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Reposted by Dr Andrew Mahon

Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 1d

I'm soliciting donations for the @sicb-diz.bsky.social auction at our annual meeting in Portland in January. This is a major fundraiser for the Division's ability to support students! If you would be so kind and want to donate, please use this link: forms.gle/nz8WWSmsdagp...

@sicb.bsky.social

forms.gle

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 1d

Coming to @sicb.bsky.social meeting, want to donate but don't want to bring item(s)? We will have a shipping address available in December!
Please share this thread far and wide! you don't have to be a SICB-DIZ member to donate....all donations are appreciated! (invert themed get bonus points!)

forms.gle

Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 1d

All funds raised will go directly to benefit students through a number of DIZ avenues (fellowships, travel grants, etc.). Items of any kind (books, art, gift cards, etc.) are welcomed and will be included in the live and/or silent auction we will hold in January in Portland. Questions? ask me!

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 1d

I'm soliciting donations for the @sicb-diz.bsky.social auction at our annual meeting in Portland in January. This is a major fundraiser for the Division's ability to support students! If you would be so kind and want to donate, please use this link: forms.gle/nz8WWSmsdagp...

@sicb.bsky.social

forms.gle

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Reposted by Dr Andrew Mahon

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology @sicb.bsky.social · 5d

Only 3 weeks until
@kmkocot.bsky.social 's SICB Zoom on Icy #Invertebrates! 👏
Kevin is a coauthor featured in
www.science.org/doi/full/10....
& ICB co-author of
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

See what his lab it up to & join us for his zoom by emailing [email protected]
www.kocotlab.com

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 11d

🧪these changes will have deep implications for future generations of scientists, weakening the foundation of science for decades to come.

Science Magazine @science.org · 12d

NSF today released instructions for the next round of applicants to its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A key group—second-year Ph.D. students—is no longer eligible, and students who are still able to apply will face an unusually narrow timeframe. https://scim.ag/3KlQkQk

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

www.science.org

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 12d

Legging it in to the weekend. #antarctica. Dodecalopoda mawsoni from east Antarctica in 2023 (nbp23-03 research cruise). So many legs (12 walking legs!!) yes there’s another “normal” pycno there too! 🧪🌎🇦🇶🦑🐧

A sea spider (Pycnogonida) Dodecalopoda mawsoni from east Antarctica in 2023 (nbp23-03 research cruise)

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 16d

A short time-lapse of the clouds going by as we sat at Davis Station in East #Antarctica in 2023 on the RVIB NBP (NBP23-03 research cruise). 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 20d

agreed 10000%. I spent an amazing season diving at Palmer and I've spent over one year at sea on the NBP and LMG....both are integral and essential.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 20d

AND this is me being personally selfish for the science....Im even more upset that there are SO MANY crew, marine techs, and other employees who are sitting in a massively unknown future. They work SO HARD for us 'beakers' to make the science work and now this....THEY deserve better.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 20d

Rumors are flying that they will borrow certain other vessels (one from Alaska....) will that work? Will it be as good? absolutely not. Not when we USED to have two dedicated vessels.....will there be anything besides a transport ship to get things to/from Palmer station....etc. Its heartbreaking.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 20d

Retiring the only remaining ship in the US arsenal that was dedicated to research in the Southern Ocean....it hurts my soul to know how badly this will impact the science and all (scientists, students, crew, etc) who have worked so hard to advance our knowledge of all things #Antarctica 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

The retiring RVIB NBP in 2023 in East Antarctica. research cruise NBP23-03

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 22d

I can hear the song in my head….then the lights exploding….amazing movie moment. He was amazing.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 22d

multiple small(er) samples can work too!....you can always pool the DNA during the extraction phase!

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 22d

yeah...thats not going to be realistic. It always depends on what's in the water....particulates can plug them quickly sometimes. 5L is a lot in that short period of time. I'd say test it out to see....you can estimate 30min but don't be surprised with 1-2h sometimes.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 22d

I use 0.22 micron sterivex filters....its slow filtering most days, but they seem to work. There are papers out there that test pore size, but the flexibility isn't in the filter cartridges unfortunately....so we use what's available.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 23d

a man in a suit and tie stands in front of a screen that says comedy central

Alt: a man in a suit and tie stands in front of a screen that says comedy central

media.tenor.com

Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 26d

Is #fishfriday a thing? Taken in East #Antarctica via our YoYo cam transects in 2023, (NBP23-03)....here are some Antarctic skates (Amblyraja georgiana). 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

East Antarctica taken via our YoYo cam transects in 2023, (NBP23-03)....here are some Antarctic skates (Amblyraja georgiana)

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 27d

Don't want to think about politics today. Here's the southern lights over the RVIB NBP (yes, the one currently being decommissioned) taken from Davis Station in East Antarctica (NBP23-03). We had stopped and they were able to capture the greatest photos all night of our ship and the aurora. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

southern lights over the NBP. Photo credit to the Aus. Ant. Division personnel at Davis Station. Research cruise NBP23-03

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 28d

RNAses that will inhibit signals could come from anywhere....additionally, removing contaminating RNA on everything is even harder. There is a bolus of literature out there on this. Remember, you are TRYING to find snippets of this uber-sensitive molecule and it wants to break down FAST!

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 28d

...setting aside the contamination issues, absolutely. BUT time from sample collection to analysis to results in hand....also a key factor. What lab(s) are at capacity to do this in a realistic timeframe for actionable results? (I'm tossing out hypothetical questions to drive discussion here.....)

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · 28d

correct....BUT the problem is that eRNA is even more susceptible to contamination at every step. Great idea...but is it practical? single species maybe...but for metabarcoding studies? Other thoughts? 🧪🌎🧬

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 28d

Like eDNA, but more sensitive to time? Sounds "environmental RNA" could be a super useful ecosystem monitoring tool if it gets developed www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/09/its-...

It's not all about DNA. RNA could transform real-time environmental surveillance

By vanishing quickly, RNA avoids DNA’s problem of lingering too long, giving ecologists a sharper, more immediate picture of life in lakes, rivers, and beyond.

www.anthropocenemagazine.org

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · Sep 5

that is their color in nature....yes. We preserve them in the field after collection for genomic analyses back in our lab in the US.

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · Sep 5

...and yes, these were taken on the NBP (RV/IB Nathanial B. Palmer)...the ship that the U.S. is in the process of decommissioning as a part of its Antarctic research program, leaving them with no dedicated ships in the region...a MASSIVE loss to science.🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

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Dr Andrew Mahon @andyantarctica.bsky.social · Sep 5

With all going on in the world...I needed to post something that makes me smile today. Here, a Colossendeis robusta (Colossendeidae; sea spider) and a Gentoo penguin being followed by a chinstrap penguin. Both taken on the RVIB NBP as a part of our research cruises to #Antarctica. 🧪🌎🦑🇦🇶🐧

Sea spider on my head after collection. Colossendeidae. taken in 2023 in East Antarctica.

two penguins (gentoo and chinstrap) on an iceberg in 2020 along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

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