in the phase of realizing getting grants means actually having to do what’s in the grant what do you mean i can’t just play with sturgeon in the field?? plz send help 🧪👩🏻🔬🌎🦑🐟🌐 (anyway here’s a pic of the cutest baby sturgeon ever)
Will Bugg
@wbuggiii.bsky.social
Liber Ero Fellow PhD from the University of Manitoba. Postdoc with UBC and PSF. Conservation and physiological responses to environmental stressors. From NC -> AL -> MB -> BC.
happy #sturgeonsaturday on sunday! we’re so back baby! 🧪👩🏻🔬🌐🌎🦑🐟 in addition to the population stressor sampling I’ve been doing we’re adding acoustic telemetry to track where sturgeon are and how they are doing at the same time this will let us analyze stress patterns and habitat use together 🫡
happy #sturgeonsaturday !! In honor of my field season starting tomorrow please enjoy this beautiful and chaotic sturgeon release from last season lmk if there is something yall wanna see or ask about sturgeon while we get ready for our first day on the river this year!! 🌐🌎🧪👩🏻🔬🐟🦑
Atlantic Salmon post-smolt migration from Canadian rivers to the Labrador Sea: routes, timing, and influence of sea surface temperature. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 83: 1-31. doi.org/10.1139/cjfa...
Atlantic Salmon post-smolt migration from Canadian rivers to the Labrador Sea: routes, timing, and influence of sea surface temperature
Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) populations are at historic lows, primarily due to poor marine survival, and knowledge gaps regarding their migration limit our ability to identify population-specific st...
doi.org
GARgantuan thank you to @governorwalz.mn.gov for recognizing the value of our native fishes! FINtastic meeting him AND getting getting a photoGARph! #NativeFishDay
Dr. Solomon David@solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 3mo agoTODAY is officially Native Fish Day in Minnesota!!! Governor Walz has signed the proclamation recognizing the value of native fishes, particularly those under-appreciated, so-called rough fish. I think Sir David Attenborough (turning 100 years old today) would approve!
Enthusiasm from @governorwalz.mn.gov to hold the gar was real! Also appreciate him getting pics with the NEXT generation of native fish conservationists! Thanks again to Minnesotans and folks everywhere for their support of native fish! #NativeFishDay
New research detailing high throughput sturgeon molecular tools developed by @biologyhossein.bsky.social is now live! Here we developed and tested assays across sturgeon species to evaluate impacts across a variety of pathways induced by thermal stress 🧪🌎🌐🐟 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Our new paper is out! We developed a multispecies OpenArray™ chip to study cellular stress response in Acipenser species. The chip was used to measure the effects of acute thermal stress on Atlantic, lake, and shortnose sturgeon. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
High‐throughput multispecies quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays to study the effects of acute thermal stress in three species of Acipenser sturgeon
Fishes experience thermal stress in their natural environment that can be caused by natural or anthropogenic factors and can directly affect their physiology. In this study, we developed a multispeci...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
I'll add only that if you're not already aware, Dr. @wbuggiii.bsky.social has been working with this lab. I'm not affiliated nor a genomics expert but the work they do is the *keystone* to resource management, restoration (that is me), & conservation per founder & now emeritus lead Dr. Kristi Miller
Will Bugg@wbuggiii.bsky.social · 3mo agoOngoing DFO cuts to the Genomics Program and across the organization further compromise the capacity to conduct critical research evaluating the impacts of cumulative stressors and pathogens on salmon survival and to aid in the conservation of imperiled stocks 🧪🌎🌐🦑🐟 thetyee.ca/News/2026/04...
super super important read!! DFO cuts are directly gutting pacific salmon research and conservation by cutting a CRUCIAL lab & associated members responsible for identifying the stressors and pathogens leading to population decline!!! 🧪👩🏻🔬🌐🌎
Will Bugg@wbuggiii.bsky.social · 3mo agoOngoing DFO cuts to the Genomics Program and across the organization further compromise the capacity to conduct critical research evaluating the impacts of cumulative stressors and pathogens on salmon survival and to aid in the conservation of imperiled stocks 🧪🌎🌐🦑🐟 thetyee.ca/News/2026/04...
Ongoing DFO cuts to the Genomics Program and across the organization further compromise the capacity to conduct critical research evaluating the impacts of cumulative stressors and pathogens on salmon survival and to aid in the conservation of imperiled stocks 🧪🌎🌐🦑🐟 thetyee.ca/News/2026/04...
Salmon Scientists Warn the DFO Is Killing a Crucial Lab | The Tyee
The genomics program opened up the ‘black box’ of wild fish research. Former and current staff say it’s been gutted.
thetyee.ca
New Perspective paper is out! We reviewed how eDNA is currently used for biodiversity monitoring in Southeast Asia and developed recommendations to strengthen its regional application. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Our paper is out, focusing on design, validation, and implementation considerations for species-targeted eRNA assays to detect presence and physiological state! Some new ideas to ponder. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Design, Validation, and Implementation Considerations for Species‐Targeted Environmental RNA Assays to Detect Presence and Physiological State
Environmental RNA (eRNA) is emerging as a promising tool for detecting species presence and physiological condition, with its broader adoption expected to benefit from continued refinement of assay d...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
What happens *after* enemy release? In a new paper, we present 7 years of infection & immune trait dynamics in 16 lake populations of stickleback. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... This is definitely the longest-scale study I've done in my career, I'm very excited to see it out. 1/6
Migratory freshwater fish are in steep decline due to pressures along their paths, including dams, altered flows, habitat degradation, pollution and unsustainable fishing. Restoring rivers and habitats cannot wait. Read the #CMSFreshwaterFishes report: www.cms.int/publication/...
Less dams, more fish! 🐟🏞️ Restoring rivers and habitats cannot wait.
UN Environment Programme@unep.org · 4mo agoMigratory freshwater fish are in steep decline due to pressures along their paths, including dams, altered flows, habitat degradation, pollution and unsustainable fishing. Restoring rivers and habitats cannot wait. Read the #CMSFreshwaterFishes report: www.cms.int/publication/...
happy #sturgeonsaturday (on sunday)! 🧪👩🏻🔬🌐🦑🌎 did you know that sturgeon rely heavily on scent & feel to find food rather than eyesight? in the photo you can see the barbels (like whiskers) & the 2 nostrils - which are basically the same size as the eye! these strong sniffers are quite impressive 👃
i mixed my two most frequent pastimes: worrying & pottery, with my love for the sea 🫶🏼 i always need to fidget with things, these are a sensory dream with a smooth & rougher side and i love them sm :) if this resonates with you the link is below💫🌞🌀 www.madisonearhart.com/pottery-coll...
happy #sturgeonsaturday ! this is the time of year that sturgeon wake up from their overwintering cuddling and move around in search of food! in the Fraser River, BC this usually aligns with the eulachon spawning run, a crucial sturgeon food source, full of fat after a long winter 🍽️ 🧪👩🏻🔬🌎🌐🦑🐟
wanna follow a suuuper cool group of people leading a variety of conservation efforts??? look no further!!! @libererofellows.bsky.social starter pack is here 🤩 🧪👩🏻🔬🦑🐟🌐🌎
hiiiiiiiiii it’s me!!! i am so thrilled to announce i’m now a liber ero fellow!!! 🫶🏼💫🥰 so excited to start this journey and continue working in white sturgeon conservation i’ll be identifying population stressors that could be leading to mortalities and declines across british columbia 👩🏻🔬🧪🌐🌎🦑🐟
@libererofellows.bsky.social · 5mo agoWe are pleased to announce the 2026 Liber Ero Fellows! liberero.ca/meet-the-fel...
We are pleased to announce the 2026 Liber Ero Fellows! liberero.ca/meet-the-fel...
Meet The Fellows - Liber Ero Fellowship Program
We are pleased to announce the 2026 Liber Ero Fellows! Mirjam Barrueto Project: Toward one hundred quiet zones: predicting, locating, and managing wolverine reproduction, connectivity, and source-...
liberero.ca
new paper and illustrations 🧪👩🏻🔬🌎🌐 We asked are embryos understudied in conservation physiology? Turns out, despite the increasing recognition of the ecological importance & sensitivity of embryos, we found no evidence that embryo research has gained traction over the past 10yrs paper link below👇🏼
Ooooh. Cool new paper on origins of life. A simple 45-nucleotide RNA molecule that can perfectly copy itself. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
science.org
hiiii it’s me!! as a pretty burnt out scientist but i’ve found joy again in making ceramics :) i’m working on my first small batch drop that will be inspired by my love of color and the natural world if you have instagram and want to be friends find me @madart_ceramics 👩🏻🔬🧪🌎🍒🫐🐚💫
happy #sturgeonsaturday yall 🧪👩🏻🔬 🌎 Did ya know that during winter sturgeon do a thing i call cuddle puddle? they find a deep hole to overwinter in & hang out cuddle puddling until spring! we are working to identify & protect these areas now support the sturgies, get a sticker: tinyurl.com/2fjnxy7w
ice continues to kidnap, torture, and murder human beings across the US and right now, especially in Minneapolis proceeds from this sticker to mutual aid funds in MN abolish ice 👩🏻🔬🧪🌎🦑 🐟 www.madisonearhart.com/product-page...
What’s happening on the Bathurst calving grounds? We found strong spatiotemporal overlap between grizzlies and caribou during calving, highlighting potential risk during this sensitive period. Deeply grateful to the collaborators who made this work possible! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
