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James Gilbert

@jdjgilbert.bsky.social
241 followers 148 following 48 posts

Ok I suppose so. Senior Lecturer Uni of Hull. Late adopter. james.gilbert at hull.ac.uk | wildecolhull.netlify.app | pollinators.hull.ac.uk | Bees, Insects, ecology, evolution, behaviour

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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
We were just panicking that we’d lost our main back door key and thinking we’d have to change our locks and then it turned out Alex our 6yo had put it in the hedge "for safekeeping"
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Petra Korlević @petrathepostdoc.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
REJOICE FOR BEST COMPETITION OF THE YEAR NOMINATE YOUR BUGS www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Nominate your invertebrate of the year
We’re asking people from around the world to nominate their favourite spineless species for our third Invertebrate of the Year competition
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Congrats to Elisa for nailing a great talk on #solitary #bee provisioning in response to brood temperature / #climate warming #ece2026tours - go to polinators.hull.ac.uk for more details
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Stephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 24/06/2026
How to give a bad talk www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How to give a bad talk https://www.nature.com/articles/s41568-026-00954-8
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Excited to be here for #ece2026tours! Jerome Casas is opening the proceedings with a talk on #insect biophysics and biomimetic design. Jerome convened a conference at this venue 20 years ago which was my first ever conference talk, and also where I first met my now wife, so this is special for me! 😍
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Our Conversation article here about our new paper on heatwaves and bee fertility theconversation.com/heatwaves-ar... Read the journal article here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
theconversation.com
Heatwaves are destroying the sex lives of bees – new research
Sperm activity in bees dropped after being exposed to heatwave conditions.
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Hello #invertzoohull!
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
We’re inviting submissions for posters and 5-minute flash talks for the #SustainableFarming SIG 2026. 🌱 Share your research 🐞 Connect with the community 💡 Explore sustainable solutions 🕔 Abstract deadline: 5pm, Friday 29 May - Submit yours today 🔽 buff.ly/05rGcsg #Entomology #SustainableFarming
buff.ly
Studying or Working in Agriculture? Join the Programme
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
🚨 New bee paper in press, with @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social at Hull and @ejduncan.bsky.social at Leeds! Delighted to have this accepted - huge congrats to Jamie on the first paper out of his PhD 🥳 🎉 Read the paper in online early view form, here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Lasting Impacts of Sublethal Prepupal Heatwaves on Fertility-related Traits of the Solitary Bee Osmia bicornis
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, which can have severe consequences for insect physiology, development, and repr…
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Elizabeth Duncan 🐝🪰🔬🥼 @ejduncan.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Really excited to see this paper published — congratulations @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social and @jdjgilbert.bsky.social! It’s been a pleasure to contribute to such a fantastic project. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Lasting Impacts of Sublethal Prepupal Heatwaves on Fertility-related Traits of the Solitary Bee Osmia bicornis
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, which can have severe consequences for insect physiology, development, and repr…
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Happy lab! Finalist undergraduates carrying out their independently designed experiments on various invertebrates - some great ideas this year! #invertzoohull #researchledteaching
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Faculty #job alert - come and join our lovely friendly School! The School of Environmental and Life Sciences @uniofhull.bsky.social are recruiting a #Lecturer in Marine Conservation. Closing date 19 Feb - see details below. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQF022/l...
jobs.ac.uk
Lecturer in Marine Conservation at University of Hull
An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer in Marine Conservation is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Good morning #invertzoohull! Ready to start a new term with some glorious weirdness? So am I!
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Great morning at Hull’s Community Orchard with @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social, sharing with the volunteers some results from the bee project, and getting vital feedback for future projects. This orchard sits on the last remaining common land in Hull. It’s a wonderful place full of vitality and energy ❤️
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Just 3 days left to apply for this PhD position - email me with any Qs :)
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
findaphd.com
Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull, listed on FindAPhD.com
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
First data coming through from our pollen nutritional analysis! Do mason bees provide predictably different nutrition to larvae within nests that have been experimentally heated to temperatures representing different climate scenarios? We are about to find out....
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Johanna Mappes @jmappes.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas. Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...
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Jacintha Ellers @jellers.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
*New paper alert* So proud of this paper led by MSc student Jasmin Merkel! It shows the long-term detrimental effects of high sugar diet and the lack of evolutionary adaptation to it. This is in insects but humans probably don't fare much better... academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Multigenerational exposure to high-fat and high-sugar diets exacerbates reproductive distress in an insect model
Abstract. In several insect models, high-fat diets and high-sugar diets have detrimental effects, but it is largely unknown if multigenerational exposure c
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Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
more absolute filth in the pollination literature
Gottsberger's florid report (1991) on the pollination of Cyclanthaceae: "beetles arrived at the inflorescences, crawled around, copulated, gnawed on the staminodes, and frequently entered into the interior [...] there they "licked" on the stigmatic exudates"
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Markus Eichhorn @markuseichhorn.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Death and Taxus. As a fan of bad puns in paper titles, this one is a classic. 🌲🌳🧪🌏 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Death and Taxus: the contribution of mechanical damage to the multiple factors associated with Taxus brevifolia mortality - Ecological Processes
Background Recent increases in tree mortality are often attributed to climate, but climate extremes may just be the last of many stressors that have unfolded over many years resulting in tree death. P...
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Fire Captain 🔥 @rescuecaptain.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
#Psakibriefing Science break. The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators.
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Michał Filipiak @michalfilipiak.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
🧵1/5 🌍🔬 Our new paper is out! We identify the global mechanisms shaping the elemental composition of organisms — and the results overturn long-standing assumptions in ecology. 👇 Thread ↓ doi.org/10.1038/s414...
doi.org
Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry - Nature Communications
Organisms vary in their nitrogen and phosphorus content, shaping ecological and evolutionary processes. This study shows that nitrogen deposition is a consistent global factor associated with plant an...
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
🚨 Less than 1 week left! Early Bird registration & abstract submission for #ECE2026Tours close 15 Dec 2025. Join us in Tours, France for 50 symposia across 10 themes covering the full breadth of entomology. Submit your abstract & secure reduced fees today 👉 buff.ly/xfwQHLl irbi-tours.bsky.social
ece2026.org
ECE 2026 - XIII European Congress of Entomology
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Tours, France, in the heart of the Loire Valley, from June 29 to July 3, 2026.
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
findaphd.com
Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
1/28 New preprint up, which I think is the best theoretical idea I've ever had. We asked a simple question: what are the costs of investment into non-reproductive somatic cells? Turns out these costs decrease with the *logarithm* of organism size! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
The fitness costs of reproductive specialization scale inversely with organismal size
The evolution of reproductive specialization represents a fundamental innovation in multicellular life, yet the conditions favoring its evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we develop a populatio...
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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Onthophagus rangifer, one of the most extraordinary horned dung beetles you might ever see. From a baited pitfall trap near Skukuza on our #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation field course in the #Kruger park. #HullWildlifeConservation #insects #coleoptera #wildlifephotography @uniofhull.bsky.social
A photo of a beetle standing in front of a green background. The beetle's head and thorax are bright metallic green and he has two horns, almost as long as his  body, arising from his head and sloping backwards.
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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Students on our #Msc #Wildlife #Conservation learning how elephants alter biodiversity and tree cover in the #krugernationalpark #HullWildlifeConservation. Exclusion experiments tell us how herbivores affect ecological comunities. When the herbivores are 🐘 you need serious gear to keep 'em out.
A group of students standing in front of a large electrified fence. A SANParks scientist holding a rifle is talking to them. The vegetation behind the fence is visibly higher than that in front.
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Mark Brown @markjfbrown.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Biggest stingless bee nest entrance I’ve ever seen! [normal-sized adult male hand for scale]
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Elli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
New PhD position available! For applicants keen to combine evolutionary ecology, neuroscience and animal cognition. Based at UCL with me, @maxreuter.bsky.social, @fcamus.bsky.social and Tamara Boto (Bristol). Directly funded, see here for details and eligibility: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
The University of Cambridge invites applications for a joint Assistant/Associate Professorship in Computational Biology starting April 2026. Strong research and teaching abilities are required. More info: cam.ac.uk #job
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
🚨New #behavioural #mimicry paper out in Proc B!🚨 In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives. Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea... Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
theconversation.com
Nature’s greatest method actors: the insects that cosplay bumblebees
When you’re an animal undercover, sometimes it’s not enough just to look like someone else
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Harry Siviter @harrysiviter.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
PhD position at the University of Bristol (with me!) entitled 'The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physiology, and fitness'. Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions. tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
findaphd.com
Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physio...
PhD Project - Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal beh...
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Phil Stevenson @philstevenson.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Great PhD opportunity to work with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social & me looking at floral rewards in forests. @rbgkew.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social
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Dr Beth Nicholls @bethbees.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown theconversation.com/allotments-a...
theconversation.com
Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them
In praise of digging for potatoes.
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Dr Beth Nicholls @bethbees.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Understanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design
Urban agriculture depends on insect pollination, but knowledge gaps persist due to difficulties accessing diverse growing spaces. We developed a citizen science approach for monitoring insect visits ...
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Congrats to Jamie Smith @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social on a great #ento25 talk presenting his PhD work on the dramatic effects of even mild heatwaves during the larval stages (simulating the 2022 UK heatwave) on fertility in mason bees. Wish I could have been there in support!
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Congrats to our PhD researcher Matthew Chambers, who by all accounts smashed his first ever conference talk - presenting our preliminary results on mason bee nesting and provisioning behaviour in nests held at different temperatures - which he is now modelling #ento25
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Good luck to all presenting at #ento25! Members of our lab talking today - @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social at 1615 on heatwaves and bee fertility - and Matthew Chambers at 1645 on mason bee provisioning. Find them at the poster session too where they are presenting our poster! Gutted to be missing it!
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Harry Siviter @harrysiviter.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
New paper (first work from Bristol!) 'Sulfoxaflor impairs bumblebee memory across moderate and extreme temperatures' @bristolbiosci.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Sulfoxaflor Impairs Bumblebee Memory Across Moderate and Extreme Temperatures
Bumblebees rely on their memory to navigate a complicated landscape and floral marketplace. When foraging, bees are often exposed to a multitude of anthropogenic stressors, but how these stressors in...
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
The garden has been busy since we've been away!
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Urocerus gigas (giant woodwasp) in the garden, about 50mm long. Scary looking but entirely harmless! She uses her ovipositor to drill into the wood of dying trees to lay eggs.
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Happy lab 😍 - mason bee experiments proceeding apace; expect some website updates pretty soon 🔥
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Beautiful tiger beetle up at Dalby forest last weekend! 🪲
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James Gilbert @jdjgilbert.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Hummingbird hawk moth in our garden in Leeds a couple of weeks back ❤️
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Royal Entomological Society @royentsoc.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
⏰ Today is the deadline to submit your #Ento25 abstracts! Present your work to the global entomological community. With in-person & online options, there's opportunities for everyone to participate. 📅 Deadline: 17:00 (BST), 20 June 🔽 buff.ly/CS8MyOQ unistrathclyde.bsky.social
buff.ly
Abstract submission - Royal Entomological Society
Abstract Submission Deadline for submissions: Friday 20th June 2025 Ento25 provides an opportunity to present your research to a large audience across the field of insect science. We are offering…
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Mark Brown @markjfbrown.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Thoroughly enjoying seeing our garden table becoming a home for a population of leaf-cutter bees 🥰
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European Commission @ec.europa.eu · 20/05/2025
Today, over 20,000 bee species are buzzing for #WorldBeeDay 🐝 Bees & other pollinators keep 80% of crop and wild flowering plants alive. Yet, 1 in 10 bee, hoverfly, and butterfly species are now at risk of extinction in the EU.
Split-image with the text “TO BEE or NOT TO BEE.” The left side shows a vibrant wildflower meadow with a bee on a daisy, symbolising biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. The right side shows a dry, barren landscape with dead trees and no visible wildlife, representing environmental degradation. An EU flag appears in the bottom right corner.
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Rob Knell @robknell.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
@domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy @jdjgilbert.bsky.social and myself talking about animal sex in the pub on Monday. Only a few tickets left! 🧪
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Uncle Duke @uncleduke1969.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
every day we see more and more evidence of society descending into utter lawlessness and chaos
A seagull drinks from a container marked “DOGS ONLY, NO SEAGULLS.”
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