In a Fishy State of Mind

Protect the oceans, save our seas, and free Palestine!! 🏳️‍⚧️Trans friendly and feminist ♡She/her♡ ♡mixed race♡ ♡Call me Mermaid♡ ♡Grad student in conservation medicine headed to study veterinary immunology♡

[theexhaustedmermaid]

Introducing Myself Again!

I go by Mermaid online here but other nicknames work as well. I'm a early career biologist who's interests lie with small odontocete immunology (aka how the immune system in dolphins is affected by the environment)! I am also an equestrian, crafter, and irl mermaid

Currently, I am finishing my masters in conservation medicine and will be studying more veterinary immunology later for my doctorate! I love marine animals and diseases so there will be both on here! Most of my posts are queued as I rarely reblog directly.

I have a Russian tortoise named Nikki, he gets posted here sometimes

Anyway, I have a host of sideblogs catered to my interests along with my main because tumblr is just a more advanced pinterest right?

@craftymermaid - All my crafts, knitting, crochet, sewing, and costuming

@nothingbutvainfantasy - Printed literature fandoms I reblog memes and artwork to

@morethanalifeofplunderandlies - Anything filmed aka tv and movies

@eponas-whispers - Video game fandoms

@seawitchtidepool - My witchblr I occasionally post on

@thelegendofstudy - The studyblr I made freshman year that has erratic activity.

Hope you stay awhile!

Fundraisers to follow (under construction but will be updated)

[ishimarukiyotaka]

hot take comments like "I hope I get cyclosporiasis I want to lose 10 lbs" are not only obvious fatphobia but also part of mass illness normalization that has been an ongoing effort since 2020 to minimize the dangers of disease and infections

They want to act like high levels of sickness whether it be airborne or foodborne are normal and not the responsibility of agencies like public health or food safety regulation so they can get away with dismantling them.

[beardedmrbean]

Next up someone is going to claim that the Narnia series isn't kids books.

Kids books is probably not the best way to word it, you can enjoy them at every age, including your childhood, as you get older you may find new truths in them, but they're still good for any age.

[cookingwithroxy]

I want you to understand this. I NEED you to understand this. My mother read me the hobbit as bedtime story, and I started pushing myself to read before pre-school so I could in fact read the hobbit for myself instead of having to wait for bedtime.

I didn't do so right away but jesus wept I PUSHED myself to learn to read SPECIFICALLY so I could read The Hobbit! It is, in fact, a children's story! And children only see page count as 'there is a lot of this fun story to read!'

[hunter-rodrigez]

Like... come on man, 310 pages isn't even what I would've considered a particularly long book as a kid.

[freenarnian]

@ellakas

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

Why are orcas teeth so bad in captivity

Mostly due to the need for orca enrichment to be solid enough to not be torn apart/swallowed - so the soft enamel teeth designed for tearing blubber/meat or grabbing fish will wear down from grabbing hard plastic EEDs.

Concrete chewing is more of a problem in some groups than others and I believe it has a lot to do with orcas learning the behaviour from one another rather than simply "boredom". And the simple fact that they don't have hands so they explore their environment with their teeth.

Teeth do not seem to be an overall indication of welfare or poor living conditions. Because Tokitae was objectively living in an unsuitable environment yet maintained incredibly healthy teeth into her 60's.

We also do see tooth wear in wild populations of orca:

(Source)

This is a population in New Zealand - but it makes sense that tooth wear isn't super common as these orcas are feeding on rays.

(Source)

We can see that a lot of teeth wear is related to diet in wild orcas, whereas that's not the case in captive orcas.

The most compelling theory, in my opinion, is that it's mostly related to how the orcas choose to interact with toys and their environment. There's also some data to suggest that pulpectomy to assist with tooth damage may have caused further complications with dentition as well as increasing chances of infection.

Unfortunately the papers claiming that captive orcas are all suffering tooth pain did not do any sort of veterinary examination or compare any sort of baseline behavioural data for pain indication... But of course, it made a great headline, so it was uncritically reported by media outlets and used as a source.

Technology has significantly increased since the days of pulpectomy - what happens now is veterinarians, with assistance of trainers, can use a laser thermometer to look for signs of increased heat/inflammation in individual teeth. This allows them to pick up any tooth pain or infection quickly and get onto treatment. They also will brush/flush out the orca's teeth twice a day.

You can see explanation of teeth temperature testing here from Loro Parque:

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

are people talking about the labor conditions at Taylor Farms yet? like the fact they use enslaved prisoners in their facilities?

are we drawing the connection between worker safety and consumer safety & public health yet?

are people demanding to see the conditions in this place that keeps making us sick? why are the enslaved workers not having the time to use the bathroom or to rest when ill? very few people would shit in front of their coworkers given any choice at all.

[snototter]

A harbor seal and her pup (Phoca vitulina) in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, USA

by Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith

[thegaymertrainer]

I love otter

[charlesoberonn]

What is the most inappropriate show to add a beach episode to?

[charlesoberonn]

Yeah okay this one's the winner

[zami-lumi]

another selkie illustration.

[marithlizard]

(via bsky)

In case anyone hasn't heard, the cyclospora outbreak affecting tons of people in the US right now is coming from Taylor Farms produce. Best to stay away from bagged lettuce and prepared salads completely right now, but especially the ones mentioned in the screenshot:

Taylor Farms Earthbound Farms Little Salad Bar (Aldi) Marketside (Walmart) Kroger House Brand Target private label greens Costco salads and greens etc Trader Joe's chopped salad kits and fresh produce Fast food: McDonalds, Taco Bell, (Yum! Brands), Chipotle, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Olive Garden, Top Golf, Red Lobster, Burger King, etc.

This is not the first time I've heard about a Taylor Farms foodborne illness outbreak. I stopped eating their salads after reading a description of the conditions in their facilities. Doesn't sound like they've improved anything.

We need a fully funded and staffed FDA, and regulations with teeth - and that's exactly what we don't have under Trump. To make things worse, the CDC is no longer tracking these outbreaks. We're on our own.

[passionpeachy]

kissy the pony

[lesbianismst]

I need everyone to get more feminist NOW

[rebeccathenaturalist]

The Guts of Predatory Cats Can Destroy CWD Prions

The prions that cause chronic wasting disease in deer are nearly indestructible. So it's good news to learn cat guts are their mortal enemy.

Okay. So. You know how some people want to finish exterminating all large predatory mammals so they have less competition for deer and so they don't occasionally lose livestock? And you know how native deer species in North America have been hit increasingly hard with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the past couple of decades due to overpopulation thanks to the eradication of large predatory mammals that normally keep them in check?

We already have evidence that reintroducing predatory mammals to their native ranges not only knocks deer populations back to a healthier level, and now we've discovered that apparently the digestive systems of cougars and bobcats are lethal to CWD prions. Prions are among the most difficult pathogens* to eliminate; you have to heat them up to about 1,800 degrees F in order to thoroughly destroy them. And prion diseases like CWD are almost universally fatal.

So to find that these wild cats can safely eat CWD-infected animals AND significantly reduce the chances that the prions will be spread to other deer is a pretty big deal, especially since some other animals like coyotes and crows do pass prions undamaged through their digestive systems. And it's just one more example of why an ecosystem needs all of the species that have evolved in it over thousands of years, not just those are convenient for humans to have around. The spread of CWD is directly related to the overpopulation of deer, and it's likely that continuing to reintroduce large predatory mammals to their native range will help quell this awful prion disease.

[phantomrose96]

Hey kids, you need to start worrying a little less about getting “#mogged” and a little more about getting “#smogged”. This is an Air Quality Index public service announcement.

[asexual-amanita]

Cognitively disabled people deserve gender access to affirming care.

Psychiatrically disabled people deserve access to gender affirming care.

Physically disabled people deserve access to gender affirming care.

Being disabled doesn't erase the possibility of being trans, having dysphoria and/or wanting to pursue a medical transition.

[darlingofdots]

been stewing on an analytical approach to fiction which I call "is this book afraid of me?" and in order to answer this question you determine how hard the book is trying to make sure you don't come after the writer on twitter

[playwrongs]

Tags via @deadpanwalking, editor and ass-kicker extraordinaire

[gingisnap]

Please keep making art. Please make it for yourself. Please don’t let everything become even more of the same flat general appeal nonsense that doesn’t seem to have anything to say

[one-step-at-a-time25]

Superman said, “all immigrants are people and deserve respect and love they aren’t aliens they are humans and the people who disagree should die” and supergirl said, “A women’s purity shouldn’t be defined by the man who has caused them harm and the exploitation of young women is disgusting and the men who do such things should die” and they are right