Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026(4/4) In this paper, we find that more highly inbred white-winged wood ducks die sooner from TB. We also describe genetic and gene expression differences suggesting possible mechanisms of pathogen susceptibility. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 030
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026Birds from India were imported to the UK and then the US where they have been bred in captivity for decades. These birds, however, are highly susceptible to avian tuberculosis, a major challenge for husbandry that has caused US-based populations to collapse. (3/4) 100
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026White-winged wood ducks are native to Southeast Asia, where they are highly dependent on mature forest. Birds sampled from India and Indonesia are genetically distinctive. (2/4) 110
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026New paper from the lab! In which we, in partnership with Sylvan Heights Bird Park, describe patterns of genetic diversity, pathogen susceptibility, and inbreeding in one of the rarest birds in the world, the white-winged wood duck (not a muscovy duck). A short thread, and link below. (1/4) 1104
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 16/11/2025All time achievement. Our #nerdnite book “How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi” is touching @edyong209.bsky.social ‘s book. 150
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 22/08/2025Amid all the continuing good news from the world, another preprint! Inbreeding depression and tuberculosis susceptibility in the critically endangered white-winged wood duck Asarcornis scutulata (photo by Katie Lubbock, Sylvan Heights Bird Park) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 143
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 16/04/2025A brief distraction from all the terrible. A new preprint led by Katya Osipova and our brood parasitology, or perhaps parasitomics, team "Comparative population genomics reveals convergent adaptation across independent origins of avian obligate brood parasitism" : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 0135
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 13/04/2025IS anyone having trouble connecting to the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (for data deposition)? I'm just hoping it is user error (I'm rusty) and that it didn't get DOGEd. 001
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 20/11/20243/3 Layered evolution of gene expression in “superfast” muscles for courtship! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 010
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 20/11/2024(2/3) This paper is part of a series of papers stemming from our manakin research coordination network (www.manakinsrcn.org). A couple of other recent ones Neurogenomic landscape associated with status-dependent cooperative behaviour: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... ... and ... 110
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 20/11/2024Congrats to HC Lim, Kevin Bennett and co on this cool, new paper, highlighting the complex dynamics and mechanisms of color in a hybrid zone and among closely-related manakin species. (1/3) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 1226
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 24/06/2024Virtual Office Hour - Biodiversity on a Changing Planet, July 8 at noon! debblog.nsfbio.com/2024/06/24/u... 062
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 12/04/2024Now with pretty formatting and all! Neurogenomic landscape associated with status-dependent cooperative behaviour onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KJWGDT... 031
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/03/2024Peri did a phenomenal job sorting out this complex data. Her work led us to some real systems-level findings a well, like this regulatory network, differentially expressed across brain tissues, in association with social status. Thanks also to uber constructive review at Molecular Ecology (5/n) 030
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/03/2024But we also saw plenty of unexpected things, like this lower level of prolactin in the pituitary of more social birds (4/n) 110
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/03/2024For these field-sampled birds, we saw some amazingly strong(but expected) like this one, between androgen receptor expression and mean testosterone (3/n) 120
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/03/2024We sampled territorial and "floater" males in the field, throughout different parts of the brain, and examined relationships with testosterone, social status and cooperative behavior (2/n) 130
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/03/2024Really excited to have this paper out! "Neurogenomic landscape associated with status-dependent cooperative behaviour", led by former postdoc Peri Bolton. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... (1/n) 192
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 14/02/2024Hey Folks, I would like to call your attention to this series of Town Halls themes around the "bioeconomy". In my opinion, it is particularly critical ecology/evolution/biodiversity-minded folks contribute their broad perspectives here and participate! www.casa-bio.net 020
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 12/02/2024Join us today at 1 PM to hear about "Opportunities for freshwater and marine environmental research" (demystifying the somewhat confusing NSF rules!) debblog.nsfbio.com/office-hours/ 000
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 01/02/2024I'd like to call your attention to the CIVIC program at NSF. This year, for the first time, the BIO Directorate is partnering in part due to the "Climate and Environmental Instability - Building Resilient Communities through Co-Design, Adaption, and Mitigation" track. new.nsf.gov/funding/oppo... 000
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 01/02/2024Hmmm, don't think I could have asked for much more than this in a review of our forthcoming book. "Puns, Pranks and Puerile Humor: Silly Stories about Serious Science" www.scientificamerican.com/article/puns... 040
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 12/01/2024Dear Colleague Letter encouraging Proposals on Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE) iosblog.nsfbio.com/2024/01/12/a... [don't know what a DCL is, ask me!] 000
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 05/01/2024Hey everyone! I'm not at #SICB2024 but I am always here to answer your National Science Foundation questions. Hit me up! Also there are healthy number of Program Officers at the meeting so hit them up too at the NSF booth! Sad to be missing all the cool science! 087
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 11/12/2023Hey everyone! Please join us today for our monthly "Virtual Office Hours". We'll introduce you to the newest Directorate, Technology, Innovation & Partnerships, and answer questions you might have about connections between BIO and TIP! nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi... 021
Chris Balakrishnan @evolutionpirate.bsky.social · 21/09/2023The @amornith.bsky.social (American #Ornithological Society) is hosting a seminar on Avian Chemosensation Check it out! aos.informz.net/informzdatas... 000