Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Jul 10

Burnt the candle on both ends to sneak some herping into my 2025 Ecuador- Mindo birding tour. Totally worth it!

The Pinocchio anole (Anolis proboscus) sitting on a hand.

Brown spotbelly snake (Coniophanes fissidens) stretched out on brown leaf litter. It is holding a Cachibi robber frog’s (Pristimantis achatinus) leg in its mouth.

Close up photo of a Pristimantis calcaratus sitting in a hole in the bamboo. Its eyes are an unusual blue.

A small yellow-green frog sitting on a hand. Frog may be a recently metamorphosed Executioner Clown Frog (Dendropsophus carnifex).

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Jun 16

Anyone out there know what happens when you try to use (12 years) expired formalin to fix tissues? Asking for a me. Visually it looks fine, no discoloration or gunk.

Reposted by Marina Vollin

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · May 2

I am so heartened to this seriously AWESOME #SaveNSF website go up today!!!!

Has a take action toolkit with:

1. Press outreach templates
2. Social media toolkit
3. Elected official outreach
4. Talking points

Check it out and share widely!!!! Likely more to come.

www.savensf.com

Welcome to Save The U.S. National Science Foundation
A Girl Looking at a Physics Model
TAKE ACTION
Save NSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Our mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation in various scientific fields. NSF funding is critical to this work.

Join us in our endeavor to ensure a sustainable future for scientific exploration and discovery.

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · May 1

Appreciated @jackiefmogensen.bsky.social's ode to the majestic hellbender — bellwether of aquatic ecosystems, victim of extreme weather and political bullshit.

www.motherjones.com/environment/...

Legend has it this salamander came from hell. We’re about to send it back.

Climate disasters, human sprawl, and now Trump: This is how extinctions happen.

www.motherjones.com

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Apr 28

Sometime in the last few years I saw a short form video (prob tiktok) going around the internet showing a large adult iguana dropping most or all of its tail (like a BIG slab of meat). Can't find it now, anybody seen it? I'd like it for a lecture! 🦎

Reposted by Marina Vollin

Birgit Szabo, PhD 🦎🐸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @birgitszabo.bsky.social · Apr 3

I am very proud to share our new gecko research!

We wanted to know if experimenter identity influences gecko behaviour during experiments that increases error of behavioural measurements.

The answer is yes, identity matters but only in a familiar context!

OA paper:
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Mar 13

There’s a snake loose in the (Lego) museum! 🐍

Mango the Rosy boa, a small grey and orange snake, sticks his head through the doors of the natural history museum lego set.

Mango the rosy boa wrapped around the Lego brontosaurus. Photo focus is on Mango’s face

A Lego window. Mango the Rosy boa is visible inside.

A top-down shot of the first floor of the Lego natural history museum set. Mango the Rosy boa is stretched throughout the museum.

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Mar 2

Contia tenuis?

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Tim Higham @highamlab.bsky.social · Feb 21

Very excited for our new review paper (with Tony Russell) on gecko adhesion, locomotion, and ecomechanics. This stemmed from the JEB symposium last year. @jexpbiol.bsky.social @ucriverside.bsky.social #gecko #ecomechanics #adhesion journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Geckos running with dynamic adhesion: towards integration of ecology, energetics and biomechanics

Summary: We propose a set of lab and field experiments to further investigate adhesively assisted gecko locomotion, which is controlled by a hierarchical system including muscles, vascular tissue, tendons and hair-like adhesive structures.

journals.biologists.com

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Feb 19

Some Ensatinas I found in San Diego co. over the weekend. Last of the SoCal salamander genuses for my life list! And man it was sooo nice to disappear into nature for a day. Grateful for CA’s beautiful state parks! 🦎

An orange and black salamander (Ensatina escholscholzii klauberi) in leaf litter.

A smaller black and orange salamander sitting on streaky tan and grey wood

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · Feb 17

Our opinion piece in our local newspaper - Cutting funding for science in Arizona hurts our economy and our future 🌐🧪🧮🌾
tucson.com/opinion/colu...

Local opinion: Cutting funding for science in Arizona hurts our economy and our future

The cuts are leading us down a path that will cede the United States' world leadership in science, medicine and health.

tucson.com

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Eric Gangloff @eric-gangloff.bsky.social · Feb 6

Though widespread and popular in the pet trade, we know very little about their natural history. In this study, lead by undergraduate student Ethan Livingston, we characterized their thermal biology. This Includes one of the highest temperature tolerances *ever recorded* for a vertebrate!

Eric Gangloff @eric-gangloff.bsky.social · Feb 6

Check out our first study with sandfish skinks (Scincus scincus)!

Published in the Journal of Herpetology and available now (open access):
doi.org/10.1670/2317...

A brown-and-yellow striped sandfish skink (lizard) with a small temperature sensor adhered to it's back.

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Joe Spring @joespring.bsky.social · Feb 5

How did L.A.'s wildfires affect its animals?
@antonsrkn.bsky.social has answers in this stellar piece, which features his stunning photos. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Here’s How the Los Angeles Wildfires Are Affecting Animals, From Fish to Snakes to Birds

While scientists were able to save and move some creatures in the aftermath, researchers are worried about the prospects for other species

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Sarah Z @sarahz.bsky.social · Jan 21

The Transgender Law Centre works on supporting trans rights in areas like healthcare, employment, and immigration. They're trans-led and provide legal assistance, policy advocacy, public education. I've just donated and, if you can, I would recommend you do too <3 transgenderlawcenter.org/donate/

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · Jan 21

Love this story of rattlesnakes collecting raindrops on their bodies to drink. Congrats to @snakeymama.bsky.social and the authors of this wonderful paper

Paper here:
academic.oup.com/cz/advance-a...

@nytimes.com coverage here

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/s...

Rain-harvesting behavior in free-ranging prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis)

Abstract. Organisms inhabiting arid environments face challenges to obtain dietary water. To prevent desiccation, some organisms possess unique adaptations

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Chris Martine | Plants are Cool, Too! @martinebotany.bsky.social · Jan 6

Do you teach field-based courses? Or hope to? Wrote a brief commentary for the new Plant Science Bulletin on why these course need to be offered/supported. TL;DR the kids need to get outside... where integrative biology lives. #SICB2025 #STEMeducation

digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/21...

Field-Based Courses Still Matter, but not Like They Used To

Increasingly, field-based courses are providing the first real opportunities for students to experience nature in meaningful ways. As a baseline, even before the content delivery and the graded assess...

digitalcommons.bucknell.edu

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Chris Clark @selasphorus1.bsky.social · Jan 4

Hey! I'll be presenting at SICB tomorrow in the "Sound production and acoustic cues" session, room A704. The talk is actually biomechanics: it's about how Bearded Tachuri (a flycatcher from Argentina) makes sounds with fluttering feathers #SICB2025

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Jan 4

Okay, best SICB ever. #sicb2025

A salamander sitting in a container with wet paper towel underneath it. The salamander is greyish-brown and has a tail longer than its body.

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Jan 4

Today! #SICB2025

Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 29

OMG, #SICB2025 is in less than a week! Looking forward to seeing everyone soon in Atlanta. I will be presenting on my work examining gecko locomotion and prey capture following autotomy on Saturday (1/4) at 1:30 PM. Stop by International Salon 10 and say hi! 🦎

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Reposted by Marina Vollin

Princeton Vaughn @princetonvaughn.bsky.social · Dec 30

Excited to talk about parallel adaptation to urban environments in anole lizards at #SICB2025 as part of the Cities as Natural Experiments Symposium! Swing by Marquis A Saturday at 9 and say hi! We'll talk about thermal performance, morphology, and kinematics, so be sure not to miss this!

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 29

Oh, I’ll also have stickers to hand out throughout SICB! Please stop me and ask for one if you see me 😁🦎

A hand fanning out three square stickers. Each sticker is different and features bright green day geckos perched on plants

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 29

Gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda)!

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 29

OMG, #SICB2025 is in less than a week! Looking forward to seeing everyone soon in Atlanta. I will be presenting on my work examining gecko locomotion and prey capture following autotomy on Saturday (1/4) at 1:30 PM. Stop by International Salon 10 and say hi! 🦎

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 17

A precarious perch
(Great blue heron, Bolsa Chica CA)

Camera shot through a binocular eyepiece of a great blue heron perched on top of a large yucca stalk

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Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · Dec 5

A pretty little princess I met yesterday
(Yellow-rumped warbler)

A yellow-rumped warbler, a small brown bird with yellow on the throat and edge of wing stands on the stem of a white flower, staring at the camera

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