Ben Vernasco
@verntasco.bsky.social
📤 1520
📥 721
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Research Scientist/Adjunct Assistant Professor @WhitmanCollege
pinned post!
New paper published in collaboration with Kira Long, Mike Braun and Jeff Brawn! We examined the relationship between genetic and telomeric variation in a manakin hybrid zone. Especially stoked because our paper got featured on the issue’s cover!!!
doi.org/10.1111/mec....
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Genetic and telomeric variability: Insights from a tropical avian hybrid zone
Telomere lengths and telomere dynamics can correlate with lifespan, behaviour and individual quality. Such relationships have spurred interest in understanding variation in telomere lengths and their....
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17491
over 1 year ago
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Bonnie Flint (she/her)
7 days ago
New ornithological method just dropped: capture only the birds needed for your study with the click of a button. Pub from me &
@verntasco.bsky.social
Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture. Journal of Field Ornithology.
journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/a...
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Journal of Field Ornithology: Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture
Capturing and marking animals is often an essential component of studying wild populations, but the process of capturing and marking can have detrimental effects on captured birds. For instance, resea...
https://journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/art8
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Do you trap songbirds at a bird feeder, with a focus on particular species or individuals? Consider trying out our new design which uses a key FOB to remotely close the trap!
journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/a...
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Journal of Field Ornithology: Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture
Capturing and marking animals is often an essential component of studying wild populations, but the process of capturing and marking can have detrimental effects on captured birds. For instance, resea...
https://journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/art8/
7 days ago
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Kevin Bennett
13 days ago
New paper out. If you like colorful birds, hybridization, and phylogenetics, read on! 🧵https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003501
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A colorful legacy of hybridization in wood-warblers includes frequent sharing of carotenoid genes among species and genera
Introgression between species can shape evolutionary trajectories in important ways. This study of the entire family of the colorful wood-warblers (Parulidae) uses whole-genome sequencing to reveal fr...
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003501
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New research in
@sicbjournals.bsky.social
on individual variation in glucocorticoid physiology. We examine intrinsic and extrinsic sources using a captive population of Red Crossbills. One cool result - we find adult telomere length predicts glucocorticoid concentrations
doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
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State-dependent and social modulation of circulating glucocorticoids in a nomadic songbird, the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
Abstract. Glucocorticoids facilitate the integration of environmental information and coordination of organismal responses to perturbations. Circulating gl
https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obaf047
16 days ago
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gavin jones
20 days ago
I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉
gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
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Opportunities
***PhD and MSc openings – Movement ecology and conservation*** I will periodically support graduate students, postdocs, and other staff through the Biology Department at the University of New…
https://gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
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Ben Vernasco
Digital Naturalism Laboratories
23 days ago
Also DNA PEOPLE!! We need your help!! Our cool friends collected the white witch caterpillar's poop but need to process it to find what kinds of plants it eats! Does your lab do some kind of poop plant analysis? Please let us know!! We have special poop!
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Alice Boyle
about 1 month ago
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes... 1/n
#Tallgrass
#GRSP
#LTER
#Konza
#PopulationEcology
#Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
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Climatic Variability Threatens Population Growth and Persistence of a Declining Grassland Songbird
Determining the factors responsible for population change in threatened populations and the degree to which changing climates might put those populations at risk is one of the most pressing roles of ...
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72195
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Dr Mark E Hauber
about 1 month ago
@fieldornith.bsky.social
new position search!
add a skeleton here at some point
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Emily H. DuVal
about 2 months ago
We're hiring! Florida State University’s Department of Biological Science is seeking a tenure-track Evolutionary Geneticist. Our E&E group is outstanding - join us! Please share with anyone who might be interested!
#Evolution
#Genetics
#EvoDevo
#FacultyJob
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675930/a...
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Molly Schumer
2 months ago
Anyone looking for an undergrad research assistant this coming summer? I have a truly phenomenal undergrad with expertise in genetic mapping, long read sequencing & bioinformatics who wants experience in another lab before grad school. She has been in our lab for 3 years & writing her first paper!
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Dr. Amy Nusbaum
2 months ago
Looking for an adjunct to teach Indigenous Psychology in the spring. Could be asynchronous or via Zoom in the evening (Pacific). Very open to whatever approach/content you'd like to cover. Pay is $3,300 for the semester. We're a Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution, as well as an HSI!
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news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
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Bezos grant to fund AI innovations to monitor and protect wildlife | Cornell Chronicle
A $1.8 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund will help the Cornell Lab of Ornithology develop acoustic sensors and artificial intelligence analytics to identify real-time threats to forests from ill...
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/10/bezos-grant-fund-ai-innovations-monitor-and-protect-wildlife
2 months ago
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The perfect paper, the perfect grant proposal, the perfect fellowship application…
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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Ben Vernasco
Mike Benard
2 months ago
New from CWRU alumn Troy Neptune, with Diana Koester (CLE Metroparks Zoo) in
@animalecology.bsky.social
. Gray treefrogs use daylength as a seasonal cue to prepare for winter. Autumn daylength triggers frogs to accumulate 14-fold more liver glycogen than summer photoperiod.
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
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Ben Vernasco
Jessie Williamson
2 months ago
My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.
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Kim Rosvall
3 months ago
This is a nice IU short on our eclipse project.
#NSF
youtube.com/shorts/PrQGn...
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Indiana University scientists lead project on how birds responded to the 2024 Great American Eclipse
YouTube video by Kimberly Rosvall
https://youtube.com/shorts/PrQGnEXb3co?si=Bvsa3-CbTlG0Mehq
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Ben Vernasco
Wilson Ornithological Society
3 months ago
Latest articles from the WJO: Call rate and types of calls produced vary with flock movements in wild Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus).
#ornithology
doi.org/10.1080/1559...
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victoria zeller (buy ONE OF THE BOYS)
3 months ago
thank you bills tiktok
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Ben Vernasco
The Institute for Bird Populations
3 months ago
🪶 If you are able, you donate here:
birdpop.org/pages/do...
We lost roughly $1 million in funding without warning. Projects cancelled included all of our bird monitoring work for the National Park Service & projects w/ the Bureau of Land Management on Gunnison's Sage-Grouse, Pinyon Jays & more. 1/4
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Happy to share a new USFS General Technical Report on passive acoustic monitoring my collaborators and I put together. We discuss sampling design and introduce the Simple Passive Acoustic Monitoring (SPAM) protocol (R/python code/scripts included!)! link here:
research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/6...
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Workflow and training materials for validating species detections from passive acoustic monitoring: a case study from the northern Blue Mountains | US Forest Service Research and Development
https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/69948
3 months ago
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Ben Vernasco
BOU
3 months ago
Call rate and types of calls produced vary with flock movements in wild Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) |
www.tandfonline.com/...
| Wilson Journal of Ornithology |
#ornithology
🪶
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Dr. Stepfanie Aguillon 😷
3 months ago
The first Aguillon Lab paper is officially out in early view at Evolution!! Led by postdoc
@devonderaad.bsky.social
, we’ve explored the hybrid zone between black-headed and rose-breasted grosbeaks in the Great Plains.
#ornithology
#hybridization
#speciation
#evolution
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
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Ben Vernasco
bioRxiv Animal Behavior and Cognition
4 months ago
Genetic and environmental sources of behavioral individuality: a test of the standard model
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.27.672710v1
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Carissa the Bunnologist, MSc🐇
4 months ago
Anyone here who can tell me more about the wildlife program at Oregon State?
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Chris Balakrishnan
4 months ago
Amid all the continuing good news from the world, another preprint! Inbreeding depression and tuberculosis susceptibility in the critically endangered white-winged wood duck Asarcornis scutulata (photo by Katie Lubbock, Sylvan Heights Bird Park)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Jarome Ali 🇹🇹 🏳️🌈
4 months ago
Pick an idiom: "more than meets the eye", "beauty more than skin [feather] deep" etc. In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking! 🧪 🪶
#colsci
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Songbirds play optical tricks to make their feather colors ‘pop’
Concealed black or white bands on feathers boost the vibrancy of bird plumage
https://www.science.org/content/article/songbirds-play-optical-tricks-make-their-feather-colors-pop
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Jess Hightower
5 months ago
Invertebrates are declining even in pristine tropical forests and climate change is the culprit.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Stronger El Niños reduce tropical forest arthropod diversity and function - Nature
Time-series data from tropical forests tracking weather and declines in arthropod diversity and function show that fluctuations in species were largely dependent on their El Niño sensitivity and ecolo...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09351-x
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Ben Vernasco
John Wares
5 months ago
Paying attention to the USDA reorganization plan? Comment window is open.
www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...
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https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/08/01/usda-opens-public-comment-period-department-reorganization-plan
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Ben Vernasco
Steven J Cooke
6 months ago
After SCOTUS decision a few days ago, potential staff cuts for essential conservation programs is very real. If you are a US citizen and care about nature, fishing, hunting, bird watching, the environment, etc, time to let your elected officials know this matters to you!
www.hcn.org/articles/mas...
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Mass layoffs can move forward, with devastating impacts for conservation and science - High Country News
‘Shortsighted’ cuts could eliminate bird banding program, federal bee research and much more.
https://www.hcn.org/articles/mass-layoffs-can-move-forward-with-devastating-impacts-for-conservation-and-science/
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Ben Vernasco
The Institute for Bird Populations
6 months ago
🪶🌎🧪 Bird Banding Lab threatened by budget cuts: The lab falls under the U. S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystem Mission Area, the agency’s major ecology program, which under President Trump’s 2026 proposed budget would see funding cut to $29 million, from $293 million.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/s...
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Trump’s Budget Would Clip Bird Banding. Hunters Are Not Happy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/science/trump-budget-birds-banding-hunters.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
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Ben Vernasco
Kevin Bennett
6 months ago
New paper published! How does a mid-size river impact gene flow and population structure, including when there is an adaptive sexual trait present on one bank but not the other? With Peri Bolton, Robb Brumfield (
@limpkin.bsky.social
), Jerry Wilkinson, and Mike Braun.
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
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Impact of a putative riverine barrier on genomic population structure and gene flow in the presence of sexual selection
Abstract. Gene flow connects populations and facilitates the exchange of alleles, impacting speciation and adaptation. In western Panama, lekking golden-co
https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpaf146
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Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️
6 months ago
Millions of acres of public lands are eligible for sale in the Senate budget reconciliation package (as of 6-14). This would be the largest public lands sell-off in US history, and would bypass traditional safeguards such as public hearings & environmental reviews. 1/x map:
tinyurl.com/Lands4SaleMap
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Shannon Skalos, PhD
6 months ago
Thank you,
@rheisman.bsky.social
for writing this piece about the BBL and BBS at USGS!
therevelator.org/trump-vs-bir...
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Trump vs. Birds: Proposed Budget Eliminates Critical Research Programs • The Revelator
Experts say there’s “no substitute” for the Bird Banding Laboratory or the Breeding Bird Survey, which help reveal the health and status of avian populations across the country.
https://therevelator.org/trump-vs-birds/
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Jacob Drucker
7 months ago
Our paper about the flow of nocturnal bird migration through Colombia is finally out today in
#ProcB
! Using weather radars operated by the
#IDEAM
, we found that low variability in wind underlies a pace of migration that is far more gradual than at temperate latitudes.
#Ornithology
📡🪶🇨🇴 🧵1/10
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Ben Vernasco
BOU
7 months ago
Migratory connectivity and potential nonbreeding sexual segregation in Gray Vireos (Vireo vicinior) |
http://tandfonline.c...
| Wilson Journal of Ornithology |
#ornithology
🪶
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Rebecca Heisman
7 months ago
Pls share: I'm seeking ornithologists willing to comment about how the Bird Banding Lab &/or Breeding Bird Survey are crucial to their research & conservation efforts, for a piece for
@therevelator.org
defending these programs. Reply, DM, or email me at rebecca dot heisman at gmail.
#ornithology
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www.science.org/content/arti...
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Is a photo subversive? NSF staff overcome obstacles to 75th anniversary portrait
Management tried to quash outpouring of support for beleaguered agency
https://www.science.org/content/article/photo-subversive-nsf-staff-overcome-obstacles-75th-anniversary-portrait
7 months ago
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Anna N Osiecka 🍉
8 months ago
🔊After years of Kevin Darras's et al's hard work, we are very happy to have this one out: Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms
Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.70021
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Çağlar Akçay
8 months ago
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms
Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.70021
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Ben Vernasco
Joel Slade
8 months ago
I am looking for a MS student to take on a project. We have samples already collected, and there is opportunity for more field work. California resident is preferred (fees for non-resident and international students are too high IMO). Repost please.
#ecology
#physiology
#ornithology
#grad
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Gary Burness
8 months ago
Do you have a favourite paper on developing hypotheses and predictions (suitable for first year uni bio students)?
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Ben Vernasco
American Naturalist / ASN 🐌
8 months ago
McDonald et al. find that courtship displays of the Golden-winged Manakin are dynamic interactions between audience and performer. Displays are simpler when a female is present, and simplest when her position on the display log indicates readiness to mate.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
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University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/734995
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Ben Vernasco
American Birding Association
9 months ago
Looking for a resource to expand your knowledge of a widely diverse and popular family of birds? Check out Owen Robertson's review of The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada, by Lillian Stokes and Matthew A. Young:
www.aba.org/fantastic-fi...
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Ben Vernasco
The Institute for Bird Populations
9 months ago
🪶🌎🧪 Bird Point Counter sought immediately! This is a 3-month position (tentatively May 6- August 3) in beautiful Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington. Work will involve both frontcountry and backcountry travel, and will include long days in the field, often off trail in rugged terrain. (1/3)
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Rebecca Heisman
9 months ago
Question for
#ornithology
Bluesky: what sort of actual hard data (not just anecdotes) is out there on how house sparrows impact native birds in North America? Like, a lot of people clearly hate them because they think they're bad for native birds... but what does the data say?
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Ben Vernasco
The Institute for Bird Populations
9 months ago
🪶🌎🧪Bird Point Counter sought immediately! This is a short (7 week) assignment in beautiful North Carolina. Days are relatively short and easy, with ample time in the afternoons to relax or recreate. Onsite housing in an Airbnb, and a rental vehicle will be paid by IBP. (1/2)
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Ben Vernasco
Max M.
10 months ago
In less dire news - we are hiring seasonal technicians for this summer/fall through the ACE EPIC program! We have 4 different positions available and are hoping to hire a total of 16 people. See thread below for details (1/6)
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Ben Vernasco
Brian Rolek
10 months ago
The Peregrine Fund is looking to hire a Forest Management Specialist
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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD
10 months ago
❗️I’m looking for recommendations❗️for a very introductory text book (or online resources) to use in a bio statistics / quantitative ecology course. And ideally one that doesn’t cost a lot. Most of the ones I’ve found are either too advanced or too expensive for this course. For more context, (1/3)
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