David Tan
@mangrovepitta.bsky.social
Ornithologist and biogeographer. Working on the global macroecology of bird-window collisions and on the genetics of faunal adaptation to mangroves. Obsessed with pittas. Previously at the University of New Mexico, now a postdoc at iDiv in Leipzig.
🪽🧬 Migration is one of the most spectacular behaviors in nature, yet we still know little about its molecular basis. Our new paper explores whether epigenetic variation contributes to migratory orientation in a songbird hybrid zone. doi.org/10.1098/rstb... tamuartsci.bsky.social columbia.bsky.social
BLink-seq is out! Linked-read sequencing that brings phased whole-genome data to non-model species at population scale. We show it phases haplotypes and detects SVs, revealing previously undocumented structural complexity in an adaptive Atlantic silverside inversion. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
BLink-seq delivers population-scale haplotypes without long reads: a scalable framework for non-model genomics
Information about segregating haplotypes and structural variation (SV) can be extremely rich for a variety of applications in population genomics but remains largely inaccessible for many non-model sp...
biorxiv.org
Red States: We're cutting the humanities at our public universities to spend more money on right-wing indoctrination Blue States: We're cutting the same programs, but to spend more money on AI and the business school.
Asheesh Kapur Siddique@asheeshks.org · yesterdayCentrist Democrats hate humanities scholarship just as much as Republicans do - the difference is that Democrats think humanities teaching is important in the elite private institutions they aspire to send their kids to, but not the actual laborers.
Cool photos here of tigers and elephants using underpass infrastructure in India news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indi... @mongabayindia.bsky.social @mongabay.com
You may not like it, but this is what peak localization looks like (Asterix: Mega Madness (PS1, 2001))
I've recently been craving Thai food, so when I heard that the nearby supermarket was selling mango sticky rice, I raced over and ended up finding this sad mess of a bowl filled with underseasoned rice and canned diced mangoes. Disappointing!
An unusual storm-petrel was collected off Newfoundland and Labrador, and we (including @thelabandfield.bsky.social ) wrote a paper about it! #seabird
The Seabird Group@theseabirdgroup.bsky.social · yesterday🔔Another new Seabird 38 paper is available online!🔔 Pollet et al. (2026) discuss an unusual storm-petrel collected offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. 🤔 doi.org/10.61350/sbj... #seabirds #ornithology
I am thrilled to share that I will join the American Museum of Natural History @amnh.org as the Dean of Collections, Curator, and Professor in September!
🐦 Why do Common Cuckoos lay their eggs in the late afternoon? Our new study shows they exploit the time when Great Reed Warblers spend less time at their nests, reducing the risk of detection. Congrats to our PhD student Gabriela Večeřová! 👏 doi.org/10.1111/ibi....
One dead spam account giveaway is if the account only follows men. Today I was followed by an account that took things one step further, by following only men named David.
Estimation of Contemporary and Recent Effective Population Size from Genomic Data www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Estimation of Contemporary and Recent Effective Population Size from Genomic Data
Effective population size (Ne) is a crucial parameter in the fields of evolutionary biology, conservation biology of endangered species, and selective breeding of domestic animals and crops, as it qua...
annualreviews.org
#ornithology academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Biologically inspired warning patterns deter a passerine, Parus major, from digital turbine blades
By mimicking the warning colors of animals that ward off birds, we can produce wind turbine patterns to which birds are averse, reducing the likelihood of
academic.oup.com
Common sense I think, have your BBQs at home or in designated safe areas like they do in other countries: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Calls to ban disposable barbecues in England and Wales over wildfire risk
Lib Dems and many Labour MPs join farmers, landowners and firefighters in urging temporary prohibition
theguardian.com
You won't regret clicking on this beautifully told story by @lsommer.bsky.social about the Pacific Ocean and how the Trump regime is opening some marine monuments to commercial fishing.
These are some of the last pristine ocean ecosystems. Now, they're losing protections
The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, spar...
apps.npr.org
An explosive-laden drone with a detonator was found near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig Airport overnight, Bild reported. The airport briefly suspended operations. Police are investigating possible sabotage and searching for the operator. #Ukraine
Thanks to this madlad we now have a cockroach named Nocticola pheromosa in Singapore www.straitstimes.com/singapore/en...
New species of cockroach found in Singapore, named after Pokemon character
The cockroach’s identity was a mystery when collected between 2016 and 2017 Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
straitstimes.com
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4d agoThe ‘Cockroach Lord’ who names new species after Tolkien and Pokémon characters
This is a depressing read but we all need to be aware of the terrible potential of the bird flu that has finally made its way to Australia and New Zealand. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
'List of doom' outlines birds facing extinction if deadly flu spreads
A list of thousands of Australian species have been ranked by threat level as the deadly H5 bird flu spreads.
abc.net.au
new paper (my first w/ a Tok Pisin abstract)! our 2024 camera trap record of the rare New Britain Thrush prompted a review of all known observations of the species since its description—a mere 15 total. led by MS student Jason Gregg for the brand-new Journal of Lost Species: doi.org/10.66264/3c8...
“Those who choose to not sit inside will be subject to an additional leg room fee.” chaser.com.au/business/jet...
Welcome to the CAMBRIAN FECAL REVOLUTION. We didn't name it the Cambrian fecal explosion for obvious reasons. I'm happy to share this paper on fecal matter and its role in Cambrian ecosystems. So if you want to read a really shitty paper (50 days free access): authors.elsevier.com/a/1nYg8cZ3X7...
FOUND! 🔍 Red Weaver rediscovered in Kenya! The striking Red Weaver has been documented for the first time since 2014. Supported by an Ornis Birding Expeditions x Lost Birds Expedition Grant. More: abcbirds.info/3RTJhSS @rewildorg.bsky.social @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social
Diversification of Hawaiian honeycreepers: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Among other findings, the ʻiʻiwi does not clade with the extinct mamo (genus Drepanis) and should be restored to its own genus Vestiaria. 🪶🧪 (📷Campana et al.)
Connection to Nature in Zoos: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research doi.org/10.1002/zoo.... 🌍 🧪
Connection to Nature in Zoos: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research
This systematic review summarizes empirical research on zoo visitors' connection to nature. It highlights mixed evidence regarding the effects of zoo experiences, identifies methodological and geogra...
doi.org
Glad to share our new study at @natcomms.nature.com which resulted from several workshops on the early warning signs of mass extinctions and coordination of macroevolutionary vulnerability and the states of carbon cycle and temperatures. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio #EvoBio
New species of antthrush, the Baturité antthrush (Chamaeza baturitensis, right): www.scielo.br/j/zool/a/qbw... 🪶🧪 (📷Eduardo P. Brettas)
[Commentary] Behind cheap instant coffee lies widespread deforestation in Vietnam. A new op-ed by Etelle Higonnet (@coffeewatch.bsky.social) details how Robusta production pushes tigers and elephants into shrinking habitats, calling on consumers to pressure companies for ethical supply chains.
Cheap coffee is killing Vietnam’s priceless tropical forests (commentary)
Vietnam is now the world’s largest producer of robusta, the bitter, sturdy bean behind instant coffee, supermarket blends, and the overall global appetite for cheap caffeine. But behind its meteoric…
mongabay.cc
