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Dr Simon Goodman

@phoca-sapiens.bsky.social

3.2K followers 2K following 210 posts

Evolutionary & conservation genomics, eDNA, parasites, disease ecology, marine mammal conservation. Seal nerd, co-chair IUCN Pinniped specialist group. University of Leeds, UK. 🦭🐳🧬🧪🌍 https://www.goodmanlab.org

www.goodmanlab.org

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · Aug 6

Jeni: Do you have any ideas for nerdy science songs?
Simon: How about a parasite conservation song?
Jeni: In the style of an 80s synth pop/indie mash up?
Simon: Perfect!

So we made one about California condor lice & why conserving parasites might not be so crazy. Listen👇🪱🧪🌍🦤 #SciComm #ScienceSongs

Don't be Lousy to Lice

(The ballad of Colpocephalum) Lyrics (Simon Goodman): As the last of the condors flew over California Brought to the brink by the hand of man, We came to our senses and moved to save them, Establish

soundcloud.com

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

Anna Hewett @annamhew.bsky.social · 1d

Exciting new pre-print from the group! Why and how are our owls getting redder over time? 🦉

Check it out on BioRxiv 👇👇

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 6d

Genomic bases of short-term evolution in the wild revealed by long-term monitoring and population-scale sequencing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.01.679793v1

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ERGA - European Reference Genome Atlas @ergabiodiv.bsky.social · 1d

Learn about these and many other applied projects during the @biogeneurope.bsky.social Genomics for Biodiversity Conference:
🗓️ 29–31 October
💻Fully online & free of charge!
👉More info: erga-biodiversity.eu/post/genomic...

#GenomicsforBiodiversity #conference #impact #genomics

Genomics for Biodiversity Conference - from genomes to impact

29–31 October 2025Summary🗓️ Dates: 29 - 31 October 2025 (click to add to your agenda!)🔗 Online venue: ERGA YouTube ChannelWe are excited to announce the Genomics for Biodiversity Conference organised...

erga-biodiversity.eu

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Kyle Horton @kyle-horton.bsky.social · 20h

Another massive movement of migratory birds underway tonight — nearly 1 Billion Birds! With the full moon, you might be able to see some silhouettes zipping by. You can make your own flow maps here (just hit record): aeroecolab.com/uslights

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 1d

🐬 Registration is now OPEN for the UKIRSC 2026 Marine Mammal Conference hosted @plymuni.bsky.social 🎓A FREE event bringing together students from across the UK & Ireland to share research, connect, and learn from leading marine mammal scientists. 👇Link below

#UKIRSC2026 #MarineMammals

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

Ben Longdon @blongdon.bsky.social · 2d

'Alien mammal introductions can reshape global viral sharing networks' by Toneli et al -> www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

Alien mammal introductions can reshape global viral sharing networks

Alien mammals introduced beyond their native distribution ranges can bring novel pathogens into the colonised communities and alter pathogen transmission dynamics. Past studies identified immunologica...

www.researchsquare.com

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

ZSL @zslofficial.bsky.social · 2d

A new Science and Conservation Event! Join us on 4th Nov at 6pm as we discuss how innovative tools developed in biomedical research can offer insight into #wildlife health, from the hihi in Aotearoa New Zealand to the sea turtle in Cabo Verde 🐢 Book now: www.zsl.org/news-and-eve...

Nature's code: molecular tools for wildlife genomic health and conservation | The Zoological Society of London

Using genomics to assess wildlife health at the genomic, cellular, and regulatory levels

www.zsl.org

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 2d

Other pieces of their work have drawn on our recent paper about declining water levels in the Caspian Sea. doi.org/10.1038/s432.... @natureportfolio.nature.com #SciCom

Carried By The Receding Tides | Studio1-0-6LA

The project explores ecological changes in Caspian Sea and the impact from human activity in the region

www.studio1-0-6.com

Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 2d

Flow diagrams from this paper (Svolkinas et al (2023) People and Nature, 5, 1187–1206. doi.org/10.1002/pan3...) on attitudes of fishing communities to poaching and seal bycatch were adapted for elements of the installation @peopleandnature.bsky.social @bioscienceleeds.bsky.social 🧪🌍🦭 🧵

Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 2d

It's been fascinating collaborating on the project, seeing how artists work, and hearing responses to the issues raised in the installations, opening up the chance to reach new audiences who wouldn't normally interact with our research. There's been lots of insightful comments. #SciCom #outreach 🧵

Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 2d

Lena and Eldar work as the2vvo (www.the2vvo.com), and they use art to explore and communicate how people relate to nature in the Anthropocene. You can see more examples of their work via their website and also here www.studio1-0-6.com/carried-by-t... 🧵

Eldar&Lena | the2vvo

www.the2vvo.com

Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 2d

If you're in Berlin this October check out this art exhibition featuring installations by Lena Pozdnyakova & Eldar Tagi exploring stories of black caviar imperial extraction in Central Asia. We were excited that figures from our papers on Caspian seal bycatch gave inspiration for some elements. 🧵

Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 4d

⚠️ Please report sightings of dead birds for possible testing for Avian Influenza. ⬇️

📌 In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/...
📌 In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/...
📌 In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.serv...

#UKBirding #BirdingWales #BirdingScotland

Image of a deceased Puffin lying on the ground. White wording on an orange background reads: Please report sightings of dead birds.

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 2d

Are you an oceanographer or marine biologist with an interest in marine biodiversity and climate change? Our upcoming scientific meeting will look at #ClimateChange and #BiodiversityLoss linkages in ocean ecosystems:

royalsociety.org/science-even...

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 4d

Having worked on a response letter this week, this is closer to the mark than it should be.... 🙂

Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 4d

Thanking the reviewers

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · 4d

Thanking the reviewers

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Journal of Art in Society @artinsociety.bsky.social · 4d

Despite its name, the Bird-Dropping Beetle definitely does not drop any birds ~ instead, it looks just like a bird’s dropping (Excastra albopilosa). The disguise is so effective that no-one noticed it till 2024. Now it’s a finalist for Australian Insect of the Year
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 5d

The recently formed IUCN Parasite Specialist Group has just launched a Bluesky account. Give them a follow to get news about the conservation and amazing biology of parasites. Many parasite species are co-endangered with their hosts and need more conservation attention. 🌍🧪🪱

IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 19d

Hello, Bluesky! We're the IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group, a part of the Species Survival Commission! We're just starting to understand the important roles parasites play in their ecosystems, and our goal is to determine the threats wildlife parasites face and to conserve rare and unique species!

Rhinoceros Stomach Bot Fly (Gyrostigma rhinocerontis), a black-and-orange bot fly specializing in White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Bernard Dupont, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyrostigma_rhinocerontis_(Owen,_1830)_1(a)_-_iNaturalist.org.jpg

A Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi), a brown tick that specializes on the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on Amami Ōshima, one of the southern islands of Japan. Credit: Takamasa Nemoto

The Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus (Emmareus) fionnus), a flea known only from the Isle of Rùm off the west coast of Scotland, where it specializes on nesting colonies of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Credit: Olha Schedrina / The Natural History Museum

Rhinoceros Tick (Dermacentor rhinocerinus), a spotted orange-and-black tick species that specializes on White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Moira Fitzpatrick

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Veeloxxy Bites @the-episiarch.bsky.social · 7d

Sometimes, parasitologists have to put their own body on the line in the name of science. In this case, a parasitologist played host to a nose leech for over a month to find out more about its life history 🧪
#Invertebrate
dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2019/10/dino...

<i>Dinobdella ferox</i>

When it comes to parasitology, sometimes you have to get really up close with your study organism, as one researcher in Taiwan did in trying...

dailyparasite.blogspot.com

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Applied Animal Ecology @apanec-lab.bsky.social · 6d

🎉 Congratulations to Rebecca Niklas on completing her master’s thesis!

Rebecca used eDNA samples to assess marine biodiversity and whale diet in the Azores, as part of the @ewhale-dna.bsky.social project🐋🌊

Fantastic work bridging cutting-edge molecular tools with marine ecology!

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 5d

Reference genome choice compromises population genetic analyses

Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Reference genome choice compromises population genetic analyses

Using a species-specific reference genome significantly improves the accuracy of population genetic analyses, as exemplified by mapping gray fox sequence data to genomes of several canid species. Mapp...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

Kayce Bell @kaycebell.bsky.social · 15d

Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...

Mammals & Lice

We are interested in understanding what drives host-parasite relationships. We are using the Anoplura (sucking lice) parasite and mammalian host system to generate a comprehensive sucking louse phylog...

sites.google.com

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bioRxiv Ecology @biorxiv-ecology.bsky.social · 9d

The camtrapR R package: From data management to interactive ecological analysis of camera trap data https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678697v1

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George Holmes @georgeholmes.bsky.social · 9d

I've long thought of our research as artworks 😉. But now it is actually true - our research on Caspian seal conservation has been integrated into an artwork in Berlin, on ecological degradation and human-nature interactions. w/ @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social.
www.studio1-0-6.com/carried-by-t...

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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 11d

Genomic divergence across the tree of life 🧪🌐https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2319389122

Genomic divergence across the tree of life | PNAS

Nucleotide sequence data are being harnessed to identify species, even in cases in which organisms themselves are neither in hand nor witnessed. Bu...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Dr Simon Goodman

Jen Kelley @jenkelley01.bsky.social · 12d

Wa hoo! Our paper in Science is out today, revealing why some prey use conspicuous warning colouration while others use camouflaging colours. A huge global collaboration under incredible leadership by Iliana Medina and @wlallen.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understand...

www.science.org

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