All grades are now finalized and posted! I am officially on sabbatical until August 2026!!

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑎, the rock #sparrow. This hardy passerine is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, often found in rocky hillsides and open scrub. Sparrow in a rock >> Partridge in a pear tree! #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics #bird Photo: Zeynel Cebeci

New Publication! Territoriality, sociality and male weaponry shape horn investment in female bovids url: academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Check out the recording of Tuesday's livestream with Natalia Reagan! www.youtube.com/live/X4-vE-R...

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑀𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑚 𝑚𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑚, the long-legged #bat. Native to Central and South America, this species is named for its distinctive large nose leaf and elongated limbs—perfect for its unique #hunting style. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: Pedro Aguilar

Great meeting today with a book publisher - guess it's time to write that proposal and get cooking on my big sabbatical project!

For #TautonymTuesday this week, we celebrate Europe’s most widespread #deer! 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑠, the roe deer, ranges from the Atlantic to western Asia. Agile and adaptable, it thrives in forests, farmland, and even urban edges. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: Clément Bardot

And its delicious too!!!!!!

Today’s feature for #TautonymTuesday is 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠, the karanteen #seabream, a sparid fish found in coastal waters of the W Indian Ocean. Known for its compressed body and strong jaws, it lives in reef and nearshore ecosystems. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: Hamid Badar Osmany

For #TautonymTuesday this week, we celebrate Europe’s most widespread #deer! 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑠, the roe deer, ranges from the Atlantic to western Asia. Agile and adaptable, it thrives in forests, farmland, and even urban edges. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: Clément Bardot

Hot off the press!🔥 How does human recreation & hunting affect wildlife?🥾🦌 Increased hunting intensity led to a significantly increasing avoidance of recreational activities by all species, independent of whether they were subjected to hunting or not! 📰 doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

It's on the schedule!

Do check out @tedstankowich.bsky.social 's lovely #TautonymTuesday hashtag bsky.app/profile/teds...

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑙𝑎, the stone loach. This small benthic #fish inhabits cool, fast-flowing streams across Europe and western Asia. They live on the bottom, often partly buried. A classic tautonym in freshwater ichthyology! #Systematics #TaxonomyTuesday Photo: Holger Krisp

Star Wars Rankings are trending, so... EMPIRE STRIKES BACK [ANDOR] [CLONE WARS] [MANDALORIAN] RETURN OF THE JEDI A NEW HOPE REVENGE OF THE SITH ROGUE ONE [AHSOKA] [REBELS] [KENOBI] [BAD BATCH] FORCE AWAKENS RISE OF SKYWALKER [ACOLYTE] ATTACK OF THE CLONES THE PHANTOM MENACE THE LAST JEDI SOLO

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet the Himalayan white-bellied #rat, 𝑁𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟, a murid rodent that inhabits forests and montane regions, playing an important role in seed dispersal and ecosystem dynamics. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: National Biodiversity Centre

Looking for a PhD? 🦜 Interested in ornithology, animal behaviour, bioacoustics? I am advertising a PhD on vocal communication in ring-necked parakeets tinyurl.com/44a3hcnz Eligible candidates are encouraged to apply for University of Salford Widening Participation Scholarships tinyurl.com/4wtzzh3z

Just discovered #TautonymTuesday. See what we’re missing out on botanists? Change the code!

Travel to Italy for January-February is booked! Looking forward to some sabbatical adventures!

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑅𝑎𝑠𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎, a small freshwater #fish in the family #Cyprinidae. Native to South and Southeast Asia, this species is an important component of riverine ecosystems and a classic tautonym in #ichthyology. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics #Rasbora Photo: Emma Turner

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑅𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑎 𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑎, the chamois. This agile caprine inhabits rugged mountain terrain across Europe and parts of Asia, adapted for steep slopes and harsh alpine climates. #Systematics #TaxonomyTuesday Photo: Giles Laurent

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎, the #angelshark. This critically #endangered species is a flat-bodied shark that resembles a ray, inhabiting sandy seabeds in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics #sharks Photo: Philippe Guillaume

We had a great mammalogy field trip this weekend with bat mist netting, small mammal trapping, track plates, and telemetry!

Today we celebrate two icons of biodiversity: The graceful and endangered freshwater dolphin. The acrobatic and vocal gibbon. From river currents to forest canopies, these species show us why conservation matters everywhere. #FreshwaterDolphinDay #InternationalGibbonDay

Happy #MoleDay! 🕳️🐾 Today we celebrate Avogadro’s number: 6.02 × 10²³ things… and one very determined mammal. Whether you’re counting atoms or digging tunnels, remember: science is everywhere! So grab your goggles and your sense of humor, and let’s celebrate moles! #Chemistry #BlueskyScience #STEMFun

Today we celebrate the elusive, high-altitude icon: the snow leopard🐆❄️ Solitary, stealthy, and stunning, these big cats remind us that conservation is as much about awe as it is about action. Protect the ghost of the mountains. #InternationalSnowLeopardDay #WildlifeConservation #BigCats

Happy #Wombat Day! I had the amazing chance to see these critters up close and personal in the wild on my sabbatical in Australia in 2019!

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠, the red-backed bearded saki. This Neotropical #primate inhabits Amazonian forests and is recognized for its thick beard and strong jaws adapted for cracking hard seeds. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics #Primates #Mammals Photo: Allan Hopkins

Reminder that The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was built on Mill Creek Valley, a Black neighborhood. To clear land for construction, more than 20,000 residents, 95% of whom were Black, were displaced. Further, nearly 300 Black businesses were destroyed. www.pushblack.us/news/hidden-...

New in rodent forensics: Turns out Chicago’s viral “rat hole” in fresh concrete wasn’t a rat. It was probably an E Grey Squirrel! This paper is a love letter to curiosity. Sometimes science starts w/ a viral concrete smudge & ends w/ multivariate analysis. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠, the goldcrest. This tiny #passerine is Europe’s smallest #bird, at just 5–7g. Despite its size, it maintains high metabolic rates & is remarkably cold-tolerant, surviving harsh winters in coniferous forests. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: Alpsdake

Eclipses fool birds into thinking it's morning! Congrats to @rosvall-lab.bsky.social for this amazing work! Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Our work on integrated pest management in orchards on mammals was featured in this new article! www.calstate.edu/csu-system/n...

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑢𝑠, the black rat. This globally distributed rodent is a classic tautonym and a key species in studies of #urbanecology, invasive biology, and zoonotic disease transmission. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics Photo: H. Zell

It’s National Badger Day! 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠, the European #badger, is a nocturnal omnivore known for its powerful digging and complex social structure. #Badgers live in setts and play key roles in soil turnover and ecosystem health. #NationalBadgerDay #Wildlife #Mammalogy

Look who came by for a chat! Maybe you'll hear what we talked about in a couple of months... Thanks @ologies.bsky.social and @alieward.bsky.social for a great conversation and visit to California State University, Long Beach

NEW CRITTER ALERT

Rest in peace, Dr. Goodall! I had the pleasure of meeting her and hearing her speak at a book signing as an undergrad about 25 years ago. I still treasure my signed copy of In the Shadow of Man. The world has lost a giant in the world of conservation and a fierce voice for all living creatures. 💔💔

It’s #NationalRaccoonDay! 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟, the common #raccoon ( #trashpanda ), is a highly adaptable omnivore found across North America. Known for its dexterous front paws and intelligence, it thrives in both wild and urban habitats. #Wildlife #Mammalogy #Raccoon

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet Martes martes, the European pine marten. This agile #mustelid roams woodlands across Europe, known for its chestnut fur, bushy tail, and creamy throat patch. A classic tautonym in mammalian #taxonomy! #MartesMartes #CarnivoreEcology Photo: Dani Kropivnik

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑣𝑎 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑣𝑎, the red avadavat. This small, brilliantly colored estrildid #finch is native to open fields and grasslands of tropical South Asia. They have rounded black tails and the bill that is seasonally red. #Systematics #TaxonomyTuesday Photo: Shantanu Kuveskar

Look who came by for a chat! Maybe you'll hear what we talked about in a couple of months... Thanks @ologies.bsky.social and @alieward.bsky.social for a great conversation and visit to California State University, Long Beach

Today’s a double dose of adorable! 🎉 Save the #Koala Day🐨 🎉 Black-footed Ferret Day Two conservation champs, one epic high five. Let’s celebrate and protect these furry icons! 🌿💚 #KoalaDay #BlackFootedFerret #Wildlife #Conservation

It’s #WorldGorillaDay! #Gorillas are our close relatives, sharing ~98% of our DNA. These gentle giants live in cohesive groups led by silverbacks and play key roles in forest #ecology. #Primatology #GreatApes #Conservation

Some recent additions to my collection show how differences in locomotion styles create amazing diversity in limb morphology! Suspensorial sloths have gracile arms, fossorial tamanduas have short, thick bones to support large muscles. Giraffes have long limbs with cannon bones (fused metatarsals)!

Who doesn't love a good tautonym?!

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet 𝑅𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑎, the bohor reedbuck. This medium-sized #antelope thrives in moist grasslands and savannas across sub-Saharan Africa. Known for its shy nature and whistling alarm calls. #TaxonomyTuesday #Systematics #Wildlife Photo: Bernard DUPONT

🎉🌍 Today is a wild day for #wildlife lovers! 🐾 It’s a wild day for wildlife! 🦧 Int’l Tamarin Day 🐘 #Elephant Appreciation Day 🦦 #SeaOtter Awareness Week 🦏 World #Rhino Day From trunks to tails, let’s celebrate these amazing #animals and support their #conservation! 🌿💚 #WildlifeDay

🦊Happy National Fox Day!🦊 Did you know? 🧠 Foxes show advanced problem-solving skills. 🌍 The red fox has the widest geographic range of any wild canid. 🧬 Island foxes evolved rapid dwarfism. Celebrate by sharing your favorite fox pics! #EvolutionaryBiology #BehavioralEcology #WildlifeScience

It’s #TautonymTuesday! Meet Cyanicterus cyanicterus, the blue-backed #tanager. This dazzling #bird from the Guianas is the only species in its genus, which makes it monotypic and a tautonym! #Ornithology #Taxonomy #Birds Photo: Hector Bottai