in previous years along their migration route from the U.S....

Read More........→April 11, 2025