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Pooja Nathan

@pothebug.bsky.social

PhD candidate studying the biology of ant-EFN interactions at EEB, Univ. of Toronto | UG - IISc Bengaluru 2019 | ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿชฒ๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿฒ

117 Followers  |  161 Following  |  4 Posts  |  Joined: 19.03.2024  |  1.8849

Latest posts by pothebug.bsky.social on Bluesky

Nectar collecting at the tip of the stigma in Agapetes lacei (Ericaceae).

Nectar collecting at the tip of the stigma in Agapetes lacei (Ericaceae).

This #VirtualIssue captures the breadth and momentum of current research in #nectar and nectary biology, spanning ecology, evolution, development, and physiology ๐Ÿ‘‡

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

#PlantScience

04.01.2026 12:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 19    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

The file with the final figures is finally finished! Sadly the stochastic map is way too high fidelity for the publication - but if you'd like the high resolution PDF of that figure to make a nice poster, here's the link! therusselllab.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

04.12.2025 05:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A bug of many hats โ€“ The red-shouldered soapberry bug as a pollinating seed-predator <p>Read about &ldquo;A New Twist on an Old Story: Pollination and Seed Predation in Jadera haematoloma&rdquo; by Mattheau S. Comerford, Scott. P. Carroll, and Scott P. Egan (August&nbsp;2025)</p><br/>...

Wonderful description by @pothebug.bsky.social about our #NaturalHistory paper in @asn-amnat.bsky.social!

www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...

08.11.2025 14:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks for sharing ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿชฒ๐ŸŒผ

10.11.2025 15:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Floral scent chemodiversity ๐ŸŒธ๐Ÿงช increases generalization in interactions with pollinators ๐Ÿชฐ โ€“ but reduces diversity of bacteria ๐Ÿงซ๐Ÿฆ  associated with flowers. New publication led by @mhanusch.bsky.social. @chemodiversity.bsky.social @unimarburg.bsky.social
@newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....

22.10.2025 08:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Post image 18.10.2025 19:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 841    ๐Ÿ” 106    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 17    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
Preview
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors โ€œWith fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.โ€

wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...

17.10.2025 01:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7781    ๐Ÿ” 3758    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 91    ๐Ÿ“Œ 340
Preview
Science Magazine - Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs Tympanal organs have repeatedly evolved in diverse insects and were thought to be required for auditory perception (1).

New biology: stink bugs inoculate their eggs with a fungus that protects them from parasitoids

www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...

17.10.2025 11:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 82    ๐Ÿ” 28    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 โ€˜Genius Grantโ€™ Winners

This week, I was awarded a MacArthur โ€˜Geniusโ€™ Grant. So proud to be included among individuals recognized for โ€œextraordinary originality & dedication in their creative pursuitsโ€. This research has been possible because I collaborate with the most incredible teams.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/a...

10.10.2025 09:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 94    ๐Ÿ” 17    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 8    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3

@sse-evolution.bsky.social just announced the following:

Call for Proposals: Research Synthesis Working Groups
The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) invites proposals for sponsored Research Synthesis Working Groups at the 2026 Evolution meeting (up to two in-person and one virtual). ...

09.10.2025 22:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16    ๐Ÿ” 9    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

05.09.2025 15:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 396    ๐Ÿ” 127    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 6    ๐Ÿ“Œ 15
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Presenting Dr. @bmsacchi.bsky.social !! Bianca successfully defended her thesis on Rumex sex chromosome degeneration and regulatory evolution today. Bravo!!

13.08.2025 17:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 23    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Now out in Oecologia! Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

16.07.2025 14:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Shifts in bee diet breadths are associated with gene gains and losses and positive selection across olfactory receptors Abstract. Bees are palynivorous insects that vary widely in the number of plant families from which they collect pollen. Their evolutionary history has bee

๐Ÿงฌ Shift between specialized & generalized diets in #bees is associated with evolutionary changes in their sensory genes. Generalists lose odorant receptors (ORs) and gain gustatory receptors (GRs), while specialists diversify existing genes ๐ŸŒธ๐Ÿ #genomics #pollinators
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...

11.07.2025 17:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 68    ๐Ÿ” 25    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
Pesticide drift and exposure can alter plant mutualisms in ways both direct and indirect.

Pesticide drift and exposure can alter plant mutualisms in ways both direct and indirect.

Out of site, out of mind? Considering #pesticide drift and plant #mutualisms

๐Ÿ“– nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

๐Ÿ‘† A #Commentary by Charlie C. Nicholson on this article by Baucom et al. ๐Ÿ‘‡

๐Ÿ“– nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue #PlantScience

24.06.2025 11:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments Tropical ecosystems contain the world's largest biodiversity of vascular plants. Yet, our understanding of tropical functional diversity and its contribution to global diversity patterns is constrain...

๐ŸŽ‰ Our collaborative TropiRoot data paper โ€œTropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environmentsโ€ is out in Ecology! Explore 8,000+ standardized tropical root trait records from 104 studies across 25 countries. Data are freely available ! ๐ŸŒฟ doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #tropiroots

19.05.2025 13:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 18    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 4
Screenshot from the cover page of the paper

Screenshot from the cover page of the paper

A map of the world showing fly migration study locations and estimated routes

A map of the world showing fly migration study locations and estimated routes

A close up photo of Eristalinus taeniops the stripey eyed hoverfly on a yellow flower in Cyprus

A close up photo of Eristalinus taeniops the stripey eyed hoverfly on a yellow flower in Cyprus

A close up photo of the locust blowfly Stomorhina lunata on a rock. My favourite fly

A close up photo of the locust blowfly Stomorhina lunata on a rock. My favourite fly

It's published!
The largest research work I've ever undertaken:

Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important

Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz
1/x

02.04.2025 06:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 278    ๐Ÿ” 95    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7    ๐Ÿ“Œ 9

Thanks for the editorial support, Quarterly team! Check out my article on why natural history is still important :)

10.02.2025 22:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The second chapter of my PhD is now available as a preprint! We sampled ant-plant interactions across a ~20ยฐ latitudinal gradient across the Indian subcontinent to test the biotic interactions hypothesis for mutualism. Check it out!

09.01.2025 03:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Evolution 2025 logo. A plane traveling from a globe toward a silhouette of Georgia with a pin over Athens. Text: Society for the Study of Evolution International Travel Stipends.

Evolution 2025 logo. A plane traveling from a globe toward a silhouette of Georgia with a pin over Athens. Text: Society for the Study of Evolution International Travel Stipends.

Applications now open for the 2025 International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2025! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Can also be used to attend #ESEB2025! Apply by January 31: https://buff.ly/3ZEWUqe @evolmtg.bsky.social

06.12.2024 13:22 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 40    ๐Ÿ” 45    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I'm excited to see our paper being part of this special issue!

04.12.2024 01:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@pothebug is following 20 prominent accounts