Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lauren Whitenack

@laurenwhitenack.bsky.social

180 followers 230 following 31 posts

PhD candidate studying mountain chickadee breeding ecology | University of Nevada, Reno she/her/hers laurenwhitenack.com Photos my own unless otherwise noted. Local activism to make birding accessible and welcoming to all people 💜

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 7

Hey everyone 👋 I’m new to Bluesky so here’s a bit about me!

I am an ecology PhD student studying mountain chickadee breeding ecology 🐦

My current research is focused on how insect food availability affects bird reproductive success 🪲

In my free time, I love hiking and birding in the mountains 🏔️

1 6

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · 5d

Awww how beautiful! Amazing shot. I would love to see them. Thank you so much!!

1 1

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · 5d

They can be difficult to see! I’ve only seen them a couple of times. Very sneaky little guys.

1 1

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you Mark! One of my favorites for sure!

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · 6d

Streaked Flycatchers (Myiodynastes maculatus) are large flycatchers native to Central and S. America. On first glance they appear rather drab, but they have beautiful cinnamon tails and stunning facial markings. While they mostly eat insects, they are also known to eat fruit and even small lizards 🪶

A brownish bird with a streaked belly, reddish tail, and dark mask over eye perches on a small branch of a guanabana fruit tree.

1 19

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Sep 9

Birding is for everyone! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ We had such an incredible time representing the Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance (formerly Lahontan Audubon Society) at Reno's Pride celebration this year! Huge shout out to our incredibly talented artist Lauren Estrada for creating our banner!

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Sep 4

Do you like baby birds? Fun photos and stories about chickadees in my latest guest post at Wing Beat, the blog of the @amornith.bsky.social. This post accompanies our recent paper on postnatal dispersal and recruitment in mountain chickadees 🪶

americanornithology.org/hatch-early-...

Hatch early and eat well: Patterns of juvenile dispersal and recruitment in Mountain Chickadees from a long-term study - American Ornithological Society

Being a fledgling is difficult—and dangerous. The vast majority (~80 percent) of young birds do not survive this stage, succumbing to predation or starvation. What might give a vulnerable fledgling a ...

americanornithology.org

4 15

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Sep 2

An intense look from a very tiny northern pygmy-owl (Glaucidium gnoma). These owls weigh less than an American robin (~70g)! They are unusual among the owls because they are diurnal, meaning they hunt and are most active during the daytime. They prey mainly on small songbirds and mammals. #birds

A small owl perched on a broken tree limb glaring down with bright yellow eyes.

1 4 22

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 31

Cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera) males shoveling around in the mud at a wetland in Reno, NV. Many ducks' bills contain small comb-like structures called lamellae, allowing them to sift out mud or non-food particles and eat the larger invertebrate food items such as crustaceans or molluscs.

Two reddish-brown ducks wading in deep mud, using their bills to sift food items out of the muck.

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 30

Still one of my favorite photos I've ever taken - it's not a close-up, not in flight, and a 300mm lens had to do. I biked to the Old Bynum bridge with my camera in my backpack to be eye-level with this guy. 🪶

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 30

A bright male prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) peaking out at the end of a branch in Chatham, NC. This species is one of only 2 warbler (Parulidae) species that nest in tree cavities (the other is Lucy's warbler). They primarily use holes excavated by downy woodpeckers! #birds #photography

A bright yellow warbler peaks out from beneath the leaves of a tree branch.

2 3 31

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 28

So cute! I love this!

1 1

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 28

Vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) from the Las Vegas area. One of the most stunning and brightly-colored of the New World flycatchers (Tyrannidae), this species is found from the southern United States down to Argentina. In Vegas, the males stand out like a ruby in the desert landscape 🪶

A bright red bird with a black stripe through the eye and dark brown wings sitting on a fence.

1 1 44

Reposted by Lauren Whitenack

Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · Aug 25

Today 14 scientific societies in #ecology #evolution and #marineScience are publishing the results of a survey that finds negative impacts of federal policies on food security, flood mitigation, infectious disease preparedness, and wildlife conservation: 🧪👩‍🔬 www.firsthandaccounts.org/impacts/2025...

This infographic describes the main results from a survey of members of 14 scientific societies. There is a pie chart showing that both academic (58%) and non-academic (42%) responded to the survey. It lists statistics: 85% of respondents reported uncertainty about the future; 71% reported federal training programs were "very" or "extremely important"; 83% reported negative impacts or irreparable harm on their field of science. There is a word cloud summarizing open-ended responses with the largest words "student research fund federal grant". Eight major themes in the responses are listed: disruption of research with societal important; concerns of closure of the USGS Bird Banding Lab; Early Career Bottleneck; Restricted Freedoms including travel and speech; Decline in Government Efficiency and Expertise; Concerns about Biased/Removed Data and Data Gaps; Concerns about the Ability to Meet Legal Mandates; and From Positive Impact to Irreparable Harm. There are icons for each participating society and a QR code for website and data availability.

2 85 92

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 25

Have you ever been judged this harshly by a bird? Curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) from southern Nevada. Rare to the area but a couple individuals are regularly spotted. The thrasher diversity in the North American Southwest is incredible. #birds

1 1 16

Reposted by Lauren Whitenack

Vladimir Pravosudov @cognitiveecol.bsky.social · Aug 24

Nice blog by @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social about her recent paper on phenological flexibility in mountain chickadees.
communities.springernature.com/posts/mounta...

Mountain chickadees are flexible in their breeding timing - but early breeding is best

Animals living in highly variable or changing environments face a challenge: each year, conditions during the reproductive season may be different. Do animals such as mountain chickadees living in har...

communities.springernature.com

1 5

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 21

The collared aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus) is a small toucan from Central and South America. Like other species of toucans, collared aracaris nest in tree cavities excavated by large woodpeckers. They eat fruit and insects, but are also known to eat the eggs and young from other birds’ nests. 🪶

1 8

Reposted by Lauren Whitenack

Monterey Bay Aquarium @montereybayaquarium.org · Aug 20

We’re deeply disappointed negotiations for a global plastics treaty have ended without a final agreement.
Over the past 3 years, the momentum has been undeniable. The world now understands, plastic is a full lifecycle problem that demands systemic solutions, & that its health impacts are profound.

7 180 850

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 20

Ohio recently passed SB1 (www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/...) which allows for these bans. All places of higher learning should be on high alert. McCarthyism has returned in perhaps an even more dangerous form. PLEASE SPREAD WIDELY. #dei #americanacademia #fascism #ohiosb1 #diversity

Senate Bill 1 | 136th General Assembly | Ohio Legislature

www.legislature.ohio.gov

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 20

🚨 DEI BANS - Sent to me by a colleague in Ohio at an orientation. As a graduate TA, it’s that time of year where I’m participating in and facilitating orientations for various university courses and initiatives. DEI hasn’t been banned at my institution yet but this NEEDS to be a wake up call. SPREAD

1 1

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 19

Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) from the Darién province of #panama. A unique species from the neotropical tanager family (Thraupidae), this bird has a sharp, decurved bill adapted for drinking nectar from flowers. #birds 🌺

Small bird with yellow belly, dark grey head, and back and white eyebrow perched on a branch. The bird has a distinct slender decurved bill.

2 1 9

Reposted by Lauren Whitenack

Wilson Ornithological Society @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social · Aug 19

Amazing: Birds may have a previously unrecognized ability to switch sexes. #ornithology

‘Sex reversal’ is surprisingly common in birds, new study suggests

Survey of five Australian avians finds numerous discordant individuals, including a genetically male bird that had laid an egg

www.science.org

17 38

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 19

Link with no paywall for viewing: rdcu.be/eBhU6

Individual repeatability and plasticity of reproductive phenology in a resident montane bird

rdcu.be

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 19

Thank you so much!! 😊🙏

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 19

I recently presented these results at #AOS25, and it’s great to see the paper come out! Thanks to all my wonderful coauthors and advisor @cognitiveecol.bsky.social 🐦

Lauren Whitenack @laurenwhitenack.bsky.social · Aug 19

However, we found no strong evidence for selection on phenological plasticity. I.e., females did not seem to incur fitness benefits from being more or less plastic in response to temperature or snow. We did find selection for earlier breeding, in line with our previous work in this system.