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Shaun Killen

@shaunkillen.bsky.social

480 followers 530 following 42 posts

Prof of Ecophysiology at Uni of Glasgow. Metabolic physiology, pred/prey interactions, social behaviour, fisheries-induced evolution. 🇨🇦 in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

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Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · 29d

Fisheries can drive selection, but what about small-scale ornamental fisheries? Our new study shows Amazonian fishes interact w/ traps in species- & environment-specific ways, hinting at overlooked selective potential. Led by @marpineda.bsky.social Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Sep 2

Our new paper shows how arena size can bias sociability estimates in sticklebacks: bigger tanks = lower sociability, even after adjusting for tank size. Repeatability highest at intermediate size. #methodsmatter! Great work from @mgmci13.bsky.social! Read it here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(7/7) With @helenanorman.bsky.social, @cortesedaphne.bsky.social, Amelia Munson, and @jlindstrom.bsky.social.‬ What do you think – is it time to move beyond the fiction of constant baselines?

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(6/7) The solution isn't to abandon SMR, but to refine measurements: either integrate across sleep-wake cycles for daily estimates, or match measurement states to your biological question. Shifting from static to dynamic baselines will provide more meaningful estimates of organismal energetics.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(5/7) Size, age, social environment, abiotic factors all affect sleep architecture. Correlations btwn SMR & behaviour, environmental effects on SMR/AS, heritability, scaling relationships - all could be confounded with sleep-wake states and partitioning of maintenance processes.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(4/7) Another issue: due to partitioning of different functions between sleep and wakefulness, treatment or environmental effects on SMR via effects on specific functions (e.g. protein synthesis) may be missed entirely if you measure during the wrong state.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(3/7) We modelled the consequences: Sleep-only measurements underestimate daily integrated energy costs. Wake-only measurements overestimate them. The bias isn't random - it follows predictable patterns based on variation in individual or species sleep architecture.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

(2/7) The problem: Different maintenance processes happen at different times. Ion regulation & thermoregulation are active during wake. Protein synthesis, many brain functions, immunity peak during sleep. How “maintenance” is defined and what constitutes SMR depends entirely on WHEN you measure it.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 28

🧵THREAD: (1/7) Standard metabolic rate (SMR) is one of biology's most measured traits. We argue it isn't the constant baseline it's assumed to be. Our preprint discusses how sleep-wake cycles create a 'metabolic mosaic' that requires us to rethink how we interpret SMR. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

The myth of the metabolic baseline: how sleep-wake cycles undermine a foundational assumption in organismal biology

Reposted by Shaun Killen

Helena Norman @helenanorman.bsky.social · Aug 27

New paper out in the Journal of Sleep Research 💤 discussing how using light as a mode of sleep disruption might be disrupting a whole host of other things too... @shaunkillen.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

<em>Journal of Sleep Research</em> | ESRS Journal | Wiley Online Library

Click on the article title to read more.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 27

In our new correspondence, we discuss how light-based methods of sleep disruption may generate confounds that complicate interpretation of results. Light affects hormones, circadian rhythms & stress responses beyond just sleep! @helenanorman.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Animal brains don’t think in a vacuum, they think in heatwaves & hypoxia, and around predators, parasites, and social groups. Our new review maps mechanisms, timescales, and gaps for understanding animal cognition in changing environments: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lau5Esvgs...

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 11

A gift from a student 🥹. Blobfish before and after decompression = me before and after grant deadlines.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Jul 3

And they said we were crazy. Well who's laughing now.

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Jul 3

After so many years of toil, we've finally done it. Definitive proof that guppies can quantum phase shift between dimensions. Congrats to @helenanorman.bsky.social for this game-changing discovery. 🥳 #fishsci

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Jun 9

How do you know they're not?

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Jun 9

As usual, Nathan Fielder is right.

Reposted by Shaun Killen

Tom Hollenstein @tomhollenstein.bsky.social · Jun 5

My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇

www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...

Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...

Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.

Reposted by Shaun Killen

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Jun 3

1/3

www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...

PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.

**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**

Details below! Please RT

(AI-generated image)

AI generated image showing flock of sheep, shoal of fish, flock of birds and swarm robots

Reposted by Shaun Killen

The Onion @theonion.com · May 29

Fish At Pretty Good Place In Its Life Right Now
theonion.com/fish-at...

Fish At Pretty Good Place In Its Life Right Now

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · May 21

Outstanding talk by @helenanorman.bsky.social for @pintofscience.uk on the nature of sleep in fish and other animals. Incredible that we know so little about this vitally important process. More to come from this fantastic scientist!

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · May 18

Kayaked around the gorgeous Loch Drunkie, apparently named after the time whisky smugglers rolled their cargo into the water to dodge tax men. Today, no whisky, no rain, no midges. Just a creeping feeling that Scotland is becoming Portugal. Has barely rained here since March 😮 .

Reposted by Shaun Killen

Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · Feb 26

📖Published📖

Check out our recent research article, presenting YOLO-Behaviour, a flexible framework for identifying visually distinct behaviours from video recordings 🌎 🧪 👇

https://buff.ly/4gJxtsL

Reposted by Shaun Killen

Rafeeque Mavoor @rafeeque.com · May 13

🧵5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations!

These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs.

Save and share the post!

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · May 13

Hogwarts is looking especially glorious today 🤩 #UofGlasgow