Metabolic scaling is thought to scale very steeply with size in unicells but what if that steepness is simply an artefact? Out today in Ecology Letters, we show that metabolic scaling is not superlinear in unicells but instead scales at ~0.86 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Out today in @science.org our paper on how evolutionary adaptation to warming will reduce fisheries yields. Please let me know if you need me to send you a copy. Summary of the paper coming soon. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Evolutionary adaptation to global change reduces sustainable fisheries yields

Global warming is altering the fisheries that underpin food security, but projections of these impacts generally exclude evolutionary processes. We describe a model that forecasts how fish will adapt ...

science.org

Fresh off the press 💥 Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision

Hybrid photoreceptors in larval deep-sea fish reveal evolution of an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision.

science.org

Excited to share our study testing competing theories on the energy dynamics of hermaphroditism! Grateful to @djmmeeg.bsky.social for guidance, to Thomas Brey for metabolic rate data, and to Deborah Charlesworth for feedback. Thanks also to the editors and reviewers at Proc B. @royalsociety.org

Dustin Marshall@djmmeeg.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Darwin speculated that it was energetically costly to be an hermaphrodite. He thought that might explain why they were relatively rare in animals. Our paper out today tested this conjecture for the first time. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Darwin speculated that it was energetically costly to be an hermaphrodite. He thought that might explain why they were relatively rare in animals. Our paper out today tested this conjecture for the first time. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Hermaphrodites have lower metabolic rates than gonochores

Abstract. Hermaphroditism, where an individual can reproduce as both male and female, offers some clear reproductive advantages. Simultaneous hermaphroditi

royalsocietypublishing.org

Thank you Adam Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social for sharing your experience of fee-free #OA publishing in @biologyopen.bsky.social via our #ReadAndPublish agreement with The University of Queensland. Read Adam’s paper: bit.ly/4hA9vm1 See if your institution is participating too: bit.ly/3O7BxGi

@biologyopen.bsky.social highlighting our new #OA paper on the impacts of uvr☀️on clownfish embryo development 🐠🥚 @craigefranklin.bsky.social @drfishvis.bsky.social doi.org/10.1242/bio....

Ultraviolet B radiation impairs coral reef fish development

Summary: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has significant impacts on yolk sac volume, which may have contributed to the 100% mortality rate of clownfish embryos. However, DNA damage was not as impacted by ...

doi.org

Biology Open@biologyopen.bsky.social · 10mo ago

@adamdownunder.bsky.social, @craigefranklin.bsky.social & co expose clownfish embryos to UV radiation (UVR) corresponding to water depths reflective of their settlement; mimicking what could happen in a future coral reef with fewer structures shielding against UVR. doi.org/10.1242/bio....

@adamdownunder.bsky.social, @craigefranklin.bsky.social & co expose clownfish embryos to UV radiation (UVR) corresponding to water depths reflective of their settlement; mimicking what could happen in a future coral reef with fewer structures shielding against UVR. doi.org/10.1242/bio....

🚨Our new🚨 #OA🔓 paper on 🔅UVR🔆 impacts on 🪸coral reef fish 🐟embryo🐣 development is out in @biologyopen.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social! @craigefranklin.bsky.social @drfishvis.bsky.social doi.org/10.1242/bio....

Ultraviolet B radiation impairs coral reef fish development

Summary: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has significant impacts on yolk sac volume, which may have contributed to the 100% mortality rate of clownfish embryos. However, DNA damage was not as impacted by ...

doi.org

Developed from the #WCH10 symposium, we provide a guide for researchers & managers on current advances for assessing the vulnerability of reptiles 🐍 & amphibians 🐸 to water stress | doi.org/10.1093/conp... | Published in @conphysjournal.bsky.social

The Scott Lab at McMaster is currently recruiting graduate students to examine the physiological and molecular mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation in small mammals. Details at scottlab.ca/opportunities/

Opportunities

Interested in Joining the Scott Lab? The Scott Lab is currently recruiting graduate students to examine the physiological and molecular mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation in small mammals. Pote…

scottlab.ca

Our 🚨new paper🚨 in @globalchangebio.bsky.social reviews & roadmaps how physiology can improve our understanding of 🔥#climatechange🔥 induced #tropicalisation🔃 of marine fishes🐟 & help inform management! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Physiological Traits for Predicting Poleward Extensions in Tropical Fishes: From Lab to Management

We review the physiological mechanisms that permit poleward range expansions of tropical reef fishes into temperate waters. Filling in key knowledge gaps, we develop a framework to improve the implem...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

📑 #NewStudy by O’Mara et al. reviewed how the development of water resources impacts #river flows which support tropical #fisheries. 👀 doi.org/10.1007/s111...

New from the RummerLab at @jcuofficial! Our latest @JEBiology paper explores how physiology 🧬🧪🔬👩🏻‍🔬 can drive smarter, climate-ready conservation. 🍃🌊Bridging lab science + real-world action! 🌏 🔗📄Read it here: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/... #conservation #climatecrisis #Ecophysiology

The actual study 🐙💉❤️ www.cell.com/current-biol...

Blue-lined octopus Hapalochlaena fasciata males envenomate females to facilitate copulation

Chun et al. show that in the blue-lined octopus Hapalochlaena fasciata males envenomate females during copulation, most likely as a defense against being cannibalized.

cell.com

The Editors-in-Chief of the 5 @biologists.bsky.social journals have written a joint Editorial, discussing the enormous challenges currently facing researchers in the US and how members of the community can support them through this difficult time journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

"The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms

Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia

theguardian.com

Interesting new study on lateral line system of deep sea chimaeras. So much we don't know about these bizarre animals. Happy to have helped with creating the figures for this cool and important research www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The lateral line and electrosensory systems of two holocephalans - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - The lateral line and electrosensory systems of two holocephalans

nature.com

I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky

Alessandro Rigolon@alerigolon.bsky.social · last yr.

Just received an email saying that it's not advisable to include the following words in future applications for research funding to the US DOT. Here we are.

Australian governments are failing to conserve biodiversity, meaning their extraordinary values are being lost and global conservation targets will likely fail. The next federal government must do better. My letter with @biodiversityguy.bsky.social in @science.org. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Addressing Australia’s biodiversity crisis

science.org

See onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... for more details. Once again, I implore supervisors to apply these principles when helping their students design studies. It’s such a huge wasted effort for the students at their most sensitive career stage.

Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution

Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Back to editing at Functional Ecology. Sadly I had to reject 3 papers without review because they lacked replication @ the right level. More discussions about design before the experiment is done pls: heartbreaking waste to only talk about it afterwards. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution

Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

I’ve gained a bunch of new followers so I’m taking the opportunity to wrap up the year with a 🧵 of publications. 1st: our Science paper showing that the indirect costs of reproduction (making the offspring) often exceed the direct costs (the energy in the offspring. www.science.org/stoken/autho...

Metabolic loads and the costs of metazoan reproduction

Reproduction includes two energy investments—the energy in the offspring and the energy expended to make them. The former is well understood, whereas the latter is unquantified but often assumed to be...

science.org

A highly opportunistic field study that we recently published, we characterised the rapid changes in physiology that occur as larval coral grouper settle onto reefs. Reef fish settlement is fascinating, and our work contributes to the growing # of studies in this area doi.org/10.1007/s003...

Changes in aerobic metabolism associated with the settlement transition for the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) - Coral Reefs

Metamorphosis is a critical aspect of coral reef fish ecology. This developmental milestone marks changes in form and function that permit successful transition of pelagic larvae to the demersal lifes...

doi.org

A warm welcome to all our new followers on BlueSky! We are a society @sebiology.bsky.social journal publishing research on all taxa with a focus on solving real world conservation issues 🦓🐢🌲 Stay tuned for new paper alerts and journal updates!

Group leaders! The uptake of this paper suggests to me that folk aren’t talking enough about experimental design with their students? Has experimental design fallen off the syllabus? Is a sense of experimental design like a sense of humour? Everyone thinks they have a good one but….?

Dustin Marshall@djmmeeg.bsky.social · 2y ago

I wrote (ranted) on experimental design as I was frustrated as an editor at how little guidance students were getting. I underestimated the interest in the issue: it has been downloaded 10,000+ times! Clearly it’s something we need to be talking about more. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Wishing the Elsevier editors who desk-accepted this all the best for their next career moves. doi.org/10.1016/j.ij...

If you’re looking for facts about coral reefs please consider following me. And ignore Murdoch propaganda. www.skynews.com.au/opinion/outs...

Great Barrier Reef looking ‘as wonderful as ever’

The Great Barrier Reef is “in wonderful shape”, according to IPA Senior Fellow Dr Jennifer Marohasy. “I was just diving off Cairns a few weeks back and it’s looking as wonderful as ever,” Dr Marohasy told Sky News Australia host Rowan Dean. “Do you know why we have record coral cover – it’s because for decades now both the number and intensity of cyclones hitting the Great Barrier Reef has actually been decreasing. “And that’s not something the Bureau of Meteorology is telling us.”

skynews.com.au

If you’re interested in fish, fishing and the role of body size, please check out this collection of papers from our group.

Dustin Marshall@djmmeeg.bsky.social · 3y ago

1st. Body size & reproduction. Larger fish have higher reproductive outputs than smaller fish and that this matters for fisheries management and the design of protected areas. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... doi.org/10.1002/fee.... doi.org/10.1073/pnas... doi.org/10.1111/faf....