Martin Genner

Lake Manyara, a soda lake in the Rift Valley of Tanzania

The Manyara tilapia, that has the Latin name Oreochromis amphimelas. This is an adult male, with the characteristic dark fins and pink tail. New research led by Miranda Sherlock and colleagues shows there two long-separated evolutionary lineages in the species, that may actually be cryptic species.

The Rift Valley soda lakes of Tanzania are warm and alkaline. The Manyara tilapia is one of the few fish species able to live here. New research suggests this one species may be two. One is found in Lake Manyara itself, the other is in neighbouring soda lakes. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Lake Masoko in Southern Tanzania, also known as Lake Kisiba, is only ~40m deep and 600m in diameter. It was formed around 50,000 years ago, and is isolated from all nearby rivers and lakes. Genetic data suggest it was colonised by Astatotilapia calliptera around 10,000 years ago.

In Lake Masoko, Astatotilapia calliptera has two ecotypes. The shallow living "littoral" ecotype has yellowish males, while the deep living "benthic" ecotype has blueish males. Recently published research led by Madeleine Carruthers and colleagues shows how these fish occupy different light regimes, and have correspondingly different visual sensitivities. Males of these ecotypes have brightly coloured eggspots, used to signal their prowess. The colours of those spots have shifted to maximise their visibility to other fish of the same ecotype. Genetic data suggest these ecotypes are largely reproductively isolated, and started to separate only 1000 years ago. Photos are kindly provided by Ad Konings.

In crater Lake Masoko one fish species is splitting into shallow and deep-living ecotypes occupying different light environments. New research shows their visual systems are diverging, and how colours of male eggspots have changed to maximise their visibility. doi.org/10.1093/molb...

Possible figwort sawfly…

A scenic image of rocky shoreline of Lake Malawi, near Cape Maclear

A deep water Lake Malawi cichlid fish - Lethrinops 'gossei white bar' from Nkhata Bay

New research in Molecular Ecology shining light on the riverine ancestors of the Lake Malawi cichlid fish adaptive radiation, led by Sophie Gresham and Hannes Svardal doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Amazing fish! From the Rufiji system?

🔎👀 TropEco Lab is hiring, please share! 🚨
🌍🌴 Position: Senior Research Associate / Research Associate in Field and Molecular Ecology.
🪲🐝🦋 Task: You will use iDNA & eDNA to build bee-plant and dung beetle-mammal networks in the Brazilian Amazonia, Ghana, & Malaysia.
Further details -> bit.ly/4lurR9z

Seems like a good opportunity to share a pic of duffo… who is not a dire wolf either…

‘The last plant left’: can Rapa Nui’s extinct tree be resurrected? Seeds from the last toromiro, unique to remote Easter Island, were taken away in the 1960s. Now, after a crucial discovery gave hope for its survival, it is making a return

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World's sea-ice falls to record low The world's frozen oceans keep the planet cool, but they currently have less ice than ever recorded before.

Sea ice in the Arctic and around Antarctica cool our climate, drive ocean circulation across the planet, and provide a unique habitat for polar ecosystems.

Sea ice amounts have now fallen to their lowest since we started measuring them. This is not good.

🌊🥼❄️🧪

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher (PDRA) in Freshwater Ecosystem Ecology researching the role of organic matter as a nutrient resource in freshwater ecosystems. A 4.5 year role with great training opportunites in isotope ecology and mesocosm experimental science www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLU610/p...

This #WomenInScience Day, we are so proud to see so many female scientists currently working on RRS Sir David Attenborough!

The @biopole.bsky.social team are investigating how nutrients drive the global carbon cycle and ocean ecosystems, and the impact of climate change.

📸 Maddy De Marchis

A ship on a flat ocean with snow covered mountains in the background

🔮 What does the future hold for our oceans and their ability to soak up carbon from the atmosphere?

That's what a team of scientists are hoping to learn more about, as they embark on a 51 day voyage around the Southern Ocean. 🌊

It's time for a thread 🧵

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Job alert! Lectuter in Evolutionary Biology out now

Job alert!

We seek to appoint a new Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, find out more at the link below!

www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why Populations have been falling for decades, even in tracts of forest undamaged by humans. Experts have spent two decades trying to understand what is going on

'This week, Wolfe and collaborators published new work directly linking rising temperatures to bird declines. Their research, published in Science Advances, tracked birds living in the forest understory at the BDFFP against detailed climate data.' 1/2

A scientific figure from a paper, showing the frogs ventral and dorsal surfaces and one on a fingernail. Original text: "(a-c) ZSM 861/2014, holotype, in (a) anterolateral view on a thumbnail, (b) dorsolateral view on a leaf, (c) ventral view. (d, e) ZSM 862/2014, paratype, in (d) ventral view, and (e) lateral view on a thumbnail. (f, g) ZMB 83194, paratype, in (f) dorsolateral view, and (g) ventral view."

In the forests of Southern Madagascar, three frog species were discovered in 2019 that represent the very lower limit of vertebrate size: < 9 mm long.

The genus was named "Mini", and the three species are:
Mini mum
Mini ature
Mini scule

(scientists are nerds, okay?)

The Vanishing Vaquita: A Call for Definitive Action The world's smallest porpoise—the vaquita (Phocoena sinus)—is on the brink of extinction. Endemic to the upper Gulf of California, it has dwindled to fewer than 19 individuals in 2023. The primary so...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🌎🧪🦑

‘Awe-inspiring and harrowing’: how two orcas with a taste for liver decimated the great white shark capital of the world A decade ago, up to 1,000 of the apex predators lived in one South African bay. Now they have gone, fleeing from killer whales. But the gap they have left creates problems for other species

‘Awe-inspiring and harrowing’: how two orcas with a taste for liver decimated the great white shark capital of the world

really interesting case study of trophic cascade from @cooperpalaeo.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Where the Rivers Run Pink Non-native pink salmon have swarmed Norway’s rivers, prompting a relentless—and potentially fruitless—fight to beat back the invaders.

www.biographic.com/where-the-ri...

Blob-headed fish and amphibious mouse among 27 new species found in ‘thrilling’ Peru expedition Scientists surprised to find so many animals unknown to science in Alto Mayo, a well-populated region

Don’t know about anyone else, but I’m rather pleased they discovered the blob-headed fish. 👍🏻

We have three 4-year UKRI PhD studentships now available under the ERC REFRESH programme Researching the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a nutrient resource in freshwater systems. Do get in touch via the links if you have an questions! Details here: www.findaphd.com/phds/program... 🧪

The back corner of the LSB

We want you to work with us!

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences:

bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

The responses of freshwater fish to global warming. Our analyses in @pnas.org @bristolbiosci.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Made possible by #RivFishTIME