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Alice Risely

@alice-risely.bsky.social
1K followers 859 following 440 posts

Ecologist with broad interests studying gulls, pathogens, and microbiomes. Love and teach R. Dangerously close to becoming microbiologist. Gulls Eating Stuff citizen science project. linktr.ee/alice_risely

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Reposted by Alice Risely
Gemma Murray @gemmamurray.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I’m hiring two postdocs to join my group at UCL, both funded for 3 years, to investigate how commensal bacteria contribute to the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens. Please share! Links below 👇 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSU266/r... www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSU268/r...
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Paul Hoskisson 🧫 🦠🐸 @paulhoskisson.bsky.social · 7h
Brilliant #postdoc opportunity on the role of gut microbiomes in bird thermal resilience #HOTGUT project at Lund University (Dept. of Biology)! Supervisor is the awesome @kruthsatz.bsky.social , Andreas Nord as co-supervisor. Please repost Apply here: lu.varbi.com/what:job/job...
lu.varbi.com
Postdoktor inom ekoevolutionär mikrobiomforskning och termobiologi
Ämnesbeskrivning Tjänsten är en del av forskningsprojektet “From Guts to Growth: Unravelling the Gut Microbiome’s Role in Ontogenetic Trajectories toward Climate Stress Resilience” (HOTGUT).
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Getting my own promethion flow cells - exciting times! #sequencing
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The Seabird Group @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
📣 Seabird Group AGM elections 📣 We're looking for a new Early Career Representative! 🧑‍🎓 Full role description here: 👇 docs.google.com/document/d/1... To apply, please send a short description (max 200 words) to secretary@seabirdgroup.org.uk by 25/10/2026 💌 📸 @scottishseabird.bsky.social
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Saria McKeithen-Mead, PhD @sciria.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Pleased to share my first preprint from my postdoc, where I ask what drives mobile DNA movement between bacterial cells in complex communities like the gut microbiome. To answer this, we built a way to capture mobile DNA in the act of moving between cells, using short-read metagenomics. 🧵
doi.org
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Journal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
📖 New research Beta diversity of Arctiinae moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) along a recovering tropical forest gradient🦋 🌳 🔎 Find out more: buff.ly/vKlxwr4
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Martin George @jannerbirder.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“Every year an estimated 95,000 #seabirds, including Razorbills and Guillemots, are accidentally caught in nets off European coasts.” “But simple deterrents tested by Cornish fishers and devised by scientists and the RSPB have been shown to reduce the toll by about two-thirds.”
theguardian.com
Floating scarecrows: how Cornish fishers are stopping seabirds drowning in their nets
Simple deterrents can slash the number of razorbills and guillemots being trapped underwater, two-year study shows
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Do you study avian foraging, diet, or nutrition? We’ve just opened submissions for a special issue on avian diets in J Avian Biology: nso-journals.org/all-news/cal.... #ornithology
nso-journals.org
Call for Papers | Special issue “Decomposing avian diet: linking food, foraging and fitness” — NSO Journals
The Journal of Avian Biology is inviting contributions for the special issue “Decomposing avian diet: linking food, foraging and fitness.” Submission deadline: 30 September 2027.
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Ethan Linck @elinck.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm hiring a postdoc to help build tools for inferring complex speciation histories with genomic data. strong computational skills are a must, but this is a training opportunity. 60K$+ salary, 2 years, details flexible. please reach out! (and repost) ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150
jobs.montana.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
The Department of Ecology at Montana State University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Scholar as part of NSF-funded research on speciation under alternating cycles of gene flow and isolation (fundi...
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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Please pass along: I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab. We study physical ecology, macroecology, and biodiversity — spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested 🧪🌐🌾
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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New in #BirdStudy Pollen can be effectively retrieved from single-use gloves worn during ringing to reveal patterns in habitat use and migratory ecology: Pollen on feathers: unlocking the potential to study avian life histories through palynology www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #ornithology
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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026
We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/
a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
😂😂
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
😱😱😱
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Dr Nick 🦉🇦🇺 @doktrnick.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Ibis' out for a walk with pizza.
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Going through some of the latest Gulls Eating Stuff photos and sorry but I love the gory ones. Graphic photo by @robspeirs.bsky.social of a Lesser black-backed gull that had just killed a blackbird. Mate is a bit jealous (but probably just got a good lesson in how to hunt blackbirds from a pro!).
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Intending to write another column about the treatment of #ME/CFS patients this week, pegged to new research findings on the biological basis. My question for sufferers: Are any of you still being offered inappropriate (psych/GET etc) "treatments"? Please email george at monbiot dot info. Thanks.
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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Dream job for an #editor & nature lover! 🐦🌿Apply now ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs 📅 Full time, Permanent. 📝 £38,710.00 per annum. 📍 BTO HQ in Thetford, Norfolk (Hybrid working). Deadline for applications: 30 September 2026. #Ornithology
A Nightingale perches on a branch amongst the green foliage of a bush. Wording over the image reads: We're hiring! Science Communications Manager.
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David Bikard @dbikard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
New paper from the lab, out in Nature Microbiology. We ran CRISPRi screens to ask what genes E. coli needs in order to live in a gut and what this can tell us about the gut environment itself. doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02471-8
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ASM @asm.org · 21/09/2026
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) often are easily treated when diagnosed, but many people don’t realize they’re infected. These undiagnosed infections may have serious, life-long consequences. asm.social/35Z #SexualHealthMonth
asm.social
The Dangers of Undiagnosed Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) often are easily treated when diagnosed, but many people don’t realize they’re infected. These undiagnosed infections may have serious, life-long consequences.
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David Grimm @david-grimm.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Bubbles" the dolphin doesn't eat any of the fish he pursues. Instead, he singles out one, chases it until it throws up, then eats the vomit. The surprising behavior--known as kleptoparasitism--is among the first well-documented examples of food stealing in cetaceans. @science.org
science.org
This dolphin chased a fish until it puked—then ate the vomit
The behavior, known as kleptoparasitism, marks one of the few well-documented examples of a cetacean stealing food
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 21/09/2026
EARLY VIEW in IBIS A longitudinal study of avian pox in a small passerine, the Dunnock (Prunella modularis) | onlinelibrary.wiley.... Denise C. Wawman, Steven R. Fiddaman, Becki Lawson, Maria D. Christodoulou, Ben C. Sheldon, Adrian L. Smith | #ornithology 🪶
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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Our new paper led by Leo Miranda in @science.org - Comparing #Amazon protection strategies reveals that avoiding deforestation is most cost-effective for carbon storage, while avoiding forest disturbance yields the highest benefits for #biodiversity 🌎🪶🌴🧪 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Protecting tropical forests is more cost-effective for biodiversity and climate than restoration
Halting deforestation and promoting restoration are at the core of strategies to confront the biodiversity and climate crises in tropical forests. Avoiding forest disturbances is also critically important but has received far less attention, and there is ...
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Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Yes! Wonderful! also , can't resist, we proposed the same model (we called it fusion- fragmentation) in our paper on the Murray collection, where we look at how those plasmids end up in fusions, or fragmented. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance
Plasmids are now the primary vectors of antimicrobial resistance, but our understanding of how human industrialization of antibiotics influenced their evolution is limited by a paucity of data predati...
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Nice 8km walk around the Cheshire countryside today via Arley Hall and the very cute village of Great Budsworth. Some nice old oaks showing off their autumn leaves, and a migrant hawker posing nicely.
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Thank you to the U Manchester Ecology and Evolution group for inviting me to talk about bacterial phylogenimics in gulls. Had a great time and loads of useful chats about AMR, plasmids, E. coli, grants, and even gulls 😂. Wildlife microbiology is such an exciting field right now.
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Noam Ross @noamross.net · 15/09/2026
What are good examples of forecasting rare spatiotemporal events (e.g., events occur in <1% of a space/time bins), where there are published performance numbers of (production) models? Large-scale, multi-year system preferred (weather, disease outbreaks, etc.)
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Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Where should we put our big ugly digital billboard advertising addictive nicotine products? How about in the middle of the pavement? 👍 Just documenting (presumably) @mancitycouncil.bsky.social ‘s terrible decision making around these monstrosities that are fricking everywhere now.
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European Ornithologists' Union @eounion.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
💡Plenary Spotlight Ben Hatchwell – University of Sheffield, UK Ben's long-term study of long-tailed tits investigates the causes and consequences of sociality, and the rules governing social decisions #EOU2027 | 23-27 August | Brno, CZ Submit symposia: www.eou27.cz/call-for-sym... #Ornithology
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 10/09/2026
NEW on #theBOUblog from Michał Jezierski Wren evolution in the British Isles: How might island evolution generate patterns of avian diversity? bou.org.uk/blog-jezi... #ornithology 🪶
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Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I asked undergrad field techs to do a simple task, which was record when storm-petrels in our long-term study site had damage. The following is a partial list of the codes they used to indicate 'no damage'
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Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We're hiring Code Integrity and Accessibility editors at MEE! Ideal for people experienced in testing and validating code, and confidence working with at least one language - open to all career stages. Deadline 25th September ⏰️ Read the role description and apply👇 buff.ly/UaSg5au
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Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids @jenteo.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Genetics and genomics of hybridization | Nature Reviews Genetics www.nature.com/articles/s41... Amazing review! 🤩
nature.com
Genetics and genomics of hybridization - Nature Reviews Genetics
Hybridization, the exchange of genes between divergent lineages, is now recognized as widespread across eukaryotes and essential to understanding genome evolution. In this Review, Schumer and Rieseber...
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Becky Taylor @beckystaylor.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Been wondering how well runs of homozygosity can predict inbreeding depression? Read our new meta-analysis where we show a significant relationship between ROH and fitness across taxa #popgen #consgen: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Runs of Homozygosity Predict Inbreeding Depression Across Taxa: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Measuring inbreeding via runs of homozygosity (ROH) captures realized autozygosity and can infer inbreeding timing through ROH length. A growing body of literature links the proportion of the genome ....
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Emma Lewis @petchary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
novaramedia.com/2026/09/04/g... “Nothing will change until these companies go officially bankrupt and the quickest way of ensuring that happens is if people stop paying their bills. “A few decades ago millions of people did exactly that with the poll tax and the government backed down.”
novaramedia.com
Green Peer Refuses to Pay Full Thames Water Bill to Protest Sewage Pollution
A Green party peer is refusing to pay her full Thames Water bill in protest at the supplier’s pollution record.
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SciStarter @scistarter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This fall, billions of birds are about to migrate, mostly at night, when artificial light pulls them off course toward deadly window collisions. You don't have to be a birder or a scientist to help. Read our latest newsletter to learn how you can get involved: conta.cc/4i963kD
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Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture @burkemuseum.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
In the early 1980’s, we began preparing separate spread wings to help illustrate features of birds that had never been accurately drawn. Today our collection of spread wings is the largest in the world, preserving more than 40,000 specimens.
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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
We're seeking a Research Ecologist to develop & apply methods for analysing large-scale passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) datasets & to lead work on the collection/analysis of restoration & rewilding data. Apply via www.bto.org/jobs Closing date: 22 September. #Ornithology #bioacoustics
The heads of two Puffins appear above a bank. Wording above reads: We're hiring! Senior Research Ecologist: Landscape Restoration & Monitoring Science.
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Michelle Wille @duckswabber.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Our study describing HPAI on the Antarctic peninsula in 2024/25 summer finally out - dead skuas consistently positive, with brain swabs having lowest Ct. No detections in apparently health penguin faecal swabs. 👉 www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
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Krishna Balasubramaniam @krishsubramaniam.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Brilliant, entertaining, but above all eye-opening stuff from Christopher Schell, on how redlining and structural racism has impacted the urban ecology of #coyotes in American cities! @ecbb2026.bsky.social #ECBB2026 🐺
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RSPB Science @rspbscience.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
New job alert🪶 2.5yr fixed term Conservation Scientist role in our England and Wales team Project: Developing a trial management intervention for upland breeding Whinchat through a programme of new science Deadline: 23 Sept Full details here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... 📷Ben Andrew
A Whinchat perches atop a fern.
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Jim Shaw @jimshaw.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Cool preprint about strain-level metagenome association studies using k-mer containment. Mallawaarachchi et al. from @gerrythill.bsky.social's group. I tried tackling this in our original paper for sylph (sylph-docs.github.io), but this seems to be much more sophisticated. Excited to read!
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Jaw dropping read (if you perservere to the end): "The Spreadsheet That Broke Britain" russincheshire.substack.com/p/the-spread...
russincheshire.substack.com
The Spreadsheet That Broke Britain
The absurd error behind austerity, stagnation and the rise of populist rage.
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Natalie Cooper @nhcooper123.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Are you passionate about code integrity and accessibility? Do you have skills in R, Python or Julia? Why not apply to be one of our new Code Integrity and Accessibility AEs? Open to any career stage. Details here: apply.workable.com/britishecolo... (sadly not paid, but comes with nice perks)
apply.workable.com
Associate Editor (Code Integrity and Accessibility) - British Ecological Society
Volunteer role: Associate Editor (Code Integrity and Accessibility) Organisation: British Ecological Society – Methods in Ecology and Evolution Term: 3 years Closing date: 25th Sept 17.00 BST Location...
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World Seabird Union @worldseabirdunion.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Each year, @bou.org.uk presents awards to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution within ornithology. Nominations for the 2026 awards close on 15 September 2026. It is not necessary to be a BOU member to submit a nomination bou.org.uk/about-the-bo...
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Nathan Nelson @nathannelson.co.uk · 26/08/2026
I've really enjoyed my last two years of study at Exeter, brilliant people at @crpr-exeter.bsky.social, lovely campus (OK a bit hilly), great atmosphere, but the uni's treatment of staff particularly in my faculty has been shockingly bad. The uni deserves better than the absolute drongos doing this.
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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A thread on the dispute at Exeter Uni. #ucu #defendexeteruni @ucu.org.uk On 15 June HR called Exeter UCU into a confidential meeting and informed us they would be putting over 500 colleagues at risk of redundancy and expected to loose around 200 staff. The number of c.150 you’ll have seen is FTE.
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Richard McElreath 🐈‍⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Someone emailed me to ask if my lectures are online anywhere, so yes here is the link to most recent lectures. These lectures are free and free of Cyclospora
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Animal Behaviour Live @animalbehaviour.live · 24/08/2026
⏰ Only 2 weeks left to submit! Showcase your research at #ABL2026, our free online conference on animal behavior in a changing world. 🔹 15-min oral presentation 🔹 5-min video poster 📅 Deadline: September 6 📄 Submit an abstract here 👉 ablaoc.sciencesconf.org #ethology #animalbehaviour
ablaoc.sciencesconf.org
Animal Behaviour Live: Annual Online Conference 2026 - Sciencesconf.org
Sciencesconf.org
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Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
We are looking for proposals for our new cross journal special feature! It will highlight research across ecological genetics, emphasising how genetic and genomic insights inform broader ecological processes, conservation management, and environmental policy 🧬 Find out more👇 buff.ly/OOdzPWu
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