New paper on gene expression responses to hypoxia in sulfide spring fish out! This is the first data I collected with @tobler.bsky.social and was the work of lots of amazing collaborators. So many fun memories in the field from this one #FishSci #TeamFish authors.elsevier.com/a/1nJy93v7jN...

New in JFB: Alfaro huberi must have one of the strangest mating behaviors among poeciliid fishes. #TeamFish #FishSci Paper: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Corresponding video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKWA...

New Biology Letters paper! 🐟🐟🐟 Long-term lab rearing did not erode key physiological tolerances in an extremophile fish; encouraging for ex-situ conservation! #FishSci royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...

Resilient by nature: managed rearing does not erode physiochemical tolerances of an extremophile fish

Abstract. Populations in managed care are valuable resources that complement in situ conservation efforts, but adaptation to captive conditions and other d

royalsocietypublishing.org

New paper alert! doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... My first, first author paper with the @tobler lab 😁

Resilient by nature: managed rearing does not erode physiochemical tolerances of an extremophile fish

Abstract. Populations in managed care are valuable resources that complement in situ conservation efforts, but adaptation to captive conditions and other d

doi.org

Some very skeptical and cute cichlids checking out my camera (and a bunch of tetras in the back). #fishsci #fieldwork🐟

It’s the best time of the year! Field work season 😁 Check out these Theraps lentiginosus cichlids guarding their babies!

BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones

US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

nature.com

MEEC2025, CALL FOR ABSTRACTS! Submit your abstracts for MEEC2025 here! www.umsl.edu/biology/meec... Current or proposed research is acceptable to present! Abstracts are due by March 28.

Our grad student Soren Johnson was featured in a recent UMSL Daily article. blogs.umsl.edu/news/2025/02...

Biology doctoral student Soren Johnson studying how cave fish evolve in response to their unique environment - UMSL Daily

Johnson was a 2024 recipient of the R. C. Lewontin Early Award, a graduate research grant from the Society for the Study of Evolution.

blogs.umsl.edu

“If the freeze is not stopped, I might lose my house." Some NSF-funded postdocs are having trouble paying rent and credit card bills because their salaries were paused this week, even though the federal funding freeze memo was rescinded. www.statnews.com/2025/01/30/t...

National Science Foundation suspends salary payments, leaving researchers unable to pay their bills

An NSF online payment system remained down after the federal funding freeze was lifted, leaving early-career scientists scrambling to pay bills

statnews.com

To update people on the NSF PRFB situation: despite the court challenge and rescinding the original memo, the NSF has continued to comply with the executive order. They have not communicated with us at all and our paychecks are still canceled indefinitely. I know people who cannot pay their rent.

To expand on this, right now ~200 postdoc fellows directly funded by NSF are locked out of their salary &research funds right before the first of the month. No doubt other NSF funded grads &postdocs are affected as well. All requests for funds put in before the freeze are slowly being cancelled

Kevin Bird@stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · 2y ago

As of now, NSF does not appear to be changing course at all given the temporary restraining order or the rescission of the memo. I can't help but feel that the NSF director is failing us and his handling of this is indefensible. new.nsf.gov/executive-or...

As a NSF PRFB postdoc it would be nice to know if I can pay rent next month (crazy, right). In the meantime, for no reason whatsoever, here are a few ‘wasteful’ things I’ve done as a postdoc: been a science pen pal, helped run a booth at a science center, mentored a high school lab intern.

#SciEd friends, UMSL is hiring a Des Lee Family Endowed Professor in Science Education. This is one of the endowed professorships in the Des Lee Collaborative Vision, which emphasizes community engagement and outreach. Would love to see some biology folks apply! jobs.chronicle.com/job/37753610...

E. Des Lee and Family Endowed Professorship in Science Education - St. Louis, Missouri, United States job with University of Missouri, St. Louis | 37753610

Hiring Department The Department of Educator Preparation & Leadership at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) Job Description The...

jobs.chronicle.com

Bluesky finally has videos so now I can share some field work videos from this summer! 😁🐠Here are some sulphur mollies in a sulfidic spring all “doing the wave” aka all diving down at the same time when they see a predator (aka me standing up) #fishsci

The RFP for #PRFB is out again. If you are interested in developing a postdoc research project in the realms of (extremophile) fish biology, evolutionary ecology/genomics, and/or conservation, shoot me a message. St. Louis is an awesome place to live and do science! new.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

A wild week surveying the endangered inhabitants of springs, sinkholes, and wetlands in the Chihuahuan desert. We had an awesome team working through 70 sites; ready to return in the fall!

Opening Bluesky for the first time in ages to share two things. First, some cool pictures from my most recent research trip to Mexico studying fish in sulfidic waters!