Flies have seriously bad marketing. Just LOOK at this gorgeous hover 🤩

Erica McAlister@flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 4mo ago

What a gorgeous male (the females are rather different) - Eristalis intricaria - the fluffiest of the genus. Saw this hover on Gat the Le Grand Pré Nature Reserve, Guernsey, on monday whilst bumbling along with @thegsyscientist.bsky.social & Andy Smith

We @wildislands.bsky.social did a thing! This weekend we're premiering our next film #IslandPollinators aka Pollinators Great and Small. PLUS we're welcoming Dr Erica McAlister from @nhm-london.bsky.social to learn about often forgotten pollinators; flies! Tickets available ⬇️ prcpa.gg/event/109376

This is 100% a first world problem, but I was so chuffed with my business core values "Include, Communicate, Educate." Smart little acronym ICE that was a nod to my time as an Antarctic researcher. However, *gestures broadly at everything * 🤬 ICE. I am updating them

I am thoroughly enjoying #AlienEarth However, as a scientist well versed in Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) protocols, I have literally spent the last hour of my life screaming at the TV during episode 6. Not even gonna talk about episode 5 🤦🏻‍♀️

Happy World Dolphin Day everyone. Here's your fun dolphin fact: All dolphins are odontoceti, they're toothed whales So all dolphins are whales, but not all whales are dolphins 🐬🐳 #WorldDolphinDay

🎉 New #Scicomm opportunity! 🎉 📅 Places now open for 4-week online course on science communication through poetry with @edinburghnapier.bsky.social. 🎁 Full bursaries available. 🔗 Register here: napier.ac.uk/study-with-u... #SciArt #CPD #PoetryInScience 🧪 #HigherEd #Poetry

Science Communication through Poetry

At Edinburgh Napier University, we nurture talent and create knowledge that shapes communities all around the world.

napier.ac.uk

I have been eaten alive, literally, by horseflies. The bite reaction on my knee hinge is bigger than my hand and I can't bend my leg properly. Genuinely would like to cut off my leg 😖 Why do horsefly bites produce such a horrific reaction?

Can a dipterist explain to me why at high latitudes, there is an increase in abundance of flies, both in terms of individuals and, to my untrained eye, species too? I'm currently in Orkney and I am seeing fly species I don't even vaguely recognise? #flies #highLatitude 🧪

Thanks so much for chatting with me @askjordon.bsky.social I thoroughly enjoyed it. Our conversation was also a great opportunity for me to review where I am and what I want to do in the future. #SittingDownWithScholars #SciComm

jordon millward@askjordon.bsky.social · last yr.

Introducing @thegsyscientist.bsky.social and their work in science communication and an interesting academic journey.

Didn’t think we’d have to say this in 2025, but please don’t kick seals. 🫠

CHEK News@cheknews.ca · last yr.

A couple of troubling incidents involving harbour seal pups in the Victoria area has prompted a warning from a wildlife education group about how to safely and legally respond when encountering young marine mammals on local beaches.

Just been for a much needed snorkel at Finstown in #Orkney. Gorgeous bay. The seagrass is stunning and the Green Shore Crabs were huge! Especially compared to Guernsey's.

Today is World Orca Day and I had the best start to this week b/c I spent yesterday following Hulk & Nott - 2 visiting bulls from Iceland. They swam right in at the bottom of the cliffs 🤩 #Orkney #WorldOrcaDay

Why does writing lectures take me so loooonnnnng 😭 Any science people got any tips to speed up the process? I find I write as I create slides but if I try and sketch my lectures out in advance before creating slides it takes much, much longer 🦑

No dolphins but I was treated to a Great Skua soaring round. Skuas engage in a behaviour called "kleptoparasitism" They'll harass Gannets, interfering with their flight by grabbing their tail or wing until the Gannet regurgitates its food providing the Skua with a low-effort meal 🦑 #skua

Liz, The Guernsey Scientist@thegsyscientist.bsky.social · last yr.

Excitedly waiting for the ferry to Orkney. It's beautifully wild Scottish weather this morning and I am hopeful we might see some dolphins on the crossing 🐬

Excitedly waiting for the ferry to Orkney. It's beautifully wild Scottish weather this morning and I am hopeful we might see some dolphins on the crossing 🐬

Amazing footage of a bowhead whale cracking open thick ice to breath www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts...

Drone captures Greenland ice tearing open to reveal humungous animal beneath | Discover Wildlife

The colossal marine creature can be seen breaking through the ice to take several breaths of air before returning to the deep.

discoverwildlife.com

Just a reminder that "The Shark Whisperer" isn't science 🙄 or a documentary and we should not harass marine, or indeed, any other wildlife.

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

Enough of you asked me about this that I wrote some brief thoughts on Ocean Ramsey's particular brand of pseudoscientific nonsense. I believe this addresses almost all of the frequently asked questions I receive, but as always I am happy to answer serious questions asked in good faith. 🧪🦑🌎🦈

Agreed. We have these beautiful, fragile cold water corals in #Guernsey waters and no protection for them here either

Oceana UK@oceanauk.bsky.social · last yr.

🪸 A “little sanctuary” of pink sea fans was accidentally discovered off Cornwall while filming for Sir David Attenborough's OCEAN. These delicate corals are threatened by destructive bottom trawling. It's time for a ban. Help protect our ocean havens: only.one/act/uk-mpa-c...

I am beyond excited about this research. Not only is this the first evidence of tool-making by marine mammals, they're using the tool for social bonding rather than foraging 🦑

University of Exeter News@uniofexeternews.bsky.social · last yr.

Killer whales have been seen detaching lengths of seaweed and using them to massage each other – the first evidence of tool-making by marine mammals Here researchers Rachel John and Dr Michael Weiss discuss this incredible discovery

Daniel Pauly ( @seaaroundus.org ) called this “shifting baseline syndrome,” where everyone thinks of the “normal” baseline as whatever they grew up with www.kildare-nationalist.ie/life/living-...

Living Greener: Too many view the environment in the abstract - Life - Kildare Nationalist

The environment is the trees and weeds and insects around where we live, and how many of those could most people notice or name?

kildare-nationalist.ie

Really looking forward to this morning. I'm heading off to Beaucamps Highschool School to show our Pollinator film. I can't wait for the questions #scicomm #nature #education

How's everyone else doing in the heatwave? For all my Guernsey followers, this is for Jersey b/c there's no option to generate the climate stripes for #Guernsey #showyourstripes showyourstripes.info/s/europe/uni...

Show Your Stripes

Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe

showyourstripes.info

Excited to share our study on sailing siphonophores, AKA bluebottles or man-o'-war! 🌊 we received hundreds of samples from scientists around the world, part of a huge effort to sequence genomes and test for multiple species 🧬 out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... 🦑🧪📌

Busy writing lectures, just made a figure of Sperm Whales using the Rosette/Marguerite Formation defensive strategy to protect vulnerable herd members. As a last resort they do something called "defense defecation" Can I get away with calling this a Poopnado? 🤔 🦑 www.researchgate.net/figure/Defen...

Figure 2. Defences strategies in sperm whale. A. " Marguerite formation...

Download scientific diagram | Defences strategies in sperm whale. A. " Marguerite formation " . B. Parallel formation.   from publication: First record of live stranded sperm whales Physeter macroceph...

researchgate.net

Well next week should be good for marine life spotting in #Guernsey With any luck we'll get dolphin sightings, definitely jellyfish and hopefully some sunfish too

Spotted: Tiny translucent treasure 😍💎⁠ ⁠ Amphipods are crustaceans often mistaken for tiny shrimp. They resemble shrimp in some ways, but they are laterally compressed and have no carapace. From icy polar zones to the deep ocean, they can thrive in habitats where few other animals can survive.

I'm done! I've voted! It's been a lot of work reading manifestos, hustings, listening to all the @guernseypress.com podcasts - super helpful so thank you GP. 25 votes in the end #election2025 #guernsey 🇬🇬 #voting

Today is going to be a great day. A chapter of strife and uncertainty is over and I'm ready to embrace a new start

Off to Sark to show our latest film to the school: Pollinators Great and Small Pollinators are more than just bees... they're bumblebees, wasps, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, wasps & more. Each with a vital role helping keep nature in balance and us alive! 🦋🪲🪰🐝🇨🇶 #pollinators #scicomm #sark

I've finally noticed that I can add videos to Bluesky! 🥳 So do I start posting videos as most of my educational content is video these days, or do I YouTube link? 🤔