Anya Auerbach
@aauerbach.bsky.social
PhD candidate at UMN EEB studying Madagascar’s bird radiations | Loves birds, diversification, biodiversity, teaching evolution, and (natural) history museums | Queer. Organizer. Still a NYer at heart.
I’m not gonna share the president’s revolting words but I do want to say that I have had so many wonderful Somali colleagues and students and friends here in Minnesota, and I love you and you belong here and if USCIS tries to come for you I will do everything in my power to stop them.
December 3, 2025 at 1:23 AM
I’m not gonna share the president’s revolting words but I do want to say that I have had so many wonderful Somali colleagues and students and friends here in Minnesota, and I love you and you belong here and if USCIS tries to come for you I will do everything in my power to stop them.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
She shouldn't have to keep doing this by herself. She is supposedly a member of a political party and every single one of her *colleagues* should be BLASTING the fascist in chief. ALL OF THEM. Where is the solidarity???
Congresswoman Omar calls Trump's comments about her 'creepy' after the US president launches into an anti-Somali tirade.
Ilhan Omar denounces Donald Trump for calling Somali immigrants ‘garbage’
Congresswoman Omar calls Trump's comments about her 'creepy' after the US president launches into an anti-Somali tirade.
bit.ly
December 3, 2025 at 12:34 AM
She shouldn't have to keep doing this by herself. She is supposedly a member of a political party and every single one of her *colleagues* should be BLASTING the fascist in chief. ALL OF THEM. Where is the solidarity???
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
In the year of our Lord two-thousand-twenty-five, there are still shockingly diagnosable, legit never-before-seen-by-scientists new bird species out there to be discovered
New species of tinamou, the slaty-masked tinamou (Tinamus resonans): mapress.com/zt/article/v... 🪶🧪 (📷Luis A. Morais)
December 2, 2025 at 10:03 PM
In the year of our Lord two-thousand-twenty-five, there are still shockingly diagnosable, legit never-before-seen-by-scientists new bird species out there to be discovered
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Preprint!
Ever wondered why individuals within the same species migrate differently? Or what drives some animals to become partial migrants? Then, this paper is for you!
Our new paper synthesizes the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that shape partial migration.
Link: doi.org/10.22541/au....
Ever wondered why individuals within the same species migrate differently? Or what drives some animals to become partial migrants? Then, this paper is for you!
Our new paper synthesizes the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that shape partial migration.
Link: doi.org/10.22541/au....
Understanding partial migration: linking genetic, developmental, and environmental drivers
Partial migration, where some individuals in a population migrate while others remain resident, arises from the dynamic interplay of multiple non-exclusive eco-evolutionary mechanisms. These mechanism...
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Preprint!
Ever wondered why individuals within the same species migrate differently? Or what drives some animals to become partial migrants? Then, this paper is for you!
Our new paper synthesizes the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that shape partial migration.
Link: doi.org/10.22541/au....
Ever wondered why individuals within the same species migrate differently? Or what drives some animals to become partial migrants? Then, this paper is for you!
Our new paper synthesizes the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that shape partial migration.
Link: doi.org/10.22541/au....
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Israel has ‘de facto state policy’ of organised torture, says UN report
Israel has ‘de facto state policy’ of organised torture, says UN report
Committee highlights allegations including dog attacks and sexual violence, raising concern about impunity for war crimes
Israel has “a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture”, according to a new UN report covering the past two years, which also raised concerns about the impunity of Israeli security forces for war crimes.
The UN committee on torture expressed “deep concern over allegations of repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, waterboarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Israel has ‘de facto state policy’ of organised torture, says UN report
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
The real Turing test is that AI will stop using em dashes if you ask; humans will make you pry their favorite punctuation out of their cold, dead hands.
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
December 1, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The real Turing test is that AI will stop using em dashes if you ask; humans will make you pry their favorite punctuation out of their cold, dead hands.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
I have a new preprint demonstrating a genome-architecture-aware approach to inferring species trees and introgression landscapes from a small number of genomes. If you are interested in phylogenomics, birds, or hybridization, this is for you! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 1, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I have a new preprint demonstrating a genome-architecture-aware approach to inferring species trees and introgression landscapes from a small number of genomes. If you are interested in phylogenomics, birds, or hybridization, this is for you! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
Interactive AIDS Quilt
The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 48,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience People around the world can experie...
www.aidsmemorial.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:19 PM
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
The actual conversation here is about deliberate attacks on vulnerable trans folks like graduate instructors.
I need every faculty member reading this to go NOW, and start a conversation as a department about how you're going to protect queer, bipoc etc grad students, adjuncts etc. YOU need a plan!
I need every faculty member reading this to go NOW, and start a conversation as a department about how you're going to protect queer, bipoc etc grad students, adjuncts etc. YOU need a plan!
It's pretty telling which people are like "maybe the student had a point" and who immediately clocked it as a transparent attempt to get a trans grad student fired or worse.
Maybe listen to your trans colleagues on this one my dude, and sit this one out.
Maybe listen to your trans colleagues on this one my dude, and sit this one out.
December 1, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The actual conversation here is about deliberate attacks on vulnerable trans folks like graduate instructors.
I need every faculty member reading this to go NOW, and start a conversation as a department about how you're going to protect queer, bipoc etc grad students, adjuncts etc. YOU need a plan!
I need every faculty member reading this to go NOW, and start a conversation as a department about how you're going to protect queer, bipoc etc grad students, adjuncts etc. YOU need a plan!
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades
December 1, 2025 at 12:04 AM
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
This semester I ran a class where we read recent papers in phylogenetics / systematics. I'd prepare an intro for each with background, then we'd dig in. I'd write a blog post after each as well. All the papers, slides and posts are now available at brianomeara.info/posts/phylop...
🧪 #AcademicSky
🧪 #AcademicSky
December 1, 2025 at 1:43 PM
This semester I ran a class where we read recent papers in phylogenetics / systematics. I'd prepare an intro for each with background, then we'd dig in. I'd write a blog post after each as well. All the papers, slides and posts are now available at brianomeara.info/posts/phylop...
🧪 #AcademicSky
🧪 #AcademicSky
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
If you saw my post yesterday, I specifically noted how vulnerable the graduate student instructors were. And here we are.
That “essay” was drivel. It was not even worthy of a middle school diary entry. I would have failed it too.
That “essay” was drivel. It was not even worthy of a middle school diary entry. I would have failed it too.
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
December 1, 2025 at 1:49 AM
If you saw my post yesterday, I specifically noted how vulnerable the graduate student instructors were. And here we are.
That “essay” was drivel. It was not even worthy of a middle school diary entry. I would have failed it too.
That “essay” was drivel. It was not even worthy of a middle school diary entry. I would have failed it too.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
You've heard of the Friday night news dump. Here's the Friday night of Thanksgiving wknd dump. For special circumstances, like when the faculty assembly votes 595-4 against paying to end a shakedown and you do it anyway. Link to agreement here: bulkmail.northwestern.edu/trk/click?re...
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 12:34 AM
You've heard of the Friday night news dump. Here's the Friday night of Thanksgiving wknd dump. For special circumstances, like when the faculty assembly votes 595-4 against paying to end a shakedown and you do it anyway. Link to agreement here: bulkmail.northwestern.edu/trk/click?re...
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Who is supporting these settlements? It’s generally not faculty or even long-time university administrators, it’s university boards and interim administrators who they’ve installed after admins with more of a fighting instinct have been forced out. There’s a playbook here.
@mbkplus.bsky.social and I will have more thoughts on the podcast, but it's no coincidence that the two most draconian settlements were signed by *interim* university presidents.
Here’s the text of the Northwestern settlement with the DoJ, which includes a $75 million financial component / payoff (cc @profmarkovic.bsky.social):
November 29, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Who is supporting these settlements? It’s generally not faculty or even long-time university administrators, it’s university boards and interim administrators who they’ve installed after admins with more of a fighting instinct have been forced out. There’s a playbook here.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
I understand why faculty in Texas are unwilling to risk trying to exercise wildcat labor power in the face of an anti-labor state. In Illinois faculty have lots of power to use if they’re willing to be brave. Students will, I expect, stand with you. But you are going to have to be the leaders.
November 29, 2025 at 3:36 AM
I understand why faculty in Texas are unwilling to risk trying to exercise wildcat labor power in the face of an anti-labor state. In Illinois faculty have lots of power to use if they’re willing to be brave. Students will, I expect, stand with you. But you are going to have to be the leaders.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
I donated.
Please donate if you can.
Please share the link so others can support as well.
Please donate if you can.
Please share the link so others can support as well.
Every year around this time, I ask folks to consider doing something in support of Native people. This year, please join me in supporting the Native Organizers Alliance as they build grassroots power, defend Native voting rights, and equip our people for collective struggle through skill-building.
Donate - Native Organizers Alliance
Supporting organizing and advocacy initiatives for Indigenous justice.
nativeorganizing.org
November 27, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I donated.
Please donate if you can.
Please share the link so others can support as well.
Please donate if you can.
Please share the link so others can support as well.
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
I was at a Friendsgiving with mostly folks from the Plant Bio department, but apparently I was the only one who wanted to do a #Plantsgiving tally. I don’t know what all was in everyone else’s dishes, so just the things I brought:
November 28, 2025 at 4:43 AM
I was at a Friendsgiving with mostly folks from the Plant Bio department, but apparently I was the only one who wanted to do a #Plantsgiving tally. I don’t know what all was in everyone else’s dishes, so just the things I brought:
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
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
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Go my Bothriolepis... This year's fish pecan pie! Bothriolepis was a peculiar-looking placoderm from the Devonian period or the Paleozoic. It had two long pointed pectoral fins and silly little eyes on top of its head.
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
November 27, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Go my Bothriolepis... This year's fish pecan pie! Bothriolepis was a peculiar-looking placoderm from the Devonian period or the Paleozoic. It had two long pointed pectoral fins and silly little eyes on top of its head.
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
In the long term this is what will kill what's left of America's miniscule credibility in MENA: US-backed ceasefires are when the Arab ceases and Israel continues to fire.
And this is not a Trump problem, but a bipartisan problem. This "ceasefire" was achieved by the previous president.
And this is not a Trump problem, but a bipartisan problem. This "ceasefire" was achieved by the previous president.
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect a year ago today.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Lebanon: Israel’s attacks continue one year into "ceasefire"
www.nrc.no
November 28, 2025 at 2:22 AM
In the long term this is what will kill what's left of America's miniscule credibility in MENA: US-backed ceasefires are when the Arab ceases and Israel continues to fire.
And this is not a Trump problem, but a bipartisan problem. This "ceasefire" was achieved by the previous president.
And this is not a Trump problem, but a bipartisan problem. This "ceasefire" was achieved by the previous president.
I was at a Friendsgiving with mostly folks from the Plant Bio department, but apparently I was the only one who wanted to do a #Plantsgiving tally. I don’t know what all was in everyone else’s dishes, so just the things I brought:
November 28, 2025 at 4:43 AM
I was at a Friendsgiving with mostly folks from the Plant Bio department, but apparently I was the only one who wanted to do a #Plantsgiving tally. I don’t know what all was in everyone else’s dishes, so just the things I brought:
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Applications now open for the International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2026! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Apply by January 30: www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci... @evolmtg.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Applications now open for the International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2026! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Apply by January 30: www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci... @evolmtg.bsky.social
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Solidarity with @teamsters.bsky.social , who sanctioned our strike nationwide and won't be delivering food, picking up trash, or bringing packages across picket lines! ✊🔥
#NoContractNoCoffee
#NoContractNoCoffee
November 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Solidarity with @teamsters.bsky.social , who sanctioned our strike nationwide and won't be delivering food, picking up trash, or bringing packages across picket lines! ✊🔥
#NoContractNoCoffee
#NoContractNoCoffee
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
Scoop: Park Service staff at 24 parks and offices are petitioning to unionize. Federal employees at a dozen including Grand Canyon filed for an election today, following staff at a dozen others including Joshua Tree who recently did same www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Parks Service Union Movement Spreads to Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree
Employees in dozens of park units are organizing to fight attempts by the Trump administration to downsize the agency.
www.bloomberg.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Scoop: Park Service staff at 24 parks and offices are petitioning to unionize. Federal employees at a dozen including Grand Canyon filed for an election today, following staff at a dozen others including Joshua Tree who recently did same www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Anya Auerbach
The open secret that Thomas King is not Indigenous at all is finally verified, and honestly it's a relief. Having him just confess this instead of going out kicking and screaming like so many before him causes a LOT less harm to Indigenous communities.
It still sucks though.
It still sucks though.
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The open secret that Thomas King is not Indigenous at all is finally verified, and honestly it's a relief. Having him just confess this instead of going out kicking and screaming like so many before him causes a LOT less harm to Indigenous communities.
It still sucks though.
It still sucks though.