Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Jun 30

Ever wondered where Nemo lives? 🐠 In the Indo-Pacific, clownfish live with Entacmaea quadricolor (bubble-tip anemones). The anemones shelter the fish, & the fish provide the anemones nutrients and defend them from predators & parasites. Nature’s teamwork—mutualistic symbiosis!

1 3

peracaridabackbone.bsky.social @peracaridabackbone.bsky.social · Jun 11

Naomi Rodriguez @nhm.org uses integrative taxonomy to better ID marine isopods—tiny but vital players in marine ecosystems—tackling the challenge of consistent species IDs for this group. She also made a zine to bring isopods to life!
peracarida.org/about/research
#WednesdayWisdom

3 12

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Jun 6

#FridayFunFact Sea urchins have no eyes, bones, heart, or brain — yet they can still sense light! Their whole body acts like one big eye as they use their tube feet & spines to detect changes in light & navigate their surroundings.👁️

Heliocidaris australiae, found off Australia.

1 3

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Apr 25

City Nature Challenge 2025! 🌱📸 Apr 25–28, join a global effort to protect biodiversity—just by taking pics of nature near you. 🦋

1️⃣ Download the @inaturalist.bsky.social app
2️⃣ Take photos
3️⃣ Upload sightings
4️⃣ Learn as your observations get ID’d!

Photos: @vijaybarve.bsky.social

1 1

Reposted

Ologies with Alie Ward @ologies.bsky.social · Apr 25

NATURE NERDS UNITE. It's global competition time.

The City Nature Challenge goes from April 25- 28, and you can help scientists by adding sightings of plants, animals & fungi using @inaturalist.bsky.social.

Follow @lilahiggins.bsky.social & @nhm.org to learn more!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8g...

Join the City Nature Challenge 2025 | April 25-28

YouTube video by Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM)

www.youtube.com

2 15 59

Reposted

California Academy of Sciences @calacademy.bsky.social · Apr 22

Biodiversity is more than just a vocab word — it’s essentially the sum of all life on Earth and we rely on it everyday. 🌎

Background of a coral reef. Text says “Ecosystem Diversity. The variation of different habitats, communities, and their interactions within a geographical location. Coral reefs have high biodiversity.

Background of a forest of trees. Texts says “Why does biodiversity matter?”

Background of a sand dune covered in wildflowers. Text says “We rely on biodiversity for many things, like food, shelter, medicine, pollination, climate regulation, etc. When there’s biodiversity loss, all of these things are put at risk.”

Background of a blue butterfly on plants. Text says “The more biodiverse an area is, the more resilient it is.”

1 2 11

Reposted

California Academy of Sciences @calacademy.bsky.social · Apr 22

Happy #EarthDay and welcome to our Biodiversity 101 course! 🤓 🌎

Background of our Living Roof. Text says ”Happy Earth Day! It’s Earth Day, a day about the importance of protecting the planet. You’ve probably heard the word biodiversity mentioned a lot around this day but …”

Background of paintbrush wildflowers. Text says “What is biodiversity? Biodiversity is the variety of all living things and their interactions. It can be broken down into 3 categories: genetic, species, ecosystem”

Background of a silvery blue butterfly on a flower. Text says “Genetic Diversity. Genetic diversity is the variation of inherited traits and individual and species has. The more genetic variation a species has, the more adaptive that species can be to change.

Background of a purple flower on a seaside cliff. Text says “Species Diversity. Species diversity is the number of different types of life in an area and their abundance. Describing a new species is one of the first steps at protecting biodiversity. Out of the estimated 10 million species on Earth, only about 1.9 million have been described.”

1 7 20

Reposted

California Academy of Sciences @calacademy.bsky.social · Apr 24

This year marks the 10th anniversary of this #CommunityScience campaign. It is organized by community science teams at Cal Academy and @nhm.org.

2 10

Reposted

California Academy of Sciences @calacademy.bsky.social · Apr 24

Keep up the energy all weekend: The observation period runs from Friday, April 25 through Monday, April 28. Head to bit.ly/citnat25 for a map of California events & participants!

Rebecca Johnson, PhD, uses her phone to photograph a patch of lace lichen on a tree, using her hand to pull the branch closer to her. A bubble-style text overlay reads “Step 5: Repeat (all weekend!).” A separate text bubble in the right corner reads, “Your IDs & observations could contribute to scientific research!”

Three people stand, crouch, and hunch over a patch of rocks in a California tidepool. Two people use their phones to photograph species observations. A bubble-style text overlay reads “Participate: Strike out on your own or join a local bioblitz!” and includes the following link to a map of California events: bit.ly/citnat25

1 2 5

Reposted

California Academy of Sciences @calacademy.bsky.social · Apr 24

This one’s for the nature nerds and the outdoor-curious among us: City Nature Challenge starts TOMORROW and we want you to participate. Swipe through for an easy guide on how to find, photograph, and upload observations of your local wildlife—all weekend long! 🦌🌿🐟🦅🪻🐌🌈🌳🦆

Two people huddle over a cellphone, using the iNaturalist species observation app while standing among bushes and plants. A bubble-style text overlay reads “Join the 2025 City Nature Challenge.”

A view of San Francisco’s cityline is shown during the daytime, with ravens flying in the photo’s foreground. The sky is clear and blue, with a few clouds in the distance. A bubble-style text overlays explains the “what” and “when” of City Nature Challenge. WHAT: City Nature Challenge is a global bioblitz where cities compete to find & document local nature! WHEN: April 25-28.

2 14 36

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Apr 25

🌍 Earth Day @nhm.org! 🌿 #EarthDay2025

We’re still buzzing from Saturday's @nhm.org Earth Day Festival! A highlight? The MBC’s “All Things Isopods” table that had:

🔎 Live sorting
🎨 Sketching
🫙 Exploring museum collections

Let’s keep the Earth Day energy going! ✨

1 1

peracaridabackbone.bsky.social @peracaridabackbone.bsky.social · Apr 3

Woodlice (aka roly-polies) may seem like simple backyard critters, 🌿 but these terrestrial isopods are full of surprises! Expert Thomas Hughes reveals how they’ve conquered land & how these often-overlooked critters reflect environmental change. 🌏

📹 WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLib...

The Hidden World of Woodlice: Tiny Crustaceans with a Big Story

YouTube video by A Backbone for the Peracarida

www.youtube.com

2 3

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Mar 19

Are you a student eager to explore museum collections research?🔬✨Apply for the @nhm.org HMLA Collections Study Award by April 1. Connect with curators & collections managers first to discuss your project.
👉 nhm.org/student-coll... #MuseumStudies #CollectionsResearch #NaturalHistory

1 1

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Mar 5

This incredible sea creature shares some surprising similarities with us. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑🔍 #WhatIsItWednesday #MarineBiology #Invertebrates #diginverts

1 3

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Who doesn’t love ice cream?🍦Meet the ice cream cone worm, Pectinaria gouldii! These builders craft intricate cone-shaped tubes just one sand grain thick! They live in tubes beneath the sediment in shallow waters, using their golden bristles to dig & their tentacles to find food.

1 5

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

What is this organism?

A plant?🌱No.
An animal?🐮 Yes.
A coral?🪸Not even close!

This is a moss animal, a colonial marine invertebrate related to lamp shells (Brachiopoda) and horseshoe worms (Phoronida).
@sbnature.bsky.social

1 9

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Bathysciadium pacificum is an ultra-rare deep-sea snail. This tiny marvel, only the 2nd specimen ever found, showcases an incredible range extension from Peru to Oregon — over 7,000 km! Its unique fuzzy rays are made of periostracum proteins.
@sbnature.bsky.social

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372855105_Bathysciadium_pacificum_Dall_1908_from_the_bathyal_of_Oregon_range_extension_and_anatomy_Gastropoda_Cocculinida_Bathysciadiidae

t.co

1 2

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

What creature is this?
Meet the zoanthids, a group of mostly colonial, filter-feeding cnidarians that settle on other marine fauna (here, a glass rope sponge). While they resemble coral polyps or sea anemones, they actually belong to their own order, Zoantharia.

1 2

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Pensoft Publishers issued a new journal to showcase the significance of taxonomy and natural history collections. 🦋

cetaf.org/elementor-10...

Pensoft launches a new journal to highlight the importance of taxonomy and natural history collections - Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities - CETAF

Great news for the taxonomic community! Pensoft Publishers – an independent, open-access publisher and technology provider,...

cetaf.org

2 3

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Recently, @sbnature.bsky.social finished cataloging their Bryozoa collection—one of the world's largest! 🌎 They digitized 20K lots, including over 1K type specimens. Many are mounted on glass histology slides for SEM, requiring specialized curation techniques.

t.co/kH6GuLD2YE

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379823370_How_to_Curate_and_Digitize_Bryozoa_Experiences_at_the_Santa_Barbara_Museum_of_Natural_History

t.co

1 3

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Most sea urchin genetic research focuses on globe-shaped species, but thanks to Matthew Stephenson in the Greg Rouse lab @scrippsocean.bsky.social, we have the 1st mitochondrial genome for an “irregular” species, Echinocrepis rostrata, the pyramid-shaped urchin🔗
doi.org/10.1080/2380...

1 2

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 25

Check out the stunning bioluminescent waves lighting up Southern California! 📷
@vijaybarve.bsky.social
#bioluminescence #glowingocean #oceanmagic #underwatermysteries

5 15

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 24

Set sail on the epic Velero expeditions in episode 3 of the #DigInDiaries. 🛳️🔍 See how @nhmla.bsky.social is bringing history to life by digitizing Velero data & specimens. 🌐

Watch the full video on Instagram
@diginverts: instagram.com/reel/C9QbL_x...

3 13

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 24

Episode two of the #DigInDiaries! A deep dive into digitization at @nhmla.bsky.social Watch the full video on Instagram @diginverts www.instagram.com/reel/C6XTe_f...

#diginverts #MarineScience #OceanResearch #MarineBiodiversity #MarineInvertebrates #InvertebrateCollections #MarineResearch

1 5

Reposted

diginverts.bsky.social @diginverts.bsky.social · Feb 24

Curious about DigIn? Watch part 1 of the #DigInDiaries. 🪼🪸

Check out the full video on Instagram @diginverts
www.instagram.com/reel/C5bX6Y3...

#MarineScience #OceanResearch #MarineBiodiversity #MarineInvertebrates #InvertebrateCollections #MarineResearch #OceanEducation #MarineTaxonomy #Marine

1 3