Massachusetts Oceanographer Awarded MacArthur Genius Grant
A Massachusetts oceanographer has been awarded the MacArthur Fellowship — aka: the MacArthur Genius Grant — to further invest in his research into microbial organisms and how they impact the ocean.
Benjamin Van Mooy is a Senior Scientist and the Interim Vice President for Science and Engineering at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He said in a statement about the prestigious honor, “When I first got the call from the MacArthur Foundation, I was absolutely convinced they dialed the wrong number. Now, that disbelief has been replaced with an extreme gratitude for all the folks that have touched my life, particularly the WHOI technical staff members, postdocs, and graduate students that have made my lab group a place to explore creative ideas about how the ocean works.”
The MacArthur Fellow team noted of Van Mooy’s work, “Van Mooy is filling critical gaps in our understanding of intricate biogeochemical networks that sustain life on Earth and of how climate change could impact the health and productivity of our oceans.”
WHOI President and Director Peter de Menocal said in a statement, “The MacArthur Fellows Program identifies extraordinarily creative individuals with a track record of excellence. Today’s announcement is a wonderful recognition of Ben and his exceptional accomplishments – it is also a celebration of WHOI’s can-do research and engineering ecosystem that fosters creativity, collaboration, and excellence.”
More and More Sharks Are Coming to Boston Harbor. Here’s Why.
Boston Harbor has been the site of more and more sharks lately, specifically the sand tiger shark, and there are important reasons why.
According to the Boston Herald, shark researchers at the New England Aquarium are noting sand tiger sharks are traveling to Boston Harbor when they are in their early growing stages to avoid larger predators. The harbor also has a lot of pogies, which the young sand tiger sharks prey upon.
The growing shark population is a significant victory for the clean-up efforts of Boston Harbor. Ryan Knotek, a researcher with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, told the outlet, “It’s not just a really cool success story for the sand tiger sharks, but it’s also a Boston success story. Now the harbor is cleaned up, and animals are traveling thousands of miles to come grow here in the critical stages of their life. It’s pretty cool when you catch and tag a shark with the Boston skyline in the background. I never thought I’d be able to do that.”
The sand tiger shark population was decimated from the 1970s to the early 1990s due to overfishing. There have been major conservation efforts to grow the population for the past two decades, including tagging and tracking sharks in Boston Harbor. From the looks of it, those efforts are paying off.
The sand tiger sharks that make their way to the harbor are typically born off the coasts of Florida and North Carolina. They arrive in the harbor around July and then usually stay there until mid-September before heading south along the east coast. Some of these sharks have even been returning annually.
The New England Aquarium has been an important part of the ongoing shark conservation efforts. Their website hosts a slew of information about their work, which includes collaborating with the government and other industries to determine the threats to sharks and ways to protect them.
Tagging and monitoring sharks is one of the most important techniques New England Aquarium researchers use. The aquarium’s website notes, “By filling data gaps in our understanding of sharks’ movements and behaviors, we can help inform policies that better protect these animals.”
In the video below, you can see how scientists from the New England Aquarium catch and tag sharks in Quincy Bay and then return them to the water where they can be studied further.
