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Brett Hodinka, PhD

@bretthodinka.bsky.social
763 followers 214 following 46 posts

Biology Dept., Western Washington Univ. Ecological & Evolutionary Physiology Birds and life-history trade-offs bretthodinka.weebly.com

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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Quail egg incubator with an automatic egg-turning feature but with some 3D-printed adapters for zebra finch eggs. Let the developmental study begin!
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 18/03/2026
Email your senators to urge them not to confirm Jim O’Neill as Director of the National Science Foundation. He's not a scientist, has no relevant expertise, promoted vaccine misinformation, helped gut the CDC, and his Silicon Valley ties raise questions about protecting the public interest. (1/2🧵)
Image with text to email your senators to urge them not to confirm Jim O’Neill as Director of the National Science Foundation.
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
More auto feeder action!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The auto feeders are working 🙌🏼
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Let the smart feeder assembly begin!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my talk this morning! #SICB2026 Portland has been incredible so far!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Update: the RFID-based automated bird feeder (a) has passed the leak test in this week’s western Washington atmospheric river and (b) is officially up and running with each box having its own WiFi connection for remote data download! Time to take it to the field!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Do European starling chicks “exercise” prior to fledging and does it impact somatic and physiological development? Though the title gives it away, you can read our most recent paper in @royalsocietypublishing.org #RSOS royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Chicks of cavity-nesting birds do not ‘exercise’ prior to fledging | Royal Society Open Science
Fledging represents a key life-history transition involving a rapid increase in workload associated with a rapid transition from sedentary nestling to volant, active fledgling. Here, we tested the ide...
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
The RFID-enabled bird feeder is successfully reading and logging PIT tag numbers. Can’t wait to get these out into the field!
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Reposted by Brett Hodinka, PhD
Animal Behavior Society @animbehsociety.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Do you love research & writing & all things animal behavior? Well our journal, Animal Behavior, recruiting up to 5 (count em!) new Associate Editors! Editors serve three-year terms beginning January 2026. If you're interested, email Exec Editor Scott Sakaluk (sksakal@ilstu.edu) by Oct 31!
media.tenor.com
ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
ALT: ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
The RFID-enabled automated bird feeders are coming along!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Excited to announce that I just started my first postdoc position at Western Washington University in the Templeton lab! I'll be investigating the effects of traffic noise on avian cognition. Stay tuned for lots of posts as I start data collection in the Fall!
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SFU Faculty of Science @sfuscience.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Congratulations to @sfubiosciences.bsky.social Dean's Convocation Medal recipient Brett Hodinka. Thesis Title: Inactivity, adaptive mass regulation, and the physiological basis of costs of reproduction ow.ly/lWqx50W5PNw #MySFUGrad
ow.ly
Dr. Brett Hodinka receives Dean’s Convocation Medal
2025 recipient of the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal from Faculty of Science. Thesis Title: Inactivity, adaptive mass regulation, and the physiological basis of costs of reproduction
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Nagissa Mahmoudi @nagissa.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Wow this is a game changer. PhD scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships are now open to non-Canadians.
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Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
We are inviting submissions to our upcoming Special Issue: The Integrative Biology of Exercise. 🧵1/3 journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/ex...
A card announcing the call for papers stating 'Special Issue: The Integrative Biology of Exercise Guest Editors: Erika Eliason, Christopher Guglielmo, Natalie Holt and Monica Daley Submission deadline: 27 June 2025' with the Journal of Experimental Biology logo and the logo for the Special Issue containing a fish on the bottom left, a flying goose on the top and a dumbbell on the bottom right.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Philadelphia will burn to the ground tonight i fear
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Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Interpretation for the non-scientists: When faculty get NIH grants, the University gets some extra cash to make sure the research is supported. NIH just cut that $$ by a LOT. That means Unis are less likely to support research. Most research in the US is done at Unis, so... it's bad 🧪
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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Letter from the SSE/SSB/ASN councils on the scientific understanding of sex and gender, pls RT
evolutionsociety.org
Letter to the US President and Congress on the Scientific Understanding of Sex and Gender
President Donald J Trump Washington, DC Members of the US Congress Washington, DC February 5, 2025 RE: Scientific Understanding of Sex and Gender Dear President Trump and Members of the US Congr...
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
As a Philadelphian, I approve these messages
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
This is how you do it. Thank you @sicbjournals.bsky.social Read their whole email to membership here mailchi.mp/sicb.org/sic...
an email from the society for integrative and comparative biology that reads "Attn SICB Members:
 

The past few weeks have been a stressful time in our scientific community, and we want to make our position clear: The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology unequivocally condemns recent attacks on scientific integrity, funding for scientific research, and the importance of broadening participation in science."
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
- 10,000 research grants flagged for review by NSF Program Directors - Reviews due by 5 p.m. today - They flag grants with "broadening participation" language, foreign aid, climate science, domestic energy, and "discriminatory programs including illegal DEI"
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Science Magazine @science.org · 30/01/2025
Exclusive: NSF this week began to search through billions of dollars of grants the agency has already awarded for anything touching on topics that President Donald Trump has criticized. And NSF has blocked grantees and trainees from accessing funds while the review is underway. scim.ag/3El0NZh
scim.ag
EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders
Grantee accounts remain frozen, while union accuses NSF of ignoring rules governing peer review
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 30/01/2025
Apparently all the PhD researchers holding prestigious NSF-funded research fellowships are having their salaries withheld until some unspecified time when the leadership figures out how to eliminate any grant funding that doesn’t align with the president’s political ideology.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
A gentle reminder that if we miss the 1.5°C target (and we certainly will), the next target is 1.51°C and not 2°C. We need to keep fighting. Every tonne of CO₂ emitted makes the job of future CO₂ removal harder, and every 0.01°C of temperature increase makes the world more chaotic and dangerous.
Cover from The Economist from two years ago "Say goodbye to 1.5°C; why climate policy is off target". It has a graphic of the Earth with an apple on its head, and a arrow shot through the Earth.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 23/01/2025
The price of eggs in the US is spiking, mostly due to #H5N1 bird flu. Solving the problem requires urgent, important communications from the CDC & FDA* and rapid development of research by the NIH** * Currently paused by Executive Order ** Grant reviews now all canceled www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...
kcur.org
Egg prices are soaring again. Here’s why and what to expect
Bird flu has killed millions of hens in recent weeks, shrinking the supply of eggs and hiking up prices at grocery stores.
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Annie Roth @annieroth.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
I'm a journalist looking for new/soon-to-be-published studies on animal ecology and biology to write about. DM me!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
The ‘Inside JEB’ article for our most recent paper made it into the 2024 @jexpbiol.bsky.social highlights book! Found at #SICB2025
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La DraculessaⓋ🦘🦈#🟦 @ladraculessa.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Over 1000 of birds died due to stress from fireworks during New Year in a Bulgarian town, Green Balkans wildlife rescue center said. The necropsy shows that the death of the mountain finches was caused by stress. Massive haemorrhaging was found in the birds' abdomens/skulls bnr.bg/en/post/1020...
bnr.bg
Dead Bird Count in Koprivshtitsa Surpasses 1,000
One thousand seven dead and 31 injured birds is the result of the New Year's Eve fireworks in the town of Koprivshtitsa, Dr Hristina Klisurova of the Green Balkans Wildlife Rescue Centre told BNR. Hal...
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Dezene Huber 🍁 🌻 @dezene.me · 03/01/2025
From only 200 piping plover breeding pairs in Massachusetts back in 1986, to nearly 1200 last year! 🌎 phys.org/news/2024-12...
phys.org
Massachusetts beaches hit record-high for piping plovers: 'A species recovering at an encouraging rate'
Piping plovers are continuing their comeback story.
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
I made it to Atlanta for this year's #SICB2025 conference. I'll be presenting my work on avian mass regulation tomorrow in the @sicb-dab.bsky.social Marlene Zuk BSP session!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Me: *opens the nest box lid* The nestlings:
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Is it pronounced corticosterone or corticosterone?
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
😔
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Ocean Heat Killed Half the Common Murres Around Alaska buff.ly/3ZRJOGc
buff.ly
Ocean Heat Killed Half the Common Murres Around Alaska
About four million common murres were killed by a domino effect of ecosystem changes, and the population is showing no signs of recovery, according to new research.
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SICB-DAB.bsky.social @sicb-dab.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
We've extended the deadline to sign up as a mentor or mentee for our upcoming 2025 meeting in Atlanta! Details in the form below, but please reach out if you have any questions!
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Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Opportunity! We are looking for new editors - application deadline is Monday 20th January. Positions available: Associate Editors Handling Editor Commissioning Editor Details here: jevbio.net/call-for-edi...
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
What do you do if you find a typo in one of your published papers? It's a spelling error on the x-axis of a figure. Is it even worth fixing?
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Ph.D. defended ✔️
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
In 2024, I attached small weights to zebra finches and fed them a high-fat diet. We found that they can maintain (and then lose) body mass while reducing overall activity and maintaining food intake! doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
Zebra finches with small weighted backpacks on in a cage
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Altmetric @altmetric.com · 03/12/2024
There are already many articles for which there is more attention on Bluesky than on other comparable micro-blogging sites, meaning the academic community and the general public have clearly adopted Bluesky as one of its core places to disseminate and discuss new research. A Place of Joy.
‘A place of joy’: why scientists are joining the rush to Bluesky
Researchers say the social-media platform — an alternative to X — offers more control over the content they see and the people they engage with.: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03784-6
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
5 days until the big defense 🥲
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
A female snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) in Utquiagvik, Alaska in 2018. #birds 🪶
A female snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) perched atop its nest box in Utquiagvik, Alaska in 2018.
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
The @sicb-dab.bsky.social mentor-mentee program is great! If you’re going to SICB in Atlanta this year, consider applying as either a mentor or mentee!
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Less than two weeks until I (hopefully) defend my thesis 🥲
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Nestling > fledgling Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). From my fieldwork in Utqiagvik, Alaska in 2019.
Lapland longspur nestlings in Utqiagvik, Alaska.Lapland longspur fledgling in Utqiagvik, Alaska.
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
The special issue on Comparative Biology of Sleep & Circadian Rhythms is finally out online. Check out our paper on the fitness consequences of experimentally increased sleep during breeding in two arctic-breeding songbird species! doi.org/10.1002/jez....
doi.org
Effect of melatonin supplementation upon parental care and nestling growth in arctic‐breeding songbirds
Melatonin supplementation altered male parental care in a cavity-nesting arctic-breeding bird, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). Melatonin supplementation dampened activity rhythms. Lapland...
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Alice Trevail @alicetrevail.bsky.social · 11/06/2024
New paper! If you use animal tracking data, this one's for you! Proud of this collaboration with fellow @exetercec.bsky.social ECRs @liamlangley1.bsky.social, Stephen Lang, & Luke Ozsanlav-Harris to aid reproducible coding in biologging Open Access @animalecology.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/58k2fa7u
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Hannah Scharf @hannah-scharf.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
I haven't seen any starter packs made for behavioral ecology yet, so I decided to create one! If you are a behavioral ecologist (any career stage), please reply so I can add you to the list so we can more easily find each other. go.bsky.app/9mAuB6x
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Brett Hodinka, PhD @bretthodinka.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
A female European starling delivering prey (an earth worm, I believe) to its 5 chicks. Langley, BC 2022. I’m going to miss this field site!
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