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Dr. Cosima Porteus

@cosimaporteus.bsky.social

2.7K followers 600 following 24 posts

Asst Prof #UTSC Comparative physiologist working on #climatechange #hypoxia #oceanacidification effects on aquatic organisms #senses physiology and behaviour. Opinions my own. She/her

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 13

🐟 New paper out where we show that aquartic hypoxia affects the olfaction of marine fish! Work by @liamtigert.bsky.social during a @biologists.bsky.social travelling fellowship to work at CCMar with Peter Hubbard
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
@utsc.bsky.social @utscbiology.bsky.social

Effects of hypoxia on the olfactory sensitivity of gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata)

Highlighted Article: Electrophysiology shows that low external oxygen levels can impair the olfactory sensitivity of a coastal marine fish species.

journals.biologists.com

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · 14d

You can download the planet health report here. Sombering yet hopeful news!
www.planetaryhealthcheck.org

Homepage - Planetary Health Check

We have breached 7 out of 9 Planetary Boundaries.The Planetary Health Check 2025 makes it clear: We have to act now.

www.planetaryhealthcheck.org

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · 14d

I was interviewed by the CBC on a new report on the state of our planet. Check it out ⬇️⬇️
www.cbc.ca/news/climate...
@utscbiology.bsky.social @utscresearch.bsky.social

Oceans have crossed 'safe' acidic threshold, scientists warn | CBC News

The latest Planetary Health Check report says ocean acidification has reached risky territory. Experts say it will reduce our oceans’ ability to absorb the carbon we emit and also weaken the shellfish...

www.cbc.ca

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · May 10

Our lab was at the Toronto Zoo as part of Science Rendezvous. We had fun talking to kids and adults about the sense of smell of fish! @liamtigert.bsky.social @utscbiology.bsky.social @utscresearch.bsky.social

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Apr 17

I'm looking for a post doc to work on the effects of CO2 and diet on lake whitefish growth and physiology in collaboration with Dr David Huyben. Term 12 months, salary 60k CAD. More info here utsc.utoronto.ca/biosci/emplo.... Deadline May 18! @utscbiology.bsky.social

A fish rank showing juvenile lake white fish swimming around. Tank had a partial cover with a whole in the middle showing fish.

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Mar 26

Thank you!

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Feb 27

Rose did great work in the lab! A very talented researcher! It was a pleasure mentoring and working with her!! #proudsupervisor @utscbiology.bsky.social @utscresearch.bsky.social

Cell & Systems Biology (CSB) @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social · Feb 26

We’re excited to hear about Roselaide Decker’s work from the @cosimaporteus.bsky.social Porteus lab!
This story underlines the importance of applying for Undergraduate Student Research Awards.

Black Research Network: ‘Science and possibility’: UTSC student steps towards research career with national funding program

When Roselaide Decker first started at the University of Toronto Scarborough, she made a list of research programs to pursue. A top...

brn.utoronto.ca

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Feb 16

TT job in Comparative Physiology at U Ottawa. Check it out!

www.affairesuniversitaires.ca/trouver-un-e...

Emplois - Affaires universitaires

www.affairesuniversitaires.ca

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Reposted by Dr. Cosima Porteus

Olivia Wilkins Lab @oli-wilkins.bsky.social · Dec 16

🍁Please repost

📣 3 tenure track positions @umanitoba.bsky.social Bio Sci. All positions are in cell and systems biology:

1 in syn bio or biochem
2 in aquatic organisms (🌿, 🐟, 🪱, …)

Genetics, dev bio, cell bio, specialized metabolism…

viprecprod.ad.umanitoba.ca/default.ASPX...

viprecprod.ad.umanitoba.ca

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 28

Sorry. Wrong tag!

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 28

Had a great time calibrating our @loligo.bsky.social fish swim tunnel today with my MSc student, Gary. Took a couple of tries but got it working! @utscbiology.bsky.social

A picture of a swim tunnel in the dark with a green laser shining through it. The chamber contains fluorescent beads used to calibrate the water velocity

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Reposted by Dr. Cosima Porteus

Andrea Fuller @andreafuller.bsky.social · Jan 14

Using biologging approaches to obtain insights on animal physiology for conservation and management? Interested in new technological developments in biologging? 🐿️🐍🐟🐢🐅🐬🐘🦉🦇Join us in our symposium and workshop at the @sebiology.bsky.social conference in July! Submit your abstract to session A16.

SEB Annual Conference Antwerp 2025

Abstract submissions will open from Monday 6th January until Friday 7th March 2025

www.sebiology.org

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

And we made the cover of the first issue of 2025!! @jexpbiol.bsky.social @liamtigert.bsky.social @utscbiology.bsky.social @utsc.bsky.social

Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · Jan 15

Issue 1 has closed and issue 2 is open

journals.biologists.com/jeb/issue/22...

The cover image, by João Encarnação, shows a gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) swimming by a man-made structure covered in algae

@cosimaporteus.bsky.social

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

4) The responses were completely reversible when fish were exposed to normoxic sea water after.

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

3)The responses to some odorants (L-cysteine) were more affected by hypoxia than the response to others (L-Arginine)

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

2) mild hypoxia (50%sat) decreased olfaction just as much as more severe hypoxia!

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

A 🧵 about some interesting findings from our latest paper:

1)external hypoxia not hypoxaemia (internal hypoxia) causes a decrease in olfactory sensitivity in seabream
@utsc.bsky.social @utscbiology.bsky.social @liamtigert.bsky.social

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

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

Thank you @vdisanto.bsky.social!

Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 15

Great job @liamtigert.bsky.social!

Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · Jan 14

Human pollution & climate change are sapping coastal waters of oxygen & now Liam Tigert, Peter Hubbard & @cosimaporteus.bsky.social show that fish struggle to smell some food odours when O2 levels are low, although the sense recovers when O2 returns to normal

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

Sparus aurata (gilt-head seabream), with a European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in the background, in the Maremagnum Room of the Aquarium Finisterrae (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain). Photo credit: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 13

Effects of hypoxia on the olfactory sensitivity of gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata)

Highlighted Article: Electrophysiology shows that low external oxygen levels can impair the olfactory sensitivity of a coastal marine fish species.

journals.biologists.com

1 3 12

Reposted by Dr. Cosima Porteus

Gail McConnell @gailmcconnell.bsky.social · Jan 10

Our fully 3D-printed microscope is featured in @newscientist.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2462...

World’s first fully 3D-printed microscope made in under 3 hours

The microscope cost less than £50 to build using an open-source design and a common 3D printer

www.newscientist.com

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Jan 10

In the lab 😁 finally getting around to testing a new piece of equipment - LI-COR DIC analyzer. Love the nice peak! This will support our climate change research on fish! @utscbiology.bsky.social @utsc.bsky.social Thank you to CFI for funding to buy this incredible machine!

A laptop showing a bell curve on top of a CO2 analyzer with various bottle around it.

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Reposted by Dr. Cosima Porteus

freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · Nov 26

Now that I have some followers here, figured I'd post this here too: we have an ongoing cluster hire (THREE faculty positions) in Biology at Lakehead- transformational change in the department. Will provide links to each position in a thread below, but please DM or reach out with questions (1/6)

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Dec 18

The Porteus lab winter holiday outing! Delicious Mexican food at The Distillery district followed by AXE THROWING! So much fun! So lucky to have such an amazing team! @utscbiology.bsky.social @utsc.bsky.social

A group of five people around a table smiling in a Mexican restaurant, one with thumbs up

A group of 5 people holding axes posing in front of 2 axe throwing lanes

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Reposted by Dr. Cosima Porteus

Wolfgang Blau @wblau.bsky.social · Dec 13

From 1.5C to 2C of global warming is an increase by 33.3 percent. Many people assume that the negative impacts of this would also increase by only 33.3 percent. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The increase is non-linear.
This is one of the biggest missing pieces in public climate literacy.

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Dr. Cosima Porteus @cosimaporteus.bsky.social · Nov 28

Welcome!!