Reposted by Simon J. BrandlMethods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 10/07/2026New blog post! 🚨 Read about the new fish ‘lolly’ that provides a window to study predation underwater 🍭 🐟️ @gobyone.bsky.social @chemingson.bsky.socialbuff.lyGoby gummies: the fish ‘lolly’ that provides a window to study predation underwaterPost provided by Christopher Hemingson Close your eyes and picture a predation event. Personally, I default to the Planet Earth series’ “Mountains” episode, in which a snow leopard acrobatically ch… 0105
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlNoam Ross @noamross.net · 11/06/2026Still all quiet on the #NSF front. No new awards in the past week. REMINDER: We still are hearing of trickles of terminations, suspensions, and money being held back from grantees, which NSF isn't reporting. We need your help - please report! 🧪 grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... 08162
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 09/06/2026🎉 New paper out! ⬇ We trained an neural network to obsess over tiny fish freckles the way we do. Turns out the stupid robot was pretty good at it. Luckily, AI can't do fieldwork (yet), so employment remains provisionally secure 😎 journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... 1101
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlProsanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 08/06/2026CryptoVision "Integrating deep learning, biological hierarchies, and high-resolution imagery to create a new identification tool for cryptic coral reef fishes" Reginato & Brandl 2026 @plos.org #ichthyology #OA journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...journals.plos.orgIntegrating deep learning, biological hierarchies, and high-resolution imagery to create a new identification tool for cryptic coral reef fishesLife on Earth has evolved into a staggering diversity of species, most of which still remain undiscovered, unrecognized, or unmonitored. As our ocean’s richest biodiversity hotspot, coral reefs harbor... 0148
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Goby gummies? Yes, goby gummies. New lab paper out by @chemingson.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 2316
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlTobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Boromir: and why do we not EMBRACE the ring's power?? Aragorn: and what would you have us do with it? Boromir: a lot of editing advice, and also a way to take care of busy work, you know, memos about orcs et cetera Aragorn: Boromir: and difficult break-ups, if you know what I mean 4648187
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlCaptain it’s Wednesday @wednesday.bsky.social · 08/04/2026Captain it's Wednesday 016079
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlZooKeys @zookeys.pensoft.net · 24/03/2026𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬: Our Special Issue "New deep-sea Amphipoda from the Clarion Clipperton Zone" is out! 🌊 As we race to document life in the abyss, this collection debuts new species found in the central Pacific. See all the publications here: zookeys.pensoft.net/issue/4856/ @noc.ac.uk 05219
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlJacob Tennessen @jacobphd.bsky.social · 23/03/2026Really excellent paper on the genetics of caterpillar butt ornaments journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 9334114
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlUMass Amherst @umassamherst.bsky.social · 06/03/2026A new UMass study in @natecoevo.nature.com has found how many purple martins died in The Great Texas Freeze of 2021—and how long recovery may take. bit.ly/40JO1eK 053
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlNathan Senner @drgodwit.bsky.social · 06/03/20261/ Remember when Ted Cruz went to Cancún as the Texas power grid failed? It wasn't just the people of TX left behind, it was also the wildlife. Out now @natecoevo.nature.com, our paper led by @mstager.bsky.social & @treeswallows.bsky.social documents how bad the storms were for birds. rdcu.be/e7aUy 11914
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlNatural History Museum, London @nhm-london.bsky.social · 20/02/2026Meet a new species of dinosaur - Spinosaurus mirabilis! Its fossils have been found in the Sahara Desert, including a striking crest on its head that was probably used to show off to mates and scare off rivals. Find out more about this dinosaur 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...nhm.ac.ukNew sabre-crested Spinosaurus species named from desert dinosaur fossils | Natural History Museum‘Astonishing’ fossils from Niger have been named as Spinosaurus mirabilis. 36623
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 11/02/2026Weak trophic position–body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs 🦑🧪 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... 02310
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 05/02/2026The sheer number of ecologists who had their LOI rejected this week is comical. I'm honored to be part of the club 😂 070
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlSaavik ‘Careful of the Ankle’ Ford @saavikford.bsky.social · 28/01/2026No no, you should keep it forever, as is traditional! 0575
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlAndrew Hipp @andrewlhipp.bsky.social · 31/12/2025Woody Guthrie's New Year's resolutions at 30 yrs old, 1943: woodyguthrie.org/newyearsruli... 12911
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlJournal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social · 30/12/2025🚨 Research Highlight | New tools—Surprising findings: A new study shows human impacts cause relatively little changes in energy flow on coral reefs 📖 Read the research highlight ➡️ buff.ly/J52H2WN 📖 Read the full paper ➡️ buff.ly/W98t51d 036
Reposted by Simon J. Brandlrudy.ca @rudydotca.bsky.social · 01/12/2025who decided to call it Secret Santa when Nondisclosure Claus was right there 253549909
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 20/10/2025Community structure and microhabitat associations of cryptobenthic fishes in Veracruz, Mexico First PhD-paper by @r-higueras.bsky.social, exploring the tiny fish communities on reefs off the coast of her hometown 🥹 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 071
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlBirch Aquarium @birchaquarium.bsky.social · 31/08/2025Did someone say resting fish face? The #LonghornCowfish is easy to spot with its bright yellow color and the signature horns jutting from its head. But those horns aren’t just for style — scientists think they evolved to make this little cowfish a mouthful most predators can’t swallow. 0136
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlRosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 11/08/2025It's that time again :> 11837131
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlStacy Jupiter @stacyjupiter.bsky.social · 05/08/2025New study from @wcs.org and partners document 85% decline in abundance of Nassau grouper at their spawning site at Glover's Reef over 20 years, moving the population to local extirpation. Read more from Coral Reefs: link.springer.com/article/10.1... Photo (c) Connor Holland/Ocean Image Bank 13910
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlNadine, Hunter of Rocks @nadwgab.bsky.social · 01/01/20251 of #365Minerals 🧪⚒️ Quetzalcoatlite: - Named after Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec and Toltec god of the sea, due to its sea-blue colour - Forms in the oxidised zone of tellurium-bearing hydrothermal deposits #minerals - This below is a co-type specimen (one of the specimens used to define the species) 703536531
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlDavid Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 23/07/2025New manta ray new manta ray NEW MANTA RAY! 213636
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 11/07/2025Phenomenal first PhD paper by the marvelous @lljeannot.bsky.social – check it out folks, it has birds, coral reefs, and tiny fish! 1202
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlAaron O'Dea @odealab.bsky.social · 01/07/2025🐠🦈 Just out: In this paper we ask "How has reef trophic structure changed since humans started removing predatory fishes from Caribbean coral reefs?". www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Illustrations @cookedillustrations.com 57539
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlTexas Science @texasscience.bsky.social · 10/06/2025New research challenges the long-held belief that coral reefs are “oases” in marine deserts. While among the world’s most productive ecosystems, their existence in nutrient-deprived oceans is the exception rather than the rule. @gobyone.bsky.social @utmsi.bsky.social cns.utexas.edu/news/researc...cns.utexas.eduIdea of Coral Reefs as Oases in Marine Deserts May Be MistakenNew research from Simon Brandl at The University of Texas at Austin challenges a long-held belief about coral reefs. 034
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlRenato Morais @renatoamorais.bsky.social · 07/06/2025Our new paper on the historical and scientific basis of Darwin’s ‘coral reef paradox’ is out @currentbiology.bsky.social! Summary below by @gobyone.bsky.social. Also with @paulinenarvaez.bsky.social @oclaripv.bsky.social and Vale Parravicini! Free-access link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lDFm3QW8S...authors.elsevier.com 1148
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 10/06/2025Cool description of seven miniature fish species from the Triassic that may be similar to modern day cryptobenthics. Apparently they were all over the Tethys Sea 240 million years ago, measuring in at a whopping 4cm adult body size 🥹 Scale bar in 📷 is 5mm! linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii... 1173
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlGlobal Change Biology @globalchangebio.bsky.social · 08/06/2025Global Patterns and Drivers of Freshwater Fish Extinctions: Can We Learn From Our Losses? 🔗 buff.ly/1ljgy5X 23214
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 06/06/2025Heard of "Darwin's paradox"? It refers to Charles Darwin's observation that coral reefs are wildly productive despite occurring in nutrient-poor tropical oceans. Reefs are, so the story goes, oases in marine deserts 🏝️... Turns out that 2/3 of these assertions are very wrong... 🌐 🦑🧪 🧵⬇️ 312155
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlAntonio Vecoli (@tonyveco on X) @tonyveco.bsky.social · 03/05/2025☀️🌏🇮🇹High pressure conditions have cleaned the sky almost everywhere over a wonderfully green #Italy and its islands, reaching 30°C in multiple regions for the first time in 2025. In the meanwhile a heavy saharahn dust event is about to touch the SW coast of Sardegna.⬇️View of Sentinel3 on May 2. 1299
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 18/04/2025In good tradition, here are a few tiny fishes with bunny ears 🐰 0407
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlDr. Elizabeth Santos @lizmillermacroevo.bsky.social · 14/04/2025I am pleased to announce The Macroevolution Lab at Ohio State opens this August! We will be housed in the Museum of Biological Diversity 🐟🐠🐡 1912010
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlIsabelle Ng @iseabelle.bsky.social · 14/04/2025When thinking of the 'model' planktivore on reefs, fusiliers come to mind - their fusiform bodies, forked caudal fins, and large eyes appear built for the job. But are these traits common among most plankton-feeding reef fishes? 🐟 🔗 The story is more nuanced than we thought: doi.org/10.1007/s111... 1172
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 11/04/2025What do dolphins, toadfishes, and snapping shrimp have in common? They all go quiet when disaster strikes. We show that historic rainfalls in South Texas silenced an otherwise noisy estuary for several months, suggesting a sustained loss of ecosystem functioning. 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 095
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlAngelo Villagomez @taotaotasi.bsky.social · 30/03/2025Fish for sale in Sunday morning in Raiatea, French Polynesia I was surprised to see titan trigger fish for sale I didn't think people ate those 3244
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlESA Journals @esajournals.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Thank you for this contribution to Ecology!🐟 0192
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 24/03/2025In 2019, we showed that tiny, bottom-dwelling fish can fuel coral reef energy fluxes. In our new paper, we reveal a dramatic dichotomy in their functional role across coral reef habitats separated by a few 100 meters. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @esajournals.bsky.social 59827
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 14/03/2025Incredibly informative & accessible review by @tjnear.bsky.social and Chris Thacker on the systematics and biology of acanthopterygian fish clades. Treated myself to a quick read this morning and amazed that Blenniiformes and Atheriniformes are sister lineages! 🤯 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 1130
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 07/03/2025Fri-yay goby appreciation post: this is the Mesoamerican Sponge Goby Elacatinus colini, which spends its entire adult life inside some random sponge in a warm, cozy coral reef lagoon. Sponges have notoriously poor WiFi, so he persists in blissful ignorance... 🥹 1271
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlDavis Vaughan @davisvaughan.bsky.social · 21/02/2025@lionelhenry.bsky.social and I are so excited to finally announce Air - an extremely fast R code formatter! 🎉 With Air, you'll never need to worry about styling your #rstats code ever again. All you need to do is save, and Air takes care of the rest. www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/02...tidyverse.orgAir, an extremely fast R formatterWe are thrilled to announce Air, a new R formatter. 20366121
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlAngela Cassidy @angecass.bsky.social · 21/02/2025Animal agency indeed! "..the role of animals in shaping Earth's landscapes is much more significant that previously recognised. From beavers creating wetlands to ants building mounds of soil, these diverse natural processes are crucial, yet we risk losing them as biodiversity declines." 23216
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlMethods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 19/02/2025📖Published📖 Denelle et al. present bioregion, a package that includes all the steps of a bioregionalization workflow under a single architecture 🌎 🧪 Read more here 👇 buff.ly/3CHqC5p 14114
Reposted by Simon J. BrandlJon Puritz @jonpuritz.marineevoeco.com · 18/02/2025I'm going to take solace in posting actual science is a simple form of resistance. This is another must read from Robin Waples. #PopGen #ConsGen onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...onlinelibrary.wiley.comThe Idiot's Guide to Effective Population SizeThis is a reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne), inspired by a classic, self-published manual of automotive repair ‘for the compleat idiot’.... 15212
Simon J. Brandl @gobyone.bsky.social · 18/02/2025Oh hey. Hey you. Keep swimming. You're doing great. Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira), South Ari Atoll, Maldives 0175