Megan Barkdull
@meganbarkdull.bsky.social
Assistant Curator of Entomology @nhm.org | insects, genomes, museums | @cornelluniversity.bsky.social & New College of Florida alumna | she/her.
Pinned
Megan Barkdull
@meganbarkdull.bsky.social
· Mar 17
Entomologist Megan Barkdull curates a world-class insect collection but she got her start through federally-funded science programs — like those that teach Florida’s kids about wildlife from the Everglades 🐊 to the coasts. Now, that funding is at risk. 🧪🏠
@meganbarkdull.bsky.social
@meganbarkdull.bsky.social
Commentary: Federal science funding fuels education, STEM careers
A science museum curator who grew up in Orlando talks about how federal science funding fueled her own life journey and so many others.
www.orlandosentinel.com
Proud to share my story and advocate for federal science funding in my hometown paper, the @orlandosentinel.com.
I hope you'll join me in calling our elected officials to prevent devastating cuts to the NSF, NIH, and now other agencies like the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
I hope you'll join me in calling our elected officials to prevent devastating cuts to the NSF, NIH, and now other agencies like the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Had a ton of fun sharing my research and plans here at @nhm.org with Tyler!
🐜 Ants are her business. Welcome Dr. Megan Barkdull, one of our two new Entomology Curators, and discover some of the secrets hiding in ant DNA: go.nhm.org/megan-barkdull
November 18, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Had a ton of fun sharing my research and plans here at @nhm.org with Tyler!
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Resumption of Operations at NSF
Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.
www.nsf.gov
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
TE x ZFP = Evolution!
Writing this with Olga @orpsf.bsky.social & Didier @trono-lab.bsky.social was a major highlight of my 🇨🇭sabbatical. Such a treat! 🍫Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy piecing it together.
Writing this with Olga @orpsf.bsky.social & Didier @trono-lab.bsky.social was a major highlight of my 🇨🇭sabbatical. Such a treat! 🍫Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy piecing it together.
November 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
TE x ZFP = Evolution!
Writing this with Olga @orpsf.bsky.social & Didier @trono-lab.bsky.social was a major highlight of my 🇨🇭sabbatical. Such a treat! 🍫Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy piecing it together.
Writing this with Olga @orpsf.bsky.social & Didier @trono-lab.bsky.social was a major highlight of my 🇨🇭sabbatical. Such a treat! 🍫Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy piecing it together.
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Here’s what it looks like with a heavily redacted peer review I did a while ago gist.github.com/andrewheiss/...
November 17, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Here’s what it looks like with a heavily redacted peer review I did a while ago gist.github.com/andrewheiss/...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Join us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬
We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies.
Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies.
Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
November 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Join us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬
We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies.
Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies.
Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...
Historical genomics of the declining red squirrel in Britain | Aries
Dr Anders Bergström, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Professor Cock van Oosterhout, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Dr Selina Brace…
aries-dtp.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:12 PM
A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Available now in @asn-amnat.bsky.social ! Taking on some big-scale natural history: processed >40k @inaturalist.bsky.social images of Monarda fistulosa using computer vision to query for flower presence and phenotype flower color: doi.org/10.1086/739413
November 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Available now in @asn-amnat.bsky.social ! Taking on some big-scale natural history: processed >40k @inaturalist.bsky.social images of Monarda fistulosa using computer vision to query for flower presence and phenotype flower color: doi.org/10.1086/739413
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives is officially open at the Bruce Museum! Enter the tunnel and you will meet "Buckley", our five foot long scaled-up Dinoponera ant.
Buckley is named after her creator, the great Dan Buckley.
The smaller ant is my daughter, dressed as an alate queen for the opener.
Buckley is named after her creator, the great Dan Buckley.
The smaller ant is my daughter, dressed as an alate queen for the opener.
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives is officially open at the Bruce Museum! Enter the tunnel and you will meet "Buckley", our five foot long scaled-up Dinoponera ant.
Buckley is named after her creator, the great Dan Buckley.
The smaller ant is my daughter, dressed as an alate queen for the opener.
Buckley is named after her creator, the great Dan Buckley.
The smaller ant is my daughter, dressed as an alate queen for the opener.
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
With sequencing of Hitler's DNA making headlines, time for a reminder: analysing a polygenic score from a dead historically-significant figure won't give new insights into that person's behaviour. In a brief paper last year, we used Beethoven's genome to directly illustrate the fallacies involved.🧪👇
Notes from Beethoven’s genome
Wesseldijk et al. compare the genomic information collected from Ludwig van Beethoven
with population-based datasets used to quantify musical achievement.
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
With sequencing of Hitler's DNA making headlines, time for a reminder: analysing a polygenic score from a dead historically-significant figure won't give new insights into that person's behaviour. In a brief paper last year, we used Beethoven's genome to directly illustrate the fallacies involved.🧪👇
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
My latest paper is now published in an issue! We showcased the incredible scientific contributions that local and amateur naturalists make for research on long term change! 💚🌍
doi.org/10.1111/icad...
doi.org/10.1111/icad...
Local entomologists shine a light on moth communities: The value of amateur records in cataloguing long‐term change
Written records associated with museum collections are often underutilised. We use two new macro-moth collections donated to the University Museum of Zoology (Cambridge) to investigate long-term cha...
doi.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
My latest paper is now published in an issue! We showcased the incredible scientific contributions that local and amateur naturalists make for research on long term change! 💚🌍
doi.org/10.1111/icad...
doi.org/10.1111/icad...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Submit them to Aurorasaurus!!! They're an NSF funded project out of University of New Mexico that takes crowdsourced aurora observations for research purposes:
www.aurorasaurus.org
www.aurorasaurus.org
Aurorasaurus - Reporting Auroras from the Ground Up
Friends, see my real-time #aurora report on the aurorasaurus.org map! Follow us on www.facebook.com/aurorasaurus.org. Reporting #northernlights and #citizenscience from the ground up since 2012!
www.aurorasaurus.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Submit them to Aurorasaurus!!! They're an NSF funded project out of University of New Mexico that takes crowdsourced aurora observations for research purposes:
www.aurorasaurus.org
www.aurorasaurus.org
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
For anyone who can live in Flordia, a great opportunity in an amazing collection:
FMNH is looking for an experienced full-time Collections Manager II or III as Director of Invertebrate Paleontology Collections within the Department of Natural History.
🧪⚒️🦑
explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
FMNH is looking for an experienced full-time Collections Manager II or III as Director of Invertebrate Paleontology Collections within the Department of Natural History.
🧪⚒️🦑
explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
University of Florida - Details - FLMNH Collections Manager II / FLMNH Collections Manager III
explore.jobs.ufl.edu
November 11, 2025 at 4:20 PM
For anyone who can live in Flordia, a great opportunity in an amazing collection:
FMNH is looking for an experienced full-time Collections Manager II or III as Director of Invertebrate Paleontology Collections within the Department of Natural History.
🧪⚒️🦑
explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
FMNH is looking for an experienced full-time Collections Manager II or III as Director of Invertebrate Paleontology Collections within the Department of Natural History.
🧪⚒️🦑
explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
This really represents a biosecurity risk.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Giving a flash talk in Edinburgh on the 22nd about helping younger people buy invertebrates online responsibly.
I shared information for this Wired piece, which the talk draws from: www.wired.com/story/usda-a...
If you’re there, I’d love to chat and hear UK perspectives.
🧪 #entomology
I shared information for this Wired piece, which the talk draws from: www.wired.com/story/usda-a...
If you’re there, I’d love to chat and hear UK perspectives.
🧪 #entomology
November 11, 2025 at 11:59 AM
This really represents a biosecurity risk.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Keeping ants _is_ a great hobby for kids (and adults!) but many illegally imported species will be wrongly labelled (illegal sellers don’t care).
In the UK always encourage people to start with say Lasius Niger. If they escape no problem.
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
If we go on strike, our union of 12,000 workers are calling on customers to NOT BUY STARBUCKS.
Sign our pledge to not cross a picket line and we'll send you local calls to action - nocontractnocoffee.org
Sign our pledge to not cross a picket line and we'll send you local calls to action - nocontractnocoffee.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:54 PM
If we go on strike, our union of 12,000 workers are calling on customers to NOT BUY STARBUCKS.
Sign our pledge to not cross a picket line and we'll send you local calls to action - nocontractnocoffee.org
Sign our pledge to not cross a picket line and we'll send you local calls to action - nocontractnocoffee.org
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
BIOLOG question: is there a good pipeline or program to compare biolog results (either in terms of absorbance reads or carbon sources/antibiotics/etc) to KEGG outputs from whole genome sequencing? Right now our tech is doing am manual comparison but there has to be an easier way. 🦠🧬
November 10, 2025 at 7:49 PM
BIOLOG question: is there a good pipeline or program to compare biolog results (either in terms of absorbance reads or carbon sources/antibiotics/etc) to KEGG outputs from whole genome sequencing? Right now our tech is doing am manual comparison but there has to be an easier way. 🦠🧬
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Spread the word: we are providing multiple $5k awards for grad & undergrad research on invertebrate conservation !! In addition to our continuing DeWind Award (for Lepidoptera research), we now have the 1st annual BanDrosky Award (for any invert in decline). Details in thread🧵 ⤵️
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Spread the word: we are providing multiple $5k awards for grad & undergrad research on invertebrate conservation !! In addition to our continuing DeWind Award (for Lepidoptera research), we now have the 1st annual BanDrosky Award (for any invert in decline). Details in thread🧵 ⤵️
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment
Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Tatsuya does fascinating, cutting-edge microbiome work and always has the coolest visuals in his talks- don’t miss this one!
I'm excited to give a talk on Sunday, Nov 9th (8:40AM-9:00AM) at #EntSoc25! I will share the progress of our cutting-edge project, the manipulation of the termite gut microbiome!! cdmcd.co/ABEWRZ
November 7, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Tatsuya does fascinating, cutting-edge microbiome work and always has the coolest visuals in his talks- don’t miss this one!
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
I'm excited to give a talk on Sunday, Nov 9th (8:40AM-9:00AM) at #EntSoc25! I will share the progress of our cutting-edge project, the manipulation of the termite gut microbiome!! cdmcd.co/ABEWRZ
November 7, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I'm excited to give a talk on Sunday, Nov 9th (8:40AM-9:00AM) at #EntSoc25! I will share the progress of our cutting-edge project, the manipulation of the termite gut microbiome!! cdmcd.co/ABEWRZ
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Amy Angert and I are recruiting a #postdoc to participate in a collaborative NSF-funded study of demographic responses to climate across the geographic range of the scarlet monkeyflower. Please repost! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/224...
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Amy Angert and I are recruiting a #postdoc to participate in a collaborative NSF-funded study of demographic responses to climate across the geographic range of the scarlet monkeyflower. Please repost! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/224...
Reposted by Megan Barkdull
Do you teach #rstats? Do your students complain about how lame and old-fashioned dplyr is? Don't worry: I have the solution for you: github.com/hadley/genzp....
genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.
genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.
GitHub - hadley/genzplyr: dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap. Contribute to hadley/genzplyr development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Do you teach #rstats? Do your students complain about how lame and old-fashioned dplyr is? Don't worry: I have the solution for you: github.com/hadley/genzp....
genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.
genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.