Chiara Benvenuto

Just one week left to submit your abstract for our symposium on eco-evolutionary dynamics of #sexualselection and #sexualconflict at @ece2026tours.bsky.social ! Join us in beautiful Tours, France, 29 June – 3 July 2026!

screenshot of my post

Big new blogpost!

My guide to data visualization, which includes a very long table of contents, tons of charts, and more.

--> Why data visualization matters and how to make charts more effective, clear, transparent, and sometimes, beautiful.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/salonis-gu...

Not sure our paper rocks as much as Katharina’s cover illustration, but we’re very delighted it was picked as ‘Editor’s Choice’ on @evolletters.bsky.social!

GLOSSA workflow overview. The figure shows four main steps: (1) Data upload, (2) Data processing, (3) Model fitting, evaluation, and prediction, and (4) Visualization and export.

My first PhD paper has been published!!📖🎉

@methodsinecoevol.bsky.social just published GLOSSA, an R Shiny app we've been building to make marine SDMs more accessible.
It behaves (sometimes).

Paper: doi.org/10.1111/2041...
More info: imares-group.github.io/glossa

Enjoy responsibly😇

Researchers map path forward for gender-inclusive fisheries data MSU professor Mark Axelrod joins 36 researchers from six continents to develop a framework addressing gender data gaps in small-scale fisheries worldwide.

Researchers map path forward for gender-inclusive fisheries data. Proud to be part of this work! jmc.msu.edu/news/2025/12...

The Guitarfishes and Wedge Fish Diaries of Somanga: Science, Fishers, and the Fight for Sustainability Where science meets the sea   The Somanga coast of southern Tanzania may look calm, but beneath the waves lies a story about one of the Western Indian Ocean’s endemics and a very rare species with an ...

Tracking Somanga’s endangered guitarfishes and wedgefishes shows a coastline at a crossroads. But working with fishers, Bigeyo Neke Kuboja is now mapping out threats and protecting nursery grounds for Tanzania’s rhino rays.
saveourseas.com/update/the-g...

"Atomic Brian" in front of the first slide of his talk, for our PGR students: Atomic Ecolog - a reserach journey

It has been an absolute pleasure for me & @naiarasales.bsky.social to host @drhaydo.bsky.social to discuss stable isotope projects and inspire our PGR students: Atomic ecology - a research journey (aka How I learned to love stable isotope ecology, and why you should too!) www.atomicecology.com

Have you seen this @amyleedale.bsky.social @sambarrett97.bsky.social @gleneth93.bsky.social? 🦜🦜🦜🦜

Knock knock, who's there? Identifying wild species‐specific fish sounds with passive acoustic localization and random forest models Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a useful non-destructive tool for evaluating species presence, diversity and abundance. However, in marine environments, a dearth of tools and methods for identif....

Excited to see this paper out!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

> 1,000 fish calls from 8 fish species identified including 5 whose wild calls had never been documented. The paper shows species-specific sound characteristics that offers a foundation for future species-specific detectors
🐟🔊🧪

Sex, males, and hermaphrodites in the scale insect Icerya purchasi* Abstract. Androdioecy (the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites) is a rare mating system for which the evolutionary dynamics are poorly understood. Here

I've written about this reproductive system, the mix of males and hermaphrodites without pure females (called androdioecy) before, here:
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

What's in a name? 🐙🦑 @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social @treeofsex.bsky.social

Giant genome of the vampire squid reveals the derived state of modern octopod karyotypes Marine organism; Genetics; Evolutionary mechanisms; Phylogenetics; Genomic analysis

BIG news about vampire squid! I just learned their Japanese name "koumori-dako" means "bat-octopus," which is objectively better* and I'll be using it from now on. 🦇🐙

That's not the news though, the news is that scientists sequenced their genome and it's ENORMOUS 🧪🧵
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Pink hair squat lobster inside the ridges of a barrel sponge

The Pink Hairy Squat Lobster (Lauriea siagiani) is a small crustacean that lives on barrel sponges in the Indo-Pacific region. It is more closely related to crabs than lobsters & is known for its color & hair-like structures called setae, which help it sense vibrations & filter food.

#marinelife

Poster for the talk by Rebecca Sear, entitled "21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology". It will take place on Monday, 8 December 2025 at 4 pm (CET) via Zoom.

Next week, we welcome @rebeccasear.bsky.social in our Lecture Series. Rebecca will talk about 21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology. Just register here to participate 👉 rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio

The surprising crab-trap–pulling behavior is described in this article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We recently published a paper on how animal tool use is conceptualized, offering a framework to make sense of its different forms 👇📃 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #evosky #philsci

Voices from the Sea: Angola’s First Sharks and Rays Database When we think of sharks and rays, images of the open ocean and deep-sea adventures often come to mind. Rarely do we consider the vital role that small-scale fisheries play in helping us understand the...

Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares and team are building Angola’s first national database to guide real, community-grounded conservation. The Angola Elasmo Project combines fishers’ knowledge with science to document sharks and rays landed on Namibe’s beaches.
saveourseas.com/update/voice...

GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.

I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio

Did you know that there are over 60 species of sharks that are luminous? In this episode of World of Sharks, we learn all about the sharks that light up the darkness of the deep sea, with Professor Jerome Mallefet.

Listen here: saveourseas.com/worldofshark...

Maybe not "tool use", it reminds me the blue tits opening milk bottles, but still really cool! And I am afraid I cut the title of the article, which was "potential" tool use....

YouTube video by The Weather Network Wolves Caught on Camera Pulling in Crab Traps in B.C.

SEA WOLVES!!!! This is cool. After Haíɫzaqv Guardians saw damaged crab traps, video cameras were set. Great article: Tool use by wolves (Canis lupus): crab trap pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory! It has videos: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
(also here www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMSY...) 🦀🐺

Title slide with text: A guide to writing good code for the busy scientist Black text over stripey pale brown-green background

If you missed my talk but still want some tips for writing good code for scientists, my slides are here:

daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...

All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏

#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub

Oh boy, do I have a Wiki-list for you:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
I'm fond of Puffinus puffinus, which isn't a puffin.

(There's also a list of TRIPLE tautonyms, linked under "See also")

Statistical Rethinking with brms, ggplot2, and the tidyverse Second edition by A Solomon Kurz
#RStats
https://bigbookofr.com/chapters/statistics.html#statistical-rethinking-with-brms-ggplot2-and-the-tidyverse-second-edition

@asab.org Spring, aimed at ECRs, is coming to Bristol!

Conference grant DEADLINE for Developing Country Applicants (<£2500) or anyone needing an early decision for visas (<£750) is in ONE WEEK, 1st December.
www.asab.org/conference-g...

Referee statement also needed by then! 🐝🐜🦟🦂🐠🐟🐬🦎🐸🦆🐿️🦓

Save the date announcement for IPBES12 Plenary Session, featuring an aerial photograph of Manchester, UK. The image shows the city's modern skyline with skyscrapers in the background and residential areas with abundant green spaces in the foreground. White text overlays a green gradient background, announcing the event dates of 3-8 February 2026 in Manchester. The hashtags #BizBiodiversity and #IPBES12 are displayed, along with text indicating that global experts will convene to discuss the Business and Biodiversity Assessment. The design uses a white border frame around the entire image.

📅Save the date: #IPBES12 Plenary

3–8 February 2026
📍Manchester, UK

IPBES members and experts will convene to discuss the landmark #BizBiodiversity assessment of the impact and dependency of business on biodiversity and nature's contributions to people.

📗 https://ow.ly/jMXK50XwIPC

New Yorker, 24 Nov

Living with Sharks and Rays in Timor-Leste Timor-Leste is a small, extraordinarily biodiverse nation with artisanal, community-based fisheries. Each community typically operates few vessels (10–30) from beach landing sites; most are wind- or p...

Following a blanket shark fishing ban in Timor-Leste’s artisanal fisheries, Adriana Gonzalez Pestana is working alongside fishers to help create policies that protect both local livelihoods and vulnerable species.
saveourseas.com/update/livin...

📢 #Ethology2026 – A Double Event
Join us for:
• Ethologische Gesellschaft Annual Meeting, 18–21 Feb, Grünau
• DK Symposium: Cognition & Communication, 23–24 Feb, Vienna
A full week of ethology, cognition, and communication.
univie.eventsair.com/etho26-dkcog...
@ethoges.bsky.social @univie.ac.at

The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works - Steven L. Franconeri, Lace M. Padilla, Priti Shah, Jeffrey M. Zacks, Jessica Hullman, 2021 Effectively designed data visualizations allow viewers to use their powerful visual systems to understand patterns in data across science, education, health, an...

I'm surprised I only came across it now, but this review on improving communication in data visualization is excellent.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

A calla lily photographed from above, showing the beautiful spiraling of the flower

Good morning world!