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Amanda Ackiss

@fin-gen.bsky.social
460 followers 366 following 40 posts

Molecular ecologist | evolutionary biologist | freshwater invader working in fish speciation, adaptation, and conservation genomics 🐟🧬 She/her. Personal profile = views are mine.

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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
taber @kvetch.gay · 01/10/2026
one reason Lake Superior is so much deeper than the other Great Lakes is that unlike the others, much of it is in an ancient rift valley — about a billion years ago the North America craton started splitting, but failed, leaving behind the Midcontinent Rift System, a deep intrusion in the Earth
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The American Genetic Association @theaga.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🧬 High-quality genome assemblies are vital for accurate biological insights. A recent study highlights the importance of integrating cytogenetics with genome data, revealing potential misassemblies even in high-contiguity genomes. Image of karyotypes from the manuscript 1/2
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Alright fish folks I’m talking to some 4th and 5th graders at the museum next week about science and writing and need a good funky fish to test their observation skills + ability to remember things without writing them down (you bet I’m making a point). Any fish come to mind?
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Thrilled to see this out! We built a GT-seq panel for identifying cryptic early life ciscoes and were blown away by its flexibility to cross amplify non-target species. More exciting research using this tool coming soon! #ciscoinferno🔥 🐟🧬 @wes-larsonak.bsky.social @fishgenomes.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A Genomic Tool to Tackle Cryptic Diversity Demonstrates the Potential for Off‐Target Use of <fc>GT</fc>‐Seq Panels
A comprehensive understanding of life history is vital to successful species conservation and management. When different life history stages are accompanied by considerable morphological or cryptic v...
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Port Elgin sunset does not disappoint! #LakeHuron 🍁
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Hard to believe it’s been 3 yrs since our community lost the great Dr. Louis Bernatchez. @clarevenney.bsky.social , @philhenault.bsky.social , & @raphaelbouchard.bsky.social did an incredible job opening a genomics section in honor of Louis at the 16th International Coregonid Symposium
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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
Moi Expósito-Alonso (MOILAB) @mexpositoalonso.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
📣 We are looking for a PhD student in 2027! Interested in studying rapid evolutionary dynamics of species in changing climates? Apply to the MOI LAB by Nov 19! Flyer below & tinyurl.com/flyerphdmoilab @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @innovativegenomics.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social
tinyurl.com
2027_PhD_RapidEvolutionGenomicsEcology-MoiLab_Berkeley-HHMI
PhD positions: Rapid evolutionary genomics in plants Moi Exposito-Alonso Lab — www.moilab.science Assistant Professor, Freeman Hrabowski Scholar HHMI · Department of Integrative Biology · Innovative G...
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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
Asher Cutter @asherdcutter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Come to @romtoronto.bsky.social and EEB in Toronto! ROM is seeking entomologist/arachnologist curator who would also be faculty in EEB at UofT royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/mdMTpA...
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com
Curator of Insects & Arachnids - Royal Ontario Museum - Career Page
Apply to Curator of Insects & Arachnids at Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Checking a proof and realizing Wiley took out all my Oxford commas
static.klipy.com
Spongebob Character Stillesque
ALT: Spongebob Character Stillesque
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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
Andrew Rypel @andrewrypel.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
We have a really unique (and cool IMHO) opportunity open for a cooperative research faculty member at Auburn Fisheries. If you work on aquatic conservation genomics, check this out. Feel free to DM me with questions. 👇
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
New personal record for # of separate copyright agreements needed for a single paper. 5! 🤪 Take home? I work with a lot of cool people working at a lot of cool places! 🤓
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Peter Flood @pjflood.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🚨New paper out this week in Food Webs from my time at FIU where we constructed the Everglades food web from algae to alligators🐊🐍🐢🦆🐟🐌🌱🌎 Our team reviewed 50 years of diet studies to synthesize who eats whom and collaborated with a graphic designer to generate these food-web diagrams 1/8 #TeamFish
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Ina Satokangas @inasatok.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A cool bunch of new speciation papers out recently in Molecular Ecology, looking at divergence, hybridisation, recombination, genome architecture, and so on! Genomics of Speciation special issue: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1... #speciation #divergence #hybridisation #recombination #genomics
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Special Issue: Genomics of Speciation: Molecular Ecology
Molecular Ecology is an international journal for research using molecular genetic techniques to address questions in ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation.
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William B. Ludt, PhD @planet-of-fishes.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
We're hiring a Curator of Marine Invertebrates either at the Assistant or Associate level. Please spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. Applications due October 15th! workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...
workforcenow.adp.com
Recruitment
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Schemed myself up a side project that allows me to flee my laptop and hang out with the cool kids at the museum! Ciscoes are a taxonomic nightmare and genetic work from the lab is raising questions about two species. So we go to the types! Pray we have luck extracting from formalin fixed tissues 🫣
Photo of a museum back room, jars of fish are on metal racks.Photo of a 100 year old fish pinned to a foam board for measurement. It is a truly appalling shade of brown.
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Wow- a new version of EASYPOP! 👀
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Tiny dinos on parking lot patrol this afternoon at work
A flock of turkeys strolls nonchalantly in front of trailered boats.
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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
Moisés A. Bernal @evofish.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Excited to share our new manuscript, where we show differences in acclimation to salinity fluctuations among neighboring populations of Gulf Killifish onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Neighboring Gulf Killifish (<fi>Fundulus grandis</fi>) Populations Differ in Their Plastic and Genetic Responses to Salinity Fluctuations
Coastal development can alter the salinity fluctuations experienced by tidal creek systems. Understanding how resident organisms, such as the Gulf killifish, respond to these changes is critical, as ...
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Reposted by Amanda Ackiss
Noah Whiteman @nkwhiteman.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I’m thrilled to share that our search for a tenure-track colleague in my *truly wonderful and collegial* Genetics, Genomics, Evolution and Development Division in the MCB Department at Berkeley @berkeleymcb.bsky.social is live! Please share this broad search widely: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05481
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
Assistant Professor -Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development - Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
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Rebekah Rogers @evolscientist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Officially recruiting postdocs at GW. If you are interested in genetic novelty, structural variation, or evo genetics please get in touch! We have data sets on mulitple organisms with large population sizes (Drosophila, Megalonaias nervosa) and species in decline (fireflies, mussels, elephants).
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Craig Primmer @fishcongen.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Still 4 days to apply! (DL: 7 August EET)
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
#SundayFishSketch this week is the Northern Starhead Topminnow (Fundulus dispar), an endangered species found in Michigan. This is a secret gift for a departing coworker 🤫 #SciArt
Digital art illustration of a northern starhead topminnow, which is a cute little beigy-yellow fish covered in red spots. It has a bit of teal under-the-eye shadow going on and some teal along the midline as well
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Trevor Krabbenhoft @fishgenomes.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This preprint is now published - www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Genomic structural variation rescues a classic biological invader from a population bottleneck
Genomic structural variants rescue a textbook biological invader from a population bottleneck and inbreeding.
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Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
🧪🧪🧪
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Rebecca Nagle @rebeccanagle.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The federal government told the Klamath Tribes they weren't a "salmon tribe" because dams wiped out their fish 100+ years ago. So the Yurok Tribe applied for the $5.9M grant & passed the funds through. This is Indigenous solidarity in action. www.hcn.org/articles/the...
hcn.org
The Klamath Tribes couldn’t get federal dollars for salmon. Then the Yurok stepped in - High Country News
For more than 100 years, salmon had been absent from the Klamath Tribe’s lands — a fact that cut them off from funding sources to fix that.
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EvoKE @evokeproject.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
On this day in 1858, the scientific world first heard the idea of evolution by natural selection from a joint presentation by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace at a meeting of the Linnean Society in London. It is a case of integrity and collaboration (thread below 👇) #Evolution #EvoKE #OTD 🧪
A graphic on a lime green background with a pattern of snail shells in yellow and white. The text reads: “On the tendency of Species to form Varieties” by Darwin and Wallace was presented at the meeting of the Linnean Society on the 1st July 1858. 
Portraits of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace from black-and-white photographs stick out from the sides. A logo of the Linnean Society of London is included, as well as the EvoKE logo.
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Liz Mandeville @lizmandeville.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I’m excited to share a new paper from my lab, by former PhD student Ben Schultz! It’s a genome paper for the northern redbelly dace, a small freshwater fish with fascinating biology - stay tuned for more cool work enabled by this resource. doi.org/10.1139/gen-...
doi.org
The first chromosome-level annotated reference genome for Chrosomus eos, the Northern Redbelly Dace
Hybridization amongst teleost fish species is an ongoing phenomenon with unclear implications Chrosomus eos, the Northern Redbelly Dace, is a species with an especially complex and fascinating history...
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Here’s Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately. Meteorologists simply aren't able to gather as much data as they used to, and you're suffering for it. gizmodo.com/heres-why-we...
gizmodo.com
Here's Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately
Meteorologists simply aren't able to gather as much data as they used to, and you're suffering for it.
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Craig Primmer @fishcongen.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Thanks to a couple of recent Ws on the funding front, we have 3 open postdoc positions in Helsinki, Finland in the field of salmonid fish ecological and evolutionary genomics. DL 7.8. More details in advert: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
Basic details of the amazing post doc positions on offer with amazing image of a large Teno River salmon in background
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Sofia L. Mendes @sofialmendes.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Excited to be at #SMBE2026 and looking forward to so many interesting talks and posters! I'll be presenting a poster today on pervasive hybridization and conservation challenges on a very cool group of freshwater fish 🐟🐟 at Arkaden 4+5. Come say hi! (if you can find the posters upstairs)
6 freshwater fish in a tank (Sado chub -  Squalius caetobrigus)
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
One more pride fish before the month is out for #SundayFishSketch, the anemone fish. This is a re-attempt from my first go at this fish almost a year ago, much happier with this one 😮‍💨
Colored pencil drawing of an anemone/clown fish with a blue/pink/white trans flag beside it.
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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Y'all - the Smithsonian is hiring three new curators - herpetology, ichthyology, and ornithology! Notably, this is a 2nd fish curator position - i.e., not the same as the one advertised last month. So if you applied for that one apply again. www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000
Curator of Vertebrates

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History currently has openings for three early-career Research Curators in Vertebrate Zoology, one each from the disciplines of ornithology, herpetology and ichthyology. The Department of Vertebrate Zoology seeks candidates with demonstrated expertise in, and a commitment to, collections-based research centered on systematics and evolution of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. This includes the ability to pursue an original approach to systematics and comparative analyses using, for example, morphology, development, and/or molecular data, and showing evidence of broader impacts or applications in evolutionary biology and/or collections-based ecology, as demonstrated by a record of peer-reviewed publications.

Candidates must have demonstrated the ability to establish an externally funded research program and to contribute to the growth and curation of the collections. Research in the Department is supported by the Museum’s shared laboratories, including the Laboratory of Analytic Biology and the Scientific Imaging facility, among others. The Department’s scientific collections are the largest in the world for fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, and the third largest for birds.

These federal positions will be filled at the GS-12 level, with a starting salary of $102,415, and excellent benefits. The positions are permanent and require a one-year probationary period. 

The official announcement is posted on USAJOBS, where applications must be submitted.
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/873849000

Please be sure to read the announcement and instructions carefully, as the process of applying via USAJOBS is stringent and differs from applying for an academic position. This website offers helpful advice: https://serc.si.edu/careers/tips-applying-federal-jobs

Please contact the Search Committee Chair, Michael McGowen (mcgowenm@si.edu) or the Department Chair, Helen James (jamesh@si.edu) with any questions.
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Wes Larson @wes-larsonak.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
We're hiring a genetics lab manager position at NOAA in Juneau, Alaska! The successful candidate will oversee day-to-day laboratory operations and contribute to the development of new molecular methods. Salary is $75-145k/yr. Email wes.larson@noaa.gov with questions www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewD...
usajobs.gov
Biologist (Omics)
This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Vacancies may be available in each listed location. Additional duty lo...
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Had a paper come back with minor revisions and one of the reviewers wrote, “It was a joy to read and there are no methodological changes needed” in their review 😭🤓😭 Currently burning this comment in my brain for all posterity.
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Attending #Evol2026 and need some research on drivers of rapid adaptive speciation to tickle your brain this afternoon? Kristen will be stoking the #ciscoinferno🔥 in 25C @3:15 with some of the latest and greatest from our lab 🐟🧬
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
It’s #SundayFishSketch but the #Evol2026 edition! Some very quick sketches of the fish from talks I’m going to today.
Quick pencil drawings of several different fish. From left to right, there is a tea cup with a Lipton tea bag and a square fish with blue fins in it and below is the actual Blue Killifish from Becky Fuller’s talk. Next is a non-specific darter from Gabrielle Welsh’s talk. Slightly above that is a suckermouth armored catfish (think Pleco) from Wynne Radcliffe’s talk. And finally an Alewife in the bottom right from Emily Tanwa’s talk.
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International Association for Great Lakes Research @iaglr.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
THREAD: Why OMB Docket OMB-2026-0034 matters for Great Lakes science (and why it should concern you if you care about clean water). Proposed federal rules could reshape how scientific research is funded and shared across the U.S. Here's what's at stake → #sciencepolicy #peerreview #greatlakes
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Heng Li @lh3lh3.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Minibwa is a hybrid of bwa-mem and minimap2 and the successor of bwa-mem for short-read mapping. ~4X/2.5X as fast as bwa-mem/bwa-mem2 for WGS reads at comparable accuracy. Native support of directional bisulfite-seq. Applicable to long reads. Preprint at arxiv.org/abs/2606.15357
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Kristen Behrens, PhD @behrenskristen.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I am back from getting an A+ in maid of honor duties which means on to the next, #Evol2026! I’ll be presenting on some of my postdoc research on Monday afternoon in the Speciation I section so drop by to hear about some Great Lakes fish genetics!
Screen cap from the Evolution conference app. It shows the title of the talk “Depth-driven ecological speciation in the ciscoes of Lake Superior.” The date and time is Monday the 22nd at 3:15pm. The presenter is the post author
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Titus Seilheimer @drfishsg.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Cisco face for #SundayFishSketch! Also known as Lake Herring (not actually a herring), this species supports a commercial fishery in the @GreatLakes.
Face on view of a fish. Blue and black ink.
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bioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
A genomic tool to tackle cryptic diversity demonstrates the potential for off-target use of GT-seq panels www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Amanda Ackiss @fin-gen.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
New preprint! We built a GT-seq panel to help us distinguish the ciscoes of the Great Lakes. Its flexibility has blown us away, and many exciting papers are coming soon from its use with historic and contemporary samples. 🐟🧬 @wes-larsonak.bsky.social @fishgenomes.bsky.social #ciscoinferno🔥
doi.org
A genomic tool to tackle cryptic diversity demonstrates the potential for off-target use of GT-seq panels
A comprehensive understanding of life history is vital to successful species conservation and management. When different life history stages are accompanied by considerable morphological or cryptic va...
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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Reminder that the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) is asking members to sign letters regarding the OMB rule (by 6/15) and to submit individual responses (by 7/13!!). We have >250 signatories right now, GREAT!, but we have ~4k members, give or take, so pls get those signatures in!
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Claire Mérot @clairemerot.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Looking forward to our next STRiVE seminar by @aruizherrera.bsky.social
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Alex Fraik @akfraik.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
The US Forest Service National Genomics Center is hiring an eDNA lab technician! Come work with us on cool genetics projects in Missoula #ConsGen #eDNA
paycomonline.net
Environmental DNA Lab Technician
...
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Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
And … the link is open trustcareers.si.edu/postings/173...
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Kelsie Hunnicutt @kelsiehunnicutt.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Thrilled that our new review article on animal hybridization is now up on EcoEvoRxiv! 🎉 Working on this review with @mollyschumer.bsky.social was a blast, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to catch up on all the amazing work in animal hybridization over the last few years!
A world map showing the distribution of species studied in hybridization research
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Matt Herbert @matteherbert.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Two hundred years of historical spawning and nursery data for ciscoes and whitefishes in the #GreatLakes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Two hundred years of historical spawning and nursery data for coregonine fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Two hundred years of historical spawning and nursery data for coregonine fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes
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Katie O'Reilly @drkatfish.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
In the lower #GreatLakes, whitefish numbers have been declining in part due to invasive mussels - now a bill under consideration in the Michigan state Senate would allocate funding to the state's DNR for a rearing/stocking program to support whitefish recovery www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/05/05/m...
greatlakesnow.org
Michigan lawmakers may fund last-ditch effort to save whitefish - Great Lakes Now
Lawmakers move to restock the iconic fish that are disappearing from the lower Great Lakes.
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William B. Ludt, PhD @planet-of-fishes.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Are you a graduate student who is a member of ASIH and studying fishy things? Looking for research funds? Consider applying to the Raney Fund, which awards up to $1,000 for research, field or travel purposes. The deadline to apply is April 30th! More info here: www.asih.org/awards/raney...
asih.org
Raney Fund Award — American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
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