Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Rachel Larson, PhD

Casey terHorst @ecoevolab.bsky.social · Sep 8

The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Aug 21

You may know this already but cat pee fluoresces under UV light. I have a cheap blacklight flash light for these exact scenarios. Also, when you find the pee, treat it with Nature’s Miracle cleaner - it removes the residual pheromones that attract cats to keep peeing in the same spot

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Reposted by Rachel Larson, PhD

Bennett Hardy @finderofrogs.bsky.social · Jul 20

So amazing our team’s work is getting recognized on @npr.org for our successful bi-national translocation of California red-legged frogs. Was super fun chatting with Nate about the project!

NPR @npr.org · Jul 19

How do scientists monitor the populations of the threatened California red-legged frog? With careful listening and a little help from AI.

Muddy boots and AI are helping this threatened frog to make a comeback

How do scientists monitor the populations of the threatened California red-legged frog? With careful listening and a little help from AI.

n.pr

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Reposted by Rachel Larson, PhD

Casey terHorst @ecoevolab.bsky.social · Jun 11

EEB Mentor Match for 2025 is now open!
This is an opportunity for students applying to graduate school in Ecology, Evolution, or Behavior to be matched with a mentor to guide them through the application process. Mentors can sign up too!
eebmentormatch.com

EEB Mentor Match

Visit the post for more.

eebmentormatch.com

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 5

On my way home with my fresh-off-the-needles raccoon socks from the best conference in the world. Hope to see everybody again in 2027 in Milwaukee! #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

Now that #UWIN has expanded to include cities in Mediterranean climates around the world (SoCal, Italy, S. Africa) it would be cool to do multi-city comparisons of impacts of urbanization on these high-endemism regions!

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Akinwale Oladimeji (my academic sibling): Patterns of wildlife occurrence in urban Cape Town 🇿🇦 - there are significant species-level differences, but most species responded negatively to impervious cover #IUWC2025

a close up of a cat with its mouth open and a baby cat in the background .

ALT: a close up of a cat with its mouth open and a baby cat in the background .

media.tenor.com

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Shawn Fujioka: A plant talk at a wildlife conference! Increased management effort by park staff leads to increased native plant biodiversity and reduced threats from invasive species #IUWC2025

Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Mark Johnston: Powerline right-of-ways as corridors for movement of wildlife through urban landscapes #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Nicole Kemon: Bird feeder cleaning is correlated with motives behind feeding birds, with attitudes of care & environmental stewardship leading to more frequent cleaning compared to self-interested feeders #IUWC2025

a bird is perched on a feeder in the snow

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From @kayleebyers.bsky.social: Based on currently-published literature, we know very little about chronic wasting disease dynamics in urban landscapes #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Zehidul Hussain: Looking forward to seeing the integration of behavioral videos, collar data, and landscape information to understand urban deer ecology #IUWC2025

Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Andrea Darracq: An interesting longitudinal (and ongoing!) dataset of coupled human health & biodiversity data to investigate OneHealth mechanisms #IUWC2025

Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Andrea Flores: More frequent rat sightings reduces the perceived restorative benefits of connection to nature in Chicago’s urban gardens #IUWC2025

a close up of a rat chewing on a green leaf

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 4

From Marie Lilly: Functional connectivity for deer drives distribution of tick-borne pathogens in New York City #IUWC2025

a person is holding a microphone with the number 3 on it in front of a deer

ALT: a person is holding a microphone with the number 3 on it in front of a deer

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

Ready to (almost) close out the all-day UWIN symposium with my talk on white-footed mice! Come learn about the small warm-fuzzies in the big city! #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

Which is fantastic because using Wildlife Insights has cut down in my camera workload drastically

Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From Amanda Zellmer: AI detection tools work really well to catch most target species for wildlife cameras. They just don’t work as well for smaller species like rats/lizards/songbirds #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From Laura Limonciello: A super interesting overview of the state of urban biodiversity research & urban mammal occupancies in Italy 🇮🇹 #IUWC2025

Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

The author has a BlueSky account! @emilyablackwell.bsky.social

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From Taylor Readyhough: Red fox avoidance of coyotes is dynamic and was significantly impacted by COVID lockdowns in Cleveland #IUWC2025

a fox is standing in the snow near trees

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From @sciencewithtyus.bsky.social: Cat temporal oscillation effect - cats alter their space use throughout the day to maximize access to resources (anthro subsidies in residential areas during day; natural areas at night to hunt prey) #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From Emily Blackwell: Raccons may be more susceptible to heat stress, given their responses (site occupancy & activity patterns) to urban heat islands #IUWC2025

a raccoon sticking its pink tongue out

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

Looking forward to future camera collar data from @mellamorooster.bsky.social on urban white-tail deer! #IUWC2025

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From @urbanzoochory.bsky.social: Mangy coyotes are more likely to occur in cities with milder winters & higher humidity. Thus, mange could become more common in cities at higher latitudes under climate change #IUWC2025

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