Liam U. Taylor
@liamtaylor.bsky.social
Doherty Postdoc in Biology - Bowdoin College - BSS Kent Island (they/them)
Pinned
Out now in Behavioral Ecology.
We built weigh bridges that allow us automatically to track the energetics of a sensitive, nocturnal seabird. We show how these devices can help answer fundamental questions about parental care.
doi.org/10.1093/behe...
We built weigh bridges that allow us automatically to track the energetics of a sensitive, nocturnal seabird. We show how these devices can help answer fundamental questions about parental care.
doi.org/10.1093/behe...
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
We have a new postdoc position available in the Promislow lab at the HNRCA at #Tufts in #Boston, to work on the #systemsbiology of #aging in #Drosophila. Come join us! For info on the position and to apply, see promislowlab.org/wp-content/u...
promislowlab.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:12 AM
We have a new postdoc position available in the Promislow lab at the HNRCA at #Tufts in #Boston, to work on the #systemsbiology of #aging in #Drosophila. Come join us! For info on the position and to apply, see promislowlab.org/wp-content/u...
Herring gulls respond to the acoustic properties of non-binary person's voice
November 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Herring gulls respond to the acoustic properties of non-binary person's voice
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
circling p-values right below .05 to infer something about the invalidity of inferences (or even research misconduct) is conceptually no different from calling p-values right above the threshold marginally significant. makes no sense to deride one of these practices while upholding the other.
November 23, 2025 at 5:56 PM
circling p-values right below .05 to infer something about the invalidity of inferences (or even research misconduct) is conceptually no different from calling p-values right above the threshold marginally significant. makes no sense to deride one of these practices while upholding the other.
hot take (?): the role of LLMs / genAI in peer reviewing definitely depends on what we think the role of peer review actually is.
current peer review (in eco/evo?) is often focused on smoothness, broadness, etc. for readers unfamiliar with topic. This seems like a great use for LLMs...
current peer review (in eco/evo?) is often focused on smoothness, broadness, etc. for readers unfamiliar with topic. This seems like a great use for LLMs...
November 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
hot take (?): the role of LLMs / genAI in peer reviewing definitely depends on what we think the role of peer review actually is.
current peer review (in eco/evo?) is often focused on smoothness, broadness, etc. for readers unfamiliar with topic. This seems like a great use for LLMs...
current peer review (in eco/evo?) is often focused on smoothness, broadness, etc. for readers unfamiliar with topic. This seems like a great use for LLMs...
@themountaingoats.bsky.social question regarding ttf x f Petey B that would really help me settle an argument (sorry if this is already answered somewhere!)
Is Rocks in my Pockets set earlier in the tracklist than it is in the plot, so to speak?
Is Rocks in my Pockets set earlier in the tracklist than it is in the plot, so to speak?
November 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
@themountaingoats.bsky.social question regarding ttf x f Petey B that would really help me settle an argument (sorry if this is already answered somewhere!)
Is Rocks in my Pockets set earlier in the tracklist than it is in the plot, so to speak?
Is Rocks in my Pockets set earlier in the tracklist than it is in the plot, so to speak?
biology is so rad www.science.org/content/blog...
Reverse Proteolysis, Will You Look At That
www.science.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:25 AM
biology is so rad www.science.org/content/blog...
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Hey everyone! I’m excited to share that one of my thesis projects was just published in @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on phys.org! In this paper, we use an old statistical approach developed by the US Navy in WW2 to predict the aquatic habits of various dinosaurs and marine reptiles 🦖🐊
November 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Hey everyone! I’m excited to share that one of my thesis projects was just published in @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on phys.org! In this paper, we use an old statistical approach developed by the US Navy in WW2 to predict the aquatic habits of various dinosaurs and marine reptiles 🦖🐊
when you think about it, it's a bit odd there are like hundreds of white haired biologists wandering around who spent years obsessed with the idea that a family is not a group 🤣
November 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
when you think about it, it's a bit odd there are like hundreds of white haired biologists wandering around who spent years obsessed with the idea that a family is not a group 🤣
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
The ASN (American Society of Naturalists) is seeking Diversity Committee members! Are you an ASN member? Want to make the EEB community a better place? Like being in Zoom meetings with people who have cute dogs? Consider applying!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
www.amnat.org/announcement...
Join the American Society of Naturalists Diversity Committee!
<p>The ASN Diversity Committee seeks to add 2 new members in January 2026. Applicants <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3q_KL8RfhMULohoDwlD_gg8Lbwk0MqvrAydjeirQA4sJlVw/viewform">shou...
www.amnat.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The ASN (American Society of Naturalists) is seeking Diversity Committee members! Are you an ASN member? Want to make the EEB community a better place? Like being in Zoom meetings with people who have cute dogs? Consider applying!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
www.amnat.org/announcement...
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Can anyone direct me to any theory or studies about how abundance varies on the edge of an expanding species range ?
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
November 19, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Can anyone direct me to any theory or studies about how abundance varies on the edge of an expanding species range ?
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor
Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.
yawak.jp
November 18, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
Can anyone direct me to any theory or studies about how abundance varies on the edge of an expanding species range ?
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
November 19, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Can anyone direct me to any theory or studies about how abundance varies on the edge of an expanding species range ?
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
Does abundance "build up" and then overflow? Smooth across the range? Always a low abundance edge? Etc.
#biogeography #invasivespecies #ecology
More I think cooler it gets. Calling my shot - only present in Sulidae and Pelecanidae due to independent origins of BPM which endows plasticity. Finding source of pigmentation would also be linked to BPM mechanisms.
Still not expected in Charadriiformes w/ BPM because not even anywhere related.
Still not expected in Charadriiformes w/ BPM because not even anywhere related.
More work linking irregular iris pigmentation in gannets to prior HPAI infections: likelihood of NP antibody increased with iris pigment irregularity. Moderate correlations for H5 antibodies.
👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM
More I think cooler it gets. Calling my shot - only present in Sulidae and Pelecanidae due to independent origins of BPM which endows plasticity. Finding source of pigmentation would also be linked to BPM mechanisms.
Still not expected in Charadriiformes w/ BPM because not even anywhere related.
Still not expected in Charadriiformes w/ BPM because not even anywhere related.
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
📢 rphylopic 📦 1.6.0 is now on #CRAN!
- resolve_phylopic() retries failing API calls 🔄
- geom_phylopic()/add_phylopic() work with ggplot2 4.0.0 🪛
- add_phylopic_tree() wraps add_phylopic() for base R trees
- get_phylopic() can get og source files from #PhyloPic 👤
rphylopic.palaeoverse.org
#Rstats
- resolve_phylopic() retries failing API calls 🔄
- geom_phylopic()/add_phylopic() work with ggplot2 4.0.0 🪛
- add_phylopic_tree() wraps add_phylopic() for base R trees
- get_phylopic() can get og source files from #PhyloPic 👤
rphylopic.palaeoverse.org
#Rstats
November 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM
📢 rphylopic 📦 1.6.0 is now on #CRAN!
- resolve_phylopic() retries failing API calls 🔄
- geom_phylopic()/add_phylopic() work with ggplot2 4.0.0 🪛
- add_phylopic_tree() wraps add_phylopic() for base R trees
- get_phylopic() can get og source files from #PhyloPic 👤
rphylopic.palaeoverse.org
#Rstats
- resolve_phylopic() retries failing API calls 🔄
- geom_phylopic()/add_phylopic() work with ggplot2 4.0.0 🪛
- add_phylopic_tree() wraps add_phylopic() for base R trees
- get_phylopic() can get og source files from #PhyloPic 👤
rphylopic.palaeoverse.org
#Rstats
literally tell me why puffin bills are like that, stop joking around, DON'T say thermodynamics man give me the real freaking reason
November 18, 2025 at 6:25 PM
literally tell me why puffin bills are like that, stop joking around, DON'T say thermodynamics man give me the real freaking reason
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
My new big visualization project is out: The Trans News Initiative, a collaboration between UM's School of Communication, the Trans Journalists Association, and Polygraph (The Pudding): transnewsinitiative.org Here's a piece about it in the Columbia Journalism Review: www.cjr.org/news/visuali...
Trans News Initiative
A database and analysis of news coverage affecting trans communities.
transnewsinitiative.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
My new big visualization project is out: The Trans News Initiative, a collaboration between UM's School of Communication, the Trans Journalists Association, and Polygraph (The Pudding): transnewsinitiative.org Here's a piece about it in the Columbia Journalism Review: www.cjr.org/news/visuali...
Figure 1. The evolutionary functions of consciousness (not shown).
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
November 18, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Figure 1. The evolutionary functions of consciousness (not shown).
It's healthy to seal the one hundred thousand infinitesimally small slights I've received permanently into my brain and never let them go, never never ever. That's healthy, right
November 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
It's healthy to seal the one hundred thousand infinitesimally small slights I've received permanently into my brain and never let them go, never never ever. That's healthy, right
Faculty presenting on grad student's work
November 15, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Faculty presenting on grad student's work
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
accepting submissions for people who make some kind of donation again, now and for the next ~51 minutes!
Happy HAD Friday! 2 submission windows today for those who make some kind of donation to a cause! Link will work from 10-11am and 7-8pm Eastern. Where are you donating? havehashad.submittable.com/submit/34166...
November 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
accepting submissions for people who make some kind of donation again, now and for the next ~51 minutes!
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
Fascinating ABA podcast this week, reviewing the life of Roxie Laybourne, an amazing female scientist who “may be the most influential ornithologist you've never heard of”.
#Ornithology
#Ornithology
New episode of the American Birding Podcast!
Smithsonian researcher Roxie Laybourne may be the most influential ornithologist you’ve never heard of. Her incredible life is documented by journalist Chris Sweeney in his new book.
Listen here: www.aba.org/09-46-the-fe...
Smithsonian researcher Roxie Laybourne may be the most influential ornithologist you’ve never heard of. Her incredible life is documented by journalist Chris Sweeney in his new book.
Listen here: www.aba.org/09-46-the-fe...
09-46: The Feather Detective with Chris Sweeney - American Birding Association
www.aba.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Fascinating ABA podcast this week, reviewing the life of Roxie Laybourne, an amazing female scientist who “may be the most influential ornithologist you've never heard of”.
#Ornithology
#Ornithology
Reposted by Liam U. Taylor
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
some consider this a hot take, but I think seabird conservation biologists should kill rats rather than seabirds!
Yay Isle of Muck! 💙
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Yay Isle of Muck! 💙
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Puffins: Isle of Muck comeback 'proves restoration works'
Puffins have been seen on the Isle of Muck off Antrim for the first time in at least 25 years
www.bbc.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
some consider this a hot take, but I think seabird conservation biologists should kill rats rather than seabirds!
Yay Isle of Muck! 💙
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Yay Isle of Muck! 💙
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"Nature, red in tooth and claw"
are you dumb, nature is green ?
are you dumb, nature is green ?
November 14, 2025 at 2:51 PM
"Nature, red in tooth and claw"
are you dumb, nature is green ?
are you dumb, nature is green ?