Dr. Danilo Giacometti (he/him) 🇧🇷🇨🇦

Membros grandes de artrópodes podem ser usados para regular o calor Quando a Receita Federal apreendeu 99 besouros da espécie Megasoma gyas na mala de um japonês com voo marcado para a Tailândia, partindo do Aeroporto Internacional de Guarulhos, na Região Metropolitan...

Muito feliz de ter a história do nosso trabalho sobre a relação entre termorregulação e ornamentos exagerados contada na @pesquisafapesp.bsky.social!

revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/membros-gran...

Want to join a global 🌎 initiative to test the thermal limits of 🐟 using standardised approach? Led by @patricepottier.bsky.social, we are planning a globally distributed experiment to collect data on fish embryonic heat tolerance 🌡️. Make this experiment global!

🔗: www.thermalecologyalliance.org

Now published:

Sub-zero body temperatures during early spring migration in blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale)

✒️ Giacometti et al.
🔗 doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

Black and white photo of a hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale hypnale) biting a cylinder of warm medical gel. Photo credit: Silke Cleuren.

Snake bites are terrifying & now Silke Cleuren, Alistair Evans & co @monashuniversity.bsky.social reveal the full details of viper, elapid & colubrid bites with the first high speed movies all 3 families sinking their fangs into transparent medical gel

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Talk about an in-flight meal.

For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn

It’s spotted salamander month in the @jexpbiol.bsky.social calendar!

The title of this paper is a tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time, Rush:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyhW...

🚨New paper in JEZ-A 🦎

In Tropidurus catalanensis, sprint speed isn’t about size, testosterone or muscle enzyme activity.

Instead, fast lizards show greater cardiac oxidative capacity, which is vital for post-exercise recovery

doi.org/10.1002/jez....

Exaggeration Through Sexual Selection May Impact the Thermal Biology of Arthropods Synopsis. Sexual selection is often invoked to explain the evolution of extravagant morphologies, such as antlers and horns. While the focus is typically o

🚨 New paper in ICB! 🚨

We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding pon…

Please also check out this great blog post by @tattersallg.bsky.social about our study: tattersalllab.com/2025/09/09/s...

🚨 New paper! 🚨

We present thermal imaging evidence that blue-spotted salamanders partake in breeding migration at sub-zero body temperatures that are way below their known supercooling point. ❄️🥶

Why take such a risk? Come check the paper: doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding ponds while snow still blankets the ground and ice lingers on and in the soil. This is a risky strategy for a species that can’t survive freezing. Our recent Natural History note…

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders

In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding ponds while snow still blankets the ground and…

Cheers!

I'm extremely happy to share that in August I'll be starting a post-doc in Dr. Carlos Navas' lab at Universidade de São Paulo!

With a fellowship given by the São Paulo Research Foundation, I'll study the mechanisms underlying behavioural fever in amphibians and reptiles 🐸🦎🌡️

Social card featuring bird for the Canadian Journal of Zoology Call for Applications: Early Career Researcher Associate Editor.

📢 Now #hiring: @canjzoology.bsky.social is recruiting an #ECR Associate Editor! This is a great volunteer opportunity for a postdoc or early-career faculty member to gain editorial experience and build connections!

▶️ buff.ly/hpVApYd

#AcademicSky #SciComm 🧪 #AcWri #PHDSky #ScholComms

A cartoon depicting two spotted salamanders facing each other in the forest at night. The salamanders are surrounded by trees and standing on dead leaves on the forest floor with a log in the middle of the midground. The salamander on the left says, 'What a nice night it is.' The salamander on the right replies, 'It's not humid enough for me here. I'm going to go hang out by the log before my skin starts to dry out too much'. Illustration by Mike Flannagan (Flantoons).

Salamanders need to make sure their skin stays wet enough to survive living on land. Giacometti & co recently showed that salamanders can sense the humidity in the air and seek out areas that will stop their skin from drying out

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Faculty of Math and Sciences Best PhD Dissertation Award to Danilo Giacometti

Congratulations Dr. Danilo Giacometti! The Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences at Brock has awarded you the FMS Best PhD Thesis Award. A supervisor could not be prouder!

Thanks Miriam!

And all 5 chapters published before the thesis defense! Amazing! Makes the committee kind of irrelevant in a good way.

Extremely happy to share that I successfully defended my PhD yesterday!

Thank you to my fantastic supervisor @tattersallg.bsky.social , my committee members @photopidge.bsky.social and @richardsmiriam1.bsky.social, and my external examiners @lizardprof.bsky.social and Dr. Toby Mündel.

Congratulations, Dr. Giacometti!

I am really proud to congratulate Dr. Danilo Giacometti for his successful PhD Defence! The thesis entitled "Physiological and behavioural responses to temperature and humidity in fossorial amphibians" was defended today in front of his examining committee: Dr. Don…

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart “the Drying” For amphibians, water is everything. Their thin skin makes them especially vulnerable to drying out, so staying hydrated is not just about comfort—it is about survival. But how do amphibians manage their hydration state in the face of different temperatures and fluctuating humidity? Our recent study on spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) provides some new insights into this question. We exposed salamanders to two temperatures—17°C and 22°C—within a humidity gradient (Fig 1) to understand how salamanders behaved when given the choice to move toward more or less humid conditions under contrasting thermal conditions.

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart “the Drying”

For amphibians, water is everything. Their thin skin makes them especially vulnerable to drying out, so staying hydrated is not just about comfort—it is about survival. But how do amphibians manage their hydration state in the face of different…

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart “the Drying” For amphibians, water is everything. Their thin skin makes them especially vulnerable to drying out, so staying hydrated is not just about comfort—it is about survival. But how do amphibians manage…

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart "the Drying" tattersalllab.com/2025/05/23/h...

@jexpbiol.bsky.social did a great job translating our work to a broader audience through this 'Inside JEB' article. Please check it out! doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Behavioural evidence of a humidistat: a temperature-compensating mechanism of hydroregulation in spotted salamanders Highlighted Article: Spotted salamanders maintain hydration state by behaviourally defending a constant evaporative drive between temperatures.

🚨 New paper! 🚨

We show that salamanders behaviourally regulate a constant vapour pressure deficit regardless of temperature, which supports the presence of a humidistat that helps regulate evaporative water loss. doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
@tattersallg.bsky.social @jexpbiol.bsky.social #herpetology

🧵5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations!

These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs.

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Digging into physiology: how salamanders balance energy and water between seasons Ectotherms from highly seasonal habitats often exhibit remarkable physiological plasticity, which allows them to balanceand adjust energy and water budgets in the face of fluctuating climatic …

Please also check this blog post about our study: tattersalllab.com/2025/04/23/d...

Seasonal plasticity in the thermal sensitivity of metabolism but not water loss in a fossorial ectotherm - Oecologia Ectotherms from highly seasonal habitats should have enhanced potential for physiological plasticity to cope with climatic variability. However, whether this pattern is applicable to fossorial ectothe...

🚨New paper!🚨

In our latest paper in Oecologia, we demonstrate that fossorial (i.e., underground-dwelling) ectotherms, which are thought to experience attenuated climatic variability underground, also display seasonal adjustments in key physiological functions.

doi.org/10.1007/s004...

Digging into physiology: how salamanders balance energy and water between seasons Ectotherms from highly seasonal habitats often exhibit remarkable physiological plasticity, which allows them to balanceand adjust energy and water budgets in the face of fluctuating climatic conditions. Yet, fossorial (i.e., underground-dwelling) ectotherms are thought to experience attenuated climatic variability underground, raising the question: do fossorial ectotherms also display seasonal adjustments in key physiological functions? We investigated how seasonal acclimation (spring vs.

Digging into physiology: how salamanders balance energy and water between seasons

Ectotherms from highly seasonal habitats often exhibit remarkable physiological plasticity, which allows them to balanceand adjust energy and water budgets in the face of fluctuating climatic conditions. Yet,…

Exploring Fish and Reptile Intelligence: Honours Thesis Defence Insights

A busy week with Honours student defences from the lab (and throughout the Department of Biological Sciences). From our lab: Margaret Kitney defended a brilliant thesis project on how and whether sex differences alters…