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Seth Magle @sbmagle.bsky.social · 4d

This crucially important and obviously visionary work makes me feel vindicated for having said the same thing last year, albeit with much less evidence, while being mercilessly mocked by the city and its residents. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Rodent indent not self-evident: a case of mistaken identity of the ‘Chicago Rat Hole’ | Biology Letters

The ‘Chicago Rat Hole’ is a remarkable full body impression ostensibly created by a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) crossing fresh concrete in Chicago’s Roscoe Village that became a viral sensation. Whi...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 5d

A team of researchers analyzed the anatomical dimensions of an infamous imprint on a Chicago sidewalk, sifting through photos and measuring mammal specimens in museum collections to put what they were seeing in context.

Their conclusion? The Chicago Rat Hole was not made by a rat.

The Chicago Rat Hole Was Not Made by a Rat

A statistical analysis of an infamous indentation in a sidewalk suggested a 99 percent likelihood that another rodent made the mark.

nyti.ms

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Jalene LaMontagne @jalene-lamontagne.bsky.social · Sep 10

The #NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program #GRFP solicitation is coming soon!

The due date for Life Sciences proposals is 27 October 2025.

For more info: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Emily Blackwell @emilyablackwell.bsky.social · Aug 27

Really enjoyed this post on @litc-urbanevo.bsky.social this week. Very cool to learn about the history and uncertain future of this staple of urban street trees! urbanevolution-litc.com/2025/08/26/b...

Beyond the Shade: The Growing Disadvantages of the London Plane

When I was younger, I remember thinking to myself: “This tree is losing its skin, is it dying?” I believe I can’t be the only child that thought this when first looking at a London plane. Little di…

urbanevolution-litc.com

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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · Aug 11

I’m at #ESA2025! But just for today. I’m giving an inspire talk this afternoon on urban evolutionary ecology. Come find out what I think about when people ask me “if wildlife are adapting to cities, will evolution solve all our problems?”

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Eva Holland @evaholland.bsky.social · Jul 30

Last fall, I attended the premiere of a film that meant a lot to me. In late January, all of its hundreds of planned screenings were canceled without explanation. For @defector.com, I went digging:

Why Did National Geographic Disappear Its Own Documentary About A Queer Climate Scientist? | Defector

If you’re not a particular kind of mountain sports nerd, you might not be familiar with the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. But for people who live their lives in the overlapping circl...

defector.com

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THE CITY @thecity.nyc · Jul 18

lightning bug summer 💡

Seeing More Fireflies in New York City This Year? You’re Not Alone.

Hot and humid weather is perfect for the blinking bugs.

buff.ly

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Anna Thonis, PhD 🦎 @annainthefield.bsky.social · Jul 11

Managed to lasso this stunning Puerto Rican blue-tailed ameiva (Pholidoscelis wetmorei) yesterday! 🦎💙

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Anna Thonis, PhD 🦎 @annainthefield.bsky.social · Jul 17

One week ago, we wrapped up another successful field season in Puerto Rico! We completed the 8th season of my mark-recapture surveys for three species of Puerto Rican anole. We also added another 10 sites to our PR anole niche space project, bringing our total to 30 sites.

Yay data! Yay anoles! 🦎🦎

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Dr. Jessica L Ware @jessicalwarelab.bsky.social · Jun 19

Protect transgender scientists | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Protect transgender scientists

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGnC) people are a primary target of the Trump administration. Multiple executive orders seek to erase TGnC protections; mandate denial of gender identity; and ba...

www.science.org

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · Jun 15

Want a depressing fact?

Google announces they’ve purchased a property near Columbus Ohio for a new data center. That undeveloped business park is one of the only places around here that hosts Grasshopper Sparrows, a rapidly declining state-endangered bird.

Headline in the Columus Dispatch from June 15th 2025. It reads Google pays $63 million for New Albany land for a potential data center

eBird sightings of Grasshopper Sparrows in the area this year. They are all clustered around the location of this business park.

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Kristin Winchell @kmwinchell.bsky.social · Jun 5

Fun new things starting in the lab this summer as we dive deeper into the intersection of urbanization and invasion!
This is an invasive wall lizard from NYC, a project being led by postdocs @annainthefield.bsky.social & @anthonysnead.bsky.social along with our summer REU students and NYU undergrads

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Rachel Larson, PhD @rlarson92.bsky.social · Jun 3

From Emily Blackwell: Raccons may be more susceptible to heat stress, given their responses (site occupancy & activity patterns) to urban heat islands #IUWC2025

a raccoon sticking its pink tongue out

ALT: a raccoon sticking its pink tongue out

media.tenor.com

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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · Jun 2

"Scientists and citizens assessed the effectiveness of two wildlife underpasses installed under a road in Monkton, Vermont. The results were striking: an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths."

Glad to see this new study proving the utility of herp crossings! #roadecology

www.uvm.edu/uvmnews/news...

Amphibian Road Mortality Drops by Over 80% with Wildlife Underpasses, Study Shows | UVM News | The University of Vermont

A new UVM-led study shows that wildlife underpass tunnels dramatically reduce deaths of frog, salamanders and other amphibians migrating across roads.

www.uvm.edu

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Emily Blackwell @emilyablackwell.bsky.social · May 29

Getting excited for #IUWC2025! I'll be presenting my Master's research on the impacts of artificial light and urban heat islands on urban mammals. Plus, I'll have zines 👀

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Mikhail Zinshteyn @mzinshteyn.bsky.social · May 28

If the House GOP spending plan becomes law, the California State University system's 400,000+ undergraduate students would lose $200m+ in Pell grants (~40% of CSU students get this).

60% of CSU students would lose some or all Pell funding.

CSU Underscores Impact of Potential Pell Grant Cuts | CSU

The CSU is warning of the potential impact to thousands of its students in the House budget reconciliation bill.

www.calstate.edu

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Nicolas Alexandre @nicmalexandre.bsky.social · May 21

🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology

Supplemental Feeding as a Driver of Population Expansion and Morphological Change in Anna's Hummingbirds

Bird beaks are highly adaptable, with the potential to undergo rapid morphological shifts in response to environmental change such as climatic variation or food availability. Anna's Hummingbirds (Cal...

dx.doi.org

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Mason Fidino, PhD @masonfidino.bsky.social · May 20

Arguably the goofiest goose #cameratrapping photo we have collected in over 15 years of biodiversity monitoring throughout #Chicago. Be on the look out for laser eyes here in Humboldt Park! 🧪

a camera trap photo of a goose with bright shining eyes

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Emily Blackwell @emilyablackwell.bsky.social · Apr 24

Grateful as always for Craig Pittman's thoughtful reporting on Florida conservation and environmental policy news

Julie Hauserman @jhauserman.bsky.social · Apr 24

👍 @craigtimes.bsky.social details fights to protect #Florida endangered species in Florida Phoenix News floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/24/j...

Judge finds manatee die-off proves Florida broke endangered species law • Florida Phoenix

Back in the 1990s, when I was on the criminal court beat, I sat through more murder trials than Perry Mason and Ben Matlock combined. Every case concerned a tragedy, but occasionally there were moment...

floridaphoenix.com

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Auxenia Grace @auxiegrace.bsky.social · Feb 20

Very happy to use my first bluesky post to share this work surveying mammals in Hansen Dam that was just published! Huge thank yous to Amanda Zellmer, Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, and our partners at USGS for their collaboration and support on this project! checklist.pensoft.net/article/1290...

Terrestrial mammal diversity at Hansen Dam (Los Angeles, California, USA): flood control area acts as habitat in a human-dominated landscape

Urban expansion is a prominent threat to biodiversity, particularly for terrestrial mammals, which are significantly impacted by disruptions in habitat connectivity and loss. It can also lead to incre...

checklist.pensoft.net

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Maggie Stoffer @maggiestoffer.bsky.social · Feb 19

check out this piece i wrote about my thesis project investigating invasive species in marine protected areas!

www.slideranch.org/ranchthymes/...

Invasive Species in the Intertidal — Slide Ranch

www.slideranch.org

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Londyn Robinson, MD @londyloo.bsky.social · Feb 9

I have a confession
.
.
.
I was an “overhead cost”.

I was a beaker washer, agar plate pourer, research secretary. I was paid by “overhead cost” fees. Loved it.

Those “overhead cost” jobs allowed this rural kid to become a physician.

Please tag how #OverheadCostJob impact u.