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Adam T. Downie

@adamdownunder.bsky.social
901 followers 140 following 16 posts

🧪Post Doc QUT 🐠Fish Ecophysiology//early life history 🌊Marine Replenishment 📚A/Editor Reviews in Fish Biology & Fisheries 👟Running 🤘Death Metal 👾FromSoft Fan

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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Metabolic scaling is thought to scale very steeply with size in unicells but what if that steepness is simply an artefact? Out today in Ecology Letters, we show that metabolic scaling is not superlinear in unicells but instead scales at ~0.86 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Drivers and Consequences of Size Declines in Unicells
Reader environment loaded
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Out today in @science.org our paper on how evolutionary adaptation to warming will reduce fisheries yields. Please let me know if you need me to send you a copy. Summary of the paper coming soon. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Evolutionary adaptation to global change reduces sustainable fisheries yields
Global warming is altering the fisheries that underpin food security, but projections of these impacts generally exclude evolutionary processes. We describe a model that forecasts how fish will adapt ...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Fabio Cortesi @drfishvis.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Fresh off the press 💥 Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision
Hybrid photoreceptors in larval deep-sea fish reveal evolution of an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision.
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
George Jarvis @gc-jarvis.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Excited to share our study testing competing theories on the energy dynamics of hermaphroditism! Grateful to @djmmeeg.bsky.social for guidance, to Thomas Brey for metabolic rate data, and to Deborah Charlesworth for feedback. Thanks also to the editors and reviewers at Proc B. @royalsociety.org
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Darwin speculated that it was energetically costly to be an hermaphrodite. He thought that might explain why they were relatively rare in animals. Our paper out today tested this conjecture for the first time. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Hermaphrodites have lower metabolic rates than gonochores
Abstract. Hermaphroditism, where an individual can reproduce as both male and female, offers some clear reproductive advantages. Simultaneous hermaphroditi
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
The Company of Biologists @biologists.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Thank you Adam Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social for sharing your experience of fee-free #OA publishing in @biologyopen.bsky.social via our #ReadAndPublish agreement with The University of Queensland. Read Adam’s paper: bit.ly/4hA9vm1 See if your institution is participating too: bit.ly/3O7BxGi
"Open Access provides the opportunity for your research to reach a broader audience and therefore have greater impact. However, as an early-career researcher, the fees associated with unlocking such reach is quite high. I am very appreciative for The University of Queensland's Read & Publish agreement with The Company of Biologists for taking the financial burden off my shoulders to maximise my research's impact within my field and beyond."
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Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
@biologyopen.bsky.social highlighting our new #OA paper on the impacts of uvr☀️on clownfish embryo development 🐠🥚 @craigefranklin.bsky.social @drfishvis.bsky.social doi.org/10.1242/bio....
doi.org
Ultraviolet B radiation impairs coral reef fish development
Summary: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has significant impacts on yolk sac volume, which may have contributed to the 100% mortality rate of clownfish embryos. However, DNA damage was not as impacted by ...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Biology Open @biologyopen.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
@adamdownunder.bsky.social, @craigefranklin.bsky.social & co expose clownfish embryos to UV radiation (UVR) corresponding to water depths reflective of their settlement; mimicking what could happen in a future coral reef with fewer structures shielding against UVR. doi.org/10.1242/bio....
The effect of UVR (UVB: 280-315 nm) across developmental age (dpf) of clownfish (A. ocellaris) embryos. Embryos were exposed to either control (no UVR; pink colour bar) or UVR levels representing the within-depth range of A. ocellaris: 6 m (low UVR treatment; 80 µW m2; green colour bar) or 2 m (high UVR treatment; 280 µW m2; blue colour bar) (Braun et al., 2016). UVR exposure occurred for 2 h daily from when eggs were laid (0 dpf) until hatched at 8-9 dpf. On 2 and 5 dpf, individual embryos were collected for (A) mass (mg; n=15 per age per treatment group), and (B) yolk sac volume (mm3; n=15 per age per treatment group). (C) DNA damage (concentration of CPD) only was measurable in embryos exposed to high UVR treatment only (n=13 measured in 2 dpf embryos, and n=8 measured in 5 dpf embryos). The experiment was replicated three times per treatment using two different parent pairs. In all three panels, predicted Bayesian posterior distributions are shown with symbols and error bars representing the median and 0.95 and 0.8 quartile-based credible intervals, respectively.
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Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
🚨Our new🚨 #OA🔓 paper on 🔅UVR🔆 impacts on 🪸coral reef fish 🐟embryo🐣 development is out in @biologyopen.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social! @craigefranklin.bsky.social @drfishvis.bsky.social doi.org/10.1242/bio....
doi.org
Ultraviolet B radiation impairs coral reef fish development
Summary: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has significant impacts on yolk sac volume, which may have contributed to the 100% mortality rate of clownfish embryos. However, DNA damage was not as impacted by ...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Nicholas Wu @nicholaswu.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Developed from the #WCH10 symposium, we provide a guide for researchers & managers on current advances for assessing the vulnerability of reptiles 🐍 & amphibians 🐸 to water stress | doi.org/10.1093/conp... | Published in @conphysjournal.bsky.social
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Graham Scott @scottlab.ca · 06/03/2025
The Scott Lab at McMaster is currently recruiting graduate students to examine the physiological and molecular mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation in small mammals. Details at scottlab.ca/opportunities/
scottlab.ca
Opportunities
Interested in Joining the Scott Lab? The Scott Lab is currently recruiting graduate students to examine the physiological and molecular mechanisms of high-altitude adaptation in small mammals. Pote…
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Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Our 🚨new paper🚨 in @globalchangebio.bsky.social reviews & roadmaps how physiology can improve our understanding of 🔥#climatechange🔥 induced #tropicalisation🔃 of marine fishes🐟 & help inform management! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Physiological Traits for Predicting Poleward Extensions in Tropical Fishes: From Lab to Management
We review the physiological mechanisms that permit poleward range expansions of tropical reef fishes into temperate waters. Filling in key knowledge gaps, we develop a framework to improve the implem...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Australian Society for Fish Biology @austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
📑 #NewStudy by O’Mara et al. reviewed how the development of water resources impacts #river flows which support tropical #fisheries. 👀 doi.org/10.1007/s111...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Professor Jodie Rummer @physiologyfish.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
New from the RummerLab at @jcuofficial! Our latest @JEBiology paper explores how physiology 🧬🧪🔬👩🏻‍🔬 can drive smarter, climate-ready conservation. 🍃🌊Bridging lab science + real-world action! 🌏 🔗📄Read it here: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/... #conservation #climatecrisis #Ecophysiology
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Fabio Cortesi @drfishvis.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
The actual study 🐙💉❤️ www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Blue-lined octopus Hapalochlaena fasciata males envenomate females to facilitate copulation
Chun et al. show that in the blue-lined octopus Hapalochlaena fasciata males envenomate females during copulation, most likely as a defense against being cannibalized.
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
The Editors-in-Chief of the 5 @biologists.bsky.social journals have written a joint Editorial, discussing the enormous challenges currently facing researchers in the US and how members of the community can support them through this difficult time journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Screenshot of the first page of the Editorial, 'Science under siege: protecting scientific progress in turbulent times', written by James Briscoe, Craig Franklin, Daniel Gorelick. Elizabeth Patton and Michael Way. The publication information in the top line says, '© 2025. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2025) 228, jeb250455. doi:10.1242/jeb.250455'. The first paragraph of the article says, 'As Editors-in-Chief of The Company of Biologists’ journals, we have been watching with growing concern the policy changes in the United States of America (USA) and the challenges that these are creating. It is unusual for us to comment on a nation’s science policies or politics, but the rapid ongoing developments in the USA and their potential impact on research worldwide are beyond the usual.'
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
"The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms
Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia
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Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Interesting new study on lateral line system of deep sea chimaeras. So much we don't know about these bizarre animals. Happy to have helped with creating the figures for this cool and important research www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
The lateral line and electrosensory systems of two holocephalans - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - The lateral line and electrosensory systems of two holocephalans
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Alessandro Rigolon @alerigolon.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Australian governments are failing to conserve biodiversity, meaning their extraordinary values are being lost and global conservation targets will likely fail. The next federal government must do better. My letter with @biodiversityguy.bsky.social in @science.org. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Addressing Australia’s biodiversity crisis
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Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
See onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... for more details. Once again, I implore supervisors to apply these principles when helping their students design studies. It’s such a huge wasted effort for the students at their most sensitive career stage.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution
Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Back to editing at Functional Ecology. Sadly I had to reject 3 papers without review because they lacked replication @ the right level. More discussions about design before the experiment is done pls: heartbreaking waste to only talk about it afterwards. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution
Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I’ve gained a bunch of new followers so I’m taking the opportunity to wrap up the year with a 🧵 of publications. 1st: our Science paper showing that the indirect costs of reproduction (making the offspring) often exceed the direct costs (the energy in the offspring. www.science.org/stoken/autho...
science.org
Metabolic loads and the costs of metazoan reproduction
Reproduction includes two energy investments—the energy in the offspring and the energy expended to make them. The former is well understood, whereas the latter is unquantified but often assumed to be...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
A highly opportunistic field study that we recently published, we characterised the rapid changes in physiology that occur as larval coral grouper settle onto reefs. Reef fish settlement is fascinating, and our work contributes to the growing # of studies in this area doi.org/10.1007/s003...
doi.org
Changes in aerobic metabolism associated with the settlement transition for the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) - Coral Reefs
Metamorphosis is a critical aspect of coral reef fish ecology. This developmental milestone marks changes in form and function that permit successful transition of pelagic larvae to the demersal lifes...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Conservation Physiology @conphysjournal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
A warm welcome to all our new followers on BlueSky! We are a society @sebiology.bsky.social journal publishing research on all taxa with a focus on solving real world conservation issues 🦓🐢🌲 Stay tuned for new paper alerts and journal updates!
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Group leaders! The uptake of this paper suggests to me that folk aren’t talking enough about experimental design with their students? Has experimental design fallen off the syllabus? Is a sense of experimental design like a sense of humour? Everyone thinks they have a good one but….?
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Thorn-Seshold Lab @thornsesholdlab.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Wishing the Elsevier editors who desk-accepted this all the best for their next career moves. doi.org/10.1016/j.ij...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Terry Hughes @profterryhughes.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
If you’re looking for facts about coral reefs please consider following me. And ignore Murdoch propaganda. www.skynews.com.au/opinion/outs...
skynews.com.au
Great Barrier Reef looking ‘as wonderful as ever’
The Great Barrier Reef is “in wonderful shape”, according to IPA Senior Fellow Dr Jennifer Marohasy. “I was just diving off Cairns a few weeks back and it’s looking as wonderful as ever,” Dr Marohasy told Sky News Australia host Rowan Dean. “Do you know why we have record coral cover – it’s because for decades now both the number and intensity of cyclones hitting the Great Barrier Reef has actually been decreasing. “And that’s not something the Bureau of Meteorology is telling us.”
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
If you’re interested in fish, fishing and the role of body size, please check out this collection of papers from our group.
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Terry Hughes @profterryhughes.bsky.social · 24/09/2024
Further evidence that the Australian government has no intention of reining in fossil fuels, until long after the Great Barrier Reef is unrecognisable…..
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Terry Hughes @profterryhughes.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Does coral restoration work at a meaningful scale? And why do some of the world’s greatest polluters invest in it? www.cell.com/one-earth/pd...
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Adam T. Downie @adamdownunder.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
A highly opportunistic field study that we recently published, we characterised the rapid changes in physiology that occur as larval coral grouper settle onto reefs. Reef fish settlement is fascinating, and our work contributes to the growing # of studies in this area doi.org/10.1007/s003...
doi.org
Changes in aerobic metabolism associated with the settlement transition for the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) - Coral Reefs
Metamorphosis is a critical aspect of coral reef fish ecology. This developmental milestone marks changes in form and function that permit successful transition of pelagic larvae to the demersal lifes...
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Terry Hughes @profterryhughes.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Terrible news today: This year, one-third of coral cover has been destroyed in two northern sections of the Great Barrier reef due to anthropogenic heating. Results for the southern sections (which were even hotter) have not been officially released. www.aims.gov.au/information-...
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Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Have you ever wondered why r and K sometimes trade off but sometimes “trade up”? Read our paper from last year and wonder no longer…..
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Reposted by Adam T. Downie
Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
If you’re interested in measuring how metabolic rate might evolve check out this work from a few months ago, pre-the Bluesky explosion.
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