Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Anya Auerbach

Fabio Alfieri @fabioalfieri2.bsky.social · 1d

Happy to share my first postdoc work published in @funecology.bsky.social ! A huge thank-you to @oliverdemuth.bsky.social @lizzysteell.bsky.social @fieldpalaeo.bsky.social @grumpydrfabre.bsky.social and to @snsf.ch

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Constrained variation in the internal architecture of avian wing bones

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Anya Auerbach

Jessie Williamson @jlwilliamson.bsky.social · 22h

My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.

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Linnea Lungstrom @linnealungstrom.bsky.social · 4d

No better reason to join Bluesky then to say the first chapter of my PhD is out as a preprint! New surgeonfish phylogeny, ecomorphological relationships, evolutionary shape correlations-with NEW method to accurately account for phylogenetic covariation among shapes!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Phylogenetic relationships and the evolution of fin and body shape in the surgeonfishes

Patterns of evolutionary change in the fin and body shapes of fishes are strongly related to dietary ecology and locomotor mechanisms, and associations between shapes affects ecomorphological relation...

www.biorxiv.org

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Joe Manthey @jdmanthey.bsky.social · 7d

Our paper on the temporal genomics of Ethiopian birds
has been highlighted (and gotten the cover) in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social
Article: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf163
Highlight: doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf175

w/ @bourgeoisyann.bsky.social, @lcampillo.bsky.social, and others not on bsky

Genome Biology and Evolution October 2025 cover image with a photo of an Ethiopian White-eye.

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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 7d

Tip rate estimates can predict future diversification, but are unreliable and context dependent https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.06.680809v1

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Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 9d

The most important paper in evolutionary biology I'd never heard of:

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www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 8d

It feels crazy even saying out loud everything that they're doing but this is all really happening.

Alt text: Screenshot of an article from The Cut titled “What happened at the South Shore apartment raid, exactly?” The article reports that on September 30, about 300 federal immigration agents stormed a five-story residential apartment in South Shore during an overnight raid. Witnesses said agents rappelled from helicopters, kicked down doors, used flash-bang grenades, and detained adults and children with zip ties. Thirty-seven people were arrested, including four U.S. citizen children. A resident, Pertissue Fisher, said she was handcuffed, had guns pointed at her, and held for hours despite being an American citizen. Photos from the scene showed broken doors, scattered toys, shoes, and food.

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Anya Auerbach @aauerbach.bsky.social · 9d

I just got back from Madagascar a few days ago (way more on that later, I promise!) and now my first PhD chapter on Malagasy birds is officially out! Guess its time to actually write that thread that I’ve been putting off for months…

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Brett "Solidarity 2025" Banditelli @banditelli.org · Sep 2

It's funny I remembered where I put it at 10PM AFTER Labor Day is mostly over, but after having lost if for several years, I finally found the diverse fish graphic I made in 2018.

It always bothering me that the school of fish was the same type.

That erases the modern, diverse labor movement.

A school of fish that are different types of fish a bigger fish so that they can eat that fish

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Reposted by Anya Auerbach

Madhusudan 🦉 Katti @leafwarbler.bsky.social · Aug 28

This is the way.

John Wares @johnwares.bsky.social · Aug 28

Gave no homework over the long weekend and reminded my students that unions fought for that recognition of our contributions

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Reposted by Anya Auerbach

Jonathan Huie, PhD @jmhuie.bsky.social · Aug 28

Excited to share the first paper from my PhD!

We looked at what traits help Aneides salamanders excel at climbing using museum specimens, CT scans, SEM, and more! No claws or toe pads, so how do they do it? In short, with long limbs, big feet and grippy toes! 🦎🧪

DM for PDF

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Phylogeny of Aneides and Plethodon with animal photos

Phylomorphospace showing body shape variation

Morphospace of toe bones and box lots showing estimated gripping force

Representative SEM images of salamander feet

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Racket @racketmn.com · Aug 29

Should Walz have stacked the deck with his alleged cronies instead of making picks that would have actually benefitted the U? We already have an easy answer for that. The question of how we get better picks next time is more interesting.

Walz’s Dubious U of M Board Regent Choices Are the Last Thing We Need - Racket

The guv acquired a rare opportunity to hand-pick University of Minnesota leadership. It seems he stacked the deck with loyalists.

racketmn.com

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Jay @duniagamemaster.bsky.social · Aug 25

It's Minnesota State Fair time! It's time for Minnesotan folk art! Here, for example, is Saturn Devouring His Corn, in the seed art category!

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Brett "Solidarity 2025" Banditelli @banditelli.org · Aug 28

FEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT

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Dr. Jaimi Gray @jaimiagray.bsky.social · Aug 26

Hey folks out there who ❤️ to #CTscan things and ❤️ museums! the @amnh.org is hiring a Laboratory Manager for their Microscopy and Imaging Facility, a.k.a. the CT lab 🧪

careers.amnh.org/postings/4550

Laboratory Manager

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, and has as its mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cult...

careers.amnh.org

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Jason Chavez @jchavezmpls.bsky.social · Aug 21

I am disappointed that the DFL has stripped the DFL Endorsement from Senator Omar Fateh, who clearly had overwhelming support at the convention. They met privately and voted to overturn the will of Minneapolis delegates. An effort led by Mayor Jacob Frey. 1/

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Neil Gilbert @gilbert-lab.bsky.social · Aug 21

our paper on how light pollution affects bird vocal behavior is out today in Science!!

w/ @brentpease.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Anya Auerbach @aauerbach.bsky.social · Aug 22

That is, technically, *a* cell membrane…

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Reposted by Anya Auerbach

Mike Wiser @drmikewiser.bsky.social · Aug 15

Heads up 🧪science folks. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to generate some examples of issues in how Chat-GPT 5.0 answers intro bio type things. I'll stick at least some of them here in a thread so you're free to use them, rather than having to waste resources asking it stuff we know it gets wrong

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José Cerca @naturalselection.bsky.social · Aug 19

The 2025-26 Eco-Evo job list is out. Good luck to those applying!

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

docs.google.com

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Will Jones @willpjones.bsky.social · Aug 18

Solidarity with the maintenance, food service and janitorial workers who keep the University of Minnesota running. They should have to strike for living wages and protection from harassment.

Service workers on brink of strike as students head back to U of M

Hundreds of employees, including some who work on dorm maintenance and in dining halls, could walk off the job on Wednesday.

www.startribune.com

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Kevin Bennett @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social · Aug 16

Saw this and thought to myself "Oh no we got scooped!" Nope. This is the preprint of our manuscript. Fun collab with Laura Céspedes Arias.

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · Aug 16

Diversification and divergence in Myioborus warblers: insights into evolutionary relationships and plumage genetics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.12.669906v1

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Adam Lendvai @lendvaiaz.bsky.social · Aug 14

Something to try out in the next semester! I'm curious how it works for students compared to AVIDA.

Richard Lenski @relenski.bsky.social · Aug 12

Excited to share new #program, STEPS, which can simulate #dynamics of the E. coli Long-Term Evolution Experiment (#LTEE) or other microbes in serial transfer regime.

telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/s...

STEPS developed by @devinmlake.bsky.social, Zachary Matson, Minako Izutsu, and me.

STEPS To It

Announcing a new program, called STEPS, to simulate the dynamics of evolving microbial populations.

telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com

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Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · Aug 13

🚨Woo our new paper now out in accepted form in @systbiol.bsky.social -

We use phylogenetic analyses to argue that the evolution of diverse social contexts has reshaped avian life histories.

academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

Social environment and the evolution of delayed reproduction in birds

Abstract. One puzzling feature of avian life histories is that individuals in many different lineages delay reproduction for several years after they finis

academic.oup.com

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Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · Aug 12

Thrilled to announce version 2.0 of my poster featuring some of Madagascar's endemic frog species, to scale! This version features 176 species—40 more than version 1.1 (now retired)! Check it out!
🐸🧪
www.redbubble.com/i/poster/Som...

The poster features 176 species of frog from Madagascar, to scale. The biggest species are over 100 mm, the smallest are under 10 mm. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and colours. So many variations on the theme of frog!

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