The European Eel is one of the most widespread fish in Europe, found in freshwater ecosystems throughout most of the continent, but it’s also one of Europe's most imperiled fish. Since the 1970s the eel population has plummeted by over 90%, making it Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

What is a parasite? Why are they so important for ecosystems and hosts? And what can we do to protect the 1000s of species at risk of extinction? A few weeks ago I spoke with a BBC Science Focus podcast about why parasites are awesome and you can listen HERE: open.spotify.com/episode/5864...

How parasites play a vital role as caretakers of Earth’s ecosystems

Instant Genius · Episode

open.spotify.com

What if the most influential organisms on Earth are the ones we rarely see? Parasite Tales at the Dead Zoo Lab uncovers the hidden world of parasitic worms-revealing their role in biodiversity, evolution & health. Discover the science of the unseen: www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Two dance flies (Empis tessellata) in a hedgerow. The male hangs by his front legs as he copulates with a female who is feeding on a nuptial gift (a bibionid fly) he has caught and offered her as a prelude to mating...I watched the whole event..transfixed!

What's cooler than a sea slug? A SOLAR POWERED SEA SLUG!!! Elysia viridis are kleptoplasts, retaining chloroplasts from the algae they consume and using them for photosynthesis. These two specimens were found in the rockpools at Filey, on a shore search survey with @yorkswildlife.bsky.social

super cool development in our understanding of co-extinction

Colin Carlson@colincarlson.bsky.social · 5mo ago

‼️ New preprint: By solving a paradox in graph theory, we show that specialist symbionts constrain ecosystem structure, drive biodiversity, and face high extinction risk. With @jbyoder.org and @ctrlalttim.com: 🎉 Specialists drive biodiversity scaling in symbiotic relationships

My first article is out in Climate and Development (and it's Open Access)! Based on data collection with one Malawian village, I examine how to build fairer and effective toolkits for community-based loss and damage assessments in post-disaster contexts. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Power, voice and participation: reflections on participatory methods and oral histories for community-based loss and damage assessments in Chikwawa, Malawi

Following the establishment of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage at COP27, interest in community-based loss and damage (l&d) assessment methodologies has rapidly grown. Community-based l&d...

tandfonline.com

Finally, the bug is back with a round of the Guinness.

🌊 Parasites are not always bad! In blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), trematode infection can buffer acute heat stress, linked to increased heat shock protein expression. A surprising twist on host-parasite interactions under warming conditions 📖 buff.ly/5dVyY6X

Ectoparasites of electric eels are like buses - you wait your whole life for one and suddenly two turn up in a year! (dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/10/dolo...)

<i>Dolops discoidalis</i>

The electric eel , also known as poraquê , is a formidable animal. Not only is it capable of stunning its prey with an electrifying shock, ...

dailyparasite.blogspot.com

Entomological Society of America@entsocamerica.bsky.social · 8mo ago

An eel donated to a natural history museum in 1873 had two ticks embedded in its skin, making it the first known instance of ticks parasitizing a fish. But it was only first documented this year, when a tick specialist identified the ticks and reported the case in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

New PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳 #marine #mammals #consgen #popgen #phylo #molevol #evolution yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...

The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds - Yorkshire Environmental Sciences • Doctoral Training Network

Project summary Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walrus) are keystone marine predators, and sentinels for marine ecosystem health. Advances in genomic technology open up the possibility to u...

yes-dtn.ac.uk

Spookiest decoration at the "Zoo Goes Boo" event at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids? Giant model of parasitoid wasps hatching from cocoons affixed to their caterpillar host.

You probably have a general idea of what a tick looks like, but did you know that there are three distinct families of ticks, each with their own appearance, habitat, and adaptations? These families are the Ixodidae (or hard ticks), Argasidae (or soft ticks), and the Nuttalliellidae. (1/4)

www.bloomsbury.com/uk/unsettlin... No cover yet, but there's a web page. Incredibly pleased to be part of this important - and affordable! - volume on extinction studies. Pre-order now because I promise it will be good

Unsettling Extinction

Featuring contributions from key names in the field alongside some of the most exciting new voices, this collection presents cutting-edge work on species extinc…

bloomsbury.com

checking a species name with GBIF after not finding it via NCBI feels very much like the asking your Dad after your Mum already told you "No" of taxonomy

UK followers under 35, please consider filling in this form to help researchers better understand modern dating.

Ethical dating online@ethicaldating.bsky.social · last yr.

Help researchers better understand young people’s attitudes towards dating: www.surveymonkey.com/r/VFD7SQZ

We wrote this as a fun introduction to the strange and wonderful world of parasite conservation! Hopefully it gets you thinking about how there's more than meets the eye with parasites and whether we should bring them into the fold of conservation concern theconversation.com/parasites-ar...

Parasites are ecological dark matter – and they need protecting

Save the pandas, sure, but what about the worms in their guts?

theconversation.com

Save the pandas, sure, but what about the worms in their guts?

Parasites are ecological dark matter – and they need protecting

Save the pandas, sure, but what about the worms in their guts?

tcnv.link

my extremely nuanced opinion on the woolly mice is that they are very cute (good), but mean basically nothing as far as conservation is concerned (less good) and are really just a PR exercise for a somewhat malevolent profit-making machine (bad)

Am I right in thinking that Colossal's (non-)conservation work allows them to patent a lot of genetic technology which they could then make massive profits from if/when those technologies are used for wider applications than woolly mammoth PR?

Adam Rutherford@adamrutherford.bsky.social · last yr.

A mammoth circus of macabre fantasy and moral bankruptcy. I got my views on mammoths down. Enjoy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ever wondered how reliable species distribution models (SDMs) are in the face of climate change compared to more mechanistic approaches? We did too, and our results are now published in Ecology Letters ⏬ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Paleorecords Reveal Biological Mechanisms Crucial for Reliable Species Range Shift Projections Amid Rapid Climate Change

Climate change has created an urgent need for reliable projections of species distributions. By hindcasting forest tree range shifts across Europe over the last 12,000 years, we show that process-exp...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Interdisciplinary research is not only hugely valuable, it's also a hell of a lot easier than people make out - the hard part is fighting the institutions to get them to let you do it

Really excited to share this paper which was the result of a big collaborative effort of PhD students @extinctionleeds.bsky.social! It's full of incredible, original thoughts about how we view and interact with the world around us in a time of massive biodiversity loss 📷🍃 doi.org/10.1017/ext....

Huge analysis out as a preprint today! For every 9 years an animal spends in the wildlife trade, it shares an additional pathogen with humans. Clear long-term impacts based on 40 years of global trade data 🧪😷 biorxiv.org/content/earl...

Hey #WildlifeDisease & #conservation folk, please check out our survey on attitudes to parasite conservation. Are parasites important for biodiversity, would you remove them to protect host welfare, or something more nuanced? We want to hear all views to improve guidance for practitioners 🪱🧪🌍🧵1/n

Come and see some of the work we’ve been doing… SPIRIT: an exhibition of nature photography from the Scottish Small Isles. Parkinson Court, 4-6 Feb.

Really enjoyed this truly interdisciplinary paper on hookworm in early 20th c. Jamaica! Jon historicises hookworm infection and extinction, showing how plantations (+ environment & individual factors) created the conditions for hookworm to thrive, but were also key in eradication/extinction efforts

JD Roberts@jdroberts.bsky.social · 2y ago

So! The new paper, what's in it? Firstly, this is about the interactions of hookworm, environment, society and economy. It's also about extinction (1/9) doi.org/10.1017/ext....

A lot of awesome pictures in the full paper!

Prof Sam Illingworth@samillingworth.com · 2y ago

🕷️🧟‍♂️ Zombie Spiders in British Caves A new fungus, Gibellula attenboroughii (named for Sir David), manipulates orb-weaving cave spiders, altering their behaviour like zombie ants. This discovery sheds light on hidden fungal diversity in the UK 🔗 doi.org/10.3114/fuse... #SciComm #Spiders #Fungi 🧪

Parasite conservation sounds like a counterintuitive idea, but actually there are lots of reasons why this is important for the long term sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. #parasitology #ticks #ectoparasite 🪱🧪🌍 therevelator.org/ryukyu-rabbi...

Saving the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick: The Posterchild of Parasite Conservation • The Revelator

This endangered invertebrate is harmless to humans — and rabbits. Saving it from extinction might even benefit both species.

therevelator.org

Ever heard of parasite conservation and thought "Why on earth would we want to do that 😱"?! Read our new paper to find out... We cover key questions including: Why conserve parasites? How do you conserve parasites? & What parasite conservation is already happening? doi.org/10.1111/cobi... [1/3]