I am recruiting Ph.D. students this cycle. Students interested in deep-sea fishes and phylogenetic comparative methods are an especially good fit.

Our paper unpacking "fitness" is out doi.org/10.1093/gene.... How to define fitness depends on what question you ask. Selection acts on organismal vital rates, longer-term outcomes make sense for genetic lineages, models link them. "Invasion fitness" = speed, but sometimes probability matters more.

100 Days of Reef Fish Blennies day 1/10: watercolor painting of a Schroeder’s Coral Blenny, Ecsenius schroederi. This species eats algae, helping to keep coral reefs clean and in balance. #sciart #coralreefs #marinelife #dothe100daysproject

100 Days of Reef Fish Blennies day 2/10: Yellowtail Fangblenny, Meiacanthus atrodorsalis, also commonly called the Eyelash Blenny because of the dark markings by its eyes. This blenny species is venomous. #sciart #coralreefs #marinelife #dothe100daysproject

According to the Minnesota DNR, it’s the first time in more than a century there’s been documentation of a reproducing cougar population in the state.

New paper led by @taylorblack.bsky.social shows AVT modulates aggression in darter lineages with nest site territoriality and paternal care but elicits no behavioral response in a species that secondarily lost territoriality and care www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

‼️NEW ANGLERFISH PAPER! 🐟🎣 So excited to share the final part of my Master’s research! We explore the bizarre tacklebox of anglerfish lures and show how these fishes evolved different ways to attract prey and maybe even mates in the deep sea. 🧪🦑🌊🦇🦀 Open access paper link: doi.org/10.1643/i202...

The Artemis crew may have seen a lot of stars today while they flew around the moon, but they didn't see this guy! Starry Blenny (Salarias ramosus) and its fabulous eyebrows (okay, cirri, if we must). Pic from Anilao #MarineLife 🐟🌿 #UnderwaterPhotography #WildlifePhotography

Always fun to collaborate Josh Egan! Very interesting diets… especially the prevalence of the invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Sharing this one last time: we're looking for a tenure track ecologist with a focus on global change biology at UW-Green Bay. Applications close on March 29 🧪🌍🪶

A little Throwback Thursday to one of my first pieces on hot press paper, a cute Yellow Boxfish! #SciArt #AnimalArt #MarineLife #Watercolor #FineArt

#OnThisDay Mar 11 1893: Wanda Gág is born in New Ulm, Minnesota. After graduating from the Minneapolis School of Art, she writes the classic "Millions of Cats" in 1928, the prototype for all modern children's literature. Today it remains the oldest American picture book still in print.

Some professors at the University of St. Thomas are doing a research project on the effects of the ICE occupation on Twin Cities parents. They're looking for parents who are US citizens, who live in the Twin Cities metro area, and who have kids ages 5-10. stthomas.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Check out our new paper on clingfishes led by @fishtide.bsky.social!

Just published: A very unusual fish, described here as a new genus and species of loach, and the first groundwater-dwelling fish reported from Northeast India. Meet 𝑮𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒏𝒂! Open access article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I don’t care that Kash Patel went to the Olympics but I do care that he’s such a fucking dork.

Keep Saint Paul Boring ™

Here. Hope this helps. Signed, A New York Meteorologist Reluctantly Living in MN Since 2016

People who immigrate to the U.S. come here to find safety and opportunity and contribute to our communities. We should be welcomed with dignity, not demonized.

New from the #NearLab, Chase Brownstein chasedbrownstein.bsky.social takes the lead on Phylogenomics and the origins of sharks. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Ariel the Gulf blenny is starting to get its mature colors. They're so pretty.

NEW: The Trump admin certainly put on a show last week about changing tactics in Minnesota after ICE agents killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old VA nurse. Trump even suggested it's time for "a softer touch." Except residents say nothing has changed. At all. www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-mi...

stopicetoday.com stopicetoday.com stopicetoday.com stopicetoday.com stopicetoday.com

It’s so funny that this guy’s entire thing is “Oh are you triggered by what I have to say about marginalized people” but he loses it when someone more well-liked than he will ever be talks about an actual injustice

Abolish ICE. There’s no reforming it. There’s no compromise. There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.

Saint Paul

Finally made it to the Art Ice Shanties on Bdé Umáŋ (Lake Harriet). Lots of creativity and love out there. This was the Sacred Water shared Future Shanty. artshantyprojects.org/portfolio/sa...

The Alex Pretti Memorial Ride in Minneapolis today was massive and so powerful to be a part of. I've seen estimates of 3-5 thousand riders, taking up to an hour for the ride to pass through an intersection.

A little-known perk of joining Racket at the highest membership tier is that you get to request a custom cross stitch by @biketrouble.bsky.social. Anyway, here’s our latest Racketeer-level subscriber’s MPLS > ICE laser loon!

Not finished yet and this isn’t a pen and ink illustration, but a black and white rendition of a 3d model, but I love to share this herring. Except for some bones in the pectoral fins the skeleton is all but complete

If you are outside Canada and looking to post-doc in Canada, University of Alberta is currently recrutiing Canada Impact + Research Post-doctoral Scholars. Deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is Feb 9th. 🧪 www.ualberta.ca/en/graduate-...

Second PhD paper is out! We find: 1) aquatic and terrestrial salamanders have different limb bone adaptations, 2) complex life cycles promote different traits, 3) decoupling of external and internal bone traits increase diversity. Thread (1/8) and FREE link below! 🦎🧪 doi.org/10.1111/joa....

Want to do a postdoc at Friday Harbor Labs? We have two positions open. Apply by March 1st. I am happy to discuss potential projects with fish people. apply.interfolio.com/180092 🧪

that’s my rep!!!! @ilhanmn.bsky.social

"ICE OUT" on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, as seen from my flight leaving MSP airport

Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.

"They say they're coming to save us from some evil? They're talking about our neighbors who take care of us ... Alex was murdered while he was helping. Mr Rogers said look for the helpers, & right now the helpers have a target on our forehead ... Mr Rogers would be here right now too, so I'm here."

I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.

I worked with the Center for Biological Diversity to file a petition with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to have the Stippled Studfish, Fundulus bifax, receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. Today the USFWS announced an initial positive finding on the petition. See Alt. 🧪🌍🐟 #TeamFish

I.C.E. OUT

A fun species of clingfish found in Japan, often clinging to brown algae or seaweed

Taylor et al present a refined Alcian blue + Alizarin red clearing and staining protocol optimized for large vertebrate specimens. Works on adult chickens and late-stage emu embryos, no trypsin needed, best on fresh frozen tissue! Check it out! anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Together, we must defend democracy and defeat authoritarianism.

A new combtooth blenny genome just dropped! Assembled from recycled ONT data + HiC + RNAseq. Thanks, Nikita Kulikov, Kim Joffroy, @ambonacolta.bsky.social @delcampolab.bsky.social for your hard work

Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"

THIS is Minneapolis. racketmn.com/see-the-prot...

PhD position in fish ecology at the university of Gothenburg @naturvetenskap.bsky.social with fieldwork at Kristineberg marine station @kristinebergcenter.bsky.social Apply here: web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...

This is Minneapolis: The growing mutual aid network in Mpls is messy but also NEXT LEVEL right now. I cannot believe the urgency and volume of requests that are being met in MINUTES/hours. If we can get to the other side of this, I hope we can continue supporting each other ongoing. ❤️

Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.

Phylogenomics of Cypriniformes, the most diverse order of freshwater fishes: consensus, challenges and limitations Hiranya Sudasinghe, Ralf Britz, Michael Matschiner, Kevin Conway, Heok Hui Tan, Maurice Kottelat, Rajeev Raghavan, Neelesh Dahanukar, ... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...