Taya de Blonk
LightNews LightNews
evolutionoftaya.bsky.social
Taya de Blonk
@evolutionoftaya.bsky.social
29 followers 57 following 0 posts
Behavioral ecology, genetics & genomics, systematics, ichthyology 👩🏻‍💻🧬 NCSU MEAS PhD student in the NC Fish Lab 🐟🐠🌎
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
amfisheriessoc.bsky.social
The American Fisheries Society extends our support to the furloughed fisheries and aquatics professionals affected by the U.S. federal government shutdown. Read our full statement on the shutdown and its impacts on natural resources here fisheries.org/2025/10/afs-...
October 7, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
fisheriespod.bsky.social
This week, Alanna talks to Dr. Jessie Kittel, a research scientist at the Blue World Research Institute. Jessie's research using modeling techniques has varied from humpback whales to yellowtail flounder. Jessie is also a 100-ton captain!
August 14, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
fishevodevogeno.bsky.social
Quote of the Day,

as found in "Comparative Vertebrate and Human Anatomy: Ecology, Evolution, and Function"
pressbooks.palni.org/comparativev...

Check it out - looks great!

#EndlessFishMostBeautiful
July 31, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
windsor-aguirre.bsky.social
“We are undergoing unprecedented loss of freshwater across the planet.”

And need new leadership yesterday. :/

www.newscientist.com/article/2490...
We are undergoing unprecedented loss of freshwater across the planet
Rising temperatures are causing water to evaporate and driving humans to extract more groundwater, which is moving freshwater from the land to the seas and creating a "continental drying" trend
www.newscientist.com
July 28, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
echinoblog.bsky.social
NEMO! (a clownfish) with lil cymothoid isopod friend! Lembeh Photo by Dave Johnson Photography www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4...
orange clownfish, with white stripe amidst sea anemone tentacles, with isopod in mouth which parasitically replaces the tongue
July 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
sternarchella.bsky.social
Every fish that we catch has a story, some are crazier than others. We caught this unicornfish during a night dive in Okinawa last year. The trip was memorable because we had to end the dive early when North Korea fired a missile in our general direction and we had to take cover
July 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
journal-evo.bsky.social
July Editor's Choice article: "Parental care drives the evolution of male reproductive accessory glands across ray-finned fishes"

Lucas Eckert, Jessica S Miller, John L Fitzpatrick, Sigal Balshine, Benjamin M Bolker

academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

@lucaseckert.bsky.social @bbolker.bsky.social
Tailspot Blenny Ecsenius stigmatura by LagunaticPhoto
July 25, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
gymnotus.bsky.social
New paper alert: 42 ecological traits for all 6,000+ valid species of #Neotropical_freshwater_fishes, the most diverse continental vertebrate fauna on Earth. A foundation for future studies on the ecology and conservation of tropical aquatic biodiversity.

nature.com/articles/s41...
July 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
bbmwong.bsky.social
Hot off the press.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
January 21, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
prosanta.bsky.social
An (omics) perspective on the evolution of vision in deep-sea
fishes reveals exceptional adaptations to life in the extreme

Musilova & Cortesi 2025 Functional Ecology

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...

#ichthyology #teamfish neat review of genetics of deep-sea vision in fishes
deep-sea adaptations have evolved independently in several groups. Eye shape: A prominent morphological example is the evolution of an elongated tubular, barrel eye to maximize photon capture in several deep-sea groups. Groups, where tubular eyes are common, are marked by a black square and a tubular eye scheme; groups with one/ few cases of tubular eyes but where the majority of species have a camera-type eye are marked with black dots (i.e. anglerfishes and dragonfishes). Retina: Rod-only retinas are a common feature of many adult deep-sea fishes. In other cases, they possess the typical duplex retina with cones (green cells) and rod cells (grey cells). Multibank: In some species, the rod cells are organized in multiple layers, forming a multibank retina, while other deep-sea fishes have the typical vertebrate single layer. Cone/rod id: Some deep-sea fishes have photoreceptor cells with an uncertain id that is intermediate between rods and cones due to a mismatch of the opsin and phototransduction cascade genes (e.g. in Scopelarchidae and Evermanellidae; Aulopiformes), or thanks to the presence of transmuted cells (i.e. rod-like cones in Maurolicus spp.; Sternoptychidae; Stomiiformes). Rhodopsins: Like other vertebrates, most lineages only have one rhodopsin (rh1) gene. Two rhodopsins are found in pearleyes (Scopelarchidae; Aulopiformes), and hatchetfishes (Sternoptychidae, Stomiiformes), and more than three rhodopsin genes are found in lanternfishes (Myctophiformes), spinyfins (Diretmidae), and tube-eye (Stylephoriformes). Photos (from top to bottom): Threadfin dragonfish, Echiostoma barbatum (Stomiiformes; photo Zuzana Musilova); pearleye, Benthalbella sp. (Aulopiformes; photo Zuzana Konvičková); and silver spinyfin, Diretmus argenteus (Trachichthyiformes; photo Vít Kaufman). Based on data from Collin and Partridge (1996), De Busserolles et al. (2017), De Busserolles et al. (2020), Lupše et al. (2021) and Musilova, Cortesi, et al. (2
June 6, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
kaithefishguy.bsky.social
Pseudojuloides edwardi

Quite possibly the most beautiful wrasse in existence
June 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
anoplogaster.bsky.social
Have you ever seen a juvenile Buffalo Trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus)? I absolutely love their weird skeleton which forms this bony carapace making their body rigid.
May 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
pjhundt.bsky.social
Two new studfish! Thanks to the Sandel Lab for letting me tag along :)

www.mapress.com/zt/article/v...
Phylogenomic species delimitation of studfishes (Fundulidae: Fundulus ): evidence for cryptic species in agreement with the central highlands vicariance hypothesis | Zootaxa
www.mapress.com
March 14, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
patrlynch1.bsky.social
Life in emergent freshwater marshes. For my forthcoming book "PONDS: An Illustrated Guide," Yale University Press, 2026.

🧪🌿🌎 #sciart #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #iNat #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #marshes #freshwater #wetlands
Photo-diagram and illustrations depicting the many forms of life in emergent freshwater marshes.
May 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
anoplogaster.bsky.social
1/11 New #OpenAccess #anglerfish paper in @plosone.org! We combine genomic, mitochondrial, and morphological data to produce the most complete evolutionary hypothesis for anglerfishes! Includes new body shape, habitat analyses, and a new frogfish subfamily) 🦑
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
A total-evidence phylogenetic approach to understanding the evolution, depth transitions, and body-shape changes in the anglerfishes and allies (Acanthuriformes: Lophioidei)
The anglerfishes and allies (Lophioidei) are a diverse group of fishes with over 400 carnivorous species that are renowned for their remarkable hunting behavior employing a modified first dorsal-fin s...
doi.org
May 3, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
kaithefishguy.bsky.social
Black background fish photography are MY NACHOS.
March 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
solomonrdavid.bsky.social
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Emerald Bowfin!☘️🐟

From the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, few freshwater fishes are as festive as male bowfins! Their bellies and fins turn bright green during spawning season (right now in parts of their range!)🌎

*Gulf of MEXICO.
Two fish, Emerald Bowfin, are seen on measuring boards during scientific field research. They have bright green fins and eyespots on their tales. Male bowfins develop these bright green colors during spawning season, which coincides with St Patrick’s Day throughout much of their range. Top fish is from Michigan, bottom fish is from Louisiana. Scientists still don’t know the mechanism for developing these super green fins!
March 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
solomonrdavid.bsky.social
It’s true!

~ this lungfish, probably
A Marbled African Lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) in an aquarium looks directly at the camera. Lungfishes have the largest genomes among vertebrates. They also breathe air, and the four African species can survive periods of drought by undergoing estivation (slowed metabolism, like hibernation but in a drought instead of winter). They are also among the most ancient lineages of jawed vertebrates, and are more closely related to humans than fish like salmon or bass!
March 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
abcmicrogrants.bsky.social
We granted 8 microgrants totalling £1295! 🥳🥳🥳
Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶
ABC distributed 8 microgrants already this year totaling 1295 GBP. Next round of application opens in May. Contribute to ABC by making a one time donation or becoming a monthly backer!
March 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
sarahmackattack.bsky.social
Oh HELL yeah look at that squid on the cover, beautiful reef squid we LOVE a reef squid in this household
markjmandel.bsky.social Mark Mandel @markjmandel.bsky.social · Feb 28
With more mollusk genomes available, a new genome-based phylogeny is featured on the cover of Science. Paper from @sigwartae.bsky.social at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Cover photo by Magnus Lundgren.
Science Magazine cover 28 Feb 2025; "An oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana)"
March 1, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
sternarchella.bsky.social
In the process of digitizing the fish prints from Okinawa and the results are stunning
February 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
prosanta.bsky.social
I love the diversity of #fishfaces

These are images from a collecting trip to Taiwan in 2006 (the first of three trips I have made to that beautiful island).

#ichthyology #fishes #TeamFish
From top left - armored searobin, a pretty-eyed goby (if I remember correctly), a spikey pufferfish, a Bombay duck, a Naso unicornfish, and a goblin shark
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
solomonrdavid.bsky.social
Pair of Florida Gars swim among the cypress trees in the Everglades; we got to walk right alongside them!

Our National Parks are incredible and MUST be protected; our federal workers are integral to natural resource conservation!
Two gars (fish) swim alongside each other in a shallow section of the Florida Everglades.
February 24, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Taya de Blonk
kelporama.bsky.social
This little guy is the second Canadian record of the minute nudibranch species Tenellia flavovulta. The first was one I found nearby in 2023. Not the only out-of-range nudibranch I've found here on southern Vancouver Island. #MolluscMonday
Underwater photo. A small nudibranch on red algae. The nudibranch has an orange patch on its face and black and yellow oblong protuberances down the length of its body. There is a transparent watermark with my username: Kelporama
February 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM