Christina Baer, Ph.D.

Good buddies of Nepenthes! Pitcher plants are not ruthless predators but friendly neighbors for a lot of other little creatures, offering them food, shelter and toilet; and their poops benefit the plant in return! Nepenthes related fauna are just so adorable 💚

Note about all-caps punctuation that I did not realize!

For state-specific NSF info cards, find your state here: bit.ly/NSF_bystate

✨My essay in @thelancet.bsky.social this week has made the front page!✨ (I didn’t know about this 🤗)

‘Reflect, Collaborate and Listen’ looks at why doctors don’t listen and the urgent need to rebalance the power dynamic in the patient - doctor relationship.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

This is what America looked like before the EPA cleaned it up A snapshot from America before the impact of the EPA and the effects of rules regulating clean water and air were felt.

It's not just fdr. One of the things the epa did not long after it was formed was document the nation's pollution via photography. That can seem frivolous, but generations of Americans have no idea why the EPA was necessary. This broke a million views when we published it in 2017

U.S. Women in STEM

Women in STEM are having their work and bios removed from government websites. One woman started womeninstemus.blogspot.com?m=1 to document these “lost works” for future generations. They are taking submissions! Please share
#womeninstem

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I still get my seasonal covid and flu vaccines,
and I think you should too.

#healthpolicyvalentines

A few weeks ago I trash talked myself right into an art challenge with Franz by saying I was going to draw 3 nudibranchs for every crab because we need MORE nudibranchs and LESS crabs...

So today I present to you, TRIPLE the nudis to Franz's crabs.

#Invertebrates #SciArt #TradArt

JOB: Conservation Data Analyst, @bcparksfdn.bsky.social

* Full-time, salary $58k-64k/yr
* Based in Vancouver, hybrid
* "... use geospatial technology and other analytical tools..."
* No deadline given and no date posted. I suppose apply ASAP?

lnkd.in/grVGCtCy

#ConservationJobs #GISJobs

I am one of millions of Americans who take an anti-anxiety drug. (Technically, I take two; we'll get to that in a moment). I did not suspect I had any issues with anxiety until about the last year of my PhD.

The world is on fire, so this observation is inconsequential, but...
I'm in P-card Training and most of the "weird" examples of purchases are clearly Ecologists (field scientists; e.g., bug containers, lingerie bags for samples). I love that we collectively keep purchasing on their toes.

Alt text: A sandy beach with dark boulders, looking up the coastline and across a bay or inlet. On the horizon, you can see the sun in low clouds just above a town with trees and buildings. A line of gold light shines on the water coming towards you. To its left, a person wades in the water.

Alt text: A flat beach with very short grass and water and reddish brown rocks in the distance. In the foreground, a couple of red-brown horses stand facing each other with their heads leaning on each other's shoulders. The light is coming from behind the photographer, making the horses glow

No beach pictures without horses...

Crane Beach, Ipswich Massachusetts

For the 79% of heterosexual married women whose legal married name doesn’t match your birth certificate or passport, get ready to have your voting rights frozen.

Yes, read that again.

No, that is not hyperbole.

Act now.

Have one

If you see this, quote post with a beach photo from your gallery.

Or not. But I'd like to see what you have.

When I searched "beach" in my phone, all I got was a bad video of a storm blowing in on Cayuga Lake this July. So instead, have a sunset photo from Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica back in 2012.

SAME/DIFFERENT Division Animals from very different lineages can have similar traits because they have similar adaptations for types of lifestyles- such as traits for digging or gliding from tree to tree. This division celebrates Convergent Evolution! The ONLY ONES Mammals that are the only living species of their genus! ROOTS & RELICTS Species that have existed for so long from such ancient times or in a lost, remnant population. TUXEDO STYLE A division of mammals that are “monochromatic” one color- species that are shades of grey all the way from from black to white. But who will end up… RED ALL OVER?!?

The #2025MMM DIVISIONS!!!

NEW MSc POSITION! We're starting a new study system on eastern small footed bats in Ontario. Please share widely and/or apply if you're interested in foraging ecology, bats, and conservation! Link to application is here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A leaf-mimicking moth uses nanostructures to create 3D leaf shape appearance Kelley et al. describe a moth that uses nanostructures in its forewings to mimic the 3D shape of a leaf. These structures produce a shiny wing surface in regions of the wing that correspond to the cur...

Some #moths have specially structured wing scales to make light reflect off the wing like the surface is curved! This makes their dead leaf camouflage even better!

(I think this link should work, but if it doesn't let me know): www.cell.com/current-biol...

I have had a TON of people asking how they can help...here is what would help us the most right now: SHARE SHARE SHARE SHARE SHARE!

Tell us why you #standupforscience2025! Send flyers to your colleagues and labs! Change your bluesky banner! Tell your professional orgs and departments!

A quick resistance task:
1. Google Gulf of Mexico
2. “Gulf of America" is the top
3. Click on the three little dots to the right of it
4. Select "Send Feedback"
5. Click on "Gulf Of America"
6. Select "Inaccurate content"
7. Select "Incorrect" and type in "The correct name is “Gulf of Mexico"

😬 ugh

Oh nooooo! Also, why? (And was it at least a clean glove?)

And WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT EATING THE GELS?

(brought to you by my TA today, who fortunately said it in a clearly joking way, but still got the death stare and "NO" as a response bc there are some things you must show no weakness about when teaching a 1st-year undergrad lab)

We’re hiring! Ecologist at Chicago Botanic Garden Picture depicts someone managing a controlled prairie burn

Field ecologists!!
New job in Chicago!

45-60k full time
manage natural areas (including woods, prairie, river, lakes, and shorelines) while supporting applied research and helping to grow the new Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) program.

workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...

Slender stalk tipped with a yellow flower, shooting out of shallow water; visible below the surface are the root-like tendrils which trap and digest insects

Utricularia inflata, the swollen bladderwort.
Unfortunate common name for a strange lovely hongry plant

6/N So when I publish on sexual dimorphism, or use male/female as a factor in my stats (which I do a LOT), I am simplifying, setting aside a small minority to focus on overall tendencies of the majority. That's okay for stickleback, but its not ethical when applied to humans.