Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Danielle Levesque

Silvia Pineda-Munoz, PhD - Climate Ages @climateages.bsky.social · 1d

A 126,000-year-old butt-drag just made fossil history.
A tiny rock hyrax scooted across the sand of ancient South Africa, and that moment was preserved in stone.

Even the smallest acts can echo through time.
🧪 #SciComm
buff.ly/dcGWTR4

The 126,000-Year-Old Butt-Drag That Rewrote What Counts as a Fossil

How a small animal’s odd habit turned into one of the most unexpected stories ever preserved in stone Some discoveries make headlines because they’re dramatic: new...

climateages.com

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Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · 1d

That it was an aside means more. For years scientists have been advocating for more funding since the benefits are wide reaching. But since it’s our livelihoods it can come of as self interested (which it is but also not) so to hear it was great to hear as part of a bigger conversation.

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Dominique Berteaux @dominiqueberteaux.bsky.social · 1d

Canids seem to be the routine lovers, reusing their travel routes more than felids. This shapes hunting, encounters, and even disease spread. Insights from 1,239 GPS-tracked carnivores, including the Arctic foxes we track on Bylot Island 🧪🌿🌎🌐🦊. Read in the latest PNAS at bitly.cx/TxI2

Pictured is a male jaguar (Panthera onca) equipped with a tracking collar. William F. Fagan et al. tracked the movements of 1,239 mammalian carnivores, including 16 canid species and 18 felid species, on six continents. On average, compared with felids, canids displayed a greater density of trackways within their range and were more likely to reuse established trackways. According to the authors, the evolutionary differences in carnivore movement patterns could aid efforts to model encounters among carnivores, prey, and humans. See the article by Fagan et al. e2401042122. Image credit: Sebastian Kennerknecht (photographer).

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Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · 1d

As a Canadian working at a US university it was an aside that was very relevant!

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Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · 1d

This was fascinating, especially the parts about research funding. Let’s some the government is listening and starts building instead of more austerity 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Nora Loreto @nolore.bsky.social · 3d

Take a listen to my conversation with @arshy.bsky.social about why politicians seem to be incapable of doing anything -- aside from enriching their friends. Enjoy!

hatchetmedia.substack.com/p/the-declin...

The Decline and Fall of the Canadian State (w/ Nora Loreto)

How austerity and privatization have killed state capacity

hatchetmedia.substack.com

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Nora Loreto @nolore.bsky.social · 3d

Take a listen to my conversation with @arshy.bsky.social about why politicians seem to be incapable of doing anything -- aside from enriching their friends. Enjoy!

hatchetmedia.substack.com/p/the-declin...

The Decline and Fall of the Canadian State (w/ Nora Loreto)

How austerity and privatization have killed state capacity

hatchetmedia.substack.com

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Reposted by Danielle Levesque

Danna Staaf @dannastaaf.bsky.social · 9d

I just couldn't stop thinking about how weird sperm whale mouths are and yet how perfectly shaped for inserting giant squid into

A scanned pencil sketch of a faceoff between a giant squid and a sperm whale. The squid looks cute and alarmed and its mantle is labeled TAB A. The whale looks cute and happy and its mouth is labeled SLOT A. Tab A does look like it would fit perfectly in slot A. The squid says "I strongly disagree with this diagram" and the whale responds "You can't disagree with evolution."

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Dr. Rebecca Calisi-Rodríguez @rebeccacalisi.bsky.social · 10d

So many of us opened her books and found not only chimpanzees but an invitation to see with compassion & believe in a bridge between humans and the wild. Her legacy flows through rivers, forests, children planting trees, and every act of love for animals and one another.
www.bbc.com/news/live/c9...

Jane Goodall, chimpanzee expert and animal rights campaigner, dies age 91 - follow live

The campaigner, a

www.bbc.com

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Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · 18d

There are just two weeks left to apply for our 2026 Associate Editor Mentoring Scheme! ⏰🌏

If you're based in the Global South and interested in learning about the peer review process through hands-on experience then learn more below 🧪👇

bit.ly/47uwYlD

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Katharina Ruthsatz @kruthsatz.bsky.social · 18d

Three more weeks left to submit your paper to @thermal-biology.bsky.social for our special issue on Ontogenetic variation in thermal biology 🦉🦫☀️❄️

Journal of Thermal Biology @thermal-biology.bsky.social · Jan 14

The JTB is currently accepting paper submissions for our upcoming special issue: Ontogenetic variation in thermal biology: assessing life stage-specific adaptations and sensitivity in animals. 🦉🦫☀️❄️

📝Submit your papers now!

www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

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Oliver Bossdorf @bossdorf.bsky.social · Sep 10

Job Alert! The University of Tübingen is hiring a FULL PROFESSOR (W3) in FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY! Come and join our institute, and maybe our new excellence clusters @terra-cluster.org and @greenrobust.de. @gfoesoc.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social Please repost!

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Cientifico Latino, Inc. @cientificolatino.com · Sep 9

Applying to the NSF-GRFP (or another fellowship) on a tight deadline?

We built a 7-week guide + timeline to get you from draft to submission. It’s not too late — you’ve got this! ✨

🔗 cientificolatino.com/apply-in-7-weeks

#NSFGRFP #GradSchool #Fellowship

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Casey terHorst @ecoevolab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · Sep 4

In his Commentary, Neil Metcalfe examines why it can be hard to detect trade-offs between two activities or processes competing for energy, despite energy supposedly being a limiting resource

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Screenshot of the first page of the PDF of the Commentary, How can we best measure the energetic trade-offs faced by animals?, by Neil Metcalfe. The publishing information states: © 2025. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2025) 228, jeb250303. doi:10.1242/jeb.250303. The first sentence of the Abstract reads: 'Energy is commonly presumed to be a limiting resource for most animals, forcing them to trade off the benefits of allocating energy to competing activities or processes'.

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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · Sep 2

Are you a mammologist whose research involves natural history collections? Apply to be my colleague!

Assistant professor position with the Department of Biological Sciences and the Natural Science Research Laboratory at Texas Tech University.

sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...

Job Search Welcome | Texas Tech University System

Search for Internet job openings.

sjobs.brassring.com

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sicb-dcpb.bsky.social @sicb-dcpb.bsky.social · Aug 20

Will you be sharing your research at SICB 2026?!? 🧪

A quick reminder that abstracts for SICB 2026 are due on August 27th at 11:59pm HST. We hope to see you there and can't wait to hear about the science you have been doing!

Abstract guidelines can be found here: www.xcdsystem.com/sicb/program...

SICB 2026 Annual Meeting

www.xcdsystem.com

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Mike "looking for research fellowship" Caulfield @mikecaulfield.bsky.social · Aug 25

The thing I'm kind of famous for is when other people were building seven part critical thinking frameworks to address misinfo I built a method that did things like teach people to click the link and use ctrl-F and it blew everything else out of the water. Big lesson:

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Dan Baldassarre @evornithology.bsky.social · Aug 20

We simply cannot lose Biodiversity Heritage Library. Please consider helping if you can. 🙏

Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · Aug 19

🌱 BHL’s Call for Support soft-closes on Aug 31. 🧪
With @clirnews.bsky.social as our new fiscal sponsor, we now have an administrative & financial home, but we still need partners, hosts, funders & long-term investment to secure BHL's future. about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup... #ILoveBHL

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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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Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · Aug 15

Flew there from Japan this summer and the crawlers confused so many of us. Had no idea what we were stepping into until it started moving and we saw another one. Extra weird when seriously jet lagged!!!

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · Aug 14

Those of us in STEM must vocally affirm that the humanities are our allies, and no department is expendable. Arguing we can survive by cutting whole disciplines isn’t just inhumane, it’s nonsensical. The humanities tell us why we’re here in the first place, and what to do about it! This isn’t hard!

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · Aug 14

Oh good. We've reached the "I don't have to be faster than the bear, I only have to be less woke than you" stage of faculty solidarity. archive.is/wGNDr

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Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · Aug 14

That’s the first I’ve heard of that and not the case with J Thermal Biol.
I’ve been working with the publisher to try and make it easier for reviewers to make suggestions. They did just recently change the policy on authors suggesting reviewers though.

Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · Aug 14

Oh that’s fun! Thanks for sharing!!

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Ken Welch @kcwelch.bsky.social · Aug 13

Yes! Several recent invited reviewers did this. Hugely helpful!

Danielle Levesque @daniellelevesque.bsky.social · Aug 13

Seconded! And if you can't review please suggest alternates. Early career folks are always welcome and lots of journals make it easy to co-review with a trainee.

If you're new and want reviewing opportunities make sure your Google Scholar, Scopus and ORCID etc are up to date so we can find you!

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 13

Science friends, life is difficult now, but please still try to peer review papers if you can.

I'm the editor handling a paper that just had it's 43rd person decline to review. We may have to reject it because no one is willing to review it, which sucks for the authors.

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Ologies with Alie Ward @ologies.bsky.social · Aug 13

Re: sci-comm you ingest: how much open condemnation of administration & anti-science American culture is helpful?

I debate this constantly, *trying* to inform & not alienate the people who need to hear it MOST but I have also fucking HAD it. Frog pot is at a roiling boil & some ppl won't listen

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