We found oyster spiders today during my oyster lab field trip for my Invertebrate Zoology class! These are marine spiders! They have special setae (hairs) that trap air and let them live underwater. #invertebrates #spider

Some lovely nudibranchs for #seaslugday. These photos are from this summer when I was scuba diving in Komodo National Park, Indonesia. #invertebrates 🦑

Here is a cool Ichthyologist position at Georgia College and State University for anyone interested: jobs.chronicle.com/job/37897075... #academicsky

We're hiring a full time microbiology instructional staff position in the Biology at the University of Tampa. Apply if you are interested! utampa.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Staff/... #academicsky #microbiology #academicjobs

After several attempts I bought some concert tickets from AXS. It is mindboggling that they have managed to make an app and website that is somehow worse to use than Ticketmaster. It's criminal that these companies charge us "convenience/service" fees on their janky apps. #concert #livemusic

I'm so excited to see @puddlespityparty.bsky.social open for Weird Al tonight! The last Puddles show I went to was pure magic. (That's me with Puddles!)

We had one of my favorite crabs in the invertebrate teaching lab today! This is Dromidia sp. a carrier crab. Their last pair of legs is modified to carry sponges and other animals as a defensive mechanism. This one is carrying a colonial tunicate. #invertebrates 🦑🦀

Two for one invertebrates for #InverteFest. Here is the nudibranch Hypselodoris tryoni, in Komodo Indonesia, where you can see the purple eggs of a parasitic copepod sticking out from the slug's gill pocket. #sluglife #nudibranch🧪🦑

Last night the state of Florida painted over the crosswalk at the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando under the guise of road safety. They claim that rainbow crosswalks are distracting to drivers.

One of my favorite snails, the velutinid Coriocella nigra! Velutinid snails have an internal shell so they often get mistaken for slugs or other organisms. I saw this one while scuba diving in Komodo National Park, Indonesia last month. #molluscmonday #snail #invertebrate #komodo #indonesia 🦑

I spent some time today looking a this cool little flatworm under the microscope. I love the orange band! Anyone know who this is? #invertebrate #flatworm 🦑

This hermit crab may have been a bit ambitious with the choice of shell. #hermit #crustacean #invertebrate #Indonesia #Komodo 🦑 🦀

I've got another new paper out this week, this time in Symbiosis! In this paper we use DNA barcoding to describe the diet of the sacoglossan sea slug Elysia diomedea from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Read it here: rdcu.be/ezcoD #sluglife #invertebrates #slug #academicsky 🦑🧪

Here are a few of the nudibranchs that I was able to film while visiting Komodo National Park in Indonesia earlier this month. #nudibranch #slug #invertebrate #indonesia #scuba 🦑

Komodo dragon going for a stroll on Rinca island in Komodo National Park, Indonesia. #komodo #dragon #indonesia #lizard #biglizardinmybackyard

Recently got back from an amazing trip to Flores, Indonesia with @elizabeth-in-fla.bsky.social. We had some fantastic scuba dives and got to see some wild Komodo dragons! They are so cool! #indonesia #komodo #dragon

Very excited to share the discovery of a new population of the sacoglossan sea slug Elysia chlorotica in Tampa Bay! The new paper is out online now! #seaslug #sacoglossan #invertebrate #academicsky doi.org/10.4003/006....

We're hiring a Biology Lab coordinator at the University of Tampa. We need someone to start in a few weeks, so apply now if you are interested: utampa.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Staff/... #biology #academicsky

The sacoglossan sea slug Elysia zuleicae in Roatan, Honduras crawling around on the algae Udotea sp. This slug is a specialist herbivore, feeding and living on Udotea. #sluglife #invertebrates

Great talks so far at day one of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean scientific meeting. amlc-carib.org/2025-amlc-me...

My department is hiring a visiting professor for this upcoming academic year to teach introductory Biology and non-majors Biology courses. #academicsky utampa.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Facult...

Look at the colors on these sea slugs! These must be the most colorful lettuce slugs, Elysia crispata, that I have ever found. I ran across these two on a dive in Roatan, Honduras while I was there teaching my Coral Reefs course. #sluglife #invertebrates 🦑

I'm in Roatan, Honduras teaching my Coral Reefs class. Yesterday my students took part in some of the coral restoration efforts by cleaning the coral nursery and outplanting a few coral colonies. Today is their underwater lab practical exam. I love getting students underwater and into the field!

I had my annual end of the year celebration with my research students last night. One of them brought in this cookie cake! #sluglife

Here is a lovely nudibranch sea slug, Plocamopherus lucayensis. I found this slug crawling on a colony of Bryozoans, which is what it eats, while I was scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico. #sluglife #nudibranch #invertebrate

My undergraduate researchers are crushing it this year. All three of my graduating seniors won awards for their research presentations!

Sometimes your potted plants include a secret frog. #secretfrog

Fun surprise in my Invertebrate Zoology lab! Today we were covering crustaceans so I was showing my students a hermit crab that wears anemones on its shell. Then I noticed that there was a nudibranch (Spurilla braziliana) eating one of the anemones! #sluglife #invertebrate 🦑

Fortune smiles upon me. I was actually able to preorder a Switch 2.

We've got baby slugs! My students have been raising this batch of Elysia crispata lettuce sea slugs from eggs in the lab. They are growing so fast! #sluglife #invertebrate 🦑 #babyanimals

I went to see Slothrust play a show last night and it was great, but for me the real standout was @weakenedfriends.bsky.social who is touring with them. Really fun indie rock.

I saw the Violent Femmes last night and it was an exciting, interesting, and weird show. I don't think I've ever seen a touring band use a contrabass saxophone before. I loved it!

Early registration is now available for Association of Marine Laboratories Scientific Meeting. The meeting takes place June 2-6 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Join in! amlc-carib.org/2025-meeting...

While visiting the British Virgin Islands I made a scuba in a seagrass bed that was packed with these beautiful headshield slugs, Chelidonura hirundinina. 🦑 #invertebrates #sluglife

This little filefish looks a bit grumpy that I spotted him. I found this little guy while scuba diving in a seagrass bed in the British Virgin Islands. 🦑

Of the books I read over Spring Break my favorite was Haunt Sweet Home by @sarahpinsker.bsky.social. If you haven't read one of her books I highly recommend them!

Over Spring Break I put my phone on airplane mode and did not open my laptop. I made 23 scuba dives for fun and read 4 fiction books for fun. Academic friends, you need to take some for yourself or the burnout will get you, especially in our current climate. #academicsky

If you are in Florida and into live music please consider signing this petition:

This is about a friend of mine who was fired by DOGE. It's heartbreaking to see this happening to so many dedicated and hardworking government employees. www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs. It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎

This is what we mean when we say the regime is censuring science. “CDC staff should not be co-authors on manuscripts/abstracts with WHO staff,” nor publish papers on work "funded by WHO.” www.huffingtonpost.c...

Abstracts are open for submission for the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean conference in Puerto Rico this June. This is one of my favorite conferences! If you do marine research in the greater Caribbean region you should join in! amlc-carib.org/2025-meeting/

Since I was not on BlueSky when this came out and we are around its anniversary I thought I would share my Sea Slug Ted Talk: go.ted.com/michaelmiddlebrooks #sluglife 🦑🧪 #invertebrate

Happy Darwin Day everyone! Here is Tambja mullineri, a cute little striped nudibranch that is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. #sluglife #darwinday #invertebrate #nudibranch🦑

The audiobook for the new Dungeon Crawler Carl book came out today and now I don't want to do my job. I just want to hide out and listen to this book all day. l loved what I was able to listen to this morning while getting ready! @mattdinniman.bsky.social has done it again!

Does anyone have any nice videos of planula larvae under the 🔬? I want to get a better resolution video to share with my #invertebrate zoology class. Thanks!

One of my side quests is serving as the Communications Director for the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance ( @invertebrates.bsky.social ). If you are interested in the genomes of invertebrates then you should follow along. #invertebrates #genomics 🧪

Here is the sacoglossan sea slug Stiliger fuscovitatus feeding on the red algae Ceramium filmed under the dissecting scope. Sacoglossans feed suctorially by piercing the algae and then removing the cellular contents. See the algal filament close up at the end of the video. 🔬🦑 #Invert #sluglife

I'm doing a public talk on sea slugs on January 23 at the Nest at the Robinson Preserve in Sarasota. Tickets are free and available here: events.humanitix.com/nature-night... Join in! #sluglife #seaslug

I'm happy to write rec letters for my students, but I wish the schools asking for them would try to make themselves less of a burden . One med school wants me to resend a letter with a wet signature. They literally want me to print it, sign it, scan it, and email it back to them... #academicsky