Jenny McKee

Thanks for the shout out, Nicholas!

Jenny writes great popular science pieces, plus the research is cool 🌍🧪

Excited to have this one out after over a decade of work. Strong evidence for why migration matters for ungulates.

New study on mule deer in Wyoming reveals that migration is critical to maintain a robust population. I got the chance to chat with lead author Anna Ortega and @wyokauffman.bsky.social about their recent @currentbiology.bsky.social research: www.uwyo.edu/news/2026/02...

PhD lab still putting out papers on Nazca boobies in Galapagos 🧪🌍🪶 #Ornithology

Frontiers | Sex-specific colony attendance before and during the fertilization window in Nazca boobies Nazca boobies (Sula granti), a colonial pelagic seabird, face a tradeoff before egg production between foraging at sea and mating effort on land. All individ...

The latest @wakeforest.bsky.social @wfubiology.bsky.social Nazca booby research is LIVE! I helped lead data collection for this paper when I was a PhD student, but WFU alum '23 (now PhD student) @treyursillo.bsky.social led the analysis! 👏 Great work, Trey!

doi.org/10.3389/fbir...

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands The U.S. Department of Agriculture is initiating an environmental impact statement (EIS) and rulemaking concerning management of inventoried roadless areas on approximately 44.7 million acres of Natio...

TODAY is the deadline to submit public comment on Trump’s proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would expose 45 million acres of national forest to permanent roads and their attendant environmental ills. Register your disapproval here:

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

#roadecology

Applications are NOW OPEN for Smith Fellows conservation research Fellowships beginning in 2026! View the Proposal Guidelines and apply here: www.smithfellows.org/join-us

our paper on how light pollution affects bird vocal behavior is out today in Science!!

w/ @brentpease.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s west coast. For the most in-depth coverage of this breakthrough finding, don't miss this piece by @craigwelch.bsky.social in @biographic.bsky.social 🔗 tinyurl.com/2bmjdjex

Thanks so much to my all-star @audubon.org editor @amcglashen.bsky.social for sticking with me throughout this story! And thanks to @cassidywaldrep.bsky.social and many others not on social media for talking to me about the Atlantic Flyway Migration Project!

To Solve the Mallard's Mysterious Decline, Researchers Turn to Hi-Tech Trackers Biologists are using the devices to better understand the bird's behavior and, ultimately, what might be driving our most common duck's population drop.

I started reporting and writing this story in May 2024, then had a baby, then reported more to learn project updates, and FINALLY our story is live! Check it out to learn more about the decline of a common species, and an ambitious project trying to understand why.

www.audubon.org/magazine/sol...

A Remote, Protected Seabird Paradise May Soon Host a Rocket Landing Site The proposed U.S. Air Force project could disturb unique nesting habitat for multitudes of birds, including 10,000-plus Red-footed Boobies and more than a third of all Red-tailed Tropicbirds.

In March, the U.S. Air Force proposed to build a rocket landing site on remote Johnston Atoll, which formerly hosted a chemical weapon incineration plant and is now a seabird haven.

Read my latest for @audubon.org about why this project would be so bad for wildlife:
www.audubon.org/magazine/rem...

Wyoming deer are heading to the high country, some will travel up to 150 miles. Amazing - and necessary - movements across vast swaths of YOUR public lands. Follow along for weekly updates!

Judge says she is inclined to further pause layoffs at most major agencies RIF plans have been frozen for two weeks, but federal court suggests they are unconstitutional and implementation will remain prohibited indefinitely.

A federal judge signaled plans to extend the freeze on mass layoffs across major federal agencies, citing concerns over the constitutionality of the Trump administration's actions. buff.ly/7sWn7bR #federalworkers #layoffs

Hi #chemsky #scisky folks--I'd love to collect some community responses to this cut-back on GRFP awards for @cenmag.bsky.social story. If you have thoughts about the situation, please please get in touch--and share with your network!

My DMs are open, and I'm also reachable by email or Signal :)

And yes. I know they are not real dire wolves. I know they are genetically modified grey wolves with a few tweaked genes. I know. I in fact wrote about this. Myself. teamtrash.substack.com/p/is-it-a-di...

Bird Nests Across the World - American Birding Association Identifying birds can challenge any level of birder—especially those musically challenged, like myself, who struggle to name common species by their calls and chip notes. Toss in nonbreeding plumages ...

I recently published a short review of an adorable book about bird nests for @ababirds.bsky.social!

www.aba.org/bird-nests-a...

was your vaccine-related NIH grant terminated? please reach out: @katherinejwu.12 on Signal

I worry that the focus on NOAA's weather predicting value is ignoring the millions of other ways NOAA researchers enrich communities and local economies.

There are no oysters without NOAA. There are no blue crabs without NOAA. NOAA trains teachers. NOAA is the lifeblood of coastal communities.

can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book

Report cover that features a photo of two male elk with large antlers walking single file across a snowy landscape. Text above the photo says Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 5 and text below the photo says Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5111

The 5th volume of our USGS report series on #ungulate migrations across the Western U.S. is LIVE! I am so proud to have contributed to this huge effort that maps 36 new herds, bringing the total to 218 herds mapped—an incredible feat! 👏 Read the report & download data: pubs.usgs.gov/publication/...

These eBird Checklists Document Some of the Last Sightings of Extinct U.S. Species As more and more "historical" checklists are added to the platform, birds we've lost now mingle with those still hanging on.

When was the last record of the Eskimo Curlew? Of the Heath Hen? I wrote about eBird checklists that contain the last instances of extinct species. www.audubon.org/magazine/the...

More Than 200 Big-Game Migrations Now Mapped Across American West Wildlife managers, scientists and conservationists have a more complete ecological map of the American West with the release today (Thursday) of 36 new big-game migration routes by the U.S. Geological...

Volume 5 published, bringing the total to 218 mapped migration of ungulate herds across the American West. Tremendous effort by our team @USGS, Univ. of Wyoming, @uoregon.bsky.social and the many State and Tribal partners who have tracked animals across big landscapes. www.uwyo.edu/news/2025/02...

Thank you!

A white woman with long, straight brown hair and glasses wears a plaid flannel shirt and holds a tiny baby with a pacifier in his mouth.

Hi all! Great to have so many new followers here! I'm Jenny, an ecologist and science writer. I'm currently on maternity leave, snuggling with our adorable son, Luke 😍

Estimating ungulate migration corridors from sparse movement data Many ungulates migrate between distinct summer and winter ranges, and identifying, mapping, and conserving these migration corridors have become a focus of local, regional, and global conservation ef....

First paper published from my postdoc at University of Wyoming! We got into the nitty-gritty details of mapping #ungulate migrations, proposing & testing a useful way to analyze datasets that have infrequently collected GPS data: the Fixed Motion Variance method. Read more 👇

doi.org/10.1002/ecs2...

Screenshot of a webpage from the Atlas of Ungulate Migration that has a small drawing of a Guanaco, with orange, red, and purple tracks on a map depicting their seasonal migrations.

The Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration's new Atlas of Ungulate Migration that was unveiled today is STUNNING! 👏 Kudos to all who made this happen! See migrations and download corridor files and fact sheets from mule deer, wildebeest, guanaco, and more: www.cms.int/gium/resourc...

The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness

Y'all, do yourself a favor and read Kenn Kaufman's new book, "The Birds That Audubon Missed"! It covers the main players and early history of ornithology in North America, including John James Audubon, and is a true joy to read.

Check out my review for @amornith.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1093/orni...

Message in A Bottle: Ocean Dispatches From A Seabird Biologist

Looking for a new book to read this summer? Check out Holly Hogan's "Message in a Bottle"! You'll learn about the effects of plastic pollution on seabirds, and travel to seabird islands through the wonderful descriptive imagery.

Check out my review for @amornith.bsky.social!
doi.org/10.1093/orni...