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Kirsten M. Prior

@kirstenmprior.bsky.social
982 followers 800 following 16 posts

Community ecologist - biodiversity, species interactions, insects (ants & wasps). Associate Prof. @Binghamton University SUNY - priorecologylab.com

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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
#EntSoc2025 Aly Milks is presenting on host-parasitoid interactions in oak gall wasps, and Sarah Groh - a Beckman Scholar - on the effect of diet and season on CHCs in ants!
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Check out two #ant presentations today at #EntSoc2025! Rosebelle Ines presents on task partitioning and Chris DeAngelis on drivers of variation in CHCs - both in the Aphaenogaster seed disperser complex!
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iNaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
'Tis the season to search for lumps on plants, aka galls! These growths are created in response to other organisms — often insects, fungi, or bacteria — injecting their chemicals into the plant. 🧵⤵️ Join the gall celebrations: tr.ee/ziMCEH
This gall looks like something you'd imagine a mythical fairy-like creature living in. It's shaped like a mushroom and has a small hole in the front. The stem of a plant has a couple round growths with small holes in them.
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Amazing undergradute, Andrew Desso, made a video game #myrmecochory quest! It has journal posts about organisms - native plants, Aphaenogaster #ants, an invasive slug, and obstacles to successful seed dispersal. @binghamtonu.bsky.social @harpurcollege.bsky.social priorlab.itch.io/myrmecochory...
priorlab.itch.io
Myrmecochory Quest by PriorLab
Play in your browser
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
This was a fun collaboration, led by Guerin Brown @guerin-brown.bsky.social in the Forbes Lab @lordforbington.bsky.social - our teams found European parasitoids emerged from North American oak gall wasp species in western and eastern North America, which were likely separate introductions.
rbington.bsky.social
Bluesky
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator. 🧪🌎
americanscientist.org
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
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Journal of Hymenoptera Research @jhr.pensoft.net · 22/07/2025
A study to document two separate introductions of European parasitoids of oak gall wasps into North America. #wasps #alienspecies #parasitoids ‪ ‪ @lordforbington.bsky.social @kirstenmprior.bsky.social doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
doi.org
Discovery of two Palearctic Bootanomyia Girault (Hymenoptera, Megastigmidae) parasitic wasp species introduced to North America
Invasive species are among the greatest threats to ecosystems, but our ability to detect species introductions varies across taxa. Parasitoid wasps, though one of the most species-rich groups of all a...
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 10/05/2025
HAPPY 75th, NSF! We’re celebrating this milestone by highlighting some of NSF’s most transformative accomplishments—innovations that have shaped our world and continue to drive progress in health, technology, the environment, and beyond. Read on 🧵(1/11):
A chocolate cake with red and white decorations and lit candles shaped as the number 75. Bold text reads: ‘The NSF Turns 75 Today. What has it done over the past 7 decades?’ The background is a celebratory red with a spray-paint texture.
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Ecological Society of America @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
We stand for science. ESA has signed on to an amicus brief filed by @ASBMB & other scientific societies in support of a lawsuit to restore cut research funding: esa.org/wp-content/u... Read ASBMB's announcement: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
Two women scientists discuss cultures on a plate in a laboratory.
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Julian defended his honors thesis in my lab—"Uncovering handling and nest benefits in an ant-mediated seed dispersal mutualism"—with interesting results suggesting that different mutualistic ant species may be "high-quality dispersers" but employ different strategies.
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Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
SaveNSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the NSF. The mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation. Join: www.savensf.com
savensf.com
Home | Savensf
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Rosebelle Ines leads a wildflower restoration project at Binghamton University and New York State Parks! - winning a fellowship from the Phipps Conservatory and a Provost's Sustainability Grant for this project www.binghamton.edu/news/story/5... @binghamtonu.bsky.social @harpurcollege.bsky.social
binghamton.edu
Project to restore native wildflowers in the forest understory - Binghamton News
Researchers are working in partnership with the NYS Parks Department
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Congratulations to Catherine Farrell on her successful MS defense — on land use change impacts on forest arthropod communities! 🐜🌱🪲🕷️
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Binghamton University students in the local news! Engaging the community in citizen science at the Ross Park Zoo! @binghamtonu.bsky.social @harpurcollege.bsky.social www.wicz.com/news/bu-chal...
wicz.com
BU Challenges the Community to Document Local Wildlife
The "EcoBlitz" is an annual project at Binghamton University, hoping to gather information on the bio-diversity of the area's wildlife.
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Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Imagine how much more healthy science would be if we hired and promoted faculty based on their mentorship, instead of merely counting pubs and grant dollars. 🧪
scienceforeveryone.science
Academic hiring criteria are all wrong
The most important criteria are: mentorship, mentorship, and mentorship
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
What a devastating loss. Thank you to the program officers and others who lost their jobs at NSF for your dedication to the science community and efforts toward advancing science.
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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Professors please pull up a chair. I’ve been talking to my classes about what has been going on. I explained indirect costs to them. I talked to them about what a probationary employee is in the government. At the end of class they asked if we could talk about it more. (1/)
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Tomer J. Czaczkes @tomerczaczkes.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
My review of Cooperative Transport in Ants (and Elsewhere) has received it's 100th citation! To celebrate: cooperative transport media! Oh, and of course a link to the paper: myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/index.ph...
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Post the amazing science things you have done with federal funding.
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Heeyoung Kim - Botanical Artist & Instructor @brushwhisperer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
“Dead” plant stuff hold food for birds during winter, when food is scarce. Galls such as this goldenrod gall have insect larvae in them. You can see who knows what to do … 😊. My tiny brush again 🤓. #birdsinart #botanicalart #naturalhistoryart #SciArt #natureart #conservation #oneearth
“Dead” plant stuff hold food for birds during winter, when food is scarce. Galls such as this goldenrod gall have insect larvae in them. You can see who knows what to do … 😊. My tiny brush again 🤓. 

This painting shows a cute downy woodpecker pecking on a goldenrod gall to get wasp larvae in winter. 

#birdsinart #botanicalart #naturalhistoryart #SciArt #natureart #conservation #oneearth
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Kirsten M. Prior @kirstenmprior.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Non-native slugs damage forest wildflower seeds, removing fleshy appendages necessary for dispersal by ants. New study led by Rosebelle Ines finds that slugs & ants prefer similar seeds. Yet, differences in foraging phenology dampen effects of slugs on seed dispersal by ants. tinyurl.com/m86nh3x3
Non-native slug eats eliaosomes
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Rachel Kruger @rachelkruger.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Hello world! I'd like to introduce myself to Bluesky - I'm a PhD student in the Sobel Lab at Binghamton University interested in ecological factors influencing divergence and reproductive isolation. I study ecological #speciation in two closely related taxa in #Mimulus. #evolution #ecology
A woman (me) wearing a gray sleeveless shirt and red pants with hands in pockets standing on the side of the road in front of a scrub/desert field, which is in front of two nearby mountain peaks. It's a sunny day with no cloud in the sky. This was taken while doing fieldwork in California in May 2023.Two yellow bilaterally symmetrical flowers of a Mimulus F2 hybrid in a greenhouse with a stem and leaves beneath them.
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Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Interesting article describing how biocontrol was used in attempt to reverse the effects of a well-documented invasional meltdown. #bioinvasions www.forbes.com/sites/scottt...
forbes.com
This Wasp Was Brought To Christmas Island In 2017—7 Years Later A Struggling Species Thrives
An ecological upheaval involving crazy ants killed millions of red crabs and threatened the survival of the species on Christmas Island, Australia. Now, a micro-wasp has helped restore balance.
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Scott P. Egan @scottpegan.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Are you interested in research in evolutionary genetics & genomics 🧬 (but maybe not ready to apply to graduate school)? Come work with me or one of my amazing colleagues at Rice University, University of Houston, or Texas A&M! Apply to our #NSF funded post-bacc research program! (Please share!)
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Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
I just got back from a conference, and let me tell you what I learned about moving forward in these United States: We can't let them take our joy, and they will not take away science. The first priority is caring for one another. Building and growing equitable communities is winning.
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Susana Wadgymar🌿🔬 @smwadgymar.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Please publish in society and non-profit journals! And good grief, please stop publishing in Nature and other cash cow journals.
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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
A nice starter pack for society journals in ecology and evolution go.bsky.app/VGQ2eYJ
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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
Here is a list of labs in #ecology and #evolution who are recruiting graduate students for next year: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... PIs looking to recruit can enter information here: t.co/Fn1LRAA5Ip I believe this list is thanks to @drcarl.bsky.social #evosky #ecoevo #evolbio #AcademicJobs
docs.google.com
Ecology/Evolution/Marine Biology labs recruiting for Fall 2025 (Responses)
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Jane Waters 🏳️‍⚧️🐜🇵🇸 @lovetheants.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
A starter pack for myrmecologists and our allies 🩵🐜🩷 go.bsky.app/zo95qR
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