Beth Hoots
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whatahoot.bsky.social
Beth Hoots
@whatahoot.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.5K following 62 posts
PhD candidate at Deakin University 🐟
On Wadawurrung Country 🦘🌏
University of Idaho alum 💛🩶
Here for the fish science! | She/her
Find my work: https://elizabeth-hoots.owlstown.net
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whatahoot.bsky.social
I was really moved by this figure from @drjessmt.bsky.social’s keynote address this morning at #ASFB2025

These changes are occurring faster and faster, with future generations facing #climatechange conditions that would be unthinkable to their ancestors, visualizing it like this makes it personal 🔥
A social scientists presents a slide from a stage showing the climate bands for her grandmother, her mother, herself, and her children, demonstrating the changes in climate faced by different generations in her family
August 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Thanks @sebiology.bsky.social for a great conference here in #Antwerp! Looking forward to the next one 🥳
The historic train station in Antwerp. Blue skies in the background and a row of rental bikes in the foreground
July 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
So many great talks on the last couple days of #SEBconference! It was great to hear from @chris-on-fish.bsky.social and @bradhowell.bsky.social about their work at Trent, as well as my #DeakinMarine friends @gradito.bsky.social on work from her M.S. and Alex Berry on his PhD research 👏
A scientist presenting a slide with several box plots A scientist presenting a slide with takehome messages A scientist presenting the most dramatic title slide ever of himself staring at the ocean A scientist presenting a slide with a model for fish energetics
July 11, 2025 at 2:26 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
I’m excited to share my research in the Open Animal session today at #SEBconference! I’ll be speaking from 12:15-12:30 in the Nightingale rooms, come along for a chat about how SMR does (or doesn’t!) change with different life history traits in #fish 🐟
My title slide with fish in the background. Text reads: Life History Attributes Influencing Metabolic Variation Authors: Elizabeth Hoots, Luis Kuchenmüller, Michael Skeeles, Timothy Clark
July 10, 2025 at 5:29 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
A fantastic talk on the “big stage” by @lkuchenmuller.bsky.social on a new method for measuring blood oxygen partial pressure in #rainbowtrout 🐟

#SEBconference
A scientist on a big stage showing his title slide featuring a rainbow trout with a cannula through its nostril and a diagram of water passing over the gills A scientist showing his concluding slide on a big stage. The slide reads: Conclusions > Method promising | › High water flow did not improve gill oxygen uptake › Methodological considerations Little PaO, regulation above p50?
July 9, 2025 at 10:38 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Leave it to @timothy-d-clark.bsky.social to weave a rant on Antwerp’s barber shops into his talk about the awesome physiological adaptations of #tuna 💇‍♂️

Glad to hear that no teleosts are losers here at #SEBconference 😅
A scientist with a cool haircut shows a map of barber shops in Antwerp A scientist with a cool haircut shows a slide with his takeaway messages, ultimately concluding that “There are no losers in the telest world”.
July 9, 2025 at 10:12 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
@leon-at-sea.bsky.social doing an incredible job of breaking down the causes and consequences of premature hatching 🐣 These are summarized in a recent review I was lucky to help write!

You can read the full text here: doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

#SEBconference
A scientist presents different abiotic and biotic triggers of premature hatching in fish on a large screen
July 9, 2025 at 10:08 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
This morning at #SEBconference, how sensitive are embryos to different environmental stressors? I caught some great talks by Zara Cowan and @patricepottier.bsky.social calling for more balanced research across life stages 🪺
A scientist presents a slide showing her take-away home messages A scientist presents a slide which says “Let's study embryos more extensively!”
July 9, 2025 at 8:33 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
A terrific afternoon for fish biology here at #SEBconference ❤️🐟 Great talks by @leeuwisrobin.bsky.social, Moa Metz, and @erinmcstewart.bsky.social about different ways that fish respond to climate warming!
A scientist presents her take-away slide on a large dark stage. It reads: Take-away • Zebrafish can evolve improved growth at warmer temperatures • Thermal performance curves can undergo a left or right shift • Ectothermic vertebrates may adapt to global warming by enhancing performance • Role of selection in shaping thermal resilence A scientist presents her title slide on a large stage, it features a beautiful picture of a brook trout. A scientist presents the methods of her research on a large screen
July 8, 2025 at 3:49 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Such a joy to hear Sandra Binning talk about her career in research and how she got started investigating the “small stuff”. Thanks for a great lecture, Sandra ❤️ #SEBConference
Sandra Binning presents four lessons learned in her career, in a slide titled: “Lessons learned”: • Do what you love • Be guided by your curiosity • Being a generalist can be a good thing • Don't let a bad experience define you
July 8, 2025 at 9:54 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Having a great time exploring #Antwerp before this year’s #SEBconference 🧪 Can’t wait to catch up with everyone at the #ECR mixer tonight 🍻
The beautiful Antwerp train station Two delicious waffles Cheesin’ with the statue of the boy and his dog sleeping near the cathedral in Antwerp The oldest building in Antwerp! Very dramatic medieval towers with a menacing statue of a giant in the foreground
July 7, 2025 at 11:50 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
I really enjoyed attending a community event in #Torquay yesterday to watch #WhiteRock, a documentary with information and real solutions to combat sea urchin barrens on the #GreatSouthernReef 🪸 thank you to @greatsouthernreef.bsky.social for all their incredible efforts! #marineecology #fishsky
A screen showing an underwater picture from the Great Southern Reef with kelp, coralline algae and an abalone. The title White Rock is centered over the picture, and there is a QR code at the bottom of the screen that says GET INVOLVED. Below the screen there are four bar stools set up for the panel after the screening. A panel of two women and two men (from left to right) sit on barstools in front of a screen with an underwater photo from the Great Southern Reef and a QR code under the words MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. One of the women is holding a microphone, and the panel moderator is standing on the right of the group looking extremely thoughtful.
April 30, 2025 at 11:25 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
This road trip was inspired by a great #Australian eco-thriller, the #book Wild Dark Shore 🌊 I will be thinking about the Salt family and their home for a long time…
April 30, 2025 at 4:30 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
On Sunday I drove to the botanical gardens in Cranbourne with one mission: to see the dinosaur trees AKA Wollemi pines 🦕 🌲
These living fossils are an incredible example of nature’s resilience, and of the huge significance of even small patches of wilderness. Bonus: a giant bandicoot sculpture!
A prehistoric pine tree with fluffy flat needles extending along each branch in an “X” shape when viewed from the end of the branch. Mostly light green in color, surrounded by other vegetation including a much larger Wollemi pine right behind it! A Wollemi pine sapling, a black plaque gives the species name. More trees and grey skies behind. A giant bandicoot sculpture made out of twigs looms above a concrete pond. It stands on a pile of bark chips and is roped off so you can’t hug it. I am sitting very close (but outside the ropes) grinning my face off because it’s the best sculpture I’ve ever seen.
April 30, 2025 at 1:58 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Last week the lab group was lucky enough to tour the VFA’s 10inTen Conservation Hatchery, dedicated to saving some of Australia’s most threatened freshwater species. I was excited to see the endangered Moroka Galaxias - cousins of the Common Galaxias that I study! 🧪🐟 #fishsky #auswildlife #teamfish
April 15, 2025 at 5:50 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Gathering in Naarm/Melbourne for Palm Sunday, calling for kindness and justice for refugees and asylum seekers. I was proud to walk with Queenscliff Rural Australians for Refugees in solidarity with up to 8,000 asylum seekers still in limbo after 13 years in the “fast track” system ✊🧡
Five Queenscliff RAR members sit and stand in the park on a sunny autumn day, and hold up small red banners calling for permanent visas and justice for refugees. A larger blue banner reads “choose fairness and decency for refugees”. A crowd gathered for the Palm Sunday rally, with a musician on a stage and flags and banners flying in the background. The gathering is in a beautiful green park with tall trees and even taller skyscrapers peeking through in the distance.
April 13, 2025 at 9:50 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
I did not expect to find #Singapore so green! The Central Catchment Nature Reserve alongside MacRitchie Reservoir was a beautiful and wildlife-filled walk through the island’s remaining forest.
A view from the start of a walk across a suspension bridge with blue mesh sides, teak wood rails and a steel floor, stretching into a tropical forest on a cloudy day. A wooden boardwalk weaves through a lush tropical forest. A macaque monkey looks with annoyance at what is probably the 100th tourist to photograph him today. He stands on a rocky path before an impressive spiraling aerial root and a lush green forest. A stunningly adorable little flying lemur (which looks kind of like a bat, only bigger) hugs a tree trunk and camouflages almost perfectly with its green, brown, and white patterned fur. It has enormous eyes with tasteful white eyeliner on the lower lid.
February 16, 2025 at 8:51 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Aaand a random mashup because I wanted to share pictures from non-monitoring trips.

Because of FOC’s work, this enormous expanse of wild forest (much of it roadless) can be enjoyed by hikers/backpackers, fishers and hunters while still providing essential habitat for native plants and animals.
Five mile creek is clear and golden, with many small dark rocks in the shallow water. There are white bubbling riffles in the water, and many small and tall evergreens growing right up to the water’s edge. The sky is so blue. A logging road cutting through a stand of very tall evergreen trees with low but bright green grass. View from a white rocky ridge surrounded by evergreen trees and blue blue sky with some puffy clouds. The ridge seems to follow straight into the canopy…
January 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Cayuse Creek, 2020.

FOC is fighting to preserve this critical native trout habitat from a timber sale that preys on wildfire fears. The East Saddle Integrated Restoration Project proposed temporary roads, thinning, commercial logging and prescribed fire within this intact and healthy landscape.
A clear, rocky creek flows through a stand of evergreen trees and leafy green understory. The sky is gray, and there is a misty cloud descending onto the trees in the backyard. A clear creek flowing through a beautiful green forest with lots of tall old trees. It is quite cloudy, and some of the trees are surrounding in mist.
January 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
In honor of @wildclearwater.bsky.social joining Bluesky, here are some favorite photos from my time volunteer field monitoring with this great organization 💚🌲

El Dorado Creek, 2019. FOC has fought against logging in this roadless area, particularly the Lolo Insects and Disease timber sales.
Idaho’s El Dorado Creek is very clear and honestly actually a bit golden in color. The banks are grassy and green, with several tall evergreen trees growing in the background.
January 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Of all of the giant bugs I have seen since moving to #Australia … this Emperor Gum Moth is definitely one of the most beautiful!

(no disrespect to the huntsman spiders 😬)

Spotted today in broad daylight resting on one of the windows on Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus. #auswildlife #insects #moth
A large, fuzzy reddish brown moth with prominent pink eyespots on its wings and thick fuzzy antennae. It is resting on a window in the daylight. A moth resting on a window with a human hand held up for scale. The moth’s wingspan is longer than the palm of the hand. It’s a really big moth!!!
January 30, 2025 at 10:40 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Had a dream encounter with a Maori octopus while snorkeling on the Great Southern Reef this weekend 😍🐙 #greatsouthernreef #auswildlife #marinelife
A beautiful dark orange/purple octopus, with just its eyes poking up from a hiding spot in some yellow kelp. It has two very prominent horns above its eyes and more covering what we can see of its body. A beautiful dark orange/purple octopus, now emerged from its hiding spot in the yellow-green kelp. It has two very prominent horns above its eyes and more covering the rest of its body.
January 26, 2025 at 11:09 PM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Had a beautiful writing retreat with the lab group (including @gradito.bsky.social and @lkuchenmuller.bsky.social) last week 🥰

We drove down the #GreatOceanRoad to Airey’s Inlet and had an honestly-productive writing session with lots of beach breaks 🏖️ Can’t wait to share what we were working on!
A big dramatic cliff and blue skies in the background, which is reflected in the wet sandy beach in the foreground. Two people are walking on the beach, and some small waves are washing in. A fuzzy (my hand shook during the long exposure!) picture of the ocean at night from a sandy cliff. There is a bit of orange on the horizon from the end of the setting sun, and the first and brightest stars are visible. An extremely strange shaped beach house, with lots of weird corners and rooms popping out. It is olive green (generously) and there are lots of shrubs and grasses surrounding it. Big blue skies above. The beach in early morning, with someone stretching or maybe doing a sun salutation. The sun is bright and makes a path on the water. There are some big clumps of seaweed and kelp on the beach, and two small waves visible on the water.
December 11, 2024 at 7:31 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
One Halloween while hiking in Idaho I found this 3-sided DIY outhouse. It was unfortunately very close to a beautiful river, but points for a nice view?
A wooden outdoor toilet (about 6-6.5 ft tall?) with the white lid up. The outhouse has no door just three walls, and it’s sitting in complete isolation on a snowy hill surrounded by extremely majestic evergreen trees. The sky is blue.
December 9, 2024 at 10:21 AM
whatahoot.bsky.social
Summer in Australia means it’s time to hop in the water! Yesterday, in the #tidepools on Wadawurrung Country at Barwon Heads, we found lots of snails (and snail eggs!), as well as a beautiful chiton and a few shore crabs. #auswildlife 🦑 #marinelife
Cloudy skies over the Barwon River headwaters, with many large, dark, rocks popping up above the tide. In the foreground, sea grass filled tidepools are visible among the rocks. A beautiful little orange and green striped chiton and a small, completely black snail share an algae covered rock. An alien looking, translucent gelatinous crescent filled with tiny yellow specks that will one day be baby snails sits exposed above the water on a rock covered in baby mussels and limpets. A small disgruntled crab pinching the hand (ok, just one finger) that has so rudely removed it from the water. The green Barwon Bluff rises in the background to blue and cloudy skies.
December 7, 2024 at 8:28 PM