Casey Patmore

Researcher: "We let the data speak for itself."

Earlier that day:

+ more generally, I've enjoyed Michael J Ryan's Book "A Taste for the Beautiful" a source of info for this sort of thing

(and as a self-plug the Animal Behavior Podcast episode with him as a guest is a fun listen)

I know he made the point about birds having the same taste for beauty as we do in The Descent of Man. Perhaps try "On the various contrivances...."? Not one I've read yet - but seems likely from scanning through "Mechanisms and evolution of deceptive pollination in orchids" by Jersáková et al 2006

and a mite-y new year!

A Nicrophorus vespilloides carrion beetle, coloured black and orange, wearing a tiny santa hat which has been drawn on by someone very skilled. Me. It was me, I drew it on. And it looks rubbish, but it does the job!

As we all settle down for the end of the year,
With the people we love and value so dear,
Santa Nicrophorus vespilloides is here,
To wish us all happiness and tidings of cheer.

There will be many more invertebrate shenanigans in 2025; I hope you'll join me for them.

Brian

Screenshot of the wikipedia page for Merychippus, a proto-horse that lived in North America 15.97-5.33 million years ago. It had three toes on each foot.

Merychippus everyone 🎄🐎

Debrief of SORTEE Code Club Hackathon ‘Creating a Code Standard’ SORTEE blog

SORTEE members have joined forces to create a:

'Code Standard for the fields of Ecology and Evolution'

More about a real-life example of a common eco/evo analysis that makes it easy for you to implement #OpenCode practices to your own code:

A Goldfinch perches delicately atop a pine tree, its vivid red face, black-and-white crown, and golden feathers glowing against the blurred green backdrop. It tilts its head to one side, looking slightly puzzled, as if wondering what all the fuss is about. The star, after all, is right where it should be...perched proudly on top of the tree.

POV: Everybody's asking where the star is and you're confused because you are the star