Dr LeaGrie

Saskatoon was absolutely stunning last night 🤩🌌

#Saskatchewan #NightSky #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights

The story on chemical communication in #poisonfrogs doesn't stop with the sexy fingers! "Histological and Gene Expression Analyses of the Arm and Finger Macroglands of Two Hyloxalus Frogs" is the new paper by the super talented Diana Abondano (Link in comments)! Out now in MolEcol. #cienciacriolla🇨🇴

James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.

I've been avoiding reading articles on the death of James Watson, co-discoverer of #DNA's structure.

That is, until I saw that @statnews.com published one by Sharon Begley, a renowned science writer who passed in 2021.

Yes, you read that right.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...

🧪 (1/5)

Totally

Our newest Special Feature, "Implications of Changing Snowscapes for Animal Ecology", is now accepting proposals. It aims to highlight the importance of changing snow conditions in animal ecology. 🌨️
Read more and submit your proposal here:

What will they be analyzing from this, and how? Are they proposing to replicate the expert, trained review cte’s work? If so, assuming they find different scored, how would they reasonably argue the validity / superiority of their findings? What are the metrics? Where is the capacity or skill? 2/2

Ethical and privacy issues (of which there are many) aside, I’d like to know who will and how they’re planning to analyze these data. 25 yrs of all graduate and faculty Tri Councils applications, funded or not, across the country, with the level of detail they’ve asked for is big data … 1/2

We have TWO post-doctoral fellowships in the Biodiversity Centre at UBC next year! Am happy to chat if you might want to be hosted in my lab. biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and... Deadline January 15th!

Fellow researchers and scholars in 🇨🇦 i strongly encourage you to submit a letter to this committee and consider signing the open letter.

Rather than email the SRSR chair, you csn email the official committee email: srsr@parl.gc.ca

Awesome teaching & experiential learning by @emilyschoy.bsky.social @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social 🤩

Canadian researchers should be aware the there is a motion before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research to force Tricouncils to hand over disaggregated peer review data on all applications:
Applicant names, profiles, demographics
Reviewers names, profiles, comments, and scores

Guest Post: Putting the Spotlight on Wilson’s Snipe If you grew up in North America, chances are you’ve heard of a “snipe hunt.”

"I’ve spent countless hours in the field & at my desk studying Wilson’s Snipe, but the work is far from finished... As North American shorebird populations continue to suffer, it’s critical to highlight species that can inform strategies & connect communities to these broader trends." #ornithology

Meanwhile in 🇨🇦: CRA wants to move fr human to #AI assistants. Based on auditor general’s report, human agents give correct info 17% of the time, while the CRA FAQ chatbot is correct 33% of the time. It’s ludicrous these crap results are being used to justify use of AI 🤦🏻‍♀️

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Clark’s Grebe in Saskatoon 🇨🇦🪶

#BirdsSeenIn2025 #birds #birding #BirdTherapy

The’re such snowflakes down south! Honestly if these men are too emotional for the job maybe they should send in someone tough who can handle politics ;)

Rumour has it that one mammal specialist is still required -apply by Oct 31! 🦇

@evornithology.bsky.social when do we get into how this one and the HETH are both HY birds

And very little red on the tail

Gorgeous! And looks v grey-cheeked to me. Plain face and cold dead eyes are my giveaways (said with much affection for them) 🤣

I think the one on the right in the pair is a grey-cheeked! Possible the one on the left in the pair is too, but it’s a hard angle to be sure

Nebraska is such a good album - and you can hear the influence of Suicide (and thus, Silver Apples) on State Trooper, which just thrills me to the bone. 🥰

By the looks of some of these old preps, you’re not far off! 🤣

Museum collections are such an important resource! At @usaskartsci.bsky.social #Biology, we’re giving our #ornithology teaching collection some love & attention - inventory, organize, flag needs, filter for damage. Enhanced teaching coming soon! 🪶🧪🇨🇦

Prairie Icons

#saskatchewan #prairie #beauty 🇨🇦

If you think that trudging 22 km through a peatland while watching for polar bears in order to collect science data is a good time then my undergraduate/graduate field course in August 2026 might be just for you!

ryan.brook@usask.ca

A Neolithic rock engraving apparently showing a Great Auk being captured We evaluate whether a Neolithic engraved rock image at the Alta archaeological site in Finnmark, Norway – of a bird being held by a person – represents a Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. There are sever...

It’s really fun birding in museums & galleries, but it can also teach us a lot about ancient cultures. Cool work by Birkhead & Montgomerie in Ibis 🧪🪶

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

But, a captive Whooping Crane in Wisconsin recently died of HPAI, a contagious and deadly virus. An HPAI outbreak in the wild population could render this species extinct. I’m privileged to be near this species’ annual migration route and to have met this bird. 2/2

#birds #birding #SpeciesAtRisk

Whooping Cranes are an endangered species. Only ~500 individuals remain. The only self-sustaining population (~329 birds, less than 250 of reproductive age) in the world breeds in Wood Buffalo NP & winters in Texas. This flock has been increasing, which is great! 1/2

🪶🇨🇦
#conservation #BirdTherapy

"Sacrificing vulnerable species to address economic uncertainty is short sighted and ignores the many benefits ecosystems provide. We need economic solutions that operate in harmony with nature, not in conflict,” says Tony Morris, Ontario Nature.
🔗: nationtalk.ca/story/piping...

Is reconciliation losing momentum? Depends on who you ask Thousands of people attended events on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. Is reconciliation losing its meaning?

It has been ten years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report and some feel the initiative is losing momentum.