Christopher Witt
@msbbirds.bsky.social
Prof & Curator @UNM, Museum of Southwestern Biology
NM Game Commissioner
Studies: bird ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology, biogeography, & toxicology
Enjoys: Birding, hunting, fishing, running
Personal account, not representing UNM or State of NM
NM Game Commissioner
Studies: bird ecology, evolution, genetics, physiology, biogeography, & toxicology
Enjoys: Birding, hunting, fishing, running
Personal account, not representing UNM or State of NM
Reposted by Christopher Witt
A new documentary, The Land of Sacrifice: The Burden of New Mexico's Oil and Gas Extraction, explores the oil and gas crisis in NM and its damage to the health of frontline and Indigenous communities and degraded the ecosystem.
The Land of Sacrifice is free for anyone to watch ➡️ bit.ly/4okDhgq
The Land of Sacrifice is free for anyone to watch ➡️ bit.ly/4okDhgq
December 1, 2025 at 6:18 PM
A new documentary, The Land of Sacrifice: The Burden of New Mexico's Oil and Gas Extraction, explores the oil and gas crisis in NM and its damage to the health of frontline and Indigenous communities and degraded the ecosystem.
The Land of Sacrifice is free for anyone to watch ➡️ bit.ly/4okDhgq
The Land of Sacrifice is free for anyone to watch ➡️ bit.ly/4okDhgq
Reposted by Christopher Witt
April 7, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Afternoon basking
November 30, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Afternoon basking
Reposted by Christopher Witt
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
November 29, 2025 at 3:30 AM
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Insanely stupid and short-sighted choice. I didn't even know they were still trying to run this racket. You put more universities in danger with this shit you idiots!
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Insanely stupid and short-sighted choice. I didn't even know they were still trying to run this racket. You put more universities in danger with this shit you idiots!
This is the new Monte Hall problem
I’ll break it down another way:
If wait and you don’t get it, the game is over
If you try now and don’t get it, you need two scores
What’s better?
If wait and you don’t get it, the game is over
If you try now and don’t get it, you need two scores
What’s better?
November 29, 2025 at 12:18 AM
This is the new Monte Hall problem
Reposted by Christopher Witt
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
Someone explain why my 5th grade daughter suddenly loves football
November 28, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Someone explain why my 5th grade daughter suddenly loves football
As a city boy who became a hunter, i enjoyed this collision of worlds: Meateater meets The Daily (with a nice vicarious duck hunting experience at the end!) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Eating What You Kill This Thanksgiving
Podcast Episode · The Daily · 11/27/2025 · 57m
podcasts.apple.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:33 PM
As a city boy who became a hunter, i enjoyed this collision of worlds: Meateater meets The Daily (with a nice vicarious duck hunting experience at the end!) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Reposted by Christopher Witt
An 18yo US citizen, surrounded by eight masked, armed agents of the state, taken into custody, not read his rights, not offered a chance to contact a lawyer, proof of citizenship ignored, handcuffed so tightly he later required medical attention.
Profoundly, profoundly anti-American shit.
Profoundly, profoundly anti-American shit.
ICE Detained an 18-Year-Old U.S. Citizen. This Is His Story.
YouTube video by The Hometown Holler
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM
An 18yo US citizen, surrounded by eight masked, armed agents of the state, taken into custody, not read his rights, not offered a chance to contact a lawyer, proof of citizenship ignored, handcuffed so tightly he later required medical attention.
Profoundly, profoundly anti-American shit.
Profoundly, profoundly anti-American shit.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
🌿Excited to share our new study in New Phytologist! 🌿
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
🌿Excited to share our new study in New Phytologist! 🌿
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Wolves didn’t “fix” Yellowstone because ecosystems aren’t machines. Elk, beavers, bison, drought, trails… everything interacts.
What remains consistent? Human impacts still drown out ecology. Yellowstone exposes the myth of ecosystem resilience.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
What remains consistent? Human impacts still drown out ecology. Yellowstone exposes the myth of ecosystem resilience.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
Reintroduced Carnivores’ Impacts on Ecosystems Are Still Coming Into Focus - Inside Climate News
Yellowstone has long been a mecca for scientists studying how predators affect everything from elk grazing to vegetation height. They are still debating how to make sense of what they’ve learned.
insideclimatenews.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Wolves didn’t “fix” Yellowstone because ecosystems aren’t machines. Elk, beavers, bison, drought, trails… everything interacts.
What remains consistent? Human impacts still drown out ecology. Yellowstone exposes the myth of ecosystem resilience.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
What remains consistent? Human impacts still drown out ecology. Yellowstone exposes the myth of ecosystem resilience.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
Reposted by Christopher Witt
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
Climatic Variability Threatens Population Growth and Persistence of a Declining Grassland Songbird
Determining the factors responsible for population change in threatened populations and the degree to which changing climates might put those populations at risk is one of the most pressing roles of ...
dx.doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
Reposted by Christopher Witt
A migration corridor that allows jaguars and ocelots to cross into the U.S. is the latest border wall construction zone.
Border wall opponents rally as Trump closes a 27-mile gap across a remote Arizona valley
A migration corridor that allows jaguars and ocelots to cross into the U.S. is the latest border wall construction zone.
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 11:00 PM
A migration corridor that allows jaguars and ocelots to cross into the U.S. is the latest border wall construction zone.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, keeps shooting out of the ground in Oklahoma.
Experts say it means even more wastewater is spreading underground, poisoning the state’s water supply.
With @readfrontier.bsky.social
Experts say it means even more wastewater is spreading underground, poisoning the state’s water supply.
With @readfrontier.bsky.social
Toxic Wastewater From Oil Fields Keeps Pouring Out of the Ground. Oklahoma Regulators Failed to Stop It.
Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drin...
www.propublica.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, keeps shooting out of the ground in Oklahoma.
Experts say it means even more wastewater is spreading underground, poisoning the state’s water supply.
With @readfrontier.bsky.social
Experts say it means even more wastewater is spreading underground, poisoning the state’s water supply.
With @readfrontier.bsky.social
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Never cross a picket line.
Physical or virtual.
Don’t do it. Respect the workers rights and process.
Physical or virtual.
Don’t do it. Respect the workers rights and process.
Remember that striking Starbucks workers are asking you not to buy Starbucks right now
November 24, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Never cross a picket line.
Physical or virtual.
Don’t do it. Respect the workers rights and process.
Physical or virtual.
Don’t do it. Respect the workers rights and process.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Incredible……
Colombia declares its entire Amazon Biome off limits to mining & oil extraction.
Colombia declares its entire Amazon Biome off limits to mining & oil extraction.
Colombia Declares Its Entire Amazon Region Off-Limits to Mining and Oil Extraction
At COP30, Colombia's Minister of the Environment announced that the entire Amazon region would be declared free of mining and oil extraction.
colombiaone.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Incredible……
Colombia declares its entire Amazon Biome off limits to mining & oil extraction.
Colombia declares its entire Amazon Biome off limits to mining & oil extraction.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Queue the ‘Streisand Effect’ so the American people become even more knowledgable about the law concerning ‘Illegal Military Orders’ and the oath taken to uphold The Constitution.
BREAKING: The Pentagon says it's investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for possible military law violations after he joined a video urging U.S. troops to refuse "illegal orders."
Pentagon says it's investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders'
The Pentagon says that it is investigating Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.
bit.ly
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Queue the ‘Streisand Effect’ so the American people become even more knowledgable about the law concerning ‘Illegal Military Orders’ and the oath taken to uphold The Constitution.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
The Amazon Rainforest was shaped by people. Analysis of 262 trees species across 1,521 forest plots reveals that both pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples and European colonists enduringly influenced the forest’s relative abundance of trees. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/VAqY50XuP38
November 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The Amazon Rainforest was shaped by people. Analysis of 262 trees species across 1,521 forest plots reveals that both pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples and European colonists enduringly influenced the forest’s relative abundance of trees. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/VAqY50XuP38
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Check out our short warbler hybrid paper out today, including a new unofficial common name. Carotenoid people will find some little tidbits of discussion about how these hybrids can help us understand regulation of yellow feathers.
I mean, the title says it all: Genetic confirmation of an “uncommon mourningthroat” (Geothlypis philadelphia × G. trichas): A rare but persistent hybrid warbler. Fun stuff with @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social and Kurt Gielow, OA in @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social!
🦉 🧪
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🦉 🧪
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 21, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Check out our short warbler hybrid paper out today, including a new unofficial common name. Carotenoid people will find some little tidbits of discussion about how these hybrids can help us understand regulation of yellow feathers.
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Just out in Systematic Biology, we explore the role of gene flow in island phylogeography of the Solomons Black-and-white Monarch complex. doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
Up first, strong genetic structure between islands groups and weak (but present!) structure between Pleistocene-connected islands (🧵)
Up first, strong genetic structure between islands groups and weak (but present!) structure between Pleistocene-connected islands (🧵)
November 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Just out in Systematic Biology, we explore the role of gene flow in island phylogeography of the Solomons Black-and-white Monarch complex. doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
Up first, strong genetic structure between islands groups and weak (but present!) structure between Pleistocene-connected islands (🧵)
Up first, strong genetic structure between islands groups and weak (but present!) structure between Pleistocene-connected islands (🧵)
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Reposted by Christopher Witt
Instead, the House and Senate have proposed alternative budget views. If we want science to continue to do more than survive... but thrive, then Congress should pass a budget that enhances America's science portfolio (i.e., closest to the Senate version as in NSF example below).
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Instead, the House and Senate have proposed alternative budget views. If we want science to continue to do more than survive... but thrive, then Congress should pass a budget that enhances America's science portfolio (i.e., closest to the Senate version as in NSF example below).
‘Endowed Chair of Ornithology’ jobs don’t come along too often, but here’s one: umiami.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMFacu...
College of A&S - Biology - FAC - Robert E. Maytag Chair of Ornithology - Associate Professor to Professor
Current Employees: If you are a current Staff, Faculty or Temporary employee at the University of Miami, please click here to log in to Workday to use the internal application process. To learn how to...
umiami.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:05 PM
‘Endowed Chair of Ornithology’ jobs don’t come along too often, but here’s one: umiami.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMFacu...
Reposted by Christopher Witt
In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...