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Trevor A. Branch

@trevorabranch.bsky.social

11K followers 250 following 1.2K posts

Professor at Univ of Washington @uwsafs.bsky.social I run models and synthesize data, love R graphics, and do research on the status of marine fisheries, fishing quotas, and blue whales @bluewhalenews.bsky.social

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Environmental science 66%

Geography 18%

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Mar 19

Sorting out the history of whaling pressure on five populations of blue whales in the Indian Ocean and SW Pacific. So many years of work went into this monumental collaboration with many many coauthors. So pleased to see this paper finally published.
doi.org/10.1111/mms....

Blue whale news @bluewhalenews.bsky.social · Mar 19

Published! Our huge effort to obtain catch series for each of five overlapping populations of pygmy blue whales. Big collaboration with 30+ coauthors using spatial patterns of blue whale song (unique to each population) to figure out where each resides 1/n

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 13h

Wonderful infographic on my paper showing that "flight" species of baleen whales generally call too deeply and quietly to be heard by hunting killer whales, unlike the "fight" club.

By A Haddock & C.A. Gallagher, SMM Education Committee

Paper here: doi.org/10.1111/mms....

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 1d

Self-repairing DNA in naked mole rats holds the key to their extreme longevity
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Naked mole rats reveal genetic secret to long life

The bald, subterranean rats are the world's longest-lived rodent.

www.bbc.com

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

@oldenfish.bsky.social any interest or know someone in NC?

Reposted by Trevor A. Branch, Christian Fisch, Ben Kaden

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 2d

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

Look at this incredible whale museum that opens in 2027 in northern Norway (north of the Lofoten Islands)

dortemandrup.dk/work/whale

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

Why does it start with "Hello" instead of "Dear Dr McAnulty"?

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

MacOS *is* Unix though...

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

This is video footage, but at some point they would have collected specimens to describe the new species. There is no fishery on this species or other direct human impact, as far as I know.

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 2d

Vultures as museum curators???

www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

Hoard of 600-year-old treasures uncovered in vulture nests

Archaeologists examining the nests of bearded vultures recovered an ‘extraordinary’ stash of medieval artefacts

www.independent.co.uk

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Reposted by Trevor A. Branch

Anthony (Tony) J. Martin @ichnologist.bsky.social · 2d

I approve of your auto-reply responding to this auto-reply. Yours also reminds me of the Inigo Montoya model for an effective and memorable introduction.

Still shot from the movie "The Princess Bride" of Inigo Montoya (played by Mandy Patinkin), with him saying "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." At the bottom of the image is a list composed of the following: "Remember Inigo Montoya: 1. Polite greeting. 2. Name. 3. Relevant personal link. 4. Manage expectations."

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 3d

Wexford Harbor was the site of a famous blue whale stranding 25 March 1891... the skeleton that now hangs in the cathedral of science: Natural History Museum, London.

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 3d

Google translate: "Always so forked"

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 3d

Yes. Generally there is a slight bias for more male births overall (like in humans, around 51-52%), but on top of this is a tendency for longer females to have more female births and shorter females to have more male births.

Reposted by Trevor A. Branch

uofwa.bsky.social @uofwa.bsky.social · 4d

UW alum Mary Brunkow, ’83, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine this morning.
This photo was taken while she was on the phone with the Nobel Committee in Sweden. Mary said she initially missed the call because a strange number popped up on her phone — she thought it might be spam.
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 6d

Yes. It's a very good and clear guide for ID (albeit before some new species were recognised).

Reposted by Alessandro Tagliabue

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 7d

Which whale species did I see? Leatherwood et al. (1982, p. 10) is hard to beat...

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 7d

Woah this is wild. Non-student Nazi sympathizer interrupts Univ Washington lecture and gets chased out of campus by students and professor.
www.kiro7.com/news/local/h...

Hundred UW students, professor chase self-professed Nazi sympathizer after lecture interruption

According to UW, the man entered the classroom during a lecture, interrupted the session by making Nazi salutes, and shouted insults at both the instructor and students.

www.kiro7.com

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Reposted by Trevor A. Branch

Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 7d

In awe of this absolute power move. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/j...

Jane Goodall ‘Famous Last Words’ Doc Gets Posthumous Release on Netflix

The late primatologist, in one of her last interviews, will kick off a docuseries about cultural icons discussing their life and legacy in words to be heard only after their death.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

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Reposted by Trevor A. Branch

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7d

Weber State University in Utah was set to host a conference this week on "Navigating the Complexities of Censorship.”

Then, the conference got ... censored.

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www.sltrib.com/amplify-utah...

‘I was ordered to lie’: Weber State censorship event canceled, after organizers said school wanted to censor speakers

Weber State University's annual Unity Conference tried to tackle the subject of censorship. Organizers said they canceled when school officials said they would have to censor some of the speakers' mat...

www.sltrib.com

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Reposted by Trevor A. Branch, Zen Faulkes

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 9d

Very common here as well (Olympic National Park, USA), but I can't remember which two species tend to be close together in pairs.

Reposted by Trevor A. Branch

Waves_SF @waves-sf.bsky.social · 9d

My absolute favorite part of the Field Museum's "What the Fish?" podcast was the episode where the ichthyologists discussed eating their study fish, and the paleoichtyologist explained that her study fish tastes like dirt. 💙 🪨

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Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Dorothy Bishop, Brigitte Nerlich , and 8 more Lisa W. Fazio, Dorothy Bishop, Brigitte Nerlich, Peter Thorne, Jesse H. Kroll, Jussi T. Eronen, Devon Greyson, Trevor A. Branch, Zen Faulkes, Jack Stilgoe, Federica Genovese

Science Vs @sciencevs.bsky.social · 9d

This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...

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Reposted by Trevor A. Branch, Jan Machielsen

Sam Ottewill-Soulsby @samottewillsoulsby.bsky.social · 9d

I absolutely adore the 404 page for the @financialtimes.com

Amusing 404 page explaining why the intended page wasn’t found using various economic concepts.

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 11d

Ha ha ha!!! Brake fluid maybe...

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 11d

I own a Nissan Leaf, a relatively cheap electric car. It does not need maintenance at anywhere near the level or expense of a gas car. The dealer is desperately sending emails that says "Your electric car needs some maintenance"

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Reposted by Elena Litchman, Trevor A. Branch, Kate Starbird

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 11d

There is time to urge a change to the current #GRFP solicitation ( #NSF 25-547 ): reverse the eligibility restrictions and ensure applicants (including 2nd year PhD students) have a fair chance in the competition.

Feel free to sign and share this open petition:
laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition

laurenkuehne.github.io

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 11d

A little bit of coverage of our paper in @nature.com!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Big mother whales have more daughters than sons

Archival whaling data reveal a sex bias in the offspring of long female whales.

www.nature.com

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 11d

Real, but I assume predatory.

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Trevor A. Branch

Julian Olden @oldenfish.bsky.social · 12d

I've been proud to serve as the faculty leader for this effort. It has been a pleasure to interact with passionate students and emerging science communicators for many years now! We publish annually. I encourage you to check out past issues and follow! @uwsafs.bsky.social @trevorabranch.bsky.social

FieldNotes @fieldnotes-uw.bsky.social · 12d

FieldNotes (fieldnotesjournal.org) is a student-run undergraduate journal and digital storytelling platform at @uwenvironment.bsky.social. We have focused on highlighting undergraduate research and publishing through-provoking articles about gnarly environmental issues since 2018. Please follow.

FIELDNOTES

fieldnotesjournal.org

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