Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration
@lifesciencestudios.bsky.social
Custom illustrations for biologists by Julie Johnson. • #sciart #scicomm • species paintings • scientific diagrams • figure design for ecologists and evolutionary biologists • www.lifesciencestudios.com
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Hello ecologists and evolutionary biologists! I work with scientists to transform discoveries into beautiful, accurate, publication-ready figures. Get in touch if you want custom illustrations for your next paper.
Check out www.lifesciencestudios.com to explore services and get started!
#🐡 #🧪
Check out www.lifesciencestudios.com to explore services and get started!
#🐡 #🧪
Check out the recent publication in Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics where the authors explore genomic species delimitation in depth. You'll see a number of #sciart figures I created to help explain some of the concepts!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Check out the recent publication in Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics where the authors explore genomic species delimitation in depth. You'll see a number of #sciart figures I created to help explain some of the concepts!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
New lab logo just dropped!
@michaelgbertram.bsky.social's lab studies how chemical pollution disrupts animal behavior, using Atlantic salmon and European perch in much of their research. The logo needed to showcase study organisms with an ecotoxicology twist. Enjoy your new lab logo, Bertram Lab!
@michaelgbertram.bsky.social's lab studies how chemical pollution disrupts animal behavior, using Atlantic salmon and European perch in much of their research. The logo needed to showcase study organisms with an ecotoxicology twist. Enjoy your new lab logo, Bertram Lab!
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
New lab logo just dropped!
@michaelgbertram.bsky.social's lab studies how chemical pollution disrupts animal behavior, using Atlantic salmon and European perch in much of their research. The logo needed to showcase study organisms with an ecotoxicology twist. Enjoy your new lab logo, Bertram Lab!
@michaelgbertram.bsky.social's lab studies how chemical pollution disrupts animal behavior, using Atlantic salmon and European perch in much of their research. The logo needed to showcase study organisms with an ecotoxicology twist. Enjoy your new lab logo, Bertram Lab!
Gobies big and small. Not just small…. teeny tiny!
I painted 6 gobies, 3 of them not even an inch long, for this paper about the evolution of miniaturization. (To be clear, the fish are tiny, but the paintings are not.)
Big congratulations to @fishfetisher.bsky.social and colleagues.
🐡🐟🧪
I painted 6 gobies, 3 of them not even an inch long, for this paper about the evolution of miniaturization. (To be clear, the fish are tiny, but the paintings are not.)
Big congratulations to @fishfetisher.bsky.social and colleagues.
🐡🐟🧪
October 23, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Gobies big and small. Not just small…. teeny tiny!
I painted 6 gobies, 3 of them not even an inch long, for this paper about the evolution of miniaturization. (To be clear, the fish are tiny, but the paintings are not.)
Big congratulations to @fishfetisher.bsky.social and colleagues.
🐡🐟🧪
I painted 6 gobies, 3 of them not even an inch long, for this paper about the evolution of miniaturization. (To be clear, the fish are tiny, but the paintings are not.)
Big congratulations to @fishfetisher.bsky.social and colleagues.
🐡🐟🧪
Yellowfin tuna get his fins painted. This fish is built for speed!
🐡🐟
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October 23, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Yellowfin tuna get his fins painted. This fish is built for speed!
🐡🐟
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Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration
We find that miniaturization has evolved multiple times in gobies! It is especially prominent within the dwarfgobies (Eviota spp.), pygmygobies (Trimma spp.) and the infantfishes (Schindleria spp.). Shoutout to @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social for providing these beautiful goby illustrations!
October 22, 2025 at 9:38 PM
We find that miniaturization has evolved multiple times in gobies! It is especially prominent within the dwarfgobies (Eviota spp.), pygmygobies (Trimma spp.) and the infantfishes (Schindleria spp.). Shoutout to @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social for providing these beautiful goby illustrations!
Who is on my desk today? A shark mackerel!
This shiny #fish lives off the north coast of Australia. Unlike his living counterparts, who are busy in the ocean eating little fish, this guy will help scientists communicate their research by adorning scientific figures. Which is also an important job.
This shiny #fish lives off the north coast of Australia. Unlike his living counterparts, who are busy in the ocean eating little fish, this guy will help scientists communicate their research by adorning scientific figures. Which is also an important job.
October 20, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Who is on my desk today? A shark mackerel!
This shiny #fish lives off the north coast of Australia. Unlike his living counterparts, who are busy in the ocean eating little fish, this guy will help scientists communicate their research by adorning scientific figures. Which is also an important job.
This shiny #fish lives off the north coast of Australia. Unlike his living counterparts, who are busy in the ocean eating little fish, this guy will help scientists communicate their research by adorning scientific figures. Which is also an important job.
What do you mean, as big as a car!?
Manta rays and devil rays are caught as bycatch in tuna fisheries, and releasing them back into the ocean is like trying to lift a car off the deck of a boat. How can this be done to maximize the likelihood that the manta ray survives the ordeal?
🧪 #conservation
Manta rays and devil rays are caught as bycatch in tuna fisheries, and releasing them back into the ocean is like trying to lift a car off the deck of a boat. How can this be done to maximize the likelihood that the manta ray survives the ordeal?
🧪 #conservation
October 14, 2025 at 9:24 AM
What do you mean, as big as a car!?
Manta rays and devil rays are caught as bycatch in tuna fisheries, and releasing them back into the ocean is like trying to lift a car off the deck of a boat. How can this be done to maximize the likelihood that the manta ray survives the ordeal?
🧪 #conservation
Manta rays and devil rays are caught as bycatch in tuna fisheries, and releasing them back into the ocean is like trying to lift a car off the deck of a boat. How can this be done to maximize the likelihood that the manta ray survives the ordeal?
🧪 #conservation
Gathering guppies! 🐟 🐟 🐟
The figures I create often include a mix of illustrated conceptual elements with data. This figure needed to show how guppy shoaling behavior upstream (no predators) and downstream (predators) differed, and how those differences lead to parasite transmission.
🧪🐡
The figures I create often include a mix of illustrated conceptual elements with data. This figure needed to show how guppy shoaling behavior upstream (no predators) and downstream (predators) differed, and how those differences lead to parasite transmission.
🧪🐡
October 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Gathering guppies! 🐟 🐟 🐟
The figures I create often include a mix of illustrated conceptual elements with data. This figure needed to show how guppy shoaling behavior upstream (no predators) and downstream (predators) differed, and how those differences lead to parasite transmission.
🧪🐡
The figures I create often include a mix of illustrated conceptual elements with data. This figure needed to show how guppy shoaling behavior upstream (no predators) and downstream (predators) differed, and how those differences lead to parasite transmission.
🧪🐡
Just finished @maryroach.bsky.social new book Replaceable You and the Epilogue really got to me. Our loved one got a kidney transplant two weeks ago, and it’s awful to think of all the life saving research that has been halted by the current administration’s NIH and science funding cuts. 💔
September 26, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Just finished @maryroach.bsky.social new book Replaceable You and the Epilogue really got to me. Our loved one got a kidney transplant two weeks ago, and it’s awful to think of all the life saving research that has been halted by the current administration’s NIH and science funding cuts. 💔
I thought it might be fun to show you a little behind the scenes of creating a fish scientific illustration from sketch to painting to publication.
🐟 🐡 #evolutionarybiology #thereisnofrogfishemoji
🐟 🐡 #evolutionarybiology #thereisnofrogfishemoji
September 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
I thought it might be fun to show you a little behind the scenes of creating a fish scientific illustration from sketch to painting to publication.
🐟 🐡 #evolutionarybiology #thereisnofrogfishemoji
🐟 🐡 #evolutionarybiology #thereisnofrogfishemoji
When creating fish illustrations, it is very important to have a sleeping cat on your desk. Across the middle of the desk is the ideal positioning.
September 25, 2025 at 7:29 AM
When creating fish illustrations, it is very important to have a sleeping cat on your desk. Across the middle of the desk is the ideal positioning.
Have you considered using an illustrated poster for outreach?
That's just what @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social did. We created 5 posters about the ISC's mission, Virginia invasive species, and the impacts of invasive species on economics, environment, and health.
Visit: tinyurl.com/mr9s93a3 🐡 🧪
That's just what @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social did. We created 5 posters about the ISC's mission, Virginia invasive species, and the impacts of invasive species on economics, environment, and health.
Visit: tinyurl.com/mr9s93a3 🐡 🧪
Illustrated outreach: Posters as Tools for Invasive Species Awareness
Even in a digital age, posters remain one of the most effective and accessible tools for bringing community awareness of environmental issues. The Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech...
www.lifesciencestudios.com
September 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Have you considered using an illustrated poster for outreach?
That's just what @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social did. We created 5 posters about the ISC's mission, Virginia invasive species, and the impacts of invasive species on economics, environment, and health.
Visit: tinyurl.com/mr9s93a3 🐡 🧪
That's just what @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social did. We created 5 posters about the ISC's mission, Virginia invasive species, and the impacts of invasive species on economics, environment, and health.
Visit: tinyurl.com/mr9s93a3 🐡 🧪
Hey ecologists and evolutionary biologists!
Is this you? ➡️ "This concept is way too complicated to show in a way reviewers and readers will understand"
Ask for help! Life Science Studios is here to create engaging figures that clearly explain your research.
🧪 #academicsky #evolutionarybiology
Is this you? ➡️ "This concept is way too complicated to show in a way reviewers and readers will understand"
Ask for help! Life Science Studios is here to create engaging figures that clearly explain your research.
🧪 #academicsky #evolutionarybiology
September 15, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Hey ecologists and evolutionary biologists!
Is this you? ➡️ "This concept is way too complicated to show in a way reviewers and readers will understand"
Ask for help! Life Science Studios is here to create engaging figures that clearly explain your research.
🧪 #academicsky #evolutionarybiology
Is this you? ➡️ "This concept is way too complicated to show in a way reviewers and readers will understand"
Ask for help! Life Science Studios is here to create engaging figures that clearly explain your research.
🧪 #academicsky #evolutionarybiology
September 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
You share this crazy wild world with manta rays. And maybe you'd like to wear a T-shirt that reminds you of that fact!
Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html if you want more mantas in your life. A portion of sales supports the Mobula Conservation Project.
#mantaray 🐡 #marineconservation
Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html if you want more mantas in your life. A portion of sales supports the Mobula Conservation Project.
#mantaray 🐡 #marineconservation
September 12, 2025 at 1:55 PM
You share this crazy wild world with manta rays. And maybe you'd like to wear a T-shirt that reminds you of that fact!
Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html if you want more mantas in your life. A portion of sales supports the Mobula Conservation Project.
#mantaray 🐡 #marineconservation
Visit www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html if you want more mantas in your life. A portion of sales supports the Mobula Conservation Project.
#mantaray 🐡 #marineconservation
This is the cutest thing I’ve seen!
It is great to see Mackenzie Gerringer's taxonomic work, describing a fish we collected from 3800 meters, featured in the @nytimes.com. We tried to spin this story to combat the blobfish's "ugliest creature" reputation, to get people excited by deep-sea exploration, not turned away. 🧪🦑
September 9, 2025 at 7:42 AM
This is the cutest thing I’ve seen!
Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration
✨Starting on Monday!✨
#SciArtSeptember is a month-long creative challenge inspired by natural sciences. 🌿
Post on your own schedule.
Post new work, old work, work-in-progress.
Post artwork, music, words - whatever you like to make. (Thematic baked goods?🤞)
-
#SciArt #SciComm #Nature
#SciArtSeptember is a month-long creative challenge inspired by natural sciences. 🌿
Post on your own schedule.
Post new work, old work, work-in-progress.
Post artwork, music, words - whatever you like to make. (Thematic baked goods?🤞)
-
#SciArt #SciComm #Nature
August 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
✨Starting on Monday!✨
#SciArtSeptember is a month-long creative challenge inspired by natural sciences. 🌿
Post on your own schedule.
Post new work, old work, work-in-progress.
Post artwork, music, words - whatever you like to make. (Thematic baked goods?🤞)
-
#SciArt #SciComm #Nature
#SciArtSeptember is a month-long creative challenge inspired by natural sciences. 🌿
Post on your own schedule.
Post new work, old work, work-in-progress.
Post artwork, music, words - whatever you like to make. (Thematic baked goods?🤞)
-
#SciArt #SciComm #Nature
Species paintings can really enhance your figures. There are real organisms underlying your data, and they are such beautiful organisms!
Adding images of your study species can help your audience instantly understand what your work is about.
🐡 🧪 #scientificillustration
Adding images of your study species can help your audience instantly understand what your work is about.
🐡 🧪 #scientificillustration
August 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Species paintings can really enhance your figures. There are real organisms underlying your data, and they are such beautiful organisms!
Adding images of your study species can help your audience instantly understand what your work is about.
🐡 🧪 #scientificillustration
Adding images of your study species can help your audience instantly understand what your work is about.
🐡 🧪 #scientificillustration
Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration
@chasedbrownstein.bsky.social @tjnear.bsky.social et al. reveal that amblyopsid fishes colonized caves at least four times from ancestors adapted to low-light environments, and use genomic data to infer ages of subterranean ecosystems in N. America.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf185
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf185
#evobio #molbio
Convergent Evolution in Amblyopsid Cavefishes and the Age of Eastern North American Subterranean Ecosystems
Abstract. Genomes provide tools for reconstructing organismal evolution and larger Earth system processes. Although genome sequences have been jointly anal
doi.org
August 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
@chasedbrownstein.bsky.social @tjnear.bsky.social et al. reveal that amblyopsid fishes colonized caves at least four times from ancestors adapted to low-light environments, and use genomic data to infer ages of subterranean ecosystems in N. America.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf185
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf185
#evobio #molbio
August 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Who is on my desk today? A yellow perch, Perca flavescens! This guy was the perfect excuse to use my gold-green paint, which is practically neon.
#sciart #scientificillustration #fishart
#sciart #scientificillustration #fishart
August 18, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Who is on my desk today? A yellow perch, Perca flavescens! This guy was the perfect excuse to use my gold-green paint, which is practically neon.
#sciart #scientificillustration #fishart
#sciart #scientificillustration #fishart
Painting brings me closer to the incredible organisms of the world. In creating these paintings of manta rays and devil rays, I got to spend time looking closely at them and learning more about their biology, behavior, and the threats they face.
🐡 #marinelife
🐡 #marinelife
August 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Painting brings me closer to the incredible organisms of the world. In creating these paintings of manta rays and devil rays, I got to spend time looking closely at them and learning more about their biology, behavior, and the threats they face.
🐡 #marinelife
🐡 #marinelife
Just a pic of my bestie beating the summer heat with her new manta ray water bottle.
Manta and devil rays need our help! For every sale of gear featuring my watercolor ray paintings, I will donate 20% to my friends at Mobula Conservation Project.
Get yours at www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html
Manta and devil rays need our help! For every sale of gear featuring my watercolor ray paintings, I will donate 20% to my friends at Mobula Conservation Project.
Get yours at www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html
August 14, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Just a pic of my bestie beating the summer heat with her new manta ray water bottle.
Manta and devil rays need our help! For every sale of gear featuring my watercolor ray paintings, I will donate 20% to my friends at Mobula Conservation Project.
Get yours at www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html
Manta and devil rays need our help! For every sale of gear featuring my watercolor ray paintings, I will donate 20% to my friends at Mobula Conservation Project.
Get yours at www.lifesciencestudios.com/shop.html
This is the look I get when I am 2 minutes late to work.
August 13, 2025 at 5:58 AM
This is the look I get when I am 2 minutes late to work.
Reposted by Life Science Studios - Scientific Illustration
1/16 🚨🚨 New paper!! I am thrilled to share our study that uses fossils, genomes, and a bit of geology to investigate how many times cavefishes evolved, and how they can help us figure out the ages of caves themselves! Link: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
August 9, 2025 at 12:56 AM
1/16 🚨🚨 New paper!! I am thrilled to share our study that uses fossils, genomes, and a bit of geology to investigate how many times cavefishes evolved, and how they can help us figure out the ages of caves themselves! Link: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...