Tom Langen
@calocitta.bsky.social
parent, birder, story teller, ecologist, academic
Optimist peepers
Chirping like it’s Spring
On late November’s
Last warm and damp day
Soon these frogs will freeze
Dead the winter long
‘Til resurrection
In the first March rains
#poetry 🌿🐍
Chirping like it’s Spring
On late November’s
Last warm and damp day
Soon these frogs will freeze
Dead the winter long
‘Til resurrection
In the first March rains
#poetry 🌿🐍
November 26, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Optimist peepers
Chirping like it’s Spring
On late November’s
Last warm and damp day
Soon these frogs will freeze
Dead the winter long
‘Til resurrection
In the first March rains
#poetry 🌿🐍
Chirping like it’s Spring
On late November’s
Last warm and damp day
Soon these frogs will freeze
Dead the winter long
‘Til resurrection
In the first March rains
#poetry 🌿🐍
Reposted by Tom Langen
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reposted by Tom Langen
"The high-income admissions advantage at Ivy-Plus colleges is driven by....(1) preferences for children of alumni, (2) weight placed on non-academic credentials, and (3) athletic recruitment" which are "uncorrelated or negatively correlated with post-college outcomes" unlike SAT/ACT scores
Recently accepted by #QJE, “Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges,” by Chetty (@Oppinsights), Deming, and Friedman: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges*
Abstract. We use anonymized admissions data from several colleges linked to income tax records and SAT and ACT test scores to study the determinants and ca
doi.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:29 PM
"The high-income admissions advantage at Ivy-Plus colleges is driven by....(1) preferences for children of alumni, (2) weight placed on non-academic credentials, and (3) athletic recruitment" which are "uncorrelated or negatively correlated with post-college outcomes" unlike SAT/ACT scores
Reposted by Tom Langen
A reminder to anyone interested in #brains #birds or behaviour, our new book is available for FREE as an ebook in addition to print copies.
#neuroethology #neuroskyence #ornithology 🧪🧠🪶
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
#neuroethology #neuroskyence #ornithology 🧪🧠🪶
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Bird Brains and Behavior: A Synthesis
From two avian neurobiologists, a captivating deep dive into the mechanisms that control avian behavior.The last few decades have produced extensive resear
direct.mit.edu
November 20, 2025 at 11:58 AM
A reminder to anyone interested in #brains #birds or behaviour, our new book is available for FREE as an ebook in addition to print copies.
#neuroethology #neuroskyence #ornithology 🧪🧠🪶
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
#neuroethology #neuroskyence #ornithology 🧪🧠🪶
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Reposted by Tom Langen
Unpaid internships reproduce the class problem in conservation. I don’t blame individuals for taking them (though would encourage them to reflect on who can/can’t afford to do so). I do find organizations offering them problematic - it shows me their politics. But you already know all this :)
November 17, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Unpaid internships reproduce the class problem in conservation. I don’t blame individuals for taking them (though would encourage them to reflect on who can/can’t afford to do so). I do find organizations offering them problematic - it shows me their politics. But you already know all this :)
OK, how weird is nature? Here is a species of ant for which the queen lays eggs that produce males of two species - her own and a distantly-related congener - and eggs that produce daughters of her species and daughters who are hybrids. 🌿🧪
The Ants That Broke Biology
YouTube video by 7 Days of Science
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:13 PM
OK, how weird is nature? Here is a species of ant for which the queen lays eggs that produce males of two species - her own and a distantly-related congener - and eggs that produce daughters of her species and daughters who are hybrids. 🌿🧪
Reposted by Tom Langen
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
Some excellent first reflections about the life of James Watson, from one of America's finest historians of biology, who happens to have a book coming out about JW next year.
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Some excellent first reflections about the life of James Watson, from one of America's finest historians of biology, who happens to have a book coming out about JW next year.
Reposted by Tom Langen
Last month I featured @calocitta.bsky.social, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist #envhum
#envhist #envhum
This autumn has been ROUGH for parenting/work balance, and thus, I'm just sitting down to promote my @nichecanada.bsky.social #EnvHist worth reading list for September! New list out next Friday.
niche-canada.org/2025/10/11/e...
niche-canada.org/2025/10/11/e...
#EnvHist Worth Reading: September 2025
Find historical ecology, a chicken tax, and living rivers in the September list of environmental history worth reading from Jessica DeWitt.
niche-canada.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Last month I featured @calocitta.bsky.social, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, and more!
#envhist #envhum
#envhist #envhum
Be careful! With the time change, you risk of hitting a deer with your vehicle goes up, at a time of the year when the risk his highest (the rut). 🦊🌿🦤
theconversation.com/another-prob...
theconversation.com/another-prob...
Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road
Dusk is a dangerous time of day for hitting wildlife on the road, and the one-hour time change means more drivers are out while deer are at their most active and visibility is dropping.
theconversation.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Be careful! With the time change, you risk of hitting a deer with your vehicle goes up, at a time of the year when the risk his highest (the rut). 🦊🌿🦤
theconversation.com/another-prob...
theconversation.com/another-prob...
Burkina Faso lives up to its name and stands up to the vindictive US government - it refuses to be used as a prison camp for US deportees from around the world, and the US retaliates.
Washington sanctions Ouagadougou for refusing to accept deportees from the United States
Following Ouagadougou’s refusal to accept migrants deported from the United States, Washington has resolved to send Burkinabé visa applicants to Togo.
globalvoices.org
November 1, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Burkina Faso lives up to its name and stands up to the vindictive US government - it refuses to be used as a prison camp for US deportees from around the world, and the US retaliates.
October 26, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The leaves are gold and scarlet,
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
October 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
The leaves are gold and scarlet,
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
The sky is as grey as lead.
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
The air smells of woodsmoke,
Old fruit, dead leaves, and bread,
It’s time to turn the compost,
And put the garden to bed.
🌿🌱#Poetry
HHS Secretary Kennedy "is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action," 🧪
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a chemtrail? A new conspiracy theory finds traction at Kennedy’s HHS | CNN
The idea that airplane vapors are toxic to people or that there are ongoing efforts to intentionally change the climate made the social media rounds. Now, it has found advocates at the Department of H...
www.cnn.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:05 AM
HHS Secretary Kennedy "is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action," 🧪
The trouble with Canada geese. 🦉🌎🌿
Nobody Loves a Goose - Offrange
Why the overabundance of Canada geese are causing environmental, health, and crop issues far and wide.
ambrook.com
October 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
The trouble with Canada geese. 🦉🌎🌿
I am proud to have published an article in this journal.
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
TWS Journals
Click on the article title to read more.
wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I am proud to have published an article in this journal.
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
R.I.P. Journal of Fish & Wildlife Management. Deceased not because of a lack of need or demand, but as an intentional political program to eliminate scientific research from the federal government functions. 🧪🌎🦤
An excellent piece on the A2A (Adirondack to Algonquin) biological corridor and the need for wildlife passage structures over some major highways. 🦤🌎
New infrastructure could help wildlife traverse a corridor that spans from Ontario to the ADKs
As the Ontario Ministry of Transportation plans to expand Highway 401, the A2A Collaborative is proposing new wildlife over and underpasses to help animals migrate.
www.northcountrypublicradio.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 AM
An excellent piece on the A2A (Adirondack to Algonquin) biological corridor and the need for wildlife passage structures over some major highways. 🦤🌎
Well, some universities, at least, are refusing to sign away their core principles. Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Penn, USC and Virginia are doing the right thing.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
University of Arizona becomes seventh US college to reject Trump’s ‘compact’
Administration has pushed nine universities to sign a deal that seeks to make changes in line with conservative ideas
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Well, some universities, at least, are refusing to sign away their core principles. Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, Penn, USC and Virginia are doing the right thing.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Tom Langen
Hero’s of the day - In a small town of Beckley, WV, Kendra Sullivan staged a one-woman No Kings protest. She was confronted, had the police called on her, but stood her ground. She was physically threatened. Police came more than once and protected her right to protest. This is how we do it.
October 19, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Hero’s of the day - In a small town of Beckley, WV, Kendra Sullivan staged a one-woman No Kings protest. She was confronted, had the police called on her, but stood her ground. She was physically threatened. Police came more than once and protected her right to protest. This is how we do it.
Many universities are swiftly, even eagerly slipping into the wave of repression against free speech and press. U. of Indiana and Purdue U. are two of those. Bravo on the Purdue Exponent for coming to the support of IU's beleaguered student newspaper. Makes this alumnus proud.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Purdue student journalists deliver special 'solidarity' newspaper to IU Bloomington campus
The special edition blasted across town features columns from IDS and Exponent editors, alongside QR codes to support both student papers.
www.yahoo.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Many universities are swiftly, even eagerly slipping into the wave of repression against free speech and press. U. of Indiana and Purdue U. are two of those. Bravo on the Purdue Exponent for coming to the support of IU's beleaguered student newspaper. Makes this alumnus proud.
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Tom Langen
🔥 When Indiana silenced its student press, Purdue broke the silence. Rivalry became rebellion as students printed the forbidden paper and carried it through the night to Bloomington. This is what freedom looks like when courage refuses permission.
October 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
🔥 When Indiana silenced its student press, Purdue broke the silence. Rivalry became rebellion as students printed the forbidden paper and carried it through the night to Bloomington. This is what freedom looks like when courage refuses permission.
Ungraded homeworks pile high and you drink hot coffee black,
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
October 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Ungraded homeworks pile high and you drink hot coffee black,
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
When frost is on the windshield and dec’rative holiday crap is back.
Excellent timely piece on how climate change is changing winter on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and the need for winter limnological research across the region.
🧪🌎🌿
🧪🌎🌿
Warmer weather is leading to vanishing winters in North America’s Great Lakes
Warming winters are impacting lakes globally. However, most monitoring in the Great Lakes occurs during warmer, calmer weather. A new report highlights how policymakers can improve winter monitoring.
theconversation.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Excellent timely piece on how climate change is changing winter on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and the need for winter limnological research across the region.
🧪🌎🌿
🧪🌎🌿
Reposted by Tom Langen
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes (Nature Genetics) (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) buff.ly/AfoaxtF
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW
Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes | Plantae
Pangenomes are amazing resources that provide glimpses into evolution that no single genome can capture. This new article by Dong et al. is a treat, as it describes the findings from a compilation of…
buff.ly
October 14, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Lessons from 138 bryophyte genomes (Nature Genetics) (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) buff.ly/AfoaxtF
#PlantaePSRW
#PlantaePSRW