Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · 27d

New paper! PhD student Julie Rej found that invasive brown anoles are more aggressive than native green anoles across a wide range of temperatures. The difference is greatest when it's hottest, ie, heat amplifies the aggression of an invasive species!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

High temperatures amplify aggressiveness of an invasive lizard toward a native congener

Invasive species cause major disturbances to endemic wildlife and often displace native species. Behavioral aggression can contribute to invasive spec…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 26

Some more nice coverage of the lead work

Picture of a lizard attached to a pencil with text saying that researchers have found that lizards in New Orleans are so full of lead you can write with them

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 26

The work of @basicbiologist23.bsky.social on lizards and lead in Nat Geo!
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

These lizards can survive (and thrive) on a lethal dose of lead

Small lizards in New Orleans have an “unprecedented” tolerance for the toxic heavy metal. How are they even alive?

www.nationalgeographic.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

NOLA.com @nolanews.bsky.social · Aug 22

Brown lizards in New Orleans carry more lead in their blood than any other animal on record — levels that would kill humans — yet they seem unfazed, according to new Tulane study.

Lizards in New Orleans have highest blood-lead levels ever recorded, study finds

Brown lizards in New Orleans carry more lead in their blood than any other animal on record — levels that would kill humans — yet they seem unfazed, according to new Tulane study.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 8

Early view: we find that brown anole lizards are one of, if not the most, lead tolerant vertebrates known to science combining measures of field exposure, responses to lab dosing, performance assays and functional genomics. Led by PhD student Annelise Blanchette
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unprecedented lead tolerance in an urban lizard

Lead (Pb) is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant pervasive in many environments with serious health consequences for humans and wildlife. We foun…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 8

Thanks James!

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 8

See this thread for an in-depth summary based on the preprint bsky.app/profile/agun...

Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Dec 11

New work from the lab! Annelise Blanchette found that brown anole lizards may be the most lead (pb) tolerant vertebrate known to date by integrating physiological studies of field and lab exposed animals and transcriptomics #urbanecology #ecotox #anolis 🦎 1/n

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Extreme lead tolerance in an urban lizard

Lead (Pb) is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant pervasive in many environments with serious health consequences for humans and wildlife. Identifying organisms that can serve as biomonitors of le...

www.biorxiv.org

Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Aug 8

Early view: we find that brown anole lizards are one of, if not the most, lead tolerant vertebrates known to science combining measures of field exposure, responses to lab dosing, performance assays and functional genomics. Led by PhD student Annelise Blanchette
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unprecedented lead tolerance in an urban lizard

Lead (Pb) is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant pervasive in many environments with serious health consequences for humans and wildlife. We foun…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Apr 8

A lilac breasted roller looking resplendent

A bird with a pink chest and blue belly perching on a tree

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Apr 8

A lilac breasted roller looking resplendent

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Mar 27

Thanks!

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Mar 27

We made the cover

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cover of the journal "Nature" showing a long-nosed horned frog on leaf litter and the words "Heat Stress: How vulnerable are the worlds amphibians to rising temperatures?"

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Mar 24

Done

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Mar 7

Thanks!

Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Nicholas Wu @nicholaswu.bsky.social · Mar 6

New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵

Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Mar 6

Happy to see this out and congrats in particular to @patricepottier.bsky.social after leading such a huge effort! I think there are some really interesting findings here that challenge common ideas about the geography of warming risk and how we measure it

Szymek Drobniak @szymekdr.bsky.social · Mar 5

@nature.com has just published online our new paper!🎉🐸🌡️Lead by @patricepottier.bsky.social and supervised by myself and @itchyshin.bsky.social: in this massive research effort we overcome several common convictions related to the topics we studied. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Here are take-homes.

Vulnerability of amphibians to global warming - Nature

A 4 °C global temperature increase would push 7.5% of amphibian species beyond their physiological limits.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Nature @nature.com · Mar 5

Nature research paper: Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila

https://go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila - Nature

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and thermosensory circuits in the flies.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Feb 22

Another dataset I like is from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, which has maps of the US that show we fixed the acid rain problem by implementing stricter emission controls on power plants.

nadp.slh.wisc.edu/maps-data/nt...

Map of the United States displaying hydrogen ion wet deposition levels from measurements taken in 1985 by the Central Analytical Laboratory. The map uses a color gradient from green (low deposition) to red (high deposition) to show varying levels of H+ deposition (kg/ha). The highest deposition levels are concentrated in the northeastern U.S., while the western U.S. has the lowest levels. Black dots indicate measurement locations. The map is sourced from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network

Map showing hydrogen ion wet deposition measurements across the United States and parts of Canada, indicating values in kg/ha for 2022. The color gradient represents different concentration levels, with a scale on the right. Sites not pictured are listed at the bottom. The map is mostly green, indicating that H+ deposition is no longer a environment issue that it once was.

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Karen R. Lips @karenrlips.bsky.social · Feb 20

Thanks to @jdrakephd.bsky.social for highlighting the importance of #amphibians in the services they provide to humans www.forbes.com/sites/johndr... #malaria #disease #frogs #tropical 🐸🧪🌎🦟

Amphibian Declines Increase Malaria In Costa Rica And Panama

New studies quantify how intact ecosystems improve human health

www.forbes.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Erin 🦇🎃EEK🎃🦇 Kane @dianamonkey.bsky.social · Feb 8

In case folks are interested in contacting their congresspeople about the NIH indirect cuts with some estimates of what they would mean for institutions in their state, here are some estimates based on published F&A rates and funding ... let me know if you want a particular state

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Thom Sanger @thomsanger.bsky.social · Feb 5

SICB is back! Please follow the society's new BlueSky account: @sicb.bsky.social SICB recognizes that the scientific enterprise is only successful because of the people performing that science. Without those people, science and all of the political and economic strength that it provides, stops.

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Andrew M Leber @andrewleber.bsky.social · Jan 29

Louisiana folks - Sen. Cassidy may be wavering on RFKj.

Cassidy's office number in DC is (202) 224-5824 if you want to let him know what you think about that nomination.

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Alex Gunderson @agunderson.bsky.social · Jan 28

If you need a distraction consider reading the final version of this paper on the heat tolerance of lizard sperm by PhD student Wayne Wang in JEB!

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

Heat sensitivity of sperm in the lizard Anolis sagrei

Summary: Investigation of gamete heat sensitivity reveals heat tolerance and repeatability in lizard sperm. These findings are essential for understanding reproductive responses to climate change.

journals.biologists.com

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Reposted by Alex Gunderson

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Jan 28

It is very easy to call your representatives’ offices. They have to log your calls and the call numbers are meaningful. You don’t even have to try to convince anyone; just call and tell them your concerns. They are there to represent you. Let them know what that means. www.usa.gov/elected-offi...

Find and contact elected officials | USAGov

Use USAGov’s Contact Your Elected Officials tool to get contact information for your members of Congress, the president, and state and local officials.

www.usa.gov

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Karen Hao @karenhao.bsky.social · Jan 27

As someone who has reported on AI for 7 years and covered China tech as well, I think the biggest lesson to be drawn from DeepSeek is the huge cracks it illustrates with the current dominant paradigm of AI development. A long thread. 1/

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