Shane Mulligan, PhD
@shanem-editor.bsky.social
Editor. Lover of wild spaces, dogs, asters, moss, teaching, puzzles, kindness, and good books.
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Meet Duobrachium sparksae: a newly described comb jelly that looks like a glowing hot-air balloon drifting just above the deep seafloor. Transparent, delicate, and unmistakably transfixing, it reminds us how much biodiversity is in the deep oceans.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
January 16, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Meet Duobrachium sparksae: a newly described comb jelly that looks like a glowing hot-air balloon drifting just above the deep seafloor. Transparent, delicate, and unmistakably transfixing, it reminds us how much biodiversity is in the deep oceans.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
Go ahead, make my day :)
Penguin Rocket 🐧🚀 Penguins can propel themselves out of the water using the powerful force of their flippers.
🇦🇶 Inexpressible Island, Cape Hallett Antarctica 🇦🇶 #ThursdayThought
🇦🇶 Inexpressible Island, Cape Hallett Antarctica 🇦🇶 #ThursdayThought
January 16, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Go ahead, make my day :)
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
January 16, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Deep-sea sponge appreciation post: Bolosoma is a glass sponge that builds vertical structure in the deep sea, creating habitat for a whole host of life. IN 2025 on dives in Papahānaumokuākea, some had heads nearly a meter wide.
📷 NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue
📷 NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue
January 15, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Deep-sea sponge appreciation post: Bolosoma is a glass sponge that builds vertical structure in the deep sea, creating habitat for a whole host of life. IN 2025 on dives in Papahānaumokuākea, some had heads nearly a meter wide.
📷 NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue
📷 NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
I wish the Art Canada Institute posted to BlueSky!
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Cree artist Carl Ray (1943-1978), whose x-ray aesthetic can be found in works like “Spirit Fish,” 1975.
Image Credit: Carl Ray, “Spirit Fish,” c.1975,
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
Kleinburg, Ontario.
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Cree artist Carl Ray (1943-1978), whose x-ray aesthetic can be found in works like “Spirit Fish,” 1975.
Image Credit: Carl Ray, “Spirit Fish,” c.1975,
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
Kleinburg, Ontario.
January 10, 2026 at 4:19 PM
I wish the Art Canada Institute posted to BlueSky!
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Cree artist Carl Ray (1943-1978), whose x-ray aesthetic can be found in works like “Spirit Fish,” 1975.
Image Credit: Carl Ray, “Spirit Fish,” c.1975,
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
Kleinburg, Ontario.
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Cree artist Carl Ray (1943-1978), whose x-ray aesthetic can be found in works like “Spirit Fish,” 1975.
Image Credit: Carl Ray, “Spirit Fish,” c.1975,
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
Kleinburg, Ontario.
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
A study published in Nature Communications reveals that one-third of households in the Global South burn plastic waste, driven by high waste generation and costly clean fuels. The findings suggest a need for improved public waste management and affordable energy solutions. 🧪
Prevalence of plastic waste as a household fuel in low-income communities of the Global South - Nature Communications
This study surveyed key informants across 26 countries on burning plastic for waste management and energy needs. It finds high awareness of this practice, with potential drivers including inadequate waste collection and a lack of affordable fuels.
go.nature.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:07 PM
A study published in Nature Communications reveals that one-third of households in the Global South burn plastic waste, driven by high waste generation and costly clean fuels. The findings suggest a need for improved public waste management and affordable energy solutions. 🧪
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
January 5, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
The winner of the world’s fanciest poop prize goes to…
(a fruiting/reproducing slime mold has completely covered this snowshoe hare poop. NWT, Canada)
#myxo #fungifriends #slimemold
(a fruiting/reproducing slime mold has completely covered this snowshoe hare poop. NWT, Canada)
#myxo #fungifriends #slimemold
January 6, 2026 at 10:36 AM
The winner of the world’s fanciest poop prize goes to…
(a fruiting/reproducing slime mold has completely covered this snowshoe hare poop. NWT, Canada)
#myxo #fungifriends #slimemold
(a fruiting/reproducing slime mold has completely covered this snowshoe hare poop. NWT, Canada)
#myxo #fungifriends #slimemold
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
On the latest episode of Knowing Animals, I interview Walter Veit (@walterveit.bsky.social) about his 2023 Routledge book A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness. The episode is available free below, or in all the usual podcast places.
knowinganimals.libsyn.com/episode-245-...
knowinganimals.libsyn.com/episode-245-...
January 5, 2026 at 5:18 PM
On the latest episode of Knowing Animals, I interview Walter Veit (@walterveit.bsky.social) about his 2023 Routledge book A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness. The episode is available free below, or in all the usual podcast places.
knowinganimals.libsyn.com/episode-245-...
knowinganimals.libsyn.com/episode-245-...
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
This is one of the wildest deep-sea mining stories to me.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Recovery of Paleodictyon patterns after simulated mining activity on Pacific nodule fields - Marine Biodiversity
Since the late 1980s, various experiments have been conducted in polymetallic nodule fields of the Pacific Ocean to assess the potential environmental impacts of future mining, specifically in two are...
link.springer.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:21 PM
This is one of the wildest deep-sea mining stories to me.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Lest we forget.
NEW: At least 40 people killed in U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians, local official says - NYT
January 4, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Lest we forget.
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
The telescopefish.
A deep-sea creature with eyes made for spotting light in the dark ocean.
A deep-sea creature with eyes made for spotting light in the dark ocean.
January 3, 2026 at 4:10 AM
The telescopefish.
A deep-sea creature with eyes made for spotting light in the dark ocean.
A deep-sea creature with eyes made for spotting light in the dark ocean.
Young boy reading book in a ruined bookshop in London devastated by an air raid - 1940
January 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Really going to utilize #booksky more. Yes, some of it will be for personal reasons, but its just a cool part of the internet. One that makes me happy.
Read more books. Write more books.
Books.
Read more books. Write more books.
Books.
January 2, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Really going to utilize #booksky more. Yes, some of it will be for personal reasons, but its just a cool part of the internet. One that makes me happy.
Read more books. Write more books.
Books.
Read more books. Write more books.
Books.
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
John Steinbeck had such an understanding of humans and how they operate. This is a wonderful piece that is at least as true today as when he wrote it in a letter in the late 1950s.
#Steinbeck #JohnSteinbeck #Booksky
#Steinbeck #JohnSteinbeck #Booksky
January 1, 2026 at 11:03 PM
John Steinbeck had such an understanding of humans and how they operate. This is a wonderful piece that is at least as true today as when he wrote it in a letter in the late 1950s.
#Steinbeck #JohnSteinbeck #Booksky
#Steinbeck #JohnSteinbeck #Booksky
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
I stumbled across this first-hand account of a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site from 1957 and couldn’t stop reading it. So I put it up on DOOMSDAY MACHINES. Something to ring in the New Year with, perhaps… doomsdaymachines.net/p/zero-time-...
"Zero time was speeding toward me like a car you cannot dodge"
A gripping first-hand account of a nuclear test from 1957
doomsdaymachines.net
January 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
I stumbled across this first-hand account of a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site from 1957 and couldn’t stop reading it. So I put it up on DOOMSDAY MACHINES. Something to ring in the New Year with, perhaps… doomsdaymachines.net/p/zero-time-...
This has been clear for several years now. I wonder will the flu prompt action more than COVID did. Yes, dears, it kills.
January 1, 2026 at 7:15 PM
This has been clear for several years now. I wonder will the flu prompt action more than COVID did. Yes, dears, it kills.
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Video: otter wiggling around underwater with a gift-wrapped cube, very durable and inclined to bob to the surface unless clutched tightly.
[Via Perth Zoo]
[Via Perth Zoo]
December 25, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Video: otter wiggling around underwater with a gift-wrapped cube, very durable and inclined to bob to the surface unless clutched tightly.
[Via Perth Zoo]
[Via Perth Zoo]
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) can grow to more than 450 kg (1,000 lb) and live for over 65 years
📹Pelagic Ventures Scuba
📹Pelagic Ventures Scuba
December 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) can grow to more than 450 kg (1,000 lb) and live for over 65 years
📹Pelagic Ventures Scuba
📹Pelagic Ventures Scuba
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Found only in the Galapagos Islands the marine iguana is the only marine lizard species in the world, they can dive as deep as 30m (98 ft) and spend up to 30 minutes at a time underwater
📹Shelton Dupreez
📹Shelton Dupreez
December 14, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Found only in the Galapagos Islands the marine iguana is the only marine lizard species in the world, they can dive as deep as 30m (98 ft) and spend up to 30 minutes at a time underwater
📹Shelton Dupreez
📹Shelton Dupreez
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Did you make sure to keep the camera away from the volcano like we discussed?
Yeah, about that…
Yeah, about that…
December 6, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Did you make sure to keep the camera away from the volcano like we discussed?
Yeah, about that…
Yeah, about that…
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Black and white #moths, some with a hint of yellow, for #BWFri.
#teammoth #colouraday #blackandwhite
#teammoth #colouraday #blackandwhite
December 5, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Black and white #moths, some with a hint of yellow, for #BWFri.
#teammoth #colouraday #blackandwhite
#teammoth #colouraday #blackandwhite
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
Meet the veliger larva - a tiny ocean drifter with a delicate shell and two ciliated “velums” that look like fluttering ears. These velums help it swim through plankton and capture food.
🎥 Video by @elizabethbeston.bsky.social
#MarineBiology
🎥 Video by @elizabethbeston.bsky.social
#MarineBiology
December 2, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Meet the veliger larva - a tiny ocean drifter with a delicate shell and two ciliated “velums” that look like fluttering ears. These velums help it swim through plankton and capture food.
🎥 Video by @elizabethbeston.bsky.social
#MarineBiology
🎥 Video by @elizabethbeston.bsky.social
#MarineBiology
Reposted by Shane Mulligan, PhD
This open letter was signed by CAFES, @ontarionature.bsky.social, @ecologyottawa.bsky.social, Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club, and Friends of Stittsville Wetlands. It was submitted to Ottawa councillors and staff on November 14.
catalog.ontarionature.org/to-city-of-o...
catalog.ontarionature.org/to-city-of-o...
ON Nature magazine - To City of Ottawa re Changes to Local Provincially Significant Wetlands - Page 1
Tara Redpath Senior Planner (Acting) 110 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1 November 14, 2025 Dear Tara Redpath, Subject: Take Action to Protect Ottawa’s
catalog.ontarionature.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This open letter was signed by CAFES, @ontarionature.bsky.social, @ecologyottawa.bsky.social, Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club, and Friends of Stittsville Wetlands. It was submitted to Ottawa councillors and staff on November 14.
catalog.ontarionature.org/to-city-of-o...
catalog.ontarionature.org/to-city-of-o...