David Bapst
@dwbapst.bsky.social
Paleontologist, Graptolite Geek, R Programmer, creator of paleotree, Tabletop Roleplaying Game Nerd, Catcher of Pokémon, faculty senator. All comments are my trash opinion alone.
Pinned
David Bapst
@dwbapst.bsky.social
· Sep 10
You know what happens when you don’t have a faculty senate? In a crisis, there is no one to ask questions — even to give illusion of holding anyone responsible — so misinformation spreads like wildfire among faculty & students, admin aren’t believed, and no one else has authority to clarify facts.
Reposted by David Bapst
You know what happens when you don’t have a faculty senate? In a crisis, there is no one to ask questions — even to give illusion of holding anyone responsible — so misinformation spreads like wildfire among faculty & students, admin aren’t believed, and no one else has authority to clarify facts.
September 10, 2025 at 11:42 AM
You know what happens when you don’t have a faculty senate? In a crisis, there is no one to ask questions — even to give illusion of holding anyone responsible — so misinformation spreads like wildfire among faculty & students, admin aren’t believed, and no one else has authority to clarify facts.
Reposted by David Bapst
Reboosting for weekday folks. Hopefully useful for high school guidance counselors, students looking for grad programs, faculty wanting to see how their campus works, etc
I updated collegetables.info with latest IPEDS data, also added visualizations on graduation rates and "demographic cliff."
Check also the naive Bayesian #rstats collegetables.info/predict.html page that may help students find good options.
All free, open source, etc.
Check also the naive Bayesian #rstats collegetables.info/predict.html page that may help students find good options.
All free, open source, etc.
November 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reboosting for weekday folks. Hopefully useful for high school guidance counselors, students looking for grad programs, faculty wanting to see how their campus works, etc
Reposted by David Bapst
Mood, by noonsillustrations on IG.
November 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Mood, by noonsillustrations on IG.
Reposted by David Bapst
Check out this new paper in Systematic Biology! Aside from the author list including leaders in the field who happen to be some of my favorite scientists, this paper discusses * both * phylogeny inference incorporating continuous characters AND dicynodont evolution. How cool is that? 🧪
Incorporating continuous characters in joint estimation of dicynodont phylogeny
Abstract. Continuous characters have received comparatively little attention in Bayesian phylogenetic estimation. This is predominantly because they cannot
academic.oup.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Check out this new paper in Systematic Biology! Aside from the author list including leaders in the field who happen to be some of my favorite scientists, this paper discusses * both * phylogeny inference incorporating continuous characters AND dicynodont evolution. How cool is that? 🧪
Reposted by David Bapst
Need a free-to-read preprint? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Need a free-to-read preprint? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by David Bapst
Interested in using continuous traits for phylogenetic estimation? We took a hard look at this in a well-studied clade. There’s a lot of promise to these data, but still much work to do to be able to make full use of them
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
Validate User
doi.org
November 14, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Interested in using continuous traits for phylogenetic estimation? We took a hard look at this in a well-studied clade. There’s a lot of promise to these data, but still much work to do to be able to make full use of them
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
Reposted by David Bapst
Happy partially muscled skeleton screaming before vanishing day to all those who celebrate.
November 14, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Happy partially muscled skeleton screaming before vanishing day to all those who celebrate.
Reposted by David Bapst
Reminder that my lab is seeking graduate students for fall 2026. As part of @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, my lab uses a combination of fossils, statistical phylogenetics, fieldwork, & computational approaches to investigate macroevolutionary dynamics in the marine biosphere. Link w/ more info below:
November 12, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reminder that my lab is seeking graduate students for fall 2026. As part of @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, my lab uses a combination of fossils, statistical phylogenetics, fieldwork, & computational approaches to investigate macroevolutionary dynamics in the marine biosphere. Link w/ more info below:
Reposted by David Bapst
Want to do a PhD linking palaeontology, ecological modelling and polar ecosystems? Look no further than this NERC GW4+ DLTP funded project with @rowanwhittlebas.bsky.social at @bas.ac.uk & @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and others (inc me).
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Want to do a PhD linking palaeontology, ecological modelling and polar ecosystems? Look no further than this NERC GW4+ DLTP funded project with @rowanwhittlebas.bsky.social at @bas.ac.uk & @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and others (inc me).
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
Reposted by David Bapst
Reposted by David Bapst
Of course the pro-mollusc crowd wants to claim victory in spite of their absolutely devastating defeat at the hands of their bivalved enemies (or ships that pass in the night[?]), but we all know the real winner of the Clash-of-the-Clades was a brachiopod-loving vertebrate who sure loves fossils 😂
The winner of the 2025 @paleosoc.bsky.social Clash-of-the Clades was...
@sethf.bsky.social !
But Mollusks took "Most Money Raised;"
From a mollusk worker, good to see that both these important groups for modern paleobiology got to shine in their own way!
#molluskmonday #paleontology #fossils
@sethf.bsky.social !
But Mollusks took "Most Money Raised;"
From a mollusk worker, good to see that both these important groups for modern paleobiology got to shine in their own way!
#molluskmonday #paleontology #fossils
November 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Of course the pro-mollusc crowd wants to claim victory in spite of their absolutely devastating defeat at the hands of their bivalved enemies (or ships that pass in the night[?]), but we all know the real winner of the Clash-of-the-Clades was a brachiopod-loving vertebrate who sure loves fossils 😂
(Taps the sign, in an urgent fashion)
You know what happens when you don’t have a faculty senate? In a crisis, there is no one to ask questions — even to give illusion of holding anyone responsible — so misinformation spreads like wildfire among faculty & students, admin aren’t believed, and no one else has authority to clarify facts.
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 PM
(Taps the sign, in an urgent fashion)
Reposted by David Bapst
This is important!
Texas AAUP-AFT Calls on the Texas A&M University System Not to Muzzle Faculty, Students in the Classroom ‣ Texas AFT
This week, the Texas A&M System Board of Regents will vote on whether or not to add severe restrictions on academic freedom and freedom of expression that would codify institutional censorship of curriculum and classroom discussions.
www.texasaft.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This is important!
Reposted by David Bapst
November 9, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by David Bapst
I *literally* had some construction workers tell me my flat tire on a mountain road in WY last summer was because of DEI.
It was the dumbest fuckin' thing I had ever heard with my own two ears
(the installer was some 19 year old white kid in Laramie btw)
It was the dumbest fuckin' thing I had ever heard with my own two ears
(the installer was some 19 year old white kid in Laramie btw)
Obama: "They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and blame DEI for every problem under the sun. You got a flat tire? Must be DEI. Your wife kicked you out? DEI. Who knew?"
November 2, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I *literally* had some construction workers tell me my flat tire on a mountain road in WY last summer was because of DEI.
It was the dumbest fuckin' thing I had ever heard with my own two ears
(the installer was some 19 year old white kid in Laramie btw)
It was the dumbest fuckin' thing I had ever heard with my own two ears
(the installer was some 19 year old white kid in Laramie btw)
Reposted by David Bapst
TARDIGRADE ON A BUILDING
We are our best when we collaborate. 🧪🦠🔬🧬🌍🍄
This mural about the invisible #soil #biodiversity in Moers(🇩🇪) resulted from the collaboration between my friend Dr. Arne Schwelm, the people from sci:moers and the Stiftung für Umwelt und Entwicklung under the artistic direction of #cokyone.
This mural about the invisible #soil #biodiversity in Moers(🇩🇪) resulted from the collaboration between my friend Dr. Arne Schwelm, the people from sci:moers and the Stiftung für Umwelt und Entwicklung under the artistic direction of #cokyone.
November 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
TARDIGRADE ON A BUILDING
What the heck is a dead ball????
November 1, 2025 at 3:11 AM
What the heck is a dead ball????
Reposted by David Bapst
Catching up #Paleoctober2025 days 25, 26, 27 with paleoart sketches of Cambropachycope, Sphenacodon, and Cyrtograptus.
#Paleoctober #Paleoart #Cambropachycope #Sphenacodon #Cyrtograptus
#Paleoctober #Paleoart #Cambropachycope #Sphenacodon #Cyrtograptus
October 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Catching up #Paleoctober2025 days 25, 26, 27 with paleoart sketches of Cambropachycope, Sphenacodon, and Cyrtograptus.
#Paleoctober #Paleoart #Cambropachycope #Sphenacodon #Cyrtograptus
#Paleoctober #Paleoart #Cambropachycope #Sphenacodon #Cyrtograptus
Reposted by David Bapst
A PhD opportunity to work with me, @spissatella.bsky.social and our friends through CENTA - biogeography and vulnerability of exploited bivalves, with possible spin-offs about fishery sustainability and environmental economics: centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
2026-B19 Marine biodiversity and its future under environmental changes and exploitation – CENTA
centa.ac.uk
October 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM
A PhD opportunity to work with me, @spissatella.bsky.social and our friends through CENTA - biogeography and vulnerability of exploited bivalves, with possible spin-offs about fishery sustainability and environmental economics: centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
Reposted by David Bapst
"I AM THE ANTLERS ON THE STAG OF STATE" goes so hard
Full comic here: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/signal-4 #smbc
October 21, 2025 at 12:42 AM
"I AM THE ANTLERS ON THE STAG OF STATE" goes so hard
Reposted by David Bapst
Reposted by David Bapst
Love you Chicago!
October 18, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Love you Chicago!
Reposted by David Bapst
I’m really happy to see Kat’s first dissertation chapter published! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Global evolutionary relationships of Devonian proetide trilobites | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core
Global evolutionary relationships of Devonian proetide trilobites
www.cambridge.org
October 18, 2025 at 5:06 AM
I’m really happy to see Kat’s first dissertation chapter published! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by David Bapst
