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Eryn McFarlane

@erynmcfarlane.bsky.social
1.2K followers 572 following 167 posts

Happy assistant professor, mom, and pet mama. Working on hybridization of Scottish deer, American simulations, finally thinking about Canadian mice and butterflies. she/her www.yorku.ca/science/profiles/facul…

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Reposted by Eryn McFarlane
Joel Pick @joelpick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🚨Exciting project alert!!🚨 Are you interested in data and code sharing in Ecology and Evolution? @eivimeycook.bsky.social and I are running a hackathon to quantify data and code availability and sharing quality across 90 society journals, and looking for people who want to be involved.
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MK Hickox @mk-hickox.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
How repeatable is natural selection over space and time? Using the California bar-built estuary system, we look at seasonal genomic change to examine local and widespread responses to natural selection 🐟🧬 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @ecoevoevoeco.bsky.social @molecology.bsky.social
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hi Pete, It's not that I wouldn't consider you a scientist, but from your website, you're not an ecologist/evolutionary biologist, so it doesn't make sense to add you to the evolutionary biology list.
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Doc Edge @docedge.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Please repost: My department at USC is hiring for a teaching-track faculty position. We are looking for someone principally to teach statistics for biologists, but there will be opportunities for other courses in statistics & algorithms applied to biology usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-ange...
usccareers.usc.edu
Full-Time, Teaching-Track Faculty Position in Quantitative and Computational Biology at USC
Learn more about applying for Full-Time, Teaching-Track Faculty Position in Quantitative and Computational Biology at USC
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
I'm excited to read this!
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
My 7 year old daughter is volunteering!
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Hi Jacob, I'm sorry, neither of these really show evidence that you're a working ecologist or evolutionary biologist.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Hi Sam, Is there a better list for your science? A limnology one or something? I run the Evolutionary Biologist list.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Yep, all you do is use the test tube emoji, and now that you're on the evol bio list, anything you post with test tube should go to science.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Hi Jason, I found you, and that's no problem, but FYI, neither of these links worked for me.
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Reposted by Eryn McFarlane
Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
When resources are tight, it's tempting to recruit grad students based on their productivity and polish as undergrads. This is exactly what the Bad Guys cutting back on science 🧪 funding want us to do. [this link is not substack!]
scienceforeveryone.science
Knowing when to take risks
Risks are necessary for transformative science, and to transform our community of scientists
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I think I might have received the same rejection this weekend. My condolences to you.
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Tautology @tautology.uk · 27/01/2026
I'm trying a new "see how well AI image gen is" test. This time I'm going to ask it to draw a map of the world, and then zoom in to Europe, the UK, Yorkshire and York to see when things start to get hazy. All of these are with the free models using the smart/thinking variants. 1/n
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Yes, clever! I do worry that not everyone has this level of self reflection, I'm not even sure that I do all the time if I look at something and tell myself 'sure, makes sense'.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I'm so back and forth on this. I think it really does depend on the student's level of subject matter expertise. If they can tell that AI is giving them nonsense [writing or code], then they might be okay. If they can't tell, because they're supposed to be answering themselves, then it's problematic
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
This is so cool!
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
🧪
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Amanda Sabatino, @jpjahner.bsky.social and I have a new paper on @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social. Amanda, in her undergraduate thesis work, found variation in Colias colour phenotypes is associated with different metrics of urbanization in Toronto. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Anthropogenic factors explain wing colour variation in Colias (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) butterflies across the Toronto urbanization gradient
Hybridization, or interbreeding between two previously diverged populations, is increasing due to human influences on the environment. Rates of hybridization might be increasing particularly quickly a...
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Senator Scott Wiener @scottwiener.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
For so long, they said gays & lesbians were freaks who must be suppressed & converted. They lost that fight. Now they’re saying the same about trans people. Like gays & lesbians, trans people have been in all societies forever. They’re part of the natural order. Deal with it.
sfchronicle.com
We’re scientists who study sex and gender. Here’s what Trump gets wrong about trans people
OPINION: Despite what President Trump would have you believe, transgender people are a natural part of the human species, Joan Roughgarden and Jaimie Veale write.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
This is horrific, I'm so sorry. Congrats on your DPhil, Dr. Turner.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
I'm following this for sure.
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Reposted by Eryn McFarlane
Jennifer Morinay @jennifer-morinay.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
🚨 Come join the fantastic long-tailed tit team 🚨 🐦We are recruiting a field technician to collect behavioural data on a long-term studied population of wild long-tailed tits (passerine birds). 🪶20 months contract in Sheffield, UK. 🌲Deadline: 23/11/2025. jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Technici...
Colour-ringed long-tailed tit
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Reposted by Eryn McFarlane
Elin Videvall @elinvidevall.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
📢 We have an open position for a postdoc to join my lab. It's a great position @animecol-uu.bsky.social, fully salaried for 2.5 years with all benefits. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/... The project is about transmission patterns of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in aquatic insects. 🧬🦠 (1/3)
uu.se
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral researcher in molecular ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
ooh, thank you! looks cool!
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
This is a great, if dense, overall primer on hybridization and speciation academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...
academic.oup.com
Hybridization and speciation*
Abstract. Hybridization has many and varied impacts on the process of speciation. Hybridization may slow or reverse differentiation by allowing gene flow a
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
🧪
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Yelling at the TV about random, useless, absolutely spurious stats is one of my great joys in watching baseball. Isn't this why we watch?
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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I love a magic trait! I feel like @qvarnstromlab.bsky.social instilled the joy of these in me.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Right? It's delightful to be surprised like this.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
This sounds so weird! I love it.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
🧪 postdoc in Toronto in a very cool lab!
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Reposted by Eryn McFarlane
Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Today 14 scientific societies in #ecology #evolution and #marineScience are publishing the results of a survey that finds negative impacts of federal policies on food security, flood mitigation, infectious disease preparedness, and wildlife conservation: 🧪👩‍🔬 www.firsthandaccounts.org/impacts/2025...
This infographic describes the main results from a survey of members of 14 scientific societies. There is a pie chart showing that both academic (58%) and non-academic (42%) responded to the survey. It lists statistics: 85% of respondents reported uncertainty about the future; 71% reported federal training programs were "very" or "extremely important"; 83% reported negative impacts or irreparable harm on their field of science. There is a word cloud summarizing open-ended responses with the largest words "student research fund federal grant". Eight major themes in the responses are listed: disruption of research with societal important; concerns of closure of the USGS Bird Banding Lab; Early Career Bottleneck; Restricted Freedoms including travel and speech; Decline in Government Efficiency and Expertise; Concerns about Biased/Removed Data and Data Gaps; Concerns about the Ability to Meet Legal Mandates; and From Positive Impact to Irreparable Harm. There are icons for each participating society and a QR code for website and data availability.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
I love city fieldwork. 17 colias samples today and back at my best for a late lunch and a student’s thesis to edit. #fieldwork #humblebrag
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
I've immediately passed this on to my lab and my co-instructors. Thank you for this.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Many of us are using LLMs in coding and scientific writing. They are very helpful tools, but we need to be thoughtful as we integrate them into our work flows to preserve accountability, voice and trust. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan.... An editorial at @evolletters.bsky.social for discussion:
academic.oup.com
Editorial: Accountability, voice, and trust - responsible use of GenAI in scientific publishing
Over the last few years, the development and rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatG
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
@hybridzones.bsky.social and @jenncoughlan.bsky.social - this looks super cool! Definitely on the to-read list.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
I need to say this loudly for those in the back. Shirley Chen was an undergraduate student in my lab. She is an incredible scholar, and so are many of the undergraduates that I get to interact with. Undergraduates are doing incredible research at @york-university.bsky.social.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
We suggest a careful use of structural equation models to account for many mechanisms to test the relationship between the latent variables (diversity and disease) that we're really interested in.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Additionally, because there are so many component mechanisms involved in a net diversity-disease relationship, cancelling out is often considered more likely than a lack of relationship.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
We found that, as they're usually stated, amplification and dilution are not falsifiable hypotheses. Often, when they're tested, there are ad hoc explanations that are brought in to protect these hypotheses. Null hypotheses are not taken as support for a lack of relationship.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Shirley Chen's paper from my lab on the dilution and amplification hypotheses regarding the biodiversity-disease relationship. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Reappraisal of the Dilution and Amplification Effect Framework: A Case Study in Lyme Disease
The biodiversity–disease relationship posits two hypotheses: the dilution effect (where there's a negative relationship between biodiversity and disease risk) and the amplification effect (where ther...
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
We need about 300 more scientists before we let teachers loose on the database! Tell your colleagues, we need ya!
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
I'm editing the proofs for my first undergrad student's first paper. I knew this was coming, but I have such a sense of joy, and also relief. I think this is the opposite of imposter syndrome, and it feels awesome. I'll share the paper as soon as it's live.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
What you’re describing using genAI for is basically to google faster when you’re looking for a solution to a problem you can clearly articulate, and could solve in a bunch of different ways. This does seem different (to me at least) than asking it to articulate the problem.
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
I agree that you answer no. Not to miss the point of what the journals are asking, but if you’re using Rstudio, it prompts you for arguments in a function, almost like autocomplete. Similarly, if you solve a bug using stackoverflow, you’re unlikely to cite it, even if you’d copied a snippet of code.
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Liz Mandeville @lizmandeville.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I'm thrilled to share more cool fish genetics, led by former MSc student Amanda Meuser, and with former student Amy Pitura and collaborator @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social. This one is about minnow hybrids! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Extensive multi-species hybridization between Leuciscidae minnow species
Anthropogenic disturbances can disrupt ecosystems and alter species population dynamics. Interspecific hybridization is common between genetically related organisms, especially once reproductive barri...
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Eryn McFarlane @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Thank you for putting this into words. I have the exact same feeling (why can't I just sit back and enjoy this!), and you've totally pinpointed where this comes from. Thank you!
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Pedro Vale @pfvale.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
"The myth of meritocracy in science collapses under the financial sacrifices expected at every career stage. From unpaid internships and self-funded conferences to underpaid positions, these hidden costs disproportionately exclude those without generational wealth, compounded by race and gender."
dx.plos.org
Too poor to science: How wealth determines who succeeds in STEM
From student to researcher, a career in science can come with a high price tag. This Perspective explores how persistent financial barriers limit who can succeed in science, revealing how wealth shape...
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Liz Mandeville @lizmandeville.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Delighted to post some cool science - a collaboration with my former grad students Cassandre and Jill, and collaborator extraordinaire @erynmcfarlane.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1093/jher...
doi.org
A novel sex-associated genomic region in Catostomus fish species
Abstract. Genomic regions that influence sex are hypothesized to play a key role in evolutionary diversification, as sex determination mechanisms may promo
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