If universities anywhere are hiring an Evolutionary Biologist/Paleontologist please let me know! I'm on the market for Tenure Track positions!! You can find more about my research on fish evolution here: rtfigueroa.wixsite.com/my-site

Please help me get a job in a different country

Truly impressive number of birds migrating tonight. More than 800 MILLION birds up in the air right now❗ #BirdMigration

My answer is no we won’t. Unless there is significant investment in post secondary and industry sees Canada as a site of innovation, there are not enough jobs to recruit these people. In fact all signs point to less investment in post secondary. 🇨🇦 #academicsky #Canada www.bbc.com/news/article...

The money class are parodies of themselves. There is no problem they think won't magically be solved by tax cuts and deregulation. Psychologically, there's no difference between "tax cuts solve everything" fetishists and your weird aunt who's constantly talking about how fairies cured her gout.

BOOM: The swainsons hawk came back a 2nd time and I nailed the shot as close as I could with a 100-400mm f/5.6 - next time if I'm packing(aka renting) a 300 f2.8 ill get the shot of a lifetime. Or if someone near Sacramento wants to lend me one! =) #birds

A tiny Jurassic pterosaur, Bellubrunnus, wingspan, less than a foot (its head is the size of my fingernail)

Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... ), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants

All genes have the same function: - Template gene products. The products are diverse. Their functions are complex and incompletely characterized.

👁️The retina — strikingly conserved across vertebrates, but an oddity among bilaterians! So how did it evolve? With @mikebok.bsky.social, @neurofishh.bsky.social and @denilsson.bsky.social, we argue that retinal complexity may 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑦𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/n

Very excited about our new preprint, led by @gkafetzis.bsky.social /w @mikebok.bsky.social & @denilsson.bsky.social. We suggest that the vertebrate 'duplex' retina emerged from interconnecting two ancient median-eye microcircuits. Say goodbye to the 'simplex' retina - it probably never existed!

1/3 Rooks that understand us when we speak! Leo, a 21-year-old rook, began following verbal instructions spontaneously during comparative cognition experiments. He has been tested for this ability, and did great. (paper) link.springer.com/article/10.1...

And at a time when the Coen Brothers are on a hiatus, too

Come to the MBL in Woods Hole @mblscience.bsky.social for a GRASS FELLOWSHIP @grassfoundation.bsky.social 🦑 🐙🐛 There are two application deadlines this year: Oct 15, 2025 (submit by then to receive feedback on your application!), and Dec 1, 2025 (final deadline). grassfoundation.org/application-...

A new report on the impact of lithium mining in South America’s lithium triangle finds the rush to extract lithium in Chile’s Salar de Atacama has had a severe impact on the area’s water supplies.

New paper on precise tool use learning in carrion crows @currentbiology.bsky.social. We show that—like New Caledonian crows—expert carrion crows pay close attention to the working end of their tool, suggesting tool integration into their peripersonal space. 🧵 & vids! 👇 www.cell.com/current-biol...

I am beyond excited to announce that ggplot2 4.0.0 has just landed on CRAN. It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package. Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats

The new XKCD has to be a reference to the ant paper where ants just casually lay eggs of a different species, yes? Maybe? There are so many weird bugs its hard to know.

Did a corporate landlord wrote this?

Please do not forget that some scientists were cozying up to Epstein long long long after his horrific behavior was known. Five of them are featured in the Birthday Book. Gerry Edelman. Murray Gellman. Steve Kosslyn. Martin Nowak. Lee Smolin. See docs: oversight.house.gov/release/over...

Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

I will never publish anything as important as this. arxiv.org/abs/2501.00536

📣 This is a big one that we've been cooking for a while! We think it adds to the heart of motor control: 'how does motor cortex work'. Congratulations @mkashefi.bsky.social!

Journal of Comparative Neurology | Systems Neuroscience Journal | Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Sad day for peope who still believe brain areas are the primary organizational units of function in the brain. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New paper is officially out! Ratfish have a second jaw on their foreheads - CT + histology show they’re real teeth, built from the same tissues and signals as oral teeth. www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

What an incredible story!!! The paper is worth a read. 25 years studying biology and some times you still End up with your jaw on the floor.

This should have been big news! Ten funding agencies from eight European countries have pledged to support a public infrastructure that is poised to replace academic journals: FWF 🇦🇹 RCN 🇳🇴 Forte 🇸🇪 ARIS 🇸🇮 SRC 🇸🇪 FCT 🇵🇹 CSIC 🇪🇸 DFG 🇩🇪 Formas 🇸🇪 ANR 🇫🇷 Only two of them issued press releases in […]

AMAZING opportunity to lead the future of the Macaulay Lab (home of the beloved Merlin App) at the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University. Search is on for a new Director. Please forward along! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30293

This is the way

On the eve of the Labour Day long weekend, I am thankful for the UBC Faculty Association who have stood by me (and many others - the stories I could tell!) 100%. Remember that HR is not your friend and neither is Faculty Relations. Your power lies with your FA.

#FrogFriday 🐸: #Frog Pitcher, 1st - 8th c. CE Moche culture, North Coast Peru (Chicama Valley, Toma del Tesoro / Sausal) Ceramic, H 239 x L 158 x W 220 mm; 1918 g Museo Larco ML009350 coleccion.museolarco.org/detail/10218 #IndigenousArt #AndeanArt

Chameleons & salamanders evolved a sliding-based linear actuator to launch the tongue via muscular squeezing of a tapered skeletal rod, contrasting with tendon-driven pulling mechanisms common in most musculoskeletal systems, allowing acceleration along a straight path. www.cell.com/current-biol...

It’s finally out! Our work addressing the origins of reptiles is published in PCJ! peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.... We use novel info gleaned from the scan data of dozens of stem reptiles to substantially revise our understanding of early reptile evolution #paleontology #herpetology

Hi all, me, @richardjbutler.bsky.social and the amazing UK-US-Moroccan team are delighted to announce that.. we have a new specimen of Spicomellus AND IT'S WAY WEIRDER AND WAY COOLER THAN WE EVER IMAGINED!!

Our job ad is now out on the ULethbridge website and University Affairs. We are looking for a systems neuroscientist working with animals (note that we do not have facilities for nonhuman primate research). #academicsky #sciencejobs #Canada #neuroskyence 🧠🧪🇨🇦 uleth.peopleadmin.ca/postings/8586

Latest from the lab. Beautiful work from Joanna Lau and a fantastic collaboration with James Fitzgerald. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Researchers have filmed thousands of climbing catfish scaling waterfalls, providing a rare insight into the daring migration of an enigmatic fish. Learn more: https://scim.ag/4lDlFux

Saw this today and smiled. Correlation or causation?

The 2025-26 Eco-Evo job list is out. Good luck to those applying! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

For anyone interested in an academic job in 🇨🇦, we will soon be advertising an Assistant Prof position in Systems Neuroscience (rodents and other animal models) at ULethbridge. There are many pros and cons of working here, so feel free to DM me to find out more #neuroskyence #academicsky

Broad in scope but strikingly concise, highly accessible, and nuanced - go get this book if you have even the slightest interest in birds and/or vertebrate brain evolution. I will use it a lot. Congrats @evoneuro.bsky.social! #neuroskyence 🧪

Experimental philosophy

To be heard over roaring rivers, white-throated dippers swap from song to flashing their bright eyelids. New research reveals one of the clearest examples yet of animals switching between senses to communicate – showing how noisy environments can shape evolution: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-08...

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.” It costs a lot less to house people.

New specimen of the enantiornithean ("opposite bird") Shangyang with evidence of an iridescent feather crest: elifesciences.org/articles/103... 🪶🧪 (📷Li et al.)

New project about to kick off in our lab on the Great Auk. We recently acquired CT scans of a beautifully intact Great Auk skull from the @tephrafan.bsky.social lab. Hopefully @evolsara.bsky.social and I will have a cool story for 2026! #birds #skulls #ornithology 🪶🇨🇦🧪

For anyone interested, here is a link to a CBC Radio interview this morning about our new book on bird brains and behaviour: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... And the open access link can be found in my bio. #birds #neuroskyence #neuroethology #Canada 🪶🇨🇦🧪🧠

Actually my favorite bird etymology is that in 1400s England they gave human nicknames to birds (Jenny Wren, Tom Tit) but some of them stuck. Jack Daw became Jackdaw, Maggie Pie became Magpie. With Robin Redbreast they just dropped the original name of the bird entirely.