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Valentina Di Santo

@vdisanto.bsky.social

1.2K followers 660 following 100 posts

Comparative physiologist and biomechanist studying fish locomotion at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego 🌊🦈🐟🐠🐡 www.valentinadisanto.com

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 7

1/8 For years, it’s been assumed that when fishes hover in open water, they’re just resting. Our new @pnas.org paper shows otherwise: hovering can double metabolic costs compared to true rest in near-neutrally buoyant fishes. Here’s what we found: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

a 🧪 🧵..

Garibaldi hovering over the reef in San Clemente Island, California. Photo by Phil Zerofski @ SIO

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · 21d

Congrats!!

Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Corrie Moreau @corriemoreau.bsky.social · 25d

UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

docs.google.com

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 15

🧪 University of California leads the nation in academic research www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/univers...

The University of California leads the nation in academic research, new ranking finds

UC San Diego and UC Berkeley lead the way for public university research, with eight UC campuses total among the top 30 influential and impactful public research institutions.

www.universityofcalifornia.edu

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 13

The NSF GRFP is back. Students interested in applying to work in my lab at SIO can email me directly with a CV and a letter to outline how their interests and research experience might align with the work we do. I'm recruiting students interested in biomechanics. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... 🧪 🐟

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 10

To be considered for mentorship in my lab, please email me a CV and a letter outlining your interests and fit with our work.
Lab website: www.valentinadisanto.com/join-the-team

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 10

Apply for the Scripps Postdoctoral Fellowship! I'm looking to support a strong candidate in fish physiology and/or biomechanics. Deadline: Oct 9, 2025. Eligibility: PhD by Nov 30, 2026 with ≤3 years postdoc experience. 2 years, $74K salary, $6K research allowance 👉 apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04348 🧪 🐟

Scripps Postdoctoral Scholar Award - 2026

University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!

apol-recruit.ucsd.edu

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Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · Sep 7

UC Berkeley's Martin Fish Speciation Lab seeks a part-time lab manager for pupfish research. Requires a biology degree and some lab experience. Flexible hours, multi-year position. Apply: [email protected]. More info at https://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/martin/ #job

Martin Lab

ib.berkeley.edu

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 5

Amazing!

Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Alexander Mathis @trackingskills.bsky.social · Sep 4

Something exciting just left the gym -- meet Arnold the first generalist musculoskeletal control policy!

The human body has 600+ muscles, yet we seamlessly coordinate them for everything from whispering a syllable to felling a forrest. How? www.arxiv.org/abs/2508.18066

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 4

Detox enzymes rose by ~200 %, but escape distances dropped by ~50 %. Energy spent on detox may leave fish less able to evade predators, revealing hidden trade-offs created by harmful algal blooms.

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Sep 4

New paper from my postdoc, Francesco Masnadi (co-advised with Agnes Karlson), in Harmful Algae. 🧪 🐟 We looked at how sticklebacks cope with cyanobacterial 🦠 blooms, from toxin accumulation and detox enzyme activity to predator escape responses.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Sub-lethal effects of natural cyanobacterial blooms on fish: Enzymatic activity and swimming performance in Gasterosteus aculeatus

Cyanobacterial blooms are intensifying worldwide due to eutrophication and climate change, increasing cyanotoxin exposure to aquatic organisms. This s…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thank you, Sarah! Beautifully written Outside JEB! @jexpbiol.bsky.social

Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Sarah Young-Veenstra @sarahyoungvee.bsky.social · Aug 28

A bit late to sharing, but this amazing study from @vdisanto.bsky.social @scrippsocean.bsky.social is too good not to share🐟✨ Read about the amazing 6th sense that help blind fish navigate underwater caves in my Outside @jexpbiol.bsky.social 🌌🔦

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Blind cave fish navigate through the dark with a sixth sense

Humans have five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Fish, however, can tap into an extraordinary sixth sense called the lateral line. This sense – which consists of rows of special cells wi...

journals.biologists.com

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Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · Jul 28

Hovering—maintaining a fixed position in the water—is energetically expensive for fish. A study finds hovering is twice as metabolically expensive as resting. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Garibaldi fish maintaining its position through subtle fin adjustments in San Clemente Island, CA.
CREDIT: Phil Zerofski

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 18

Thank you!

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 17

Our research is on the cover of @pnas.org this week! Proud of what we accomplished and grateful for an amazing team (and some truly memorable fishes). 🐟

Link to the paper: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Neil Shubin @neilshubin.bsky.social · Jul 14

Some personal news…

National Academy of Sciences @nasonline.org · Jul 14

The NAS Council has approved the nomination of Neil H. Shubin to be the next president of the National Academy of Sciences. An evolutionary biologist and science communicator, Shubin would succeed Marcia McNutt when her term ends on June 30, 2026. Read more: www.nasonline.org/news/neil-h-...

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 14

Congrats, Neil! 🎉

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 11

Fluttuare nell’acqua? Non è affatto riposo: i pesci consumano il doppio dell’energia
I pesci quando stanno "sospesi" in acqua, non stanno riposando: anzi! Consumano pure di più!

Pesci: "fluttare" nell'acqua non li fa riposare, anzi!

I pesci sembrano sospesi nell'acqua come se fosse la cosa più naturale del mondo. Ma una nuova ricerca smentisce questa visione!

tech.icrewplay.com

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 11

Hovering in fish is surprisingly hard work 🧪 🐟

Hovering in fish is surprisingly hard work

Fish often need to hover (stay still in the water) to catch prey, explore, or guard their nests. For a long time, scientists thought that for fish with a swim bladder (which makes them nearly “weightl...

link.growkudos.com

Reposted by Valentina Di Santo

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · Jul 8

Fish hovering = not so chill 🐟💨

New research led by Scripps Oceanography's @vdisanto.bsky.social found fish use nearly 2X more energy hovering than resting, overturning old assumptions and offering insight for underwater robot design. Dive in to learn more about the study published by @pnas.org. ⬇️

For Fish, Hovering Is Not Restful

Fish make hanging motionless in the water column look effortless, and scientists had long assumed hovering was a type of rest. Now, a new study reveals that fish use nearly twice as much energy when h...

scripps.ucsd.edu

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 8

Thank you!

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 8

😂

Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 7

8/8 Thank you, @scrippsocean.bsky.social, for covering this new work. On to the next fish adventure!🐟🦈
scripps.ucsd.edu/news/fish-ho...

For Fish, Hovering Is Not Restful

scripps.ucsd.edu

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Valentina Di Santo @vdisanto.bsky.social · Jul 7

7/8 This was my personal sci adventure, huge thanks to my team for putting up with "the PI in the lab” energy as we chased hovering fish mysteries!
@qlikesit.bsky.social, @albiangela.bsky.social, @fidjiberio.bsky.social, and my collaborator Otar Akanyeti.
And it was selected for the @pnas.org cover!

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