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Pooja Nathan

@pothebug.bsky.social

110 followers 150 following 3 posts

PhD candidate studying the biology of ant-EFN interactions at EEB, Univ. of Toronto | UG - IISc Bengaluru 2019 | I like plants, bugs, music, cats and food

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Pooja Nathan @pothebug.bsky.social · Jul 16

Now out in Oecologia! Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · Sep 5

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

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Stephen I Wright @stepheniwright.bsky.social · Aug 13

Presenting Dr. @bmsacchi.bsky.social !! Bianca successfully defended her thesis on Rumex sex chromosome degeneration and regulatory evolution today. Bravo!!

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Pooja Nathan @pothebug.bsky.social · Jul 16

Now out in Oecologia! Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Reposted by Pooja Nathan

Margarita Lopez-Uribe @mmlopezu.bsky.social · Jul 11

🧬 Shift between specialized & generalized diets in #bees is associated with evolutionary changes in their sensory genes. Generalists lose odorant receptors (ORs) and gain gustatory receptors (GRs), while specialists diversify existing genes 🌸🐝 #genomics #pollinators
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Shifts in bee diet breadths are associated with gene gains and losses and positive selection across olfactory receptors

Abstract. Bees are palynivorous insects that vary widely in the number of plant families from which they collect pollen. Their evolutionary history has bee

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Pooja Nathan

New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · Jun 24

Out of site, out of mind? Considering #pesticide drift and plant #mutualisms

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

👆 A #Commentary by Charlie C. Nicholson on this article by Baucom et al. 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue #PlantScience

Pesticide drift and exposure can alter plant mutualisms in ways both direct and indirect.

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Tropical Root Trait (TropiRoot) @tropiroot.bsky.social · May 19

🎉 Our collaborative TropiRoot data paper “TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments” is out in Ecology! Explore 8,000+ standardized tropical root trait records from 104 studies across 25 countries. Data are freely available ! 🌿 doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #tropiroots

TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments

Tropical ecosystems contain the world's largest biodiversity of vascular plants. Yet, our understanding of tropical functional diversity and its contribution to global diversity patterns is constrain...

doi.org

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Dr Will Leo Hawkes @willleohawkes.bsky.social · Apr 2

It's published!
The largest research work I've ever undertaken:

Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important

Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz
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Screenshot from the cover page of the paper

A map of the world showing fly migration study locations and estimated routes

A close up photo of Eristalinus taeniops the stripey eyed hoverfly on a yellow flower in Cyprus

A close up photo of the locust blowfly Stomorhina lunata on a rock. My favourite fly

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Pooja Nathan @pothebug.bsky.social · Feb 10

Thanks for the editorial support, Quarterly team! Check out my article on why natural history is still important :)

ella martin @ellmartin.bsky.social · Feb 10

The new issue of The EEB Quarterly (my first as EIC) is online now!! Feat. news, photography, stories, and essays by @hayden-fargo.bsky.social @noam-harris.bsky.social @pothebug.bsky.social and more! @eebtoronto.bsky.social
Read it here: theeebquarterly.github.io (Vol.6 Issue 1)

Home

a review of U of T EEB

theeebquarterly.github.io

Pooja Nathan @pothebug.bsky.social · Jan 9

The second chapter of my PhD is now available as a preprint! We sampled ant-plant interactions across a ~20° latitudinal gradient across the Indian subcontinent to test the biotic interactions hypothesis for mutualism. Check it out!

bioRxiv Ecology @biorxiv-ecology.bsky.social · Jan 8

Are ant-plant mutualisms stronger at lower latitudes? A case study using the castor plant in the Indian subcontinent https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.07.631652v1

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Society for the Study of Evolution @sse-evolution.bsky.social · Dec 6

Applications now open for the 2025 International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2025! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Can also be used to attend #ESEB2025! Apply by January 31: https://buff.ly/3ZEWUqe @evolmtg.bsky.social

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Yichao Zeng @yichaozeng.bsky.social · Dec 4

I'm excited to see our paper being part of this special issue!

Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · Dec 3

For an introduction to the issue you can read the editorial from our Guest Editors here:

academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...

An introduction to the special issue: inferring macroevolutionary patterns and processes from microevolutionary mechanisms

One of the major remaining challenges in evolutionary biology is to explain how evolution within and among populations (i.e., microevolution) gives rise to

academic.oup.com

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