Catherine Sheard
@sheardcat.bsky.social
Fellow @ University of Aberdeen. Professionally: macroevolution, especially birds & languages. Personally: drinks too much coffee, plays too much D&D.
she/her
she/her
Pinned
Catherine Sheard
@sheardcat.bsky.social
· Jun 25
New pinned intro time:
Hi! I'm Catherine, a PI (fellow/lecturer) at the University of Aberdeen. My lab works on trait macroevolution, particularly the causes/consequences of behavioural innovations. I'm a senior editor at GEB, co-chair of BES Macro, and have zero chill about the northern lights.
Hi! I'm Catherine, a PI (fellow/lecturer) at the University of Aberdeen. My lab works on trait macroevolution, particularly the causes/consequences of behavioural innovations. I'm a senior editor at GEB, co-chair of BES Macro, and have zero chill about the northern lights.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Also, if instead of plants 🪴 you want to work on dolphins 🐬, my colleague David Fisher is offering the coolest-sounding project on dolphin behaviour: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
QUARTILES DLA: Bottlenose dolphin responses to shipping traffic: sociality, behaviour and welfare outcomes at University of Aberdeen on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - QUARTILES DLA: Bottlenose dolphin responses to shipping traffic: sociality, behaviour and welfare outcomes at University of Aberdeen , listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Also, if instead of plants 🪴 you want to work on dolphins 🐬, my colleague David Fisher is offering the coolest-sounding project on dolphin behaviour: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Like big trait databases? Think biology should think about humans more? Fascinated by house plants?
My fantastic colleagues and I are advertising a PhD project based at the University of Aberdeen on the ornamental plant trade. Come join us!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
My fantastic colleagues and I are advertising a PhD project based at the University of Aberdeen on the ornamental plant trade. Come join us!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
QUARTILES DLA CASE: Trait-based drivers of the ornamental plant trade at University of Aberdeen on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - QUARTILES DLA CASE: Trait-based drivers of the ornamental plant trade at University of Aberdeen , listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Like big trait databases? Think biology should think about humans more? Fascinated by house plants?
My fantastic colleagues and I are advertising a PhD project based at the University of Aberdeen on the ornamental plant trade. Come join us!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
My fantastic colleagues and I are advertising a PhD project based at the University of Aberdeen on the ornamental plant trade. Come join us!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
My lab discussed this paper in journal club today -- it's beautifully written and represents a very interesting set of results!
Oh, fun: Geography, Environmental Conditions and Life History Shape Patterns of Within-Population Phenotypic Variation in North American Birds
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Geography, Environmental Conditions and Life History Shape Patterns of Within‐Population Phenotypic Variation in North American Birds
Intraspecific variation is a fundamental component of biodiversity, shaping species interactions and coexistence dynamics. While numerous mechanisms have been proposed to shape the degree of phenotyp....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:05 PM
My lab discussed this paper in journal club today -- it's beautifully written and represents a very interesting set of results!
My uni email isn't loading on either my computer or my phone. And it seems to be just a me-problem. Sigh.
November 20, 2025 at 10:49 AM
My uni email isn't loading on either my computer or my phone. And it seems to be just a me-problem. Sigh.
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...
Anyone looking for a Australia-based postdoc? Like animal behaviour / coding / birds? My fantastic collaborator, Iliana Medina, is advertising a position researching bird nests:
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/UoM_Ex...
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/UoM_Ex...
Research Fellow in Behaviour and Ecology
Role type: Full Time; Fixed Term for 2 years Faculty: Faculty of Science Department/ School: School of Biosciences Salary: Level A: $87,266 - $118,416 (PhD Entry Level - $110,319) plus 17% super Colla...
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Anyone looking for a Australia-based postdoc? Like animal behaviour / coding / birds? My fantastic collaborator, Iliana Medina, is advertising a position researching bird nests:
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/UoM_Ex...
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/UoM_Ex...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not thebaffler.com/outbursts/si...
Signed Away | Sara Nović
The hearing world continues to pillage and caricature the deaf community—most recently with the proprietary, sign-based system Makaton.
thebaffler.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not thebaffler.com/outbursts/si...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
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 Catherine Sheard
Cassie Stoddard'a talk was really insightful and colorful:
"sure, we're living exciting times to study the genome, but also to study the phenome, the birds' phenotypes using collections"
#BOUasm25 #ornithology #evolution @bou.org.uk
"sure, we're living exciting times to study the genome, but also to study the phenome, the birds' phenotypes using collections"
#BOUasm25 #ornithology #evolution @bou.org.uk
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Cassie Stoddard'a talk was really insightful and colorful:
"sure, we're living exciting times to study the genome, but also to study the phenome, the birds' phenotypes using collections"
#BOUasm25 #ornithology #evolution @bou.org.uk
"sure, we're living exciting times to study the genome, but also to study the phenome, the birds' phenotypes using collections"
#BOUasm25 #ornithology #evolution @bou.org.uk
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
1/ Thousands of species are exploited every year for the wildlife trade.
Using birds as a model group, at #BOUasm25 I talk about how colour influences demand on a global scale.
My podcast about this topic -> shorturl.at/YsUvL
#conservationscience🌎, #ornithology, #conservation
Using birds as a model group, at #BOUasm25 I talk about how colour influences demand on a global scale.
My podcast about this topic -> shorturl.at/YsUvL
#conservationscience🌎, #ornithology, #conservation
November 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
1/ Thousands of species are exploited every year for the wildlife trade.
Using birds as a model group, at #BOUasm25 I talk about how colour influences demand on a global scale.
My podcast about this topic -> shorturl.at/YsUvL
#conservationscience🌎, #ornithology, #conservation
Using birds as a model group, at #BOUasm25 I talk about how colour influences demand on a global scale.
My podcast about this topic -> shorturl.at/YsUvL
#conservationscience🌎, #ornithology, #conservation
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
PhD scholarship alert! Are you interested in cognitive evolution? Do you want to know how development influences cognitive traits? Do you love hanging out with birds in the forest? If the answer to these questions is yes, please apply to work with us! 1/2 🧪
www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
November 17, 2025 at 9:47 PM
PhD scholarship alert! Are you interested in cognitive evolution? Do you want to know how development influences cognitive traits? Do you love hanging out with birds in the forest? If the answer to these questions is yes, please apply to work with us! 1/2 🧪
www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Thread on today's paper, which is 3/4 from my dissertation on the evolution of fishes and using morphological data for phylogenetic analyses. Come with me, on a journey on phylogenetics and fishes.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
An ontological morphological phylogenetic framework for living and extinct ray‐finned fishes (Actinopterygii)
The ray-finned fishes include one out of every two species of living vertebrates on Earth and have an abundant fossil record stretching 380 million years into the past. The division of systematic kno...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Thread on today's paper, which is 3/4 from my dissertation on the evolution of fishes and using morphological data for phylogenetic analyses. Come with me, on a journey on phylogenetics and fishes.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
New work out from our @islandbirdproject.bsky.social team lead by @raquelponti.bsky.social
We will be presenting this at the upcoming conference #BOUasm25
"A day at the museum: collections-based
ornithological research in a changing world" on BlueSky, 18th of Nov.
We will be presenting this at the upcoming conference #BOUasm25
"A day at the museum: collections-based
ornithological research in a changing world" on BlueSky, 18th of Nov.
Morphological Evolution in Island Birds Is Associated With More Terrestrial Lifestyles and a Lower Number of Raptors and Intra‐Family Competitors | onlinelibrary.wiley.... | Global Ecology and Biogeography | #ornithology #RaptorResearch 🪶
November 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM
New work out from our @islandbirdproject.bsky.social team lead by @raquelponti.bsky.social
We will be presenting this at the upcoming conference #BOUasm25
"A day at the museum: collections-based
ornithological research in a changing world" on BlueSky, 18th of Nov.
We will be presenting this at the upcoming conference #BOUasm25
"A day at the museum: collections-based
ornithological research in a changing world" on BlueSky, 18th of Nov.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
🔔MASTS Vacancy: MASTS-SUPER: Programme Support Officer 🌊
Closing: 26 Nov. 📍More information and application: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Closing: 26 Nov. 📍More information and application: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
November 13, 2025 at 10:52 AM
🔔MASTS Vacancy: MASTS-SUPER: Programme Support Officer 🌊
Closing: 26 Nov. 📍More information and application: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Closing: 26 Nov. 📍More information and application: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
November 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
The Vatican returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada, a historic restitution that is part of the Catholic Church's reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture. n.pr/43T2xmD
Pope Leo returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada
The Vatican returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada, a historic restitution that is part of the Catholic Church's reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture.
n.pr
November 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The Vatican returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada, a historic restitution that is part of the Catholic Church's reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture. n.pr/43T2xmD
Okay this looks ridiculous but also I kinda wanna try it.
(I love tiramisu but it's hard to make a version that won't make me ill, so I rarely have it.)
(I love tiramisu but it's hard to make a version that won't make me ill, so I rarely have it.)
Tiramisù doesn’t require baking, feeds a crowd and actually needs to be prepared in advance, making it a great contender for a Thanksgiving dessert. Cranberry, pumpkin and apple give this creamy no-bake classic a fall makeover with festive flavors.
These Tiramisù Are the Best Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts
Cranberry, pumpkin and apple give the creamy no-bake classic a fall makeover with festive flavors.
nyti.ms
November 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Okay this looks ridiculous but also I kinda wanna try it.
(I love tiramisu but it's hard to make a version that won't make me ill, so I rarely have it.)
(I love tiramisu but it's hard to make a version that won't make me ill, so I rarely have it.)
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
I give Catholic bishops a hard time often for all the obvious reasons, but this is beautiful and loving, and I'm deeply grateful to hear it. This can change hearts and save lives.
Good statement from the US conference of Catholic Bishops
November 14, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I give Catholic bishops a hard time often for all the obvious reasons, but this is beautiful and loving, and I'm deeply grateful to hear it. This can change hearts and save lives.
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
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 Catherine Sheard
Faurby et al. analyze diversification and colonization rate in living and extinct Carnivora, finding that colonizers diversify faster and suggesting that the patterns are best explained by heritable variation in completive ability between clades.
Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Good Colonizers Diversify Faster | The American Naturalist
Abstract Variation in colonization ability (comprising the dispersal and successful establishment of lineages in new regions) and its connection to species diversification may be one of the major reas...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 13, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Faurby et al. analyze diversification and colonization rate in living and extinct Carnivora, finding that colonizers diversify faster and suggesting that the patterns are best explained by heritable variation in completive ability between clades.
Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist. For more information, see www.uni-regensburg.de/universitaet...
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist
We are looking for 4 PhD Positions and one Scientific Programmer / Ecological Data Scientist to join the AG Hartig (Theoretical Ecology)
www.uni-regensburg.de
November 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist. For more information, see www.uni-regensburg.de/universitaet...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
Want to do a PhD linking palaeontology, ecological modelling and polar ecosystems? Look no further than this NERC GW4+ DLTP funded project with @rowanwhittlebas.bsky.social at @bas.ac.uk & @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and others (inc me).
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Want to do a PhD linking palaeontology, ecological modelling and polar ecosystems? Look no further than this NERC GW4+ DLTP funded project with @rowanwhittlebas.bsky.social at @bas.ac.uk & @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and others (inc me).
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...
Reposted by Catherine Sheard
in "General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally", we provide key insights into species’ vulnerability to environmental change and the processes that structure biodiversity at global scales.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally | PNAS
A longstanding question in ecology asks whether or not species that achieve large
geographic ranges also have large climatic niche breadths. Using ...
www.pnas.org
November 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
in "General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally", we provide key insights into species’ vulnerability to environmental change and the processes that structure biodiversity at global scales.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...