I wanted to share this photo essay that Gavin Hutchings, the KBS 2025 external communications intern, wrote on the Shah lab's work at the KBS Pond Lab facility. It's a lovely piece that showcases some members of the wonderful group we had this summer!!

The dog days are here! Vernal pool water levels are falling, which means that the life cycles of their inhabitants are winding down too. Here are some images from a Michigan field site: a time lapse over a few weeks of the same pool, and an inhabitant, Lestes rectangularis (the Slender Spreadwing)

I'm looking forward to starting to post photos from my field work that capture the incredible beauty and diversity of the freshwater habitats I work in! And of course I'll post research and publication updates as they happen :)

I'm now researching how freshwater communities along the pond-permanence gradient (vernal pools to deep lakes) are responding to climate change stressors (warming temperatures, oxygen availability). My key group for this work (at the moment) is Lestes damselflies (two different species shown below)

I got my undergraduate degree from Notre Dame, where I worked on PFAS contaminant research in the lab of Dr. Gary Lamberti for three years (picture of me finding my first ever longnose gar during summer sampling for a different project of the lab, apologies for missing #GarWeek by a mile ;) )

Hi everyone! I think it's about time I introduced myself to the world of Bluesky: my name is Peter Martin and I'm a doctoral student wrapping up his first year in Dr. Alisha Shah's Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology lab at Michigan State's Kellogg Biological Station.

Ever wonder what snow in the swamp would look like? This is 5 miles into the Louisiana swamps in the Atchafalaya basin... it's unreal... having lived down there for the first 28 years of my life, we never saw anything like this.

Smashed records.

Curtesy of Garrett Roberts.

During the spring spawning time, male striped shiners turn a pinkish color and develop tubercles (small bumps) on their heads. While they'll sometimes build their own nests out of stones, they'll also often share/borrow the pre-made nests of other species like the hornyhead chub #25DaysofFishmas

As a fish that needs clear, fast-moving streams + rivers, the gilt darter can be a canary in a coal mine when it comes to pollution and habitat loss - many of the extirpations from its historical range have been caused by increased siltation as a result of run-off + building of dams #25DaysofFishmas

The closest known relative of insects is WEIRD! Remipedes live in marine caves (you have to cave dive) and are venomous. Their names are fun: Godzillius & Morlockia.

How did insects go from a common ancestor with these guys onto land? Here's one idea (but no fossils so we don't know)!

#Crustmas 🧪🦑

Of the 3 gar species found in the #GreatLakes, it's pretty easy to distinguish the longnose gar by its long, narrow snout that’s >2x as long as the rest of the head. While they do have some spots (more than the shortnose but fewer than the spotted), the schnoz really gives them away #25DaysofFishmas

All that glitters is not gold ✨

Despite the name - even the scientific name “auratus” means “gilded” - goldfish coloration can vary from the typical bright orange to olive/tan. Those found in the wild are often a muted olive-brown (though you may still see some bright orange ones!) #25DaysofFishmas