Tom Iwanicki
@iwanicki.bsky.social
Visual ecologist studying light and vision on the high seas. Opinions my own.
🐟🪼🐦
tomiwanicki.com
🐟🪼🐦
tomiwanicki.com
If you've spent much time at the beach, you may be familiar with plastic debris washing ashore. Is it dangerous? Colleagues @oceanconservancy.org have developed a risk assessment framework for mortality due to plastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals & sea turtles 📝 www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
November 20, 2025 at 6:09 PM
If you've spent much time at the beach, you may be familiar with plastic debris washing ashore. Is it dangerous? Colleagues @oceanconservancy.org have developed a risk assessment framework for mortality due to plastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals & sea turtles 📝 www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
But are they really By-the-”WIND”? We looked at the coast of Portugal which experienced episodic strandings of lefties and righties. Under wind conditions where we predict more left- or right-handed sailor strandings, we did in fact observe that, so the wind is the likely culprit. So, altogether...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
But are they really By-the-”WIND”? We looked at the coast of Portugal which experienced episodic strandings of lefties and righties. Under wind conditions where we predict more left- or right-handed sailor strandings, we did in fact observe that, so the wind is the likely culprit. So, altogether...
We used genetics to test whether lefties and righties are members of the same species and/or distinct populations. When comparing lefties and righties that found together on the North Carolina coast & lefties from Monterey Bay California, we found that sail direction came from a mixed population...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
We used genetics to test whether lefties and righties are members of the same species and/or distinct populations. When comparing lefties and righties that found together on the North Carolina coast & lefties from Monterey Bay California, we found that sail direction came from a mixed population...
Answer this age-old question. Using ~11,000 photos from @inaturalist.bsky.social and 300 samples in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre from two sea-going expeditions, we found proportionally more lefties ashore in the North, more righties in the South, and righties concentrated inside the gyre...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Answer this age-old question. Using ~11,000 photos from @inaturalist.bsky.social and 300 samples in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre from two sea-going expeditions, we found proportionally more lefties ashore in the North, more righties in the South, and righties concentrated inside the gyre...
Until the trail ran dry... R. Bieri saw merit in A.I. Savilov’s hypothesis, but because data was scarce (& the high seas are hard to study!) he concluded that the mystery remained. Now decades later, we combined community (citizen) science with advances in genetics and oceanography to...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Until the trail ran dry... R. Bieri saw merit in A.I. Savilov’s hypothesis, but because data was scarce (& the high seas are hard to study!) he concluded that the mystery remained. Now decades later, we combined community (citizen) science with advances in genetics and oceanography to...
Savilov thought that in the Northern Hemisphere, left-handed sailors would be blown outside of gyres toward the coastline and right-handed sailors would concentrate inside gyres; the opposite being true in the Southern Hemisphere. Through the 1960s...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Savilov thought that in the Northern Hemisphere, left-handed sailors would be blown outside of gyres toward the coastline and right-handed sailors would concentrate inside gyres; the opposite being true in the Southern Hemisphere. Through the 1960s...
By-the-wind sailor are a spiraling mystery. They have a fleshy rigid sail that points to the left or right. Lefties go left and righties go right relative to the wind. This led a Soviet scientist, A.I. Savilov, to predict that sail direction had something to do with their global distribution...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
By-the-wind sailor are a spiraling mystery. They have a fleshy rigid sail that points to the left or right. Lefties go left and righties go right relative to the wind. This led a Soviet scientist, A.I. Savilov, to predict that sail direction had something to do with their global distribution...
100 years! By-the-wind sailor, or Velella velella, have dazzled and perplexed beachgoers for ages. Their episodic strandings on beaches around the globe bring a high seas mystery and a potpourri of ocean stink, as immortalized in this account from April, 1902 in the journal Nature...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
100 years! By-the-wind sailor, or Velella velella, have dazzled and perplexed beachgoers for ages. Their episodic strandings on beaches around the globe bring a high seas mystery and a potpourri of ocean stink, as immortalized in this account from April, 1902 in the journal Nature...
Dazzling! Look at the twinkly iridescence of a ctenophore at ca. 5,000 m deep just above a vast expanse of polymetallic nodules. Tune in to EV Nautilus Live to see stunning critters & listen to the crew rank the food they are missing while at sea
October 16, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Dazzling! Look at the twinkly iridescence of a ctenophore at ca. 5,000 m deep just above a vast expanse of polymetallic nodules. Tune in to EV Nautilus Live to see stunning critters & listen to the crew rank the food they are missing while at sea
Perdido Key! Looks like there are seven iNat observations from that beautiful stretch of beach, mostly teeny tiny left-handed sailors 🥹
Sailor sting doe not typically effect us, we're too thick skinned, but if you were a wayward copepod on the other hand... steer clear!
Sailor sting doe not typically effect us, we're too thick skinned, but if you were a wayward copepod on the other hand... steer clear!
October 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Perdido Key! Looks like there are seven iNat observations from that beautiful stretch of beach, mostly teeny tiny left-handed sailors 🥹
Sailor sting doe not typically effect us, we're too thick skinned, but if you were a wayward copepod on the other hand... steer clear!
Sailor sting doe not typically effect us, we're too thick skinned, but if you were a wayward copepod on the other hand... steer clear!
Sometimes the photos proved challenging for Zooniverse volunteers to decipher, due in part to the angle of photography, whether debris obscured the sailor, too many sailors photographed, or even other species photobombing; all of these offer insight for gathering good data. Overall...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Sometimes the photos proved challenging for Zooniverse volunteers to decipher, due in part to the angle of photography, whether debris obscured the sailor, too many sailors photographed, or even other species photobombing; all of these offer insight for gathering good data. Overall...
With the power of community science: literally thousands of people from around the world, we were able to gather a heaps of data from the iNaturalist observations spanning the entire planet to tackle this decades old hypothesis...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
With the power of community science: literally thousands of people from around the world, we were able to gather a heaps of data from the iNaturalist observations spanning the entire planet to tackle this decades old hypothesis...
That the sail direction was key for by-the-wind sailor’s global distribution. In the Northern Hemisphere, based on wind and currents, lefties are pushed out towards the coast and righties are concentrated inside oceanic gyres, with the opposite pattern in the South...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
That the sail direction was key for by-the-wind sailor’s global distribution. In the Northern Hemisphere, based on wind and currents, lefties are pushed out towards the coast and righties are concentrated inside oceanic gyres, with the opposite pattern in the South...
By-the-wind sailor are a spiraling mystery: the sail can either point to the left or to the right and this has puzzled scientists for more than a century. What is known: lefties move to the left of the wind, righties move to the right. In the 1950s a Soviet scientist named A.I. Savilov predicted...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
By-the-wind sailor are a spiraling mystery: the sail can either point to the left or to the right and this has puzzled scientists for more than a century. What is known: lefties move to the left of the wind, righties move to the right. In the 1950s a Soviet scientist named A.I. Savilov predicted...
By-the-wind sailors are cataloged: what, when, where... all around the globe! Right now iNat has more than 18,000 sailor observations! This treasure trove of data allowed us to...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
By-the-wind sailors are cataloged: what, when, where... all around the globe! Right now iNat has more than 18,000 sailor observations! This treasure trove of data allowed us to...
The wind blows *just right* countless sailors wash ashore within the gaze of people enjoying a walk on the beach. A numbers game: Some of those beach-goers have their phone in their pocket, some of those phones have...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
The wind blows *just right* countless sailors wash ashore within the gaze of people enjoying a walk on the beach. A numbers game: Some of those beach-goers have their phone in their pocket, some of those phones have...
Excitedly snapped this photo of the sand beneath my feet. That is an experience I - a greying and sun burnt marine biologist - share with literally thousands of people around the world! By-the-wind sailor are beautiful blue jelly like animals that drift by the wind and waves, and when...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Excitedly snapped this photo of the sand beneath my feet. That is an experience I - a greying and sun burnt marine biologist - share with literally thousands of people around the world! By-the-wind sailor are beautiful blue jelly like animals that drift by the wind and waves, and when...
Kailua Beach, Hawai’i: The first time I laid eyes on a By-the-wind sailor, I stopped dead in my tracks, dusted the sand off my hands, grabbed my iphone and...
October 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Kailua Beach, Hawai’i: The first time I laid eyes on a By-the-wind sailor, I stopped dead in my tracks, dusted the sand off my hands, grabbed my iphone and...
In the cacophony of crap news, I recalled seeing this lil' bug. A good reminder that nature is beautiful. Here's a female Sylvan jumping spider, clearly dazzled (or maybe pissed off) at the spider-like eyes of my iphone cameras. Pick an issue, get involved, AND pay attention to the beauty all around
July 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
In the cacophony of crap news, I recalled seeing this lil' bug. A good reminder that nature is beautiful. Here's a female Sylvan jumping spider, clearly dazzled (or maybe pissed off) at the spider-like eyes of my iphone cameras. Pick an issue, get involved, AND pay attention to the beauty all around
Janthina! The violet colour is so striking in person. They also have counter shading on their shell presumably for camouflage - here's a couple from my camera roll from O'ahu, Hawai'i. I appreciate the neuston love lately there is so much hidden on the surface 👀
July 23, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Janthina! The violet colour is so striking in person. They also have counter shading on their shell presumably for camouflage - here's a couple from my camera roll from O'ahu, Hawai'i. I appreciate the neuston love lately there is so much hidden on the surface 👀
Just called the at-large council members of DC to urge them to fully implement initiative-82, the phase-out of a tipped minimum wage supported by almost 80% of DC voters! As a treat, here is a pair of ship wrecks: a By-the-wind sailor run aground next to the Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Astoria, OR
July 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Just called the at-large council members of DC to urge them to fully implement initiative-82, the phase-out of a tipped minimum wage supported by almost 80% of DC voters! As a treat, here is a pair of ship wrecks: a By-the-wind sailor run aground next to the Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Astoria, OR
Feeling very ‘watching cspan at 1:20am’ here is a gorgeous Portuguese man-o-war I recently saw on the Gulf of Mexico to cleanse the tl
July 3, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Feeling very ‘watching cspan at 1:20am’ here is a gorgeous Portuguese man-o-war I recently saw on the Gulf of Mexico to cleanse the tl
Looking at NYC from Mayor Bowserʻs DC
June 25, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Looking at NYC from Mayor Bowserʻs DC
The general public:
February 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The general public:
Damn @ekkoastral.bsky.social closing the night with i90 had me in tears. The whole night was a celebration of trans brilliance. So many emotions were swirling in the mascara mosh pit. Truly the best night of live music and a balm for these troubled times.
February 16, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Damn @ekkoastral.bsky.social closing the night with i90 had me in tears. The whole night was a celebration of trans brilliance. So many emotions were swirling in the mascara mosh pit. Truly the best night of live music and a balm for these troubled times.