Clare Venney

I can't solve all the problems of the world

But I can treat some students to dinner every once in a while, and maybe some days, it's enough to solve the problems of just a few folks

3 DAYS LEFT! Propose a session for the 2026 joint conference of the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the Society of Canadian Aquatic Sciences. The conference will be held May 25–29, 2026, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a hybrid event. https://bit.ly/4lpMJNK

First time at Mill Street in YYZ since I flew back from my U of A interview. Today I’m proud to be flying back to Québec to give a presentation at Université Laval’s Journée Étudiante de l’IBIS (my postdoc department). What a whirlwind 19 months!

YES horror movies too! I’m glad I’m not the only one 😇

a man in a suit and tie with a red face painted on his face . ALT: a man in a suit and tie with a red face painted on his face .

There is a strong positive correlation between my stress levels and my urge to watch true crime documentaries.

Thanks! I'm excited to be back in Québec and see everyone 😊⚜️

We're hiring! Technician position in Juneau, AK to support fisheries genetic work at NOAA. The technician will assist with various projects including eDNA, GBS, epigenetic aging. We are looking for someone with a strong background in molecular biology. Apply here by August 10: shorturl.at/4JgPV

Kombucha girl frowning in digust with text: "going through my email inbox" Kombucha girl intrigued with text: "sanding the living room walls"

I took a week and a half off to tackle some minor repairs and painting of our new (first!) house.

Today is my first day back to work and the living room walls are looking particularly inspiring compared to my overflowing inbox

Billboard beside road with text that reads: WHEN DID FIRING PARK RANGERS, SCIENTISTS, AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS BECOME A BETTER IDEA THAN SIMPLY TAXING BILLIONAIRES?

We seriously need a crowdfunding campaign to put a billboard up like this everywhere

Part of a garden with dark blue Delphinium flowers

Sometimes a slow morning and a bit of exercise does wonders. I went on a much-needed 6 km run this morning to touch grass and admire the flowers. ☀️ 🌺 now to get to work and finish that grant proposal!

Save the date for next year's 2026 IAGLR-SCAS Joint Conference to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from May 25-26. Stay tuned for information about session proposals, presentations, and registration as we begin the countdown for a week of terrific aquatic science and more.

A little teaser of some collaborative network graphs

I’ll be at #CSEE2025 talking about patterns of collaboration in the Canadian eco/evo research community 🇨🇦

If you’re a eco/evo prof in Canada, odds are you were one of my data points… so come check it out! Wednesday - 4:30 - Science in action

@csee-sceemtgs.bsky.social

Excerpt of an email: “To our wonderful community! Today, on June 27, 2025, Egale Canada and Skipping Stone are thrilled to share that the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta has granted our injunction request to block the Government of Alberta’s denial of gender-affirming care for gender diverse young people in the province from coming into effect. This is an historic win, affirming that young people in Alberta and across Canada deserve to live authentically in safety and freedom. On the basis of expert evidence, the Court concluded that Bill 26 would cause irreparable harm to gender diverse young people in Alberta.”

Bill 26, a UCP effort to deny lifesaving gender affirming care to young Albertans, has been blocked by the courts! One piece of good news amidst all the bad in the world these days. 🌈

So much nature! The skunks were rolling around playing, rerouting traffic near Assiniboia Hall

I thought this was going to be a picture of the baby skunks that were near CCIS this afternoon!

I am excited to announce that the last paper from my PhD is now out!

In this paper, we tested how early-life predation stress shapes adult behaviour in Trinidadian guppies and whether DNA methylation in the brain plays a role.

Read all about it here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Edmonton’s magpies are fearless. We just watched 15-20 magpies (and a few crows) chase a skunk down the street. Nature!

A fish tank with gravel, a fake plant, and PVC pipe tunnels

Two women checking fish tanks

Trout alevin with rocks in a bowl

A rack of tanks with some barren and some enriched

The last of the trout alevin were moved to their new homes today! The epigenetic inheritance experiment continues

@britneyfirth.bsky.social

Dear fish people: is there a way to differentiate fin clips based on the type of fin (e.g., through microscopy)?

A horizontal bar chart titled "Percentage of Global fossil fuel emissions (since 1751) occurring in my lifetime." The chart shows how much of the total historical global fossil fuel emissions have occurred within the lifetime of individuals of different ages, from 5 to 100 years old. The vertical axis on the left lists ages in increments of 5 years, from age 5 at the top to age 100 at the bottom. The horizontal axis represents the percentage of fossil fuel emissions, marked in 10% increments from 10% to 90%. The black bars represent the proportion of fossil fuel emissions that have occurred during each age group's lifetime. The bars increase in length as the age increases, meaning older individuals have lived through a larger percentage of the cumulative emissions since 1751. Three specific age groups are highlighted with red bars and white text annotations: Age 30: "if you are 30 it is more than 50%" Age 50: "if you are 50 it is about 75%" Age 85: "if you are 85 it is about 90%" The source of the data is cited at the bottom: "CDIAC and globalcarbonproject.org." The graphic is credited to "@neilrkaye."

If you think climate change has gotten worse during your lifetime, you're right and there's a good reason.

If you're Gen X like me, more than 3/4 of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions have occurred in your lifetime. Even if you're a Millennial, it's at least half.

📊: @neilrkaye.bsky.social

😂 Maybe they’re doing their acting exercises and getting into character

Award details | Funding and scholarships for students | University of Exeter

🚨🚨🚨Funded PhD position in my lab‪ @exeter.ac.uk: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

💪🐟 Project will investigate sea lice resistance in salmonids

🗓️Deadline: June 20

🔁Please share widely, I appreciate any re-posts!

✉️Feel free to reach out with any questions.

#academicJobs #PhD #phdposition
🧬🐟🧪💻

My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇

www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...

For more details on graduate opportunities in my lab see: rdinnager.github.io/dinnage_lab_...

I am also actively recruiting graduate student for my new Assistant Professor role starting in July at the University of Alberta.

If you will be at #Evol2025 and are looking for opportunities to study at the intersection of AI/ML and biology (especially evolution), let's talk in Athens!

I had an amazing time at EPIMAR2025 talking about aquatic epigenomics for 4 days - so much fun that I forgot to take pictures!

Thanks to the organizers for a great conference, and for the honour of giving a plenary talk. Can’t wait for Chilé 2027!

Good idea! If I skip that and Denethor eating tomatoes it should make up for all the in flight announcements

a man with a beard and long hair is laying down with his eyes closed ALT: a man with a beard and long hair is laying down with his eyes closed

Just boarded a 9.5 hour redeye to Barcelona and they have the entire LOTR trilogy (9.2 hours). The probability of sleeping on this flight has reduced considerably

This threat represents an immeasurable loss to community-driven research and to the training pipeline for the next generation of collaborative conservation leaders

It's unbelievable to me that the jobs of USGS scientists—who are essential to understanding and protecting fish and fisheries—are at risk. Their work is absolutely critical.