Bonus, adding in a new Darwin canon hater moment for fellow ecologists and nature folks:
"The work has been turning out badly for me this morning & I am sick at heart & oh my God how I do hate species & varieties."
www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docI...
📢 Now accepting proposals for the Graduate Research Excellence Grants! These provide evolutionary biology research funds for early and advanced Master’s and PhD students. Applicants must be members of SSE. Deadline: May 18, 2026
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications.
My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/
academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Looking to make your science accessible and meaningful? Need help developing science education & outreach materials or ideas?
Well then do we have the resource for you! The ABS Communications Committee developed this excellent repository of resources, so check it out!
tinyurl.com/4evx8wyx
The CSU/OpenAI contract is set to expire June 30, 2026.
Sign this petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/cancel-chatgpt-edu-invest-in-humans/ for the CSU NOT to renew the contract and to use the savings to protect jobs at CSU campuses facing layoffs.
Congratulations!!!!
“Minnesotans’ relentlessness offers a blueprint for how to react when ICE inevitably arrives to stir up trouble where there was none; how to look violence dead in the eye and say not in my town; how to provide aid laterally when you know those at the top won’t be passing any down.”
My latest—
This bobtail squid burrowing into the sand is already adorable, but please watch till the very end!
It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍
Excited to launch the new improved Reproducible Code guide from @britishecologicalsociety.org @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social FREE online here! www.britishecologicalsociety.org//wp-content/... Amazing work by some very talented ECRs. We hope it’s useful!
New signals thrive when females aren't picky. Relaxed pickiness allowed novel purr and rattle songs to become established in Hawaiian crickets. New work by @robinmting.bsky.social @gwelsh.bsky.social in Evolution Letters. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Alright scientists! It's that time again!
Time to sign up for Skype a Scientist's spring semester.
Want to get matched with a classroom in 2026?
Sign up now 🥰
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
please note in the alt text for the cover I meant R. suavis not R. juglandis - I promise I know my study system
Thank you!!
Exciting update - we're featured on the cover! Always happy to show off flies at ALL life stages 🪰🪰
So excited to share our new work out in @evolletters.bsky.social today!
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Sexual signals and preferences for them often differ across groups, contributing to reproductive isolation. But how do new signals evolve if females already have preferences for existing ones? (1/4)
Wisconsin Evolution is accepting applications for our Seminar Series' Early Career Scientist Award. Come share your evolution research and visit UW-Madison's evolution community. Open to grad students and postdocs (<5 yrs post PhD) from outside UW-Madison.
Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Why did I only just find out that that there are water striders that live IN (ON!!) THE OPEN OCEAN? 🧪
OCEAN STRIDERS!!
Many thanks, of course, to (not on bsky) Alycia Lackey, our fearless leader, and other members of the lab for feedback and support throughout (Shayna, Olivia, @jennalydiaburns.bsky.social)
alyciarlackey.weebly.com
Survival was higher in the substrate containing ground walnut husk than the control conditions, indicating a beneficial relationship between flies and their host. We also found that this substrate treatment had lower pH and higher moisture retention, which likely also contributed to higher survival.
Walnut husk maggots, R. suavis, uses the walnut tree as its host despite its allelopathic qualities present in the active chemical, juglone. We ask. do they perform better because of this exposure to juglone or do they simply survive despite it?
Thrilled to share this paper that started as a summer research project and ended as a co-first author pub with amazing undergrad mentee Naomi 🪰
#evosky 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
TGI Flyday
Took 5 mins to call my rep and senators today while waiting for my machine learning model to run. Have you called today? #saveNSF #supportNSF
Hey folks going to #evol2025 in Athens. The SSE #DEI committee is sponsoring a workshop on how to avoid bias in writing T&P letters. Registration is required and the workshop is open to all career stages! Please share and help spread the word @sse-evolution.bsky.social @evolmtg.bsky.social
Perfect time to listen to virtual #Evol2025 @evolmtg.bsky.social
this week in the lab: making lemmon-ade!!
(grinding up flies from Mt Lemmon in AZ for DNA extraction)
#EvoBio 🧪
Naomi gave a talk on a project she designed three years ago assessing survival in different developmental substrate conditions. Paper coming soon!
Brianna evaluated how egg load was condition-dependent but perhaps unrelated to mating decisions—she'll expand on this project working with me over the summer! 🧪
Isabella presented on size variation within and between species of walnut husk flies and discussed the implications for sexual selection on body size
The Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference last weekend was a blast!! So happy to present my 1st ch results and, more importantly, invite 3 of my UG researchers to join too 🪰 many thanks to @meec2025.bsky.social for hosting!
