Shannon Skalos, PhD

For me it’s constantly being needed and touched. The endless “mom mom mom mom mom” literally gives me a headache. And never having any personal space is overwhelming for me. But also, I never want them to be far away or out of sight 😵‍💫🫠😮‍💨

Booo I hope it’s mild!

Northern Walkingstick crawling on the arm of a toddler

We found a Northern Walkingstick today!

Just north of Calvert Cliffs is Flag Ponds and it’s also great for teeth and fossils!

No

Bird conservation threatened by shifting baseline syndrome New research shows that populations of dozens of waterbird and seabird species have been declining for much longer than previously thought in Europe. The article "Shifting the baseline for waterbird a...

If conservationists work from a compromised baseline, our notions of abundance, scarcity, and ecological wellbeing will keep getting defined downward:
"The researchers show that using the 1970s as a baseline tends to normalize an already severely degraded state."
phys.org/news/2025-10...

Oh I love this!

Trump's higher ed ransom note is here - everyone would have to acquiesce to their unprecedented demands or not be "given priority for grants," plus they can demand "reimbursement" for "violations" www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

A mechanism to enforce fealty. An attack on academic freedom and democracy

As my hair grays I keep saying “I’m entering my Jane Goodall era” and now I’m more determined to never dye my hair again

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

This might be the lowest low so far this year for federal employees

Fox

My dad used to grow all these peppers, too. I touched my tongue to sliced scorpion habañero once and that was enough for me!

Isn’t that the first sign that maybe you also shouldn’t touch them with your mouth? 😅

Oof

Oh ok 🫠

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

It’s so so hard

😮‍💨

The Interior Department is taking steps to implement layoffs After a series of delays, DOI is preparing RIF lists as it looks to implement significant personnel cuts in the coming weeks.

Well shit

www.govexec.com/workforce/20...

It’s also easy to make this choice when you’re financially secure

Just a reminder that WTFJHT exists and is a really good summary of the day in politics.

White embroidered Archaeopteryx fossil on a black jacket

White embroidered “Arc’teryx” brand name on a black jacket

Thanks to gift cards I’ve been saving for a year, I finally got an Arc’teryx jacket, like any self-respecting Ornithologist would 🪶🥰

Oregonians are asked to turn off their lights tonight. This is why Millions of birds cross Oregon during peak migration season, which lasts through mid-October.

Millions of birds cross Oregon during peak migration season, which lasts through mid-October.

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

A monarch butterfly, orange with black stripes and white dots, feeds on yellow flowers.

An eastern Monarch at Cape May, NJ on its journey south 🦋

This is insanity

Y’all, they’re taking away free speech.

Vintage black and white photo of a woman sitting on a chair with a teddy bear beside her

12 September 1914 | A German Jewish woman, Regina Berelowski, was born in Berlin.

In March 1943, she was deported to #Auschwitz. She did not survive.
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Women at Auschwitz.
Lesson: https://lekcja.auschwitz.org/2022_kobiety_en/
Podcast: https://youtu.be/ijTxtbNlJO8

People of Berkeley! Join us next week.

Nice butt shot!