🚨New paper in JEZ-A 🦎 In Tropidurus catalanensis, sprint speed isn’t about size, testosterone or muscle enzyme activity. Instead, fast lizards show greater cardiac oxidative capacity, which is vital for post-exercise recovery doi.org/10.1002/jez....

🚨 New paper in ICB! 🚨 We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️ doi.org/10.1093/icb/... @tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social

🚨 New paper! 🚨 We present thermal imaging evidence that blue-spotted salamanders partake in breeding migration at sub-zero body temperatures that are way below their known supercooling point. ❄️🥶 Why take such a risk? Come check the paper: doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding ponds while snow still blankets the ground and…

I'm extremely happy to share that in August I'll be starting a post-doc in Dr. Carlos Navas' lab at Universidade de São Paulo! With a fellowship given by the São Paulo Research Foundation, I'll study the mechanisms underlying behavioural fever in amphibians and reptiles 🐸🦎🌡️

📢 Now #hiring: @canjzoology.bsky.social is recruiting an #ECR Associate Editor! This is a great volunteer opportunity for a postdoc or early-career faculty member to gain editorial experience and build connections! ▶️ buff.ly/hpVApYd #AcademicSky #SciComm 🧪 #AcWri #PHDSky #ScholComms

Salamanders need to make sure their skin stays wet enough to survive living on land. Giacometti & co recently showed that salamanders can sense the humidity in the air and seek out areas that will stop their skin from drying out journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Faculty of Math and Sciences Best PhD Dissertation Award to Danilo Giacometti Congratulations Dr. Danilo Giacometti! The Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences at Brock has awarded you the FMS Best PhD Thesis Award. A supervisor could not be prouder!

And all 5 chapters published before the thesis defense! Amazing! Makes the committee kind of irrelevant in a good way.

Extremely happy to share that I successfully defended my PhD yesterday! Thank you to my fantastic supervisor @tattersallg.bsky.social , my committee members @photopidge.bsky.social and @richardsmiriam1.bsky.social, and my external examiners @lizardprof.bsky.social and Dr. Toby Mündel.

Congratulations, Dr. Giacometti! I am really proud to congratulate Dr. Danilo Giacometti for his successful PhD Defence! The thesis entitled "Physiological and behavioural responses to temperature and humidity in fossorial amphibians" was defended today in front of his examining committee: Dr. Don…

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart “the Drying” For amphibians, water is everything. Their thin skin makes them especially vulnerable to drying out, so staying hydrated is not just about comfort—it is about survival. But how do amphibians manage their hydration state in the face of different…

Hydro Hackers: How Salamanders Outsmart "the Drying" tattersalllab.com/2025/05/23/h...

@jexpbiol.bsky.social did a great job translating our work to a broader audience through this 'Inside JEB' article. Please check it out! doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

🚨 New paper! 🚨 We show that salamanders behaviourally regulate a constant vapour pressure deficit regardless of temperature, which supports the presence of a humidistat that helps regulate evaporative water loss. doi.org/10.1242/jeb.... @tattersallg.bsky.social @jexpbiol.bsky.social #herpetology

🧵5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations! These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs. Save and share the post!

🚨New paper!🚨 In our latest paper in Oecologia, we demonstrate that fossorial (i.e., underground-dwelling) ectotherms, which are thought to experience attenuated climatic variability underground, also display seasonal adjustments in key physiological functions. doi.org/10.1007/s004...

Digging into physiology: how salamanders balance energy and water between seasons Ectotherms from highly seasonal habitats often exhibit remarkable physiological plasticity, which allows them to balanceand adjust energy and water budgets in the face of fluctuating climatic conditions. Yet,…

Exploring Fish and Reptile Intelligence: Honours Thesis Defence Insights A busy week with Honours student defences from the lab (and throughout the Department of Biological Sciences). From our lab: Margaret Kitney defended a brilliant thesis project on how and whether sex differences alters…

New paper in Insect Science! We used infrared thermography to show that regional heterothermy can be sustained even in the absence of heat stress or enforced exercise in rhinoceros beetles. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵 Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Unlocking the Motivations of Repetitive Behaviours in Reptiles Our latest study ( sheds light on a perplexing behaviour seen in captive reptiles, namely their interactions with barriers (IWB), a form of repetitive behaviour akin to pacing in mammals. As part of her PhD research, Melanie Denommé…

Happy New Year Everyone! ICYMI... Our lab is hiring for two positions, a post-doc to work on immune mechanisms of pathogen resistance and a lab technician Deadline is Feb 1 and descriptions of both positions are below or at zamudiolab.org Please help spread the word!

From Bat Lake to the 2025 @jexpbiol.bsky.social calendar. What an honour!

Starter pack of ecological and evolutionary physiologists. Definitely missing people so let me know go.bsky.app/N5Xvr8v

When Salamanders Surface: Understanding the Secrets Behind Spotted Salamander Overwintering Emergence Fossorial amphibians, like the Spotted Salamander, exhibit unique behaviors when emerging from their underground winter refuges. This study investigates the effects of soil temperature inversion…

We have a new paper out! Spotted Salamanders engage in active behavioural thermoregulation in both the active and overwintering seasons. However, behavioural differences between seasons result in a 9.4°C shift in selected temperatures. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

New paper from Danilo Giacometti's PhD work is out tattersalllab.com/2024/09/04/s...

🚨Our latest paper in Biological Reviews is out now! 🚨 We provide a review of #lizard thermal biology in the context of #seasonality. We also assessed how seasonality and #behaviour interacted to shape lizard thermal biology through a meta-analysis. 🦎🌡️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...