Nicole Gerlach
@ngerlach.bsky.social
Behavioral ecologist, evolutionary organismal biologist (birds, other verts, & critters in general), & educator. Aspiring Ms. Frizzle. Avid reader. Seeker of tiny moments of joy and magic. she/her.
Comments, opinions, & photos my own.
Comments, opinions, & photos my own.
Pinned
Nicole Gerlach
@ngerlach.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Hi, I'm Nicole. I'm a biologist and full-time teaching faculty. I'm primarily a behavioral ecologist by training, with my main research interests in mate choice / parental care behavior, especially extra-pair mating behavior in socially monogamous songbirds like the dark-eyed junco!
I would like to formally apologize to whatever minor deity / universal power / person at the registrar's office for whichever offense I committed that caused the final exams for both of my courses this semester to be assigned 7:30 AM time slots.
December 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
I would like to formally apologize to whatever minor deity / universal power / person at the registrar's office for whichever offense I committed that caused the final exams for both of my courses this semester to be assigned 7:30 AM time slots.
I would never have thought this was the same species as the Hairy Woodpeckers I’m familiar with.
There are 17 subspecies of Hairy Woodpeckers with considerable variations in coloration. Some are intensely white; ours in Washington state are dirtier-looking; and the Costa Rican is this lovely rich brown color (the Leuconotopicus villosus extimus subspecies). #birds
#woodpeckers #nature
#woodpeckers #nature
December 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I would never have thought this was the same species as the Hairy Woodpeckers I’m familiar with.
During the semester, my #vertz students each have to give a "Get to Know a Vertebrate" presentation on a species of their choice, including adding it to the class GTKAV phylogeny, which starts with juncos (my study species) and humans.
Here are all the cool species I got to learn about this year!
Here are all the cool species I got to learn about this year!
December 4, 2025 at 6:27 PM
During the semester, my #vertz students each have to give a "Get to Know a Vertebrate" presentation on a species of their choice, including adding it to the class GTKAV phylogeny, which starts with juncos (my study species) and humans.
Here are all the cool species I got to learn about this year!
Here are all the cool species I got to learn about this year!
Everyone DOES need to see a Stegosaurus occasionally.
A pair of Stegosaurus leisurely walking while a group of Hesperornithoides bicker in the foreground
I just think everyone needs to see Stegosaurus every now and then. Makes everyone happier 😊 This is an illustration of my licensing library and is available for non exclusive licensing.
#paleoart
I just think everyone needs to see Stegosaurus every now and then. Makes everyone happier 😊 This is an illustration of my licensing library and is available for non exclusive licensing.
#paleoart
December 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Everyone DOES need to see a Stegosaurus occasionally.
Hooray, it’s finally jamdvent calendar season! I’m a few days late in starting, since my Thanksgiving guests only left yesterday and the mini jam jars are decidedly single serving.
December 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Hooray, it’s finally jamdvent calendar season! I’m a few days late in starting, since my Thanksgiving guests only left yesterday and the mini jam jars are decidedly single serving.
One of the best laughs I've gotten this semester, a thread: 🧵
Background: Our intro bio series has course codes BSC2010 and BSC2011, and around the department, we tend to just refer to them by number.
In class today, I was talking about the difference between foregut and hindgut fermenters. 1/5
Background: Our intro bio series has course codes BSC2010 and BSC2011, and around the department, we tend to just refer to them by number.
In class today, I was talking about the difference between foregut and hindgut fermenters. 1/5
December 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
One of the best laughs I've gotten this semester, a thread: 🧵
Background: Our intro bio series has course codes BSC2010 and BSC2011, and around the department, we tend to just refer to them by number.
In class today, I was talking about the difference between foregut and hindgut fermenters. 1/5
Background: Our intro bio series has course codes BSC2010 and BSC2011, and around the department, we tend to just refer to them by number.
In class today, I was talking about the difference between foregut and hindgut fermenters. 1/5
Time to play another round of "will any of my students recognize the reference from the 1980s?"
(This is the last slide of my last lecture in #Vertz. Cetaceans are the last group I talk about, and phylogenetically, the whole semester has been about fish, so it's doubly appropriate.)
(This is the last slide of my last lecture in #Vertz. Cetaceans are the last group I talk about, and phylogenetically, the whole semester has been about fish, so it's doubly appropriate.)
December 2, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Time to play another round of "will any of my students recognize the reference from the 1980s?"
(This is the last slide of my last lecture in #Vertz. Cetaceans are the last group I talk about, and phylogenetically, the whole semester has been about fish, so it's doubly appropriate.)
(This is the last slide of my last lecture in #Vertz. Cetaceans are the last group I talk about, and phylogenetically, the whole semester has been about fish, so it's doubly appropriate.)
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
This #givingtuesday please consider donating to the Paleontological Research Institution/Museum of the Earth
PRI is a major US fossil collection and education center
& has been struggling after a major donor was unable to fulfill a pledge but is almost out of the woods, any support helps!
🦑⚒️🧪🐌🐚
PRI is a major US fossil collection and education center
& has been struggling after a major donor was unable to fulfill a pledge but is almost out of the woods, any support helps!
🦑⚒️🧪🐌🐚
December 2, 2025 at 12:44 PM
This #givingtuesday please consider donating to the Paleontological Research Institution/Museum of the Earth
PRI is a major US fossil collection and education center
& has been struggling after a major donor was unable to fulfill a pledge but is almost out of the woods, any support helps!
🦑⚒️🧪🐌🐚
PRI is a major US fossil collection and education center
& has been struggling after a major donor was unable to fulfill a pledge but is almost out of the woods, any support helps!
🦑⚒️🧪🐌🐚
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Wisdom’s mate joins
her!
🎼 #Reunited
USFWS staff spotted band EX25 on 11/25. No, he has not been named; we await that news.
So far we have a few photos and we'll share more as we receive them.
Here's to a successful egg laying and hatching season for these two!
Photos by Chris Forster.
#Birds
her!
🎼 #Reunited
USFWS staff spotted band EX25 on 11/25. No, he has not been named; we await that news.
So far we have a few photos and we'll share more as we receive them.
Here's to a successful egg laying and hatching season for these two!
Photos by Chris Forster.
#Birds
November 30, 2025 at 9:34 PM
On the other hand, the part where there still was deeper water was FULL of alligators. These three were closest to the path, but I counted maybe 18-20 total. Plus a heron in satellite dish mode! #wildlife 🪶🐊
November 30, 2025 at 12:32 AM
On the other hand, the part where there still was deeper water was FULL of alligators. These three were closest to the path, but I counted maybe 18-20 total. Plus a heron in satellite dish mode! #wildlife 🪶🐊
We’ve had such a dry autumn that the wetlands at the prairie were… not very wet.
November 29, 2025 at 10:36 PM
We’ve had such a dry autumn that the wetlands at the prairie were… not very wet.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
#OnThisDay in 1859, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was first published.
Much of the original manuscript was used as scrap paper by Darwin's children. On the back of this painting of a house is an original manuscript page from Origin!
#CambridgeUniversityLibrary (DAR 185)
Much of the original manuscript was used as scrap paper by Darwin's children. On the back of this painting of a house is an original manuscript page from Origin!
#CambridgeUniversityLibrary (DAR 185)
November 24, 2025 at 11:26 AM
#OnThisDay in 1859, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was first published.
Much of the original manuscript was used as scrap paper by Darwin's children. On the back of this painting of a house is an original manuscript page from Origin!
#CambridgeUniversityLibrary (DAR 185)
Much of the original manuscript was used as scrap paper by Darwin's children. On the back of this painting of a house is an original manuscript page from Origin!
#CambridgeUniversityLibrary (DAR 185)
My favorite assignment that I give my #Vertz students is to pick a fantasy creature and argue for where they think it would fit in the vertebrate phylogeny. They get so creative and detailed with their analysis, and it's so much fun to read.
November 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
My favorite assignment that I give my #Vertz students is to pick a fantasy creature and argue for where they think it would fit in the vertebrate phylogeny. They get so creative and detailed with their analysis, and it's so much fun to read.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Happy Thanksgiving, to all who celebrate. May you be the one feasting on turkey-sized paravian theropods, and not the other way around!
And to those condemned to battling family upon the occasion, may the strength of a million raptors course through your veins.
And to those condemned to battling family upon the occasion, may the strength of a million raptors course through your veins.
November 27, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Happy Thanksgiving, to all who celebrate. May you be the one feasting on turkey-sized paravian theropods, and not the other way around!
And to those condemned to battling family upon the occasion, may the strength of a million raptors course through your veins.
And to those condemned to battling family upon the occasion, may the strength of a million raptors course through your veins.
Who’s got two thumbs and totally forgot to take the turkey out to bring it up to room temperature before putting it in the oven?
At least I did remember to defrost it.
At least I did remember to defrost it.
a man wearing a white shirt and tie smiles in front of a window
Alt: Jim from The Office points both thumbs at himself and says “this guy!!!”
media.tenor.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Who’s got two thumbs and totally forgot to take the turkey out to bring it up to room temperature before putting it in the oven?
At least I did remember to defrost it.
At least I did remember to defrost it.
The first time I hear Sandhill Cranes trumpeting in a given year, it always takes me a minute before I remember what that weird unearthly sound is. 🪶 #birds
November 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The first time I hear Sandhill Cranes trumpeting in a given year, it always takes me a minute before I remember what that weird unearthly sound is. 🪶 #birds
You've just died. The 6th picture in your gallery is what killed you.
Oh. Erm, well. That’s actually plausible.
(It was pretty small in real life, so I’m going to assume it got lucky and nicked my femoral artery or something.)
Oh. Erm, well. That’s actually plausible.
(It was pretty small in real life, so I’m going to assume it got lucky and nicked my femoral artery or something.)
November 27, 2025 at 4:49 AM
You've just died. The 6th picture in your gallery is what killed you.
Oh. Erm, well. That’s actually plausible.
(It was pretty small in real life, so I’m going to assume it got lucky and nicked my femoral artery or something.)
Oh. Erm, well. That’s actually plausible.
(It was pretty small in real life, so I’m going to assume it got lucky and nicked my femoral artery or something.)
#LocalVertDiversity 37. Domestic Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) & 38. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Duck face-off! The Muscovys looked like they were about to cause trouble, but the Black-bellied held their ground (water?) and the Muscovys swerved around. #birds 🪶
Duck face-off! The Muscovys looked like they were about to cause trouble, but the Black-bellied held their ground (water?) and the Muscovys swerved around. #birds 🪶
November 26, 2025 at 6:08 PM
#LocalVertDiversity 37. Domestic Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) & 38. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Duck face-off! The Muscovys looked like they were about to cause trouble, but the Black-bellied held their ground (water?) and the Muscovys swerved around. #birds 🪶
Duck face-off! The Muscovys looked like they were about to cause trouble, but the Black-bellied held their ground (water?) and the Muscovys swerved around. #birds 🪶
#LocalVertDiversity 36. Downy Woodpecker male (Dryobates pubescens)
I just learned that Downys are not particularly closely related to Hairy Woodpeckers, which are almost identical except they've got bigger bills and are bigger overall, which absolutely blows my mind. Evolution's so neat. #birds 🪶
I just learned that Downys are not particularly closely related to Hairy Woodpeckers, which are almost identical except they've got bigger bills and are bigger overall, which absolutely blows my mind. Evolution's so neat. #birds 🪶
November 24, 2025 at 6:32 PM
#LocalVertDiversity 36. Downy Woodpecker male (Dryobates pubescens)
I just learned that Downys are not particularly closely related to Hairy Woodpeckers, which are almost identical except they've got bigger bills and are bigger overall, which absolutely blows my mind. Evolution's so neat. #birds 🪶
I just learned that Downys are not particularly closely related to Hairy Woodpeckers, which are almost identical except they've got bigger bills and are bigger overall, which absolutely blows my mind. Evolution's so neat. #birds 🪶
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
DAY 172
SPECIES 172 - Thermus aquaticus
STAGE: Bacteria
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. QoR Watercolor. Sakura pen. Derwent Pencil
Thanks to @ngerlach.bsky.social for suggesting it!
T. aquaticus can tolerate high temperatures, it was first isolated from Mushroom Spring in Yellowstone National Park.
SPECIES 172 - Thermus aquaticus
STAGE: Bacteria
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. QoR Watercolor. Sakura pen. Derwent Pencil
Thanks to @ngerlach.bsky.social for suggesting it!
T. aquaticus can tolerate high temperatures, it was first isolated from Mushroom Spring in Yellowstone National Park.
November 24, 2025 at 7:45 AM
DAY 172
SPECIES 172 - Thermus aquaticus
STAGE: Bacteria
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. QoR Watercolor. Sakura pen. Derwent Pencil
Thanks to @ngerlach.bsky.social for suggesting it!
T. aquaticus can tolerate high temperatures, it was first isolated from Mushroom Spring in Yellowstone National Park.
SPECIES 172 - Thermus aquaticus
STAGE: Bacteria
MEDIUM: Arches Paper. QoR Watercolor. Sakura pen. Derwent Pencil
Thanks to @ngerlach.bsky.social for suggesting it!
T. aquaticus can tolerate high temperatures, it was first isolated from Mushroom Spring in Yellowstone National Park.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
*wakes up 7 hours later* these whales are migrating thousands of miles, which you can imagine is tiring, especially when the way you sleep is by turning off half your brain.
You know what they're not doing?
Buying Starbucks during the duration of @sbworkersunited.org's ULP strike.
You know what they're not doing?
Buying Starbucks during the duration of @sbworkersunited.org's ULP strike.
November 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
*wakes up 7 hours later* these whales are migrating thousands of miles, which you can imagine is tiring, especially when the way you sleep is by turning off half your brain.
You know what they're not doing?
Buying Starbucks during the duration of @sbworkersunited.org's ULP strike.
You know what they're not doing?
Buying Starbucks during the duration of @sbworkersunited.org's ULP strike.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
This needs to be drilled into students at the university level as well.
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 23, 2025 at 9:05 AM
This needs to be drilled into students at the university level as well.
I’d seen the cool spiky egg sacs of the Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) before, but this was the first time I’ve seen some with mom guarding them! #spider 🕷️📸
(They’re related to black widows but Wikipedia says their bites are “painful but not dangerous”. I’ll take their word for it.)
(They’re related to black widows but Wikipedia says their bites are “painful but not dangerous”. I’ll take their word for it.)
November 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I’d seen the cool spiky egg sacs of the Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) before, but this was the first time I’ve seen some with mom guarding them! #spider 🕷️📸
(They’re related to black widows but Wikipedia says their bites are “painful but not dangerous”. I’ll take their word for it.)
(They’re related to black widows but Wikipedia says their bites are “painful but not dangerous”. I’ll take their word for it.)
Doing an online training thing, I get to a question that is "what is the first step in ______?". It's checkboxes rather than radio buttons.
I chose the first step.
"Incorrect. There are two correct answers."
THEN THAT IS A FIRST AND A SECOND STEP AAAARGH.
I chose the first step.
"Incorrect. There are two correct answers."
THEN THAT IS A FIRST AND A SECOND STEP AAAARGH.
November 21, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Doing an online training thing, I get to a question that is "what is the first step in ______?". It's checkboxes rather than radio buttons.
I chose the first step.
"Incorrect. There are two correct answers."
THEN THAT IS A FIRST AND A SECOND STEP AAAARGH.
I chose the first step.
"Incorrect. There are two correct answers."
THEN THAT IS A FIRST AND A SECOND STEP AAAARGH.
