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Elena Litchman

Elena Litchman

@elenalitchman.bsky.social

4.5K followers 630 following 100 posts

Microbial community ecologist, professor at Michigan State University | Traits, temperature, biodiversity, resilience, microbiomes, harmful algal blooms
https://www.kl-lab.group
📷: Lake Michigan

Elena Litchman is a professor of aquatic ecology at Michigan State University known for her research on the consequences of global environmental change on phytoplankton.

Source: Wikipedia

Environmental science 44%

Geography 15%

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Elena Litchman @elenalitchman.bsky.social · Feb 25

How will climate change affect human gut microbiomes? In a new @thelancetplanet.bsky.social paper, I analyze the main mechanisms — changes in food availability & nutritional quality, environmental microbiomes, enteric pathogens, increased host stress — and their interactions.
tinyurl.com/27kny9z9

Climate change effects on the human gut microbiome: complex mechanisms and global inequities

Ongoing global climate change is affecting all aspects of life on Earth, including human health. The gut microbiota is an important determinant of health in humans and other organisms, but how climate...

www.thelancet.com

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Pedro Peres-Neto @comecology.bsky.social · 1d

Did you publish with researchers outside your lab during grad school? Or published as faculty with a student not under your supervision?

I’m collecting examples of cross-lab collaboration in graduate training.

Please share your experience & this post!

Repository: bit.ly/4pT66BE

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Elena Litchman

Paulina Arancibia @pauliarancibia.bsky.social · 3d

📣 New paper out 🌊
Happy to share our work exploring how intertidal communities have responded to 23 years of changing sea-surface temps. along the Humboldt upwelling system.
A great collab between researchers in Chile 🇨🇱 and Finland 🇫🇮
🌐🌎
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Two Decades of Community Responses Reveal a Consistent Increase in Species Occurrences in South‐Eastern Pacific Rocky Shores

Aim Understanding how diverse communities respond to environmental fluctuations is a central challenge in ecology. Here, we assessed how communities responded to environmental variation over the pas...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Michael G. Bertram

Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 3d

Are you an evolutionary biologist? Would you like to support your society journal? We are looking for new editorial board members across the field of evolutionary biology:

🧬🌿🪰🐀🦀🔬🧫🦠🐟🐦🧑‍💻🪸🦎

Learn more and find out how to apply: jevbio.net/call-for-edi...

DEADLINE 19th January 2026 📣

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Science Magazine @science.org · 3d

The U.S. Department of Energy is reorganizing its scientific efforts by establishing new offices for types of research favored by the White House. https://scim.ag/4aonc5S

As Energy Department prioritizes AI and fusion, basic research faces squeeze

Reorganization could shift mission of the United States’s largest funder of the physical sciences

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Titus Seilheimer @drfishsg.bsky.social · 4d

Quagga mussels confirmed in Black Bay, marking latest invasive spread on Lake Superior

Ministry of Natural Resources says mussels have been found on the bay’s north side

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

#GreatLakes

Quagga mussels confirmed in Black Bay, marking latest invasive spread on Lake Superior | CBC News

Quagga mussels have been confirmed in the north end of Black Bay on Lake Superior, raising concerns about long-term ecological impacts.

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Eos @eos.org · 4d

New research examines feedbacks among plants, herbivores, fire, and rainfall in the Serengeti.

eos.org/articles/tra...

Tracing Fire, Rain, and Herbivores in the Serengeti - Eos

Increasing amounts of rain fuel grass growth across the ecosystem and, consequently, the cycles of wildfire and animal migration.

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

This has happened several times before:
Aral Sea (a large inland lake)
Lake Amik, Turkey
Ulaan Lake, Mongolia
Lake Poopó, Bolivia
Lake Chad
Tulare Lake, California
etc

Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 4d

"Lake Urmia, once the largest lake in the Middle East, has lost over 90% of its water since the 1970s due to damming, drought, and agricultural demands.... This ecological catastrophe serves as a stark warning about the consequences of water mismanagement in an era of climate change"

#Iran 🇮🇷

How Iran Destroyed it’s Largest Lake.

YouTube video by Urban Atlas

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Erol Akçay

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 5d

Hi everyone! I'm co-organizing this retreat/workshop June 15-19 for those looking to get started in mathematical/computational modeling of biological processes. Location is a beautiful farm in NC. Please share with students and others who want to build modeling skills. Interdisciplinarity welcome!

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology @mpimarinemicrobio.bsky.social · 5d

🔊 APPLY NOW for our #MarMic #MSc/#PhD program!

Come to #Bremen and take an interdisciplinary approach to #marine #microbiology, #molecularbiology, #biochemistry, #evolution and more.

⏳ Open until Feb 28 2026
➡ marmic.mpg.de

#graduatestudents #marinescience #sciencecareer #IMPRS @maxplanck.de

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Oxford Earth Sciences @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social · 6d

New vacancy - Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Physiology of Calcification in phytoplankton

More information and apply:

Reposted by Elena Litchman, David Johnson, Peter Jacobs

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 7d

Ocean temperatures across much of the northern Pacific remained well above average through October. Really the only sizable cooler patch shows up near the traditional region for the ongoing La Niña.

Sea surface temperature data from NOAA OISSTv2.1 (downloads.psl.noaa.gov/Datasets/noa...).

Global map showing sea surface temperature anomalies in October 2025 relative to 1982 to 2010. Most areas are warmer than average. Red is shown for warmer sea surface temperatures, and blue is shown for colder sea surface temperatures. Data is from NOAA OISSTv2.1.

Reposted by Scott C. Doney, Elena Litchman

Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop @amcquatters-gollop.bsky.social · 9d

🌊 Funded PhD: Advancing Plankton Imaging & Machine Learning to Transform Marine Biodiversity Monitoring 🔬🌍 @plymuni.bsky.social
Bring together AI-powered image analysis, innovative sensors, and real-world policy frameworks.

Two funding options:
1. lnkd.in/e566f8RR
2. lnkd.in/eKPRGhsP

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Claudio Ottoni @claottoni.bsky.social · 9d

Well, finally the cat is out of the bag @science.org! (or at least part of a very complex story)🐈🧬. Great job from @mdemartino.bsky.social and my team @felix-erc.bsky.social. Huge thanks to all the colleagues and the institutes involved! @erc.europa.eu www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago

The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica. Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments. Unc...

www.science.org

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Daniel Montoya @danimontoya.bsky.social · 9d

📢❗🚨Reminder: POSTDOC in THEORETICAL ECOLOGY. Great opportunity to develop theoretical models on the ecology of food systems, exploring key aspects such as biodiversity, spatial heterogeneity, pollination, and stability. Close collaboration with researchers from multiple disciplines & countries

Daniel Montoya @danimontoya.bsky.social · Nov 6

I am pleased to announce a new postdoctoral position in Theoretical Ecology. More info here: info.bc3research.org/2025/11/06/p...

Postdoctoral position in agroecology for TRANSFORM Project

The Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) is offering a full-time postdoctoral research position to support activities within a Horizon Europe project. The project focuses on developing innovative cr...

info.bc3research.org

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Paolo Crosetto, Beatriz Gallardo Paúls , and 4 more Elena Litchman, Paolo Crosetto, Beatriz Gallardo Paúls, Greg Linden, Ryan K. Brook, Karen O’Leary, Nancy Foasberg

Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629 @feralrobots.bsky.social · 10d

Hey @nature.com, have you got an explanation for how the hell THIS happened? & especially why you accepted a paper with such a bizarre piece of genAI slop in it?!
& more to the point, why we should take you seriously at all going forward?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Figure 1 from a paper published in Nature (linked in post). The figure purports to be an infographic depiction of the "Overall working of the framework" for 'explainably' diagnosing autism spectrum disorder. The infographic is plainly nonsense, containing many spelling errors, nonsense words, meaningless images and graphs. Clearly created using generative AI and (crucially) NEVER CHECKED AT ANY STEP OF THE WRITING OR PUBLICATION PROCESS.

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Christian Kost @kostchristian.bsky.social · 10d

I am very excited to announce that a fully funded PhD position is available in my group.

Topic: Synergistic coevolution in mono-specific and multi-species microbial consortia

Please RT or forward this information to interested candidates.

Deadline: 11.01.26

More info:

shorturl.at/f1TuF

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Tuomas Kankaanpää

David Nogués Bravo @noguesbravo.bsky.social · 11d

Our new paper Just in @globalchangebio.bsky.social

Climate change is boosting suitability for key malaria vectors across Africa. Between 200M-1000M more people could live in high-risk areas by 2100

doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

#climatechange #malaria #globalhealth #biodiversity #Africa #vectors

Climate Change Favors African Malaria Vector Mosquitoes

Malaria is a deadly parasitic disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. This study investigates occurrence patterns of malaria mosquito species to predict how climate change will affect their range ...

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Evgenii Protasov @evgenii-protasov.bsky.social · 11d

Prepare for the impact!
A new study from @natgeosci.nature.com says "In a future scenario with high carbon dioxide emissions, daily extreme precipitation over land could increase by about 41% by 2100".
#GlobalWarming #ClimateChange #ClimateAction
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Future extreme precipitation amplified by intensified mesoscale moisture convergence - Nature Geoscience

Extreme daily precipitation events over land could increase by about 41% by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario with an increase in mesoscale moisture convergence, according to an ensemble of climate...

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Kiran Raosaheb Patil

Indra Roux @indraroux.bsky.social · 11d

Excited to share our latest research in @natmicrobiol.nature.com . We uncover hundreds of inhibitory interactions between common chemical pollutants and human gut bacteria. A thread🧵 (1/10) #microbiomesky #microsky @kiranrpatil.bsky.social lab @mrc-tu.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Industrial and agricultural chemicals exhibit antimicrobial activity against human gut bacteria in vitro - Nature Microbiology

Screening of 1,076 compounds reveals 168 chemical pollutants with inhibitory effects on gut bacteria and genetic screens indicate commonality between pollutant and antibiotic resistance.

Reposted by Jonathan A. Eisen, Julie L. Lockwood, Elena Litchman

H. B. Beryl Rappaport @hbrappap.bsky.social · 11d

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 12d

Putting on my hat as @asn-amnat.bsky.social
ASN President for announcements, please share widely!!!
2. ASN Early Career Investigator awards are now open for application. Self-nominations okay! Due Jan 5
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Applications for the 2026 ASN Early Career Investigator Award

<p>Nominations/Applications for the 2026 Early Career Investigator Award are <strong>due January 5, 2026</strong></p><br/>

nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Chris Simms @chrisnsimms.bsky.social · 12d

It was great to talk to @kitopie.bsky.social, @davidwengrow.bsky.social and @ldietrich.bsky.social about this work.

Original paper available here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

State formation across cultures and the role of grain, intensive agriculture, taxation and writing - Nature Human Behaviour

Opie and Atkinson conduct a global phylogenetic analysis of 868 cultures and find evidence indicating that cereal grain cultivation, not agricultural surplus, drove state formation. Their findings als...

Reposted by Elena Litchman

ISEP @isepprotists.bsky.social · 12d

New #ISEPpapers! Pangenome biology and evolution in harmful algal-bloom-forming pelagophytes www.cell.com/current-biol... #protists #algae #microbes #pangenome #genomics #evolution

figure from the paper with a Venn diagram and a simple evolutionary tree

Reposted by Elena Litchman

International Initiative for Theoretical Ecology @iite-ecotheory.bsky.social · 12d

📅Our speaker next week is Ágnes Móréh (HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Hungary) presenting:

⭐Simultaneous invasion by two species: consequences for their success and for the resident community⭐

Zoom Link: iite.info/seminar/
Global times: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/f...

See you there!

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 12d

Seasonal flu kills about 700,000 people each year across the world—

(This Data Insight was written by @eortizospina.bsky.social.)

Seasonal influenza is sometimes seen as a mild illness, but it remains a major cause of death.

Respiratory death rates from seasonal flu in older adults. World map showing estimated annual respiratory flu deaths per 100,000 people among adults aged 65+, average for the period 2002 to 2011. Highest rates are concentrated across much of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America (notably the southern cone), and South and Southeast Asia; lowest rates occur across Western Europe, North America, Russia, and Australia. Legend shows values from 0 to 90 per 100,000 in 10-unit increments; hatched areas indicate no data for some countries. Data source: Global Pandemic Mortality Project II (2019). License: CC BY. Note: Estimates do not include deaths from other complications of the flu, for example cardiovascular disease. Averages exclude the 2009 Swine flu pandemic.

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Leonora Bittleston @leonorabit.bsky.social · 12d

Policy to Power the Microbes of the Future.

Mining the “Microbial Dark Matter” Using Artificial Intelligence: Where We Are and How to Proceed?

Long-Term Dynamics of Environmental Microbiomes.

Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Phages and Their Roles in Horizontal Gene Transfer.

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 12d

AI will be trained on federal datasets that are the accumulation of decades of world-class research. The admin has also decimated that research infrastructure.

This order launches the “Genesis Mission” as a dedicated, coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery that can solve the most challenging problems of this century. The Genesis Mission will build an integrated AI platform to harness Federal scientific datasets — the world’s largest collection of such datasets, developed over decades of Federal investments — to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.

Reposted by Ingolf Kühn, Erle C. Ellis, Elena Litchman

Marc Cadotte @urban-sci.bsky.social · 13d

Of the 8000 plant species introduced to cities around the world, about 300 are in cities on every continent and about 90 are basically in every city. Urbanization has selected for a common set of species that are the fingerprint of our activity: The urban florome.

onlinelibrary.wiley....

Reposted by Elena Litchman, Melina Kourantidou, Lisa Hülsmann , and 1 more Elena Litchman, Melina Kourantidou, Lisa Hülsmann, Juan Antonio Hernández‐Agüero

Maria Paniw @paniw.bsky.social · 13d

🚨 Job alert 🚨 Postdoc position in ecological forecasting 📈 as part of the Horizon Europe OSCARS call. The postdoc will be based in lovely Sevilla (fantastic place to live) and will include working closely with several European forecasting projects. Apply by Dec 11! 🌎🧪 globalchangeeco.com/jobs

Reposted by Elena Litchman

Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 14d

15-year-old bug 😐 in an industry that has the highest profit margins possible pretty much

www.theguardian.com/science/2017...