Benjamin Freeman
@benjaminfreeman.bsky.social
Biologist. Mountain Bird Lab PI. Climate change. Species interactions. Asst Prof @GeorgiaTech. #RapYourAbstract #MountainBirdNetwork
Pinned
How are Pacific NW mountain birds responding to climate change?
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Excited to give an online seminar with @amornith.bsky.social on Feb 2! I’ll be sharing new results from my dissertation work in Borneo.
Interested in forest fragmentation, passive acoustics, landscape genetics, or just cool bird pics? Register: americanornithology-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Interested in forest fragmentation, passive acoustics, landscape genetics, or just cool bird pics? Register: americanornithology-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
January 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Excited to give an online seminar with @amornith.bsky.social on Feb 2! I’ll be sharing new results from my dissertation work in Borneo.
Interested in forest fragmentation, passive acoustics, landscape genetics, or just cool bird pics? Register: americanornithology-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Interested in forest fragmentation, passive acoustics, landscape genetics, or just cool bird pics? Register: americanornithology-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Apply for this fully funded PhD studentship in Tropical mountain forest ecology! Join us at University of Liverpool to carry out research on plant range shifts in the cloud forests. With: @fdraper.bsky.social @funkyant.bsky.social @jhomeier.bsky.social. Applications due Jan 21. tinyurl.com/23ary845
January 13, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Apply for this fully funded PhD studentship in Tropical mountain forest ecology! Join us at University of Liverpool to carry out research on plant range shifts in the cloud forests. With: @fdraper.bsky.social @funkyant.bsky.social @jhomeier.bsky.social. Applications due Jan 21. tinyurl.com/23ary845
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Hit me up if you'd like to apply to a Data-driven postdoc fellowship with me in Sweden. 2 year salary, excellent community. Deadline March 31. I have a project idea on reference bias vs pangenome, but keen on hearing ideas. Please share broadly.
www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
DDLS Research School Postdoc call 2026
Call for Academic and Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data-Driven Life Science 2026 Generic Description of the DDLS Postdoc Program The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Drive...
www.scilifelab.se
January 14, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Hit me up if you'd like to apply to a Data-driven postdoc fellowship with me in Sweden. 2 year salary, excellent community. Deadline March 31. I have a project idea on reference bias vs pangenome, but keen on hearing ideas. Please share broadly.
www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Banks and Honduran elites siphoned off $ millions of development funds to murder environmental activist indigenous leader Berta Cáceres in 2016. insightcrime.org/news/report-...
Report Puts International Banks, Honduras Elites at Center of Berta Cáceres Murder
The murder of renowned Indigenous activist and environmental defender Berta Cáceres in Honduras in 2016 was an organized criminal operation.
insightcrime.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Banks and Honduran elites siphoned off $ millions of development funds to murder environmental activist indigenous leader Berta Cáceres in 2016. insightcrime.org/news/report-...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Hi! I've been pretty quiet here for a while, but I want to get back to sharing more about what I'm doing here so I thought I'd reintroduce myself. (I hate most photos of myself but I felt obligated to include one so here you go...) [thread]
January 8, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Hi! I've been pretty quiet here for a while, but I want to get back to sharing more about what I'm doing here so I thought I'd reintroduce myself. (I hate most photos of myself but I felt obligated to include one so here you go...) [thread]
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Alfred Russel Wallace FRS was born #OnThisDay in 1823. He independently conceived of the theory of evolution by natural selection and his work prompted Darwin to publish 'On the Origin of Species'. Wallace laid the foundations of modern biogeography.
January 8, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Alfred Russel Wallace FRS was born #OnThisDay in 1823. He independently conceived of the theory of evolution by natural selection and his work prompted Darwin to publish 'On the Origin of Species'. Wallace laid the foundations of modern biogeography.
"One thing myrmecophages share is an almost insatiable appetite—ants and termites are so low in energy that even a small animal like the numbat must eat about 20,000 termites a day, while an aardwolf can hunt up to 300,000 in a single night."
Tired: Everything evolves to be a crab.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Mammals have evolved into ant eaters 12 times since the dinosaur age, study finds
Mammals have developed some unusual eating habits over the past 100 million years, but a new study has uncovered the surprising lengths to which some have gone to satisfy one of the more peculiar—a ta...
phys.org
January 7, 2026 at 5:01 PM
"One thing myrmecophages share is an almost insatiable appetite—ants and termites are so low in energy that even a small animal like the numbat must eat about 20,000 termites a day, while an aardwolf can hunt up to 300,000 in a single night."
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Tired: Everything evolves to be a crab.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Mammals have evolved into ant eaters 12 times since the dinosaur age, study finds
Mammals have developed some unusual eating habits over the past 100 million years, but a new study has uncovered the surprising lengths to which some have gone to satisfy one of the more peculiar—a ta...
phys.org
January 7, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Tired: Everything evolves to be a crab.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Looking for a postdoc? Work on vertebrates and have lab experience? Come be the lab manager/museum postdoc for the LSU Museum of Natural Science!
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
LSU Museum of Natural Sciences is hiring a postdoc! Come join our very active and supportive museum community. Applicants can work with any of the major divisions: 🐀🦜🦎🐸🐠
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Postdoctoral Researcher
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Looking for a postdoc? Work on vertebrates and have lab experience? Come be the lab manager/museum postdoc for the LSU Museum of Natural Science!
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
My review of Matt Ridley's book Birds, Sex and Beauty is now up on the @aba.org website. The short version: This book does what is sets out to do but I ended up with mixed feelings about it. #birds 🪶 www.aba.org/why-birds-ar...
Why Birds are Beautiful - American Birding Association
Book reviewer Rebecca Heisman, writing in the Jan. 2026 issue of Birding, explains how British science writer Matt Ridley’s newest book, "Birds, Sex, and Beauty," is an attempt to answer a deceptively...
www.aba.org
January 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
My review of Matt Ridley's book Birds, Sex and Beauty is now up on the @aba.org website. The short version: This book does what is sets out to do but I ended up with mixed feelings about it. #birds 🪶 www.aba.org/why-birds-ar...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
NBC @neobirdconserve.bsky.social Conservation Fund supports projects to conserve threatened Neotropical birds by small grants of USD 1000–3000. Next deadline = 1 Feb. More information & application forms (English/Español/Português): neotropicalbirdingandconservation.org/conservation/ #ornithology
Conservation - Neotropical Birding and Conservation
neotropicalbirdingandconservation.org
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 AM
NBC @neobirdconserve.bsky.social Conservation Fund supports projects to conserve threatened Neotropical birds by small grants of USD 1000–3000. Next deadline = 1 Feb. More information & application forms (English/Español/Português): neotropicalbirdingandconservation.org/conservation/ #ornithology
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
New paper from my lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social, led by HIGH-SCHOOL student Serene Park!
We studied a moth that migrates from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mts (and back) each year and tested if they are harmed more by extreme heat or low O2 🧪🌍🐙
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We studied a moth that migrates from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mts (and back) each year and tested if they are harmed more by extreme heat or low O2 🧪🌍🐙
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Heat is deadlier than hypoxia for an elevationally migrating moth
Army cutworm moths (Euxoa auxiliaris) undergo a dramatic seasonal migration from the Great Plains of North America up to the highest reaches of the Rocky Mountains. In this experiment, we found that...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New paper from my lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social, led by HIGH-SCHOOL student Serene Park!
We studied a moth that migrates from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mts (and back) each year and tested if they are harmed more by extreme heat or low O2 🧪🌍🐙
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We studied a moth that migrates from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mts (and back) each year and tested if they are harmed more by extreme heat or low O2 🧪🌍🐙
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Brazil has now signed agreements with Springer-Nature and Elsevier for Brazilian researchers to read AND PUBLISH for free for 3y. Rest of the world, take note: THIS is how you support and promote open science.
www.google.com/url?q=https:...
www.google.com/url?q=https:...
Capes: acordos permitem publicação científica sem custos - 14/12/2025 - Ciência - Folha
www.google.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Brazil has now signed agreements with Springer-Nature and Elsevier for Brazilian researchers to read AND PUBLISH for free for 3y. Rest of the world, take note: THIS is how you support and promote open science.
www.google.com/url?q=https:...
www.google.com/url?q=https:...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
...though I was tempted to suggest (1) which came first, chicken or egg? and/or (2) why did the chicken cross the road? as spoof debates to kick things off
January 5, 2026 at 11:41 PM
...though I was tempted to suggest (1) which came first, chicken or egg? and/or (2) why did the chicken cross the road? as spoof debates to kick things off
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Why are avian social and genetic mating systems so often discordant?
January 5, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Why are avian social and genetic mating systems so often discordant?
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
What’s the prevalence of ecological speciation?
January 5, 2026 at 10:23 PM
What’s the prevalence of ecological speciation?
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Have migratory birds originated in the breeding or nonbreeding grounds?
January 5, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Have migratory birds originated in the breeding or nonbreeding grounds?
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
An evergreen one:
Competition: all important factor structuring bird communities vs minor influence compared to resource availability/habitat preferences
Competition: all important factor structuring bird communities vs minor influence compared to resource availability/habitat preferences
January 5, 2026 at 10:17 PM
An evergreen one:
Competition: all important factor structuring bird communities vs minor influence compared to resource availability/habitat preferences
Competition: all important factor structuring bird communities vs minor influence compared to resource availability/habitat preferences
bird people!
what are your favorite debates in ornithology?
(prepping to teach Ornithology, always interested in a good topic for discussion...)
what are your favorite debates in ornithology?
(prepping to teach Ornithology, always interested in a good topic for discussion...)
January 5, 2026 at 9:48 PM
bird people!
what are your favorite debates in ornithology?
(prepping to teach Ornithology, always interested in a good topic for discussion...)
what are your favorite debates in ornithology?
(prepping to teach Ornithology, always interested in a good topic for discussion...)
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
It’s official: I’m joining the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of Iowa as an assistant prof starting Fall 2026!
I’ll be recruiting multiple grad students and postdocs to join my lab, so if you’re into disturbance ecology and conservation science… watch this space!
I’ll be recruiting multiple grad students and postdocs to join my lab, so if you’re into disturbance ecology and conservation science… watch this space!
January 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
It’s official: I’m joining the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of Iowa as an assistant prof starting Fall 2026!
I’ll be recruiting multiple grad students and postdocs to join my lab, so if you’re into disturbance ecology and conservation science… watch this space!
I’ll be recruiting multiple grad students and postdocs to join my lab, so if you’re into disturbance ecology and conservation science… watch this space!
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
I'm happy to see Cape Vultures as one of five 2025 "road to recovery" stories at @mongabay.com today. As always, the story is complicated, but things are looking up, and their reporting on vulture conservation throughout the year has been great:
#vultures #birds
news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
#vultures #birds
news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
Road to recovery: Five stories of species staging a comeback
Amid accelerating biodiversity loss and shrinking ecological spaces, it’s easy to lose hope. But every year, there are stories of optimism: of species that are making a comeback after being nearly wip...
news.mongabay.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I'm happy to see Cape Vultures as one of five 2025 "road to recovery" stories at @mongabay.com today. As always, the story is complicated, but things are looking up, and their reporting on vulture conservation throughout the year has been great:
#vultures #birds
news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
#vultures #birds
news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
in hindsight, this one was a little too birder-specific to make it into the New Yorker
December 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
in hindsight, this one was a little too birder-specific to make it into the New Yorker
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Did you know there are 2 types of avocado varieties? A-types switch from female to male, B-types male to female, within a single day. This reciprocal sex alternation promotes cross-pollination and has a simple genetic basis. Read more in this recent preprint from the final chapter of my PhD thesis 🥑
Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies an ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado
In avocado and certain wild relatives in Lauraceae, pollination occurs via a synchronized rhythm of floral sex timing between two hermaphroditic flowering types. A-type plants present female-phase flo...
www.biorxiv.org
December 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Did you know there are 2 types of avocado varieties? A-types switch from female to male, B-types male to female, within a single day. This reciprocal sex alternation promotes cross-pollination and has a simple genetic basis. Read more in this recent preprint from the final chapter of my PhD thesis 🥑
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
This fish seems to use its bizarre skull like a drum
The rockhead poacher’s unusual cranial anatomy may help it communicate
www.science.org
December 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Benjamin Freeman
December 28, 2025 at 12:11 AM