iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/10/2026

For Halloween at work I was an invasive golden mussel/muscle. A little too scary of a costume possibly (too soon?) and to lay it on thick, I settled on some of the oyster reef balls in the lobby.

I show off my guns (socks I tucked into my sleeves) in a gold shirt with a golden mussel on it

malevolently attach with byssal threads onto a reef ball in my office lobby

204 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 29/10/2026

The Musselshell River in Montana was given its name by the Lewis and Clark expedition, who had seen plentiful freshwater mussels (Unionidae) on its banks. The local Hidatsa tribe calls it the Moonshell River #clamFacts

From "Some Indian Stream Names", 1913: MUSSELSHELL RIVER: Wī' ī nī tsēh', 'Moonshell river' (wi' i, 'moon- shell', + ni tsēk'). It is not known how the river received this name. The moonshell is a polished marine shell received in trade and worn at the throat or on the head. It is possible that before the traders came, and before they knew the moonshell, they may have polished the shells of freshwater mussels (Unio), and used these in the same way that they afterward used the trade shells.

Photo from wiki of the Musselshell River. It is slow, and lush with vegetation on its banks

001 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 23/10/2026

When European cockles (Cerastoderma edule) are young, they attach with byssal threads to algae and other objects. Sometimes this carries them to new places (phoresis)! A new paper discusses that they sometimes also are observed attached to the whiskers of seals […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

An increasingly zoomed in view of a small white cockle attached to the whisker of a seal. The seal seems unbothered

3010 10

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

One of the most fascinating papers of the year for me is a study that used oxygen isotopes to track season of harvesting of top snails and limpets by Neanderthals in what is now Spain, 115,000 years ago. The researchers found the snails were mostly harvested in […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

figure showing the frequency of shells at different points in oxygen isotope space. higher δ¹⁸O values correspond to cooler water temperatures (aka winter). both the top snail P. turbinatus and the limpet P. ferruginea were collected mostly in the cool winter months

figure showing the cave near Cartagena, Spain where the shells were found among other Neanderthal-related remains. A picture of a limpet with some of the microdrill holes is shown, and a cross section with visible growth lines (including a version where the shell has been dyed blue to make the lines more visible)

020 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

There are a lot of ways to break open a clam. One method is with stone tools, and the marsh mongoose, Atilax paludinosus, uses all sorts of strategies to break open shells, including hurling them down on "anvil stones". Sea otters do something similar, carrying a […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Figure from Shabel 2010, a drawing showing a marsh mongoose lifting a bivalve shell and hurling it down with great gusto to smash it on a rock.

2112 12

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

New solar-powered clam just dropped, part of a small club that partner with algae in their bodies for food! Geloina expansa lives in mangroves in South Asia and farms algae called zooxanthellae in its gills, the same type that corals partner with in a process […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

photo from the paper (Catherine et al. 2026) showing Geloina gills, which have a brown area that is full of dinoflagellates called Symbiodinium

picture of G. expansa by the legendary Guido Poppe, who literally wrote the book on shells. it has a greenish tinged periostracum. it is shaped quite a bit like a venus clam and is in the same order as them.

2018 18

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Avoid anti-goldfish language! Be aware that when you accuse someone of having the memory of a goldfish, you are actually saying they have a prodigious ability to remember places and the overall spatial layout of their territory, allowing them to expertly navigate […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

From the paper: Interestingly, goldfish are able to use not only the information provided by con- spicuous objects in the environment, but also the geometrical attributes of the surroundings for spatial navigation, and conjoin geometric and nongeometric information to reorient themselves.35-38 In summary, these findings re- veal that teleost fish can reach the goal location by learning its position relative to the land- marks and other features of the environment, by using any available spatial information and by encoding the reciprocal metric and geomet- ric relationships relative to the goal, thus indi- cating distinctly they have the capacity to use relational memory mechanisms (Fig. 1).

1011 11

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Blue and green are rare colors for shells (and rare across life in general). A new study finds blue shells may be due to carotenoid pigments, while green is due to structural coloration! https:// www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61670-9 #clamFacts

Various blue and green shells featured in the study, ranging from mussels to oysters and weirder shaped guys!

Cross sections showing the colored shells, with some green color being contained in distinct layers, while other shells have it just on the surface, or distributed more evenly

116 6

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

Kudos to the US Coast Guard for keeping folks safe (and giving hourly deadpan radio updates) about whoever made the very poor decision to tow a houseboat during yesterday's rough conditions in San Pablo Bay. Hope everything turned out ok, last we heard the houseboat "went adrift".

A US Coast Guard boat approaches a pleasure craft towing a two story houseboat. Notice the weather doesn't look great and there are white caps. Conditions continued to worsen after this pic was taken

103 3

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

Researchers have confirmed another member in the small but growing club of carnivorous plants, Saxifraga candelabrum! These little herbs live in mountains of Yunnan and Sichuan in China. Their genus was hypothesized by Darwin (a noted carnivorous plant stan) to […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Pic of S. candelabra from the study showing its habitat among boulders, its many yellow flowered inflorescences with glistening stems, and close ups of bugs being trapped and digested by the sticky hairs that look suspiciously like sundews hairs

018 8

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

For some reason I had never considered that peanuts are actually the product of a fruit that grows under the ground. It's called geocarpy. The flowers are pollinated and the pods drop down to the ground as "pegs", growing into the soil. To me, this is absolutely crazy. Peanuts are crazy.

Photo from wiki: A bunch of peanut pods on long stems growing into the ground, having started above on the plant

2016 16

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 14/07/2026

The Japanese littleneck or Manila clam (Ruditapes phippinarum) is a widely eaten and well traveled clam native to Asia that has spread to Western N. America and Europe via the aquaculture industry. A recent study confirmed from iNaturalist observations that it is […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Photo from Wikipedia of the many colorations possible of Manila clams with most having radial stripes ranging from brown to black to even blue. All have a pleasant elongated classic Venus clam shape curving back to the umbo

001 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026

Bivalve hinges have to be very resilient, considering the animal's very existence depends on keeping the valves attached and articulated. One team of researchers mechanically opened and closed a freshwater mussel shell 1.5 million times, finding no signs of […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A cross section of the hinge of a freshwater mussel from Asia, the cockscomb pearl mussel, showing the two valves as pale white aragonite. They are joined by a beefy semicircular bridge of ligament holding them together, and behind that, a long beaklike structure that helps to dissipate strain away from the attachment between the valves

215 5

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/07/2026

Georges Bank is a broad elevated area separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic. It has long been a desirable fishing location, and it is ideal habitat for scallops, with its sandy bottom and elevated position in the path of currents delivering phytoplankton […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Photo from a NOAA underwater camera survey showing dozens of scallops in a mating aggregation

Wikipedia map showing Georges Bank as a shallow broad area serving as the Southern boundary of the Gulf of Maine

011 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 27/06/2026

Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) are our native oyster in estuaries on the West coast of North America. They are marvels of evolution, able to survive extreme swings in salinity and turbidity often seen in their native environment. As another adaptation to their […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A bunch of Olympia oysters on the side of a floating dock. They are thin shelled and their shells are slightly open to filter the water around them

007 7

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 21/06/2026

Ophiocordyceps is iconic for its ability to infect ants and change their nervous system to force them to climb high, where the fungus can fruit and spread spores to infect more ants. Pleurocordyceps is a hyperparasitic fungus that eats Ophiocordyceps. It isn't […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Pleurocordyceps cornusynnemata, showing little hornlike mushrooms emerging from the body of an ant

1018 18

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 20/06/2026

The best discussion of the actual biology of the Reflecting Pool algal bloom I've seen so far, including descriptions and microscope pics from GMU professor Rosalina Stancheva Christova. The green algae Desmodesmus is taking advantage of warm water, fresh […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Microscope pic from the article showing bunches of 3-4 speckly green oval cells with small pseudopods branching out at the corners

102 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 19/06/2026

One of the biggest flowers I've had on an indoor plant for sure.

A pink colored Nymphaea lily emerging from an aquarium on a long stalk

000 0

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 17/06/2026

Update. Aquarium lily is working on something Big.

A aquarium with a bunch of lilypads. A long flower bud is emerging several inches from the water, looking like a gooseneck barnacle

100 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 13/06/2026

Unpopular opinion: the reflecting pool is dumb and it's silly to fight algae growing in a shallow warm artificial pool. Lean into the algae growing aspect and make it a giant algal culture raceway. Even more ridiculous idea: make it deeper and put some clams in […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

The reflecting pool with a light algal scum forming

A long oval shaped series of algal raceways. They are deep green amd move around the oval like lazy rivers

103 3

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/06/2026

Contrary to their name, American oystercatchers don't *just* eat oysters. In one study, around 1/3 of their diet was actually sand crabs. But they do eat a lot of bivalves, using their chisel-like, fast-growing bills to smash or pry open oysters, mussels and […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Photo by me of two oystercatchers in the intertidal of Santa Cruz with a wave crashing behind them. They have black feathers, yellow eyes and a distinctive red-orange beak

Figure 1 (a bar plot) from Brown and Erica 2024 showing diets of male and female oystercatchers. around 2/3 of their diet is sand crabs, with various bivalves making up about 1/3

100 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/05/2026

Oysters are often farmed in floating cages or bags. This way they are protected from many predators, and floating near the surface they are always among the the tasty phytoplankton that are their preferred food, rather than having to wait for the plankton to sink to the bottom! #clamFacts

An array of cages floating on pontoons. Each cage is full of mesh bags of oysters

102 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

I don't supplement CO2 in my aquarium, so it is a limiting factor for the plants in there, as it is in many aquatic ecosystems. For a long time, the tapegrass Vallisneria spiralis dominated in the tank. Its cheat code is that it can use bicarbonate (HCO3-) as a […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

My aquarium early this year. It is stuffed with Vallisneria spiralis filling half the tank, like a long head of green hair

My aquarium today from above. Large 5 inch leaves of my aquarium lily are covering half the surface. They are green or pink in color. A new leaf is unfurling right below the waters surface

201 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 27/05/2026

I got a box. There was an office chair in it but that was secondary to the box part

An orange cat with a silly look on his face. Laying in a large tipped over box

124 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 25/05/2026

Larval oysters have an eye which can detect wavelength and intensity of light. They use the ratio of red and blue light to determine the correct depth at which to settle and attach to the bottom, working from the principle that red light doesn't penetrate as far […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Schematic showing how oysters discern an optimal depth when red light is declining but blue light is still mostly present

Figure from Kim et al 2024 showing the different life stages of oysters. The last planktonic phase, when they are ~1/3 mm long features a little eyespot

3218 18

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 20/05/2026

In the Philippines, shipworms (bivalves that eat wood) are called tamilok and are often eaten raw, marinated in citrus in a ceviche-like dish called kinilaw. They also can be deep fried. The taste has been compared to oysters! Since they can be grown with such […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A shipworm burrowed in wood. It is a small white carbonate tube the size of a thumb

A bowl of kinilaw. It is gray and somewhat slimy looking pile of shipworms. I don't mean to judge but I don't think I'd eat it except as a dare

A plate of fried shipworms with dipping sauce. They look like calamari

201 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 19/05/2026

If a bivalve shell has a big honkin snoot off to one side, it is called 'rostrate'. Such structures are often a sign of a big siphon. In the most extreme cases, such as for Cuspidaria, it can a sign of carnivory, with them using a long vacuum hose-like siphon to […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Soft tissue drawing of Cuspidaria rostrata, showing the siphon, about half the total length of the animal

Photo of C rostrata shell, a small 1 cm long plain white shell. A long tubular projection with opening at the end emerges from one side

101 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/05/2026

‪It is surprisingly common to find whole clam shells in everyday neighborhood concrete, since they often use sand or gravel mined from shallow aquatic environments to make the concrete. The legendary malacologist Tim Pearce from Carnegie Museum wrote about […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

photo by Tim Pearce, showing a small white Corbicula shell upside down with its commissure (rim) showing, filled in and surrounded by gritty concrete

001 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 06/05/2026

I am a very specific kind of reply guy. If someone jokes about the appearance of geoducks (Panopea), I must appear and remind them THEY👏LOOKED👏LIKE👏THAT👏FIRST since the Jurassic!! #clamFacts

Picture from Wikipedia of a beautiful girthy geoduck. It has a 10-inch long siphon and is being held gingerly in two hands. Its valves are undersized compared to its fleshy, turgid siphon

004 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2026

Parthenogensis (clonal reproduction of females) is pretty unusual. Corbicula fluminea is in an even smaller club: it is one of only a few species across the entire tree of life known to use androgenesis! They're hermaphrodite and reproduce asexually, but only the […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A small gold colored Corbicula clam on a sandy substrate.

003 3

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 28/04/2026

Anyone got a high res version? This is Exhibit 1 from the Comey indictment. If the pic is from North Carolina coast, the 8 looks like mostly Dinocardium robusta, the giant Atlantic cockle. The 6 probably the same but stained by anoxic sediment. The 4+7 look like […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Original shell formation in the shape of numbers 8,6,4,7 from @comey on Instagram saying cool shell formation on my beach walk

011 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

I love all bivalves. But I have to admit that zebra and quagga mussels are pretty sinister. They are in the same genus, native to the Caspian Sea, and have completely re-engineered the Great Lakes since they invaded in the 80s via ship ballast water. They eat all […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A native freshwater mussel encrusted by dozens of striped tiny zebra mussels. Photo from Minnesota DNR

3014 14

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 01/04/2026

A colleague keeps changing column names of shared datasets in seemingly random fashion

001 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 21/02/2026

New paper out! We used toxin measurements in mussels to identify a threshold of abundance for a harmful plankton, Alexandrium, associated with toxin rising above background levels. We then used that threshold to look at other harmful algae in SF Bay and what […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Graphical abstract from the paper. We used mussels as a biomonitor of their food, including Alexandrium, a harmful plankton. We related that to genetic measures of their abundance to see what level the toxin, saxitoxin was accumulating in mussel tissue. We identified a threshold when the toxin was above baseline and then used that threshold to investigate a bunch of other plankton that cause harmful algal blooms, finding other types like Dinophysis (that gives people diarrhea), Heterocapsa (kills fish) and Heterosigma (caused a huge bloom that killed fish in 2022) increase above their baseline abundance at higher chlorophyll levels in fall

004 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 18/02/2026

The Nuculidae, or nut clams, are small, funky little guys. They do not filter-feed, instead extending tentacle-like labial palps to draw food to their mouths (deposit feeding). Most other clams have evolved to grab food with their gills, having internalized the […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Acila cobboldiae from Wikipedia. It has a whitish exterior with some woven looking ribbing/ornamentation. Its interior is nacreous and the hinge is taxodont (many small interlocking teeth).

004 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 16/02/2026

I still learn new #clamFacts all the time. TIL of the rosy bitterling! Freshwater mussel larvae are famed for grabbing onto fish to ride upstream attaching to the gills or other surfaces and often stealing resources from the host fish. The rosy bitterling fish […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

The rosy bitterling from Wikipedia in a small tank. A disk shaped silvery fish with rosy highlights on the bottom, gillss, eyes and tail

Fig from Yi et al 2023 showing a dissected mussel. Its gills have pale yellow fish embryos embedded. Close ups below show the pear shaped fertilized eggs embedded with the wide end inside the gill tissue. The more recognizable fish embryos are also visible in the gills

108 8

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 14/02/2026

Happy Bivalventines 💗 Heart cockles are the flatfish of bivalves, opening on their sides. They partner with symbiotic algae to get part of their nutrition! #clamFacts

Four heart cockles in different hues from ofange to yellow to purple. Photo by Tim Pierce, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

1424 24

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026

@Sassinake the paper actually explicitly calls this out in a way I rarely see in a discussion section. very powerful and kind of chilling

selection from Discussion of Cerling et al.: "On March 12, 2025, the EPA announced an historic step to deregulate many key provisions of the EPA’s mission that focuses on the protecting the environment that will ensure that US residents have clean air, land, and water. The EPA has adopted a framework called “One Health” (13) which acknowledges that the health of humans and the environment are closely linked; they apply this framework to its efforts to limit contamination including those arising from Pb. However, others have called attention to the implications of these reversals of long-standing environmental protections for health and health care (14) and the economy (15). While the current administration has not directly deregulated Pb exposure, there are actions it is considering that may allow implementation flexibilities for enforcing the Lead and Copper rule of 2024. This requires most water systems to replace old Pb pipes while also establishing standards that further limit children exposure to Pb. Our hair analysis spanning a century shows that previous decades where environmental standards were minimal can result in unhealthful Pb exposures but which can be addressed with science-based regulations."

020 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026

Comparing historical hair samples from people from when they were babies to today, a new study finds a nearly 100-fold decrease in lead from samples after the EPA's crackdown on leaded gas. Regulation works and it saves lives! […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Figure from Cerling et al, showing a precipitous decline in concentrations of lead in hair samples after the 1970s

42783 83

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/01/2026

One of a bivalve's most important organs: its gills. The gills are covered by tiny micron-scale cilia in feather-like branching patterns, which wave in the water, grabbing prey and carrying them down to be sorted and eaten, or spat back out. The clam controls the […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

SEM image from Riisgard and Larsen 2026 showing the gills of a mussel. They are long filaments 50 microns across which are covered by branching featherlike patterns of cilia. There are frontal cilia looking like a shag carpet, and branching structures to the side of laterofrontal cilia.

014 4

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 21/01/2026

If a plant could feel exertion, I think a Philodendron putting out a new leaf would. Looks uncomfortable!

A Philodendron (unsure of cultivar, not heart leaf but instead a non-vining variety) with a red stem has a fresh leaf emerging from its sheath. It is bright red at the stem. Leaves grow more green with age.

000 0

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 12/01/2026

Me opening my Google Scholar alert for "bivalves"

Portrait of Samuel Johnson, where he's reading a pamphlet with great intensity

000 0

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 12/01/2026

I'm reviewing a paper and my wife walked in and asked "are you reviewing a paper"? I said "yes, how did you know?" She replied "you just have a certain look when you're reviewing", and walked out without further elaboration lmao

101 1

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 16/12/2025

Bittersweet clams get their name from their taste, allegedly a bit sweet and nutty (no personal data to support this). The genus name, Glycymeris, means 'partly sweet'. In the Eastern Mediterranean, massive piles of the violet bittersweet (Glycymeris nummaria) […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

A sandy beach near Haifa covered with violet bittersweet shells. They are tan/white striped, about 2-3 cm across with hints of purple

000 0

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 27/11/2025

The turkey wing ark clam is native to the Americas over a broad range from N. Carolina to Brazil, and has invaded the coasts of Europe! A very adaptable filter feeder, attaching itself to hard substrate with byssal threads. They sometimes hitchhike into aquaria […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Photo from Wikipedia of Arca zebra, showing its attractive chocolate brown zebra stripes and brown interior, and overall turkey wing shape giving it its common name

003 3

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 26/11/2025

Another fun year on this living world of ours, thanks to iNaturalist!

a radial tree of life showing the various species I saw. Green for plants, almost 2/3 of species I noted on inaturalist, a small number of fungi, lots of bugs and birds, smaller numbers of mammals, mollusks, arachnids, other arthropods, etc

201 2

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/11/2025

On Wednesday @ 12 Pacific time I'll be joining my fave mag Bay Nature for a talk about salinity in SF Bay! 🧂🌊 Register at this link: free for members or $5 for nonmembers ! baynature.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal…

Painting of SF Bay and event info for my talk: Join Bay Nature and environmental scientist Dan Killam for a talk on the seasonality of salt in our San Francisco Bay waters and how animals have adjusted their lifestyles to survive in response. As Susan Kuramoto Moffat writes, "nearly a quarter of the Bay sloshes in and out of the Golden Gate twice each day with the tide, mixing salt and fresh water on a staggering scale." Within the Bay, these levels of salinity vary greatly over the year (and even over the course of a single day) with early autumn being the saltiest time of year. This fluctuation poses a challenge for the animals living in the Bay, so tune in to learn how mollusks and others make do. This talk is free for Bay Nature Members and $5 for Nonmembers.

000 0

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/10/2025

A reef is a sedimentary structure supported by the skeletons of living organisms. Corals are the most famous reef builders, but oysters build them too! Cretaceous rudists, Jurassic lithiotids and bivalves from other time intervals of the past actually rivaled […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Figure from Kiessling 2009 showing the number of reefs through time. Corals are dominant but often decline following extinctions, and there are points like Cretaceous, early Jurassic and early Triassic when bivalves made up a significant proportion of reefs

216 6

Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 28/10/2025

@soaproot a lot of them, yes! though periostracum can have a bright golden color just due to coincidental properties of the proteins involved!

a Bathymodiolus mussel. it is an oddly bright, shiny copper color!

000 0