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Melissa Ramsay

@melissa-e-ramsay.bsky.social

970 followers 610 following 25 posts

PhD researcher at St Andrews' Centre for Biological Diversity and the Scottish Oceans Institute. Animal (multi)sensory processing and sensory pollution - intertidal - social foraging. 🦀🌊🐟🫧 EastBio Student/EDI Rep (she/her)🌈🍉

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Melissa Ramsay @melissa-e-ramsay.bsky.social · May 14

Another bright morning at the rocky shore with some members of 'Team Fish'🐟🦀☀️🌊 @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

Rocky shore with members of our research group searching in the rockpools and a clear blue sky above.

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Melissa Ramsay @melissa-e-ramsay.bsky.social · 6d

Already one month into my placement at Rothamsted Research and learning more and more about chemical ecology every day! 🌱

Three trays of oilseed-rape(OSR) plants
The plants in the tray on the right are looking a lot healthier and larger than the other two.

The Rothamsted Research site entrance, with a brick sign in front of a large tree and red-brick building.

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 6d

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”
― Jane Goodall

💙 RIP to a real one. My childhood hero

Jane Goodall with monarch butterfly scarf

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Dr Angel Borja @drangelborja.bsky.social · 6d

A Turning Point for the #Ocean. What the High Seas Treaty Means. More than 60 countries signed, and the law will soon enter into force, ushering in the world’s first framework to conserve #biodiversity across two-thirds of the ocean
#MarineEcology
#Policy

insideclimatenews.org/news/2709202...

A Turning Point for the Ocean: What the High Seas Treaty Means - Inside Climate News

With more than 60 countries on board, the new international law will soon enter into force, ushering in the world’s first framework to conserve biodiversity across two-thirds of the ocean.

insideclimatenews.org

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Andrew D. Cronin @andrewdcronin.bsky.social · Sep 8

How do light and noise pollution impact selection on sexual signals?

We tested mate attraction and bat predation on túngara frogs in the field.

Full text: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...

#evolutionarybiology
#animalbehavior
@eseb.bsky.social
@jevbio.bsky.social

Photo: Grant Maslowski

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Danai Papageorgiou @danaipapageorgiou.bsky.social · 14d

Here we propose adding an 11th criterion to UNESCO’s framework to protect animal cultures—habitat protection alone isn’t enough. Excited to collaborate with philosophers @merikatariina.bsky.social & @birchlse.bsky.social on this!

Message me for access ;-)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Protecting animal cultures as World Heritage - Nature Sustainability

It is becoming increasingly clear that animal cultures have intrinsic, irreplaceable value, and yet they are not adequately protected by preserving habitat. The time has come for UNESCO to explicitly protect non-human cultural heritage alongside human heritage.

www.nature.com

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Will Oestreich @will-oestreich.bsky.social · 15d

Sperm whale echolocation loud & clear on the @mbarinews.bsky.social hydrophone live stream right now!
www.mbari.org/project/soun...
Amazing to have live audio from the deep sea streaming online... & this long-term data enabling discoveries about these cryptic animals' lives tinyurl.com/58a5jefp

Soundscape Listening Room • MBARI

Access a live stream and a library of sounds recorded using a hydrophone (underwater microphone) off the Central California coast.

www.mbari.org

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 19d

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

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Dr Angel Borja @drangelborja.bsky.social · 18d

Very happy seeing that already 60 countries have ratified the #HighSeasTreaty. It could be enter into force next year! Nice to see my country among them!

#MarineEcology
#marineprotection

highseasalliance.org/treaty-ratif...

High Seas Treaty Progress Table

For the High Seas Treaty to have an impact on the water, it must be signed and ratified by at least 60 countries. Follow progress on the Ratification Tracker.

highseasalliance.org

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High Seas Alliance @highseasalliance.bsky.social · 27d

How can the #HighSeasTreaty help enable the protection of nearly half of our planet?

Discover how we can protect it for future generations: buff.ly/mQVvEgX #RaceForRatification

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Alex Morss 🦇🏴‍☠️♾️ @alexmorss.bsky.social · 21d

❤️ Happening now - tons of big names performing at Wembley Arena & live on YouTube.

#Together4Palestine

Musicians, artists, writers & cultural figures unite to raise millions & share solidarity.

Watch live, buy merch, donate what you can - all proceeds go to aid groups in #Gaza 🇵🇸

#FreePalestine

Together for Palestine

YouTube video by Brian Eno

www.youtube.com

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Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 25d

Tonight seems like a good time to share your emotional support crabs 🦀 🦑

Hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus, in a white broken moon snail shell. It looks like the crab is looking up at you. It's in a hand with seaweed (check out the encrusting bryozoans where its legs touches) over the water

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Daniella Teixeira @daniteixeira.bsky.social · 28d

What do rivers sound like? What creatures (or otherwise) contribute to freshwater soundscapes? Our newest research, led by Katie Turlington, provides a new method to explore these types of questions. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #bioacoustics #freshwater

A novel protocol for exploratory analysis of unknown sound‐types in large acoustic datasets

Current ecoacoustic analysis methods are unsuitable for exploring unknown sound-types in large acoustic datasets. Ecoacoustic studies can collect considerable quantities of audio with minimal fiel...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 28d

A lil nurse shark arrived in Coral City and circled the Cam a few times today. Welcome home! #nurseshark #sharksofcoralcity #shark #babyshark #boop #circles #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity

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Maddy Janakis @maddy-janakis.bsky.social · Sep 4

Ever wondered how tidal creek crabs stabilize their gaze? think crabs are neat? want to support a first time author? read my first article! out now in IOB @sicbjournals.bsky.social academic.oup.com/iob/article/...

Two Decapod Crustaceans, Panopeus herbstii and Petrolisthes armatus, Stabilize Their Gaze Using Achromatic Visual Cues, but Not the Angle of Linearly Polarized Light

Synopsis. Gaze stabilization is important to animals because it allows them to visually differentiate between their own motion relative to their environmen

academic.oup.com

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Melissa Ramsay @melissa-e-ramsay.bsky.social · Aug 28

After almost a year(!!) of my PhD, I am excited to start my 3-month placement at @rothamsted.bsky.social 🌱 I shall miss this lovely group at St Andrews @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social @mikemwebster.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social but I'm sure I'll be back to the sea before I know it! 🌊🐟🦀

Five members of "team fish" in our waders and woolly hats in front of the main rockpool, with a grey sky behind us.

Three members of "team fish" wading into a large rockpool carrying rigs and floats for data collection, with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Behaviour 2025 @behaviour2025.bsky.social · Aug 27

Crickets, finches, chimpanzees, fish, sholicola, lovebirds, ants & insects: the "Animal Communication II" session at #Behaviour2025 explored how sound, song, signals & even vibrations shape survival, sociality & adaptation in animals from cities to coral reefs.

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Fredrik Jutfelt 🐠 @jutfelt.bsky.social · Aug 17

New fish species keep popping up in Sweden, most likely because of ocean warming!

Today a large Mahi Mahi in Lysekil!
(Photo Janice Melander)

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Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

🦇🎃 Batt Murphy 🎃🦇 @mjosmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 22

🦀

Alix Weasel @alixwzl.bsky.social · Aug 22

That's me in the coral
That's me on the sandbank, being a crustacean
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've pinched too much
I haven't pinched enough

Alix Weasel @alixwzl.bsky.social · Aug 17

CRABGEDY!

WHEN THE FEELING'S GONE
YOU'RE A CRUSTACEAN

IT'S CRABGEDY!

WHEN THE MORNING CRIES
YOU'VE GOT STALKY EYES

YOU'VE GOT A SHELL
WITH NO ONE TO LOVE YOU
YOU'RE GOING THROUGH HELL!

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Sensory Ecology Lab @sensoryecology.bsky.social · Aug 23

“A behavioral analysis of nearly 600 bird species suggests that light pollution from human development can lengthen the time birds spend singing by nearly an hour per day”

#scicomm
#lightpollution
#sensoryecology
#bioacoustics

www.sciencenews.org/article/bird...
🧪 🐦

Around the world, birds sing longer in light-polluted areas

In light-polluted landscapes, birds' singing time is an average of 50 minutes longer per day. It's still unclear if this hurts bird health or helps.

www.sciencenews.org

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Rewilding Britain @rewildingbritain.org.uk · Aug 22

Beavers are back 🦫

For the first time in over 400 years, wild beavers will return to the northwest Highlands. Today, the Scottish Government gave the green light for six beaver families to be reintroduced to Glen Affric and Abriarchan forest.

🧵1/2

Screenshot of an independent article titled: "Six beaver families to be released in Highlands" overlayed on a photo of a beaver created wetland. Background image credit: Tierney Lloyd / scotlandbigpicture.com

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Susannah 🍁 @wweeta.bsky.social · Aug 22

Living dangerously. A miniature hermit balances on the tip of a crab's leg. She's tiny, but valiant. Next, a tiny hermit on a crab's cheliped, ignoring the watchful eye above. It's a big world out there! #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A green shore crab measures, at most, 5 cm. across the carapace. Here, a hermit is balanced on the tip of one of these crab's legs. The hermit wears a brown and white periwinkle shell; of the hermit herself, all we can see are three legs, two above, waving about, one below, holding onto the crab's dactyl.
The crab's leg is white, with brown spots. In the photo are four segments of the leg, each one at least twice the size of the hermit in her shell. The dactyl is narrow and pointed; the next segment has spiky hairs on both sides; on the third, the hairs are only on the bottom side. Some of the hairs are longer than the hermit's legs.

A tiny hermit in a glossy black shell walks across a hinge of a crab's cheliped. The hermit, still very young, is almost colorless, except for spots of red, which may be eyes or antennules.
The cheliped is huge, compared to the hermit; it's white and cream, with black or brown spots.
Above and beyond the hermit, looms a white eyestalk with a blue-black eye, seeming to stare at the hermit; it's as large as the hermit, almost as large as his shell.
On the left, in the shadow, is another segment of the cheliped, with its hinge.
The crab is a green shore crab, measuring, at most, 5 cm. across the body.

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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · Aug 15

Scorpionfish spend most of their time hunkered down looking like a rock… but when they swim, they fan out their strikingly colorful pectoral fins to caution haters that they are packing potent venom 🦂🐟 #scorpionfish #venomous #packing #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay ##coralcity

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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · Jul 26

All hail the Queen 🙌👑🐠 #queenangelfish #angelfish #holocanthusciliaris #allhailthequeen #staghorncoral #acerventura #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity

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Melissa Ramsay @melissa-e-ramsay.bsky.social · Jul 25

Me: why do I always have a sore back?
Also me:

A photo of myself and a colleague hunched over sitting on buckets in the rockpools to count shell species.

Reposted by Melissa Ramsay

Susannah 🍁 @wweeta.bsky.social · Jul 23

Eelgrass is a flowering plant that grows in the low intertidal zone. It's an important highway, garden, and shelter for intertidal hermits. This Holm's hermit in a Nassa shell fits tidily on a single blade.#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A small, orange and white hermit wearing a deeply-ridged white and cream shell with pronounced valleys between the whorls walks on a blade of deep green eelgrass. All very clean, free of algae: the hermit, the shell, and the eelgrass.
The background is green, the green of sea lettuce with the light shining through.
The only other colour is the pale blue of the hermit's eyes.

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