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Andrew Iwaniuk

@evoneuro.bsky.social

2.6K followers 1.7K following 1.8K posts

neurobiologist, ornithologist, scruffy looking nerfherder, social distancing since 1974, currently at U Lethbridge, Treaty 7 lands 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 stuff open access link for our book: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/6000/Bird-Brains-and-BehaviorA-Synthesis

direct.mit.edu

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · Jul 2

In celebration of me avoiding becoming department chair for the next 3 years and receiving a new research chair, please enjoy one of my favourite parrot photos from two years ago.
Crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans)
#birds #birding #academicsky #WildOz #parrots 🪶🦜🇨🇦🇦🇺

A bright red parrot with a silver beak, blue cheeks and blue wing patches is perched on the top of a shrub against a cloudless blue sky.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 3h

Well, he has now made the decision even easier!

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 4h

I don’t live there anymore but Melbourne is a solid contender

Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 4h

Sadly, I know that as I actually read through it once. Apart from the iffy credentials of the university, the thesis is not great. Lots of theses are not great, but for someone in the public eye, this is embarrassing. Almost as much as Brian Jean's garbage degree from Bond University.

Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 6h

This sounds like a good question for the minister should he make a public appearance at some point

Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 8h

Galah. The alternative name, rose breasted cockatoo, is only used outside of its homeland in Australia

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 8h

100% and it shows a gross ignorance of the literature. There are many, many papers analyzing racial, sex, and socioeconomic biases in the sciences and academia in general. The data are there. He chooses to ignore the data at his own peril.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 9h

I heard from several people working with shorebirds that missing legs and feet are relatively common. The injury often occurs because of entanglement in fishing line 😔

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 10h

Pinker should stay in his lane.
And the dude complaining about his grant being rejected should try READING THE INSTRUCTIONS. Daring NSERC to reject your grant by refusing to follow the instructions will be responded to by rejection. I saw it myself on an NSERC committee at least twice.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 10h

How does a social/political science PhD thesis at University of Cyprus make him an expert in K-12 education in Canada? Has he tried to manage 30+ kids under the age of 10 on his own? I couldn't manage 10 kids at an 8 year old's birthday party on my own, but he has all the f-ing answers. Right.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 10h

I will note that I don’t think any of these include any brain measurements. But I don’t know if anyone cares or will use a curated bird brain (and brain region) size dataset…

Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 11h

My #Spotted #BirdOfTheDay is the Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius), one of the most common sandpipers in North America. This one legged sandpiper was a common sight along our local river last year.
#birds #birding #shorebirds #Alberta #wildlife 🪶🇨🇦

A one legged sandpiper with a brown back, whitish eye stripe and a spotted neck, chest, and belly is standing on top of a large piece of driftwood. The background is an out of focus blue sky and green field.

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

Bentley @bigclimate.bsky.social · 1d

Sometimes you really do have to draw a picture for folks. #ClimateChange #yyc #ClimateSky

Image 1: Western Canada showing temperatures in the 20s on October 7th, 2025

Image 2: AQHI off the charts at 10+ for hazardous smoke in Calgary’s air & a graph detailing how we always used to breathe only around 12 hours of smokey air per year and are now regularly in the 100s

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 12h

It's the type of answer I expect on exams from the student who couldn't be bothered showing up to class most of the semester.

Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 15h

As I tell my students, if you arrived at a simple answer in biology you have done one of two things: arrived at the wrong answer or asked the wrong question

Claus Wilke @clauswilke.com · 2d

Biology is much more complicated than most non-biologists can imagine. And AI is not going to change this anytime soon.
blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/we-still-c...

We still can’t predict much of anything in biology

Biology is hard. Yes, even for AI.

blog.genesmindsmachines.com

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 15h

Agreed. It may be a case of nose holding to vote against populism. Again

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 16h

To paraphrase the last Australian federal election, the choice is shit or even more shit 🤣

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

Yale of Gilead North (Alberta) @ydbelanger.bsky.social · 16h

My comments on the #Lethbridge mayoral race. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely intended. Enjoy!
yalebelanger.wordpress.com/2025/10/09/t...

Two Stories, No Strategy: Lethbridge’s Mayoral Race, 2025

Bear with me while I quickly cite the oft-maligned former U.S. President Richard Milhous Nixon, who, in a 1971 speech, reflected on the increasingly combustible nature of American politics. He obse…

yalebelanger.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

Dr Nick 🦉🇦🇺 @doktrnick.bsky.social · 1d

Powerful Owl pair (female left) in a Brisbane conservation park this morning. Don't forget to put in your vote today for Powerful Owls for Bird of the Year:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Male and female (L) Powerful Owl roosting about a metre apart on a branch.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 1d

The earliest the teachers could go back is Oct 20th. Based on how Minister Nicolaides treated ULethbridge during our strike/lockout in 2022, the plan might be to try to starve teachers out. The UCP gets a lot of "advice" from union-busting legal counsel.

Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 1d

Danielle Smith announces plans to hold her breath until she gets what she wants

EDMONTON – After meeting with Mark Carney to discuss pipeline construction, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has vowed to hold her breath until the Prime Minister gives her absolutely everything she ask...

thebeaverton.com

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

Merlin Ca @merlinofcanada.bsky.social · 1d

I support Alberta Teachers

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 1d

I struggle to get decent photos of kestrels in 🇨🇦 or 🇦🇺, but I can provide an example of one of the North American tits, the boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus), for #BirdOfTheDay.
#birds #birding 🪶

A small, large headed songbird with a short bill, brown cap, grey collar, black throat, small white cheek patch, and light brown flanks is standing on grass surrounded by shelled sunflower seeds.

A small, large headed songbird with a short bill, brown cap, grey collar, black throat, small white cheek patch, and light brown flanks is perched on the bare branch of a willow tree.

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 1d

I would like to personally thank administration and support staff for ruining my entire day and preventing me from attending the rally to support Alberta teachers. Despite our need to hire faculty, applicants should be aware that doing research here is difficult.

a cartoon of spongebob with the words work is so fun

ALT: a cartoon of spongebob with the words work is so fun

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 1d

Canada vs. America

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Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk

The Alberta Teachers’ Association @albertateachers.bsky.social · 1d

#SupportABTeachers

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