Benjamin Freeman

MILLER!

Just spent two late weekend nights nerding the f* out, and now I'm going to spend a little of my Sunday morning bringing you the fruits of my labors! Stare at these trees with me. What do you see?

North American bird declines are driven by reductions in common species Declines in North American birds are driven not by rare species vanishing but by sharp losses among formerly common species.

🚨 First PhD chapter is out! My work thus far, with @andy2dobson.bsky.social

We found that formerly common species have declined the fastest, on average.

📄 North American bird declines are driven by reductions in common species | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification Flight may affect the dispersal and evolution of birds. Using a new evolutionary tree, Claramunt et al. find that efficient fliers have broader geographic ranges, and speciation reduces range size, bu...

🚨 The New Age of global bird phylogenies continues!

Hot on the heels of the fantastic updated tree created by @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others, we use a different approach to generate a near-comprehensive timetree of >9000 bird species. 1/3

www.cell.com/current-biol...

🧪🌐🪶

Screenshot of the MIT homepage with a story about our recent PNAS article. The text reads: A new study shows fruit-eating animals help tropical forests absorb carbon, by dispersing seeds and enabling new trees to grow. “When we lose our animals, we’re losing the ecological infrastructure that keeps our tropical forests healthy and resilient,” Evan Fricke says.

MIT homepage today:
40% hornbill
40% figs
20% me yelling about seed dispersers

Press release here: mit.edu

Thrilled to share our new article in @pnas.org highlighting global gaps in where we study animal movement—and outlining the next generation of smart bio-loggers.

👉 Read the full study in PNAS: lnkd.in/exP8NCeZ
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Recruitment poster for the Bhamla Lab. Top shows Georgia Tech and CU Boulder logos. Main headline: “Hiring Multiple Postdoctoral Researchers: Organismal Biomechanics, Soft Robotics, and Raman Diagnostics.” Left column lists four roles—Organismal Biology, Bioinspired Engineering, Raman Diagnostics, and a Curiosity‑Based slot—plus note of 3‑year funding from DARPA, NSF, NIH, and Schmidt. Right side features a vintage collage of a Victorian‑era scientist with robotic arm, insects, and globe, and a circular “Physics of Life” diagram linking biology, physics, engineering, and mathematics. Tan background, Bhamla Lab crest at top.

Hiring 4 postdocs — organismal biophysics, soft robotics, frugal Raman diagnostics, or your own bold idea.

3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.

PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics

CU Boulder! man Saad we'll miss you...

Seed dispersal disruption limits tropical forest regrowth | PNAS Identifying linkages between biodiversity loss and climate change is required for understanding the scope of these interconnected challenges and de...

Our new study shows how animal biodiversity loss is a climate problem: tropical forests recover far less carbon where seed dispersers have declined.

We’re not just losing forests – we’re losing their ability to regrow.

Reversing that trend could align biodiversity recovery with climate solutions.🧵

Our new paper in BioScience shows how iNaturalist data is powering research across the globe, with use growing 10x in 5 years and spanning 128 countries & 638 families of life.

Paper: doi.org/10.1093/bios...

@ifas.ufl.edu @inaturalist.bsky.social

#Biodiversity #iNaturalist #OpenScience

James Stroud - Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Working with lizards to better understand how species adapt and evolve, James Stroud studies natural selection in the field and explores how ecological and

Hugely honoured, surprised, excited, and all the other emotions to receive a Maxwell/Hanrahan Award in Field Biology!

www.maxwell-hanrahan.org/award/james-...

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Quick ask for the ##ornithology #motus community. Anyone have a CTT 'sidekick' tag locator you can spare for a few weeks ASAP??

Grad student looking to test it out this summer, but CTT back ordered.

Sen. Ossoff: "I will fight this effort to destroy the CDC with everything I have as a member of the United States Senate."

Nature Ecology & Evolution highlights our paper about bird niches keeping pace with climate change in a news & views feature:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

definitely! I had a bobcat in BC one morning, but this is astonishing

Trump’s Budget Would Clip Bird Banding. Hunters Are Not Happy.

🪶🌎🧪 Bird Banding Lab threatened by budget cuts: The lab falls under the U. S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystem Mission Area, the agency’s major ecology program, which under President Trump’s 2026 proposed budget would see funding cut to $29 million, from $293 million. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/s...

Combining acoustic survey and citizen science data yields enhanced species distribution models for tropical rainforest birds A key goal in ecology is to develop effective ways to understand species’ distributions in order to facilitate both their study and conservation. Many species distribution modeling analyses have been ...

Hello all! For my first post on this platform, I’m excited to share the first chapter of my dissertation, about using eBird and bioacoustics survey data to make species distribution models for Neotropical birds, which was published in @plosone.org today.

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

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Graphic with a photo of a Bald Eagle carrying a very large stick in its talons by Sunny on Flickr. An inset photo by Daniel Arndt shows a massive eagle nest in a tree. Text on graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact: Bald Eagles enjoy home improvement. They love to add sticks to their nests, and do so continuously throughout the breeding season. Because they reuse their nests year after year, the nests can get enormous. In fact, Bald Eagles build one of the largest nests of any bird. One nest in Florida measured 9.5 ft wide by 20 ft tall. Another in Ohio weighed an estimated 2.2 tons! Bald Eagle nests often get so big that they topple the tree they sit in.

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

Scientists Are Tracking Worrying Declines in Insects—and the Birds That Feast on Them. Here's What's Being Done to Save Them Both In Vermont, researchers have investigated the types of creepy, crawly bugs that their avian predators consume and may have found the answers to keeping them both alive

You can’t understand bird declines without also understanding insect declines.

Grateful our work on insect-bird interactions was highlighted by Smithsonian Mag. If you love birds, think about whether your actions are helping the insects they need to survive.

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

A bird with smooth, layered blue and teal plumage perches on a branch facing away. Its long, pale blue crest feathers drape down the back of its head, and its elegant tail feathers taper into a sharp point.

Agami Heron, rear view.

At Agami Island #CostaRica

#birds #nature

In the heart of one of the most important ecosystems for migratory birds in the country.

They don't make them like they used to! I was discussing this paper with lab members this morning - a lizard ecology/natural history classic! (and outstandingly excellent title 🦎🦎)

www.jstor.org/stable/19485...

Please pass along - postdoc position! with our working group on #FunctionalTraits and rarity. This is part of the FREE (Functional Rarity in Ecology and Evolution) working group led by Cyrille Violle in Montpellier France 🧪🌐🌾 emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

Trump vs. Birds: Proposed Budget Eliminates Critical Research Programs • The Revelator Experts say there’s “no substitute” for the Bird Banding Laboratory or the Breeding Bird Survey, which help reveal the health and status of avian populations across the country.

"I’d prefer to live in a version of America that invests a little less in “unleashing American energy” and “securing our borders” and a little more in studying and protecting our wild neighbor"

therevelator.org/trump-vs-bir...

by @rheisman.bsky.social

Field team in Wytham Woods May 2025

Image of the new Biology Building, completed, and opening from August 2025

Lunch with the field team to celebrate another successful season - May 2025

Interested in Postdoc Research here in Oxford? Many projects possible using long-term population studies of birds, field & lab experiments with insect consumers, phenology of trees all in Wytham woods & based in new Biology building
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/calls/msca-p...

A Dino's Last Dinner And Eavesdropping Birds Scientists look inside the fossilized stomach contents of a massive dinosaur. And, why some birds listen for prairie dogs’ alarm calls.

Dr. Andrew Dreelin talked about our research on grassland birds eavesdropping on Prairie-dogs on @npr.org Science Friday!! #ornithology www.sciencefriday.com/segments/din...

study by Andrew, @dochpjones.bsky.social and I: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I love catbirds so much, but why are they so stupid around cars and bikes? Gotta be one of the most car-struck birds in the country.

No Kings On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. ...

This Saturday, millions of people will stand united and speak out against the Trump administration’s assault on our rights and freedoms in the No Kings National Day of Action. Find your local event here: