Thrilled to have my first thesis chapter published in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We combine genomics, gene editing, and performance experiments to reveal the genetic basis and functional consequences of hurricane-induced trait shifts in island lizards! Check it out: www.cell.com/current-biol...

Genomic targets of hurricane-induced selection on clinging performance in an island lizard

Vaughn et al. show that hurricanes drive parallel genomic selection signatures in island anoles. One candidate locus (hs6st1) is associated with rear toe length. CRISPR disruption reduces hindfoot ele...

cell.com

New preprint led by former PhD student Wayne Wang, who found that neither male temperature during spermatogenesis nor post-ejaculate sperm heat exposure change sperm cell heat tolerance in an Anolis lizard www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

No adaptive plasticity in the heat tolerance of lizard sperm

1. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity can help organisms cope with global warming by increasing their heat tolerance, yet most research has focused on whole-organism traits. Much less is known about therm...

biorxiv.org

New preprint led by former PhD student Wayne Wang, who found that neither male temperature during spermatogenesis nor post-ejaculate sperm heat exposure change sperm cell heat tolerance in an Anolis lizard www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

No adaptive plasticity in the heat tolerance of lizard sperm

1. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity can help organisms cope with global warming by increasing their heat tolerance, yet most research has focused on whole-organism traits. Much less is known about therm...

biorxiv.org

Reminder there's a website that tracks, with citations, the words and phrases reportedly used in the US to identify grant proposals, etc for later review: uskeywords.org

New paper out! Limited evidence that butterflies are capable of changing their thermoregulatory performance or thermal tolerance in response to local climatic conditions. Instead, poorer thermoregulators have shown stronger upwards elevational range shifts in response to climate change rdcu.be/fuSJE

Butterflies with low thermoregulatory capacity show greatest upwards range shifts along an elevational gradient

Communications Biology - Lack of variation in thermoregulatory capacity or thermal tolerance in butterflies across an elevational gradient suggests limited adaptive capacity. Poorer...

rdcu.be

Second dissertation chapter just dropped at Ecology Letters! doi.org/10.1111/ele.70441 Across theory, stochastic models, and protist microcosms, we show how rising temporal autocorrelation drives predictable increases in extinction risk under warming (ft. coauthor @mtkummel.bsky.social!)

Temporal Autocorrelation Increases Temperature‐Driven Extinction Risk by Clustering Stressful Conditions

Extinction risk forecasting typically relies on comparing thermal tolerance data to predicted shifts in thermal distributions. However, changing temporal sequencing of temperatures may exacerbate the....

doi.org

A couple years ago I created a show that combines science with improv comedy at a local theater here in NOLA. We are doing a special one in collaboration with JMIH for the conference. Grab a free ticket (thanks JMIH!) and join us!

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈@whysharksmatter.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m giving a public talk in New Orleans- I’m the shark on this flier. Three scientists in town for the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists will give a talk about their research, and then a local improv comedy troupe will create and perform a sketch! Should be fun.

A couple years ago I created a show that combines science with improv comedy at a local theater here in NOLA. We are doing a special one in collaboration with JMIH for the conference. Grab a free ticket (thanks JMIH!) and join us!

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈@whysharksmatter.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m giving a public talk in New Orleans- I’m the shark on this flier. Three scientists in town for the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists will give a talk about their research, and then a local improv comedy troupe will create and perform a sketch! Should be fun.

Some cool birds: chocó or chestnut mandibled toucan (unsure), squirrel cuckoo, velvety manakin, female red-headed barbet

White-necked jacobin in flight

White-necked jacobin in flight

🎉 PUBLISHED!!!! Out now in @newphyt.bsky.social 🎉 We found positive selection on leaf shape plasticity in a Monkeyflower species. This experiment used two big field transplants, greenhouse, AND growth chamber work. It was hard, but awesome. With @ferrisifolius.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Phenotypic plasticity is broadly adaptive across an elevation gradient in the Cutleaf Monkeyflower

Leaf shape plasticity expression is variable in Mimulus laciniatus.

doi.org

Little blue heron from the Florida panhandle #birds

Little blue heron from the Florida panhandle #birds

Oxygen supersaturation has been reported to protect aquatic animals from heat waves. We tested this in a large collaborative experiment on many species of fish and crustaceans. Our new paper in @plosbiology.org shows that the effect of hyperoxia on thermal tolerance is negligible. Unfortunately.

New paper! PhD student Julie Rej found that invasive brown anoles are more aggressive than native green anoles across a wide range of temperatures. The difference is greatest when it's hottest, ie, heat amplifies the aggression of an invasive species! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

High temperatures amplify aggressiveness of an invasive lizard toward a native congener

Invasive species cause major disturbances to endemic wildlife and often displace native species. Behavioral aggression can contribute to invasive spec…

sciencedirect.com

Some more nice coverage of the lead work

The work of @basicbiologist23.bsky.social on lizards and lead in Nat Geo! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

These lizards can survive (and thrive) on a lethal dose of lead

Small lizards in New Orleans have an “unprecedented” tolerance for the toxic heavy metal. How are they even alive?

nationalgeographic.com

Brown lizards in New Orleans carry more lead in their blood than any other animal on record — levels that would kill humans — yet they seem unfazed, according to new Tulane study.

Lizards in New Orleans have highest blood-lead levels ever recorded, study finds

Brown lizards in New Orleans carry more lead in their blood than any other animal on record — levels that would kill humans — yet they seem unfazed, according to new Tulane study.

bit.ly

Early view: we find that brown anole lizards are one of, if not the most, lead tolerant vertebrates known to science combining measures of field exposure, responses to lab dosing, performance assays and functional genomics. Led by PhD student Annelise Blanchette www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unprecedented lead tolerance in an urban lizard

Lead (Pb) is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant pervasive in many environments with serious health consequences for humans and wildlife. We foun…

sciencedirect.com

Early view: we find that brown anole lizards are one of, if not the most, lead tolerant vertebrates known to science combining measures of field exposure, responses to lab dosing, performance assays and functional genomics. Led by PhD student Annelise Blanchette www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Unprecedented lead tolerance in an urban lizard

Lead (Pb) is an extremely toxic heavy metal pollutant pervasive in many environments with serious health consequences for humans and wildlife. We foun…

sciencedirect.com

A lilac breasted roller looking resplendent

A lilac breasted roller looking resplendent

We made the cover www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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...

Happy to see this out and congrats in particular to @patricepottier.bsky.social after leading such a huge effort! I think there are some really interesting findings here that challenge common ideas about the geography of warming risk and how we measure it

Szymek Drobniak@szymekdr.bsky.social · last yr.

@nature.com has just published online our new paper!🎉🐸🌡️Lead by @patricepottier.bsky.social and supervised by myself and @itchyshin.bsky.social: in this massive research effort we overcome several common convictions related to the topics we studied. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Here are take-homes.

Nature research paper: Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila https://go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila - Nature

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and thermosensory circuits in the flies.

go.nature.com

Another dataset I like is from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, which has maps of the US that show we fixed the acid rain problem by implementing stricter emission controls on power plants. nadp.slh.wisc.edu/maps-data/nt...

Thanks to @jdrakephd.bsky.social for highlighting the importance of #amphibians in the services they provide to humans www.forbes.com/sites/johndr... #malaria #disease #frogs #tropical 🐸🧪🌎🦟

Amphibian Declines Increase Malaria In Costa Rica And Panama

New studies quantify how intact ecosystems improve human health

forbes.com

In case folks are interested in contacting their congresspeople about the NIH indirect cuts with some estimates of what they would mean for institutions in their state, here are some estimates based on published F&A rates and funding ... let me know if you want a particular state