Abby (she/her)
@abigailthiemkey.bsky.social
Carnivore ecologist with interests in population, behavioral, and movement ecology - becoming a quantitative ecologist as a result | PhD student @ University of Maryland | views my own #WomenInSTEM #firstgen #latinxSTEM 🌈
I finished up my summer field work on Friday. From summer 2026 and 2027, we collected ~3000 samples of black bear hair from barbed wire hair snares. This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but I am fortunate for a supportive team and lab. Along with a great advisor. Now to writing!
I turned 30 today (7/12). I’m so excited for this new decade.
A fun write-up from PNW Research Station on our recent bear-salmon paper in Current Biology 🐻 🦅 🏃♂️ research.fs.usda.gov/pnw/articles...
Bears, eagles, and humans, oh my: How human-wildlife interactions impact forest nutrient cycles | US Forest Service Research and Development
research.fs.usda.gov
Hi fellow scientists! I am in search of travel grants to apply to for a conference in Italy next year with the international bear association! Any leads would be great! #travelgrants #science #conference
IBA abstract accepted! Excited to potentially go to Italy and hang out with bear researchers next fall! I’ll be done with my field seasons, and have more data to talk about (:
Talking about study design recommendations and considerations for black bear monitoring today at #NEAFWA ! I really like conferences this size.
I feel numb. What’s happening around us is horrific and I feel like we aren’t talking about it enough in some of our circles.
In October, the Trump administration bombed a civilian boat, killing Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo as they were traveling home to Trinidad and Tobago. We’re suing the government on behalf of their families to get justice for these murders.
Families of two men believed to have been killed in military strike on boat sue US government over 'unlawful' attacks | CNN Politics
As the US military began launching strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean last year, a young Trinidadian man who was in Venezuela for work was searching for a way home, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
cnn.com
Soon it'll be time to start sharing my Year in Review content, including my "Not Quite Best" and my favorite images and moments of the year. I wonder where these cubs will show up on the list?
I feel like I'm going insane. The president let loose 2 absolutely unhinged racist rants this week that sounded directly out of klan rallies and his allies clapped and laughed and everyone else was like, oh he's nuts moving on. Personally + professionally, I truly don't know how to address this.
I need to attempt science communication again. I was once so good at social media, networking, etc. I’ve fallen off a bit with Twitter becoming X. Anyways, what’s the trendy science thing lately? I am behind lol
I would move back to East Africa for good. Some days I dream about it. Maybe one day.
"He presents [NYC] as a fundamentally good place...He makes it sound as if people are a part of something, and as if they have the ability to make that thing better. If anyone's searching for a winning way to talk about democracy, they could try to do the same." www.indignity.net/politics-is-local/
Politics is local
Indignity Vol. 5, No. 194
indignity.net
I think a lot about the time I got up from my tent in Kenya to go outside and I saw an African Hedgehog. That was something I will never erase from my mind. Some day I hope to be back in Kenya as a researcher.
South Texas game cam catches a raccoon riding a javelina (Dicotyles tajacu). The deer feeder corn attracts a lot of other species, but maybe we should worry about them all teaming up against us? (📷: Jeff Davis, TAMU-Kingsville alumni forum)
#SciArtSeptember Day 23: Scouting Working dogs use their noses to find target species during conservation projects. - #beagle #dogs #sketchbook #drawing
TODAY is the deadline to submit public comment on Trump’s proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would expose 45 million acres of national forest to permanent roads and their attendant environmental ills. Register your disapproval here: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... #roadecology
Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is initiating an environmental impact statement (EIS) and rulemaking concerning management of inventoried roadless areas on approximately 44.7 million acres of Natio...
federalregister.gov
Today's "everything is bad so let's pause for a second to regard nature and take a breath that isn't poisoned by our fear of a collapsing democracy" pic -- an osprey flying overhead. Photo by me.
Why do we have to have workday when it literally does not help anyone out ever
I want to be a great scientist for many many reasons. At this moment, I want to be known to the point that Joe Jonas knows me. Lmfao three things about me: I love dogs, wildlife, and the Jonas brothers.
One last outing this field season with my incoming graduate student. We collected genetic samples from wolf scat and hiked through some beautiful country. Looking forward to the start of the semester and getting this project officially started!
Diving into the world of genetics and wowowowow it’s pretty incredible what we can do huh
‼️New 🐺 paper‼️We developed models to predict highly suitable den & rendezvous site habitat for Mexican wolves in AZ & NM. These models will be used to guide future monitoring as the population continues to grow. #OpenAccess #JournalOfWildlifeManagement wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
TWS Journals
We developed predictive models of pup-rearing habitat (i.e., den and rendezvous sites) that could help guide future population monitoring efforts of Mexican wolves. Mexican wolves selected den sites ...
wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The WildCo Lab @wildco.bsky.social is recruiting 2 postdocs in quantitative ecology to work on mammal population estimation and monitoring from camera trap data. 🐺🐻🦌📷📈 Please share the word or apply to join us at UBC in lovely Vancouver, Canada! wildlife.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2025/0...
I miss when we could connect and network on Twitter. It’s not the same here. I am grateful for my network I made on there though. It has helped me More than yall know.
I thought I’d share a photo from one of our sites on the MD black bear project. A big male and female pair hanging around our snare. They both were a bit pre occupied to go in, except the female was more curious. Fingers crossed she comes back and goes in. Some younger bears went in though!!
