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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬

@littlemuseums.bsky.social
294 followers 410 following 150 posts

Conservation genomics, landgen, and molecular evolution (mostly 🐻, some 🐺, and an affinity for 🐈).

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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Laura Bertola @lauradbertola.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
📣 We have a new paper out! 📣 Multi-Taxa Genome-Environment Associations With Contemporary and Historical Climate in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... A brief explainer 🧵
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Multi‐Taxa Genome‐Environment Associations With Contemporary and Historical Climate in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Multi-taxa genomic data offer valuable opportunities to assess the extent to which co-distributed taxa exhibit parallel responses to shared environmental regimes and climatic history. In this study, ....
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Good Trailcams @goodtrailcams.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Well, happy Charles Darwin is “very poorly today & very stupid & hate[s] everybody & everything” to all who celebrate, because he wrote those words in a letter to his friend (and author of Principles of Geology) Charles Lyell 161 years ago today
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Earth BioGenome Project 🌍 @ebpgenome.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
🧬 Diatoms are an extraordinarily diverse group of photosynthetic organisms, with tens of thousands of described species. Yet technical challenges still limit large-scale diatom genome production. EBP projects and biodiversity genomics R&D teams are working to solve them. 🌊🔬 #Diatoms #Biodiversity
Collage of microscopic images showing the remarkable diversity of diatoms. The slide title reads, “Why Is Sequencing Diatom Genomes So Difficult?” with the word “Difficult” highlighted in yellow. The background contains multiple light microscope photographs of different diatom species displaying a wide range of shapes and forms, including elongated needle-like cells, circular forms, rectangular chains, ornate geometric structures, and filamentous colonies. Some cells appear golden-brown due to photosynthetic pigments, while others show intricate silica patterns visible under magnification. The collage emphasizes the extraordinary morphological diversity found across diatoms.
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yukongertie.bsky.social @yukongertie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Our human senses can’t reveal the full scope of the degradation. We must not be deaf and blind to the importance of animal senses outside of hearing and vision and, correspondingly, sensory pollution beyond noise and light.
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Remington Moll @remingtonmoll.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
New book on carnivores and humans! Exceptional group of authors: @scrappynaturalist.bsky.social @kaitlyngaynor.bsky.social @nickwright98.bsky.social @justineasmith.bsky.social, @conservresearch.bsky.social @adamtford.bsky.social, @maipoisson.bsky.social & others! academic.oup.com/book/63020
academic.oup.com
Apex Predators in the Anthropocene: How Humans Shape Large Carnivore Populations
Abstract. Humans and carnivores have shared landscapes for millennia, but never before have these interactions been more intense, complex, or consequential
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
🥲
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
#FakeNews
static.klipy.com
Road Runner from The Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner Movie
ALT: Road Runner from The Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner Movie
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
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Good Trailcams @goodtrailcams.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
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Jonathan Pritchard @jkpritch.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Must-know numbers in human genetics -- As many of you know, I'm writing a free online textbook in human genetics. In this blog post I cover a key skill for genome scientists from that book: how to use mental math to figure out key genome properties. jkpritchard.substack.com/p/on-fermi-p...
jkpritchard.substack.com
On Fermi Problems in Human Genetics
and some very useful numbers about human genomes to get you started!
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Ramin Nasibov @nasibov.me · 12/08/2026
If you missed the solar eclipse, this is what it looked like:
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Bench work is ramping up alongside another round of marathon training— just building base miles back up for now, but still!! This is a lot of time to sit with my own thoughts— any playlist recommendations???
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
All of a sudden I’m getting review requests every other week. Am I being punked or is this just How It Is?
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
@eepuckett.bsky.social
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Jeremy Yoder says no war @jbyoder.org · 24/07/2026
Genuine question: Wouldn't this work on a Patreon-type platform, too? (Or is the start-up effort that much worse for creators or patrons or both?)
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I find this new discovery of a transmissible cancer in catfish fascinating. As it’s described as the fourth example of contagious cancer, let me share this phylogenetic tree of species infected by such rarities.
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Alexa Fredston @afredston.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
published ahead of print in @asn-amnat.bsky.social, by me et al.: doi.org/10.1086/743270 the first test (I think) of dynamic range models (spatially explicit population dynamic models) for mechanistic forecasting of near-term range shifts. they outperform a traditional species distribution model!
doi.org
Dynamic range models improve the near-term forecast for a marine species on the move | The American Naturalist: Vol 0, No ja
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Dr. Viktor Baranov🧪🦟🐛🪲 @swarmofthoughts.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Might be on interest for my ecology friends here 🧪, we shown how even 40 years of observations does not rarefy completely diversity of insect groups with prevalent dark taxa (looking at you, 🪰) @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @steveormerod.bsky.social @stephenbheard.bsky.social @cschaboo.bsky.social
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
daily bunnies 🐇✨ @dailybunnies.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
A brown bunny is partially hidden among dense clover leaves.
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Center for Large Landscape Conservation @largelandscapes.org · 16/07/2026
Scientists have long thought that plants and animals would shift their habitat in response to climate change to seek their preferred temperatures. Recent studies found that while some species are moving, they aren't aligning with ecologists' expectations. news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wild...
news.mongabay.com
Wildlife’s unpredictable movements make climate-change planning difficult
New England’s winters have long been a punishing force. Forests fade in and out of deep freezes. Animals pile on fat for warmth in anticipation of the harsh weather to come. Others flee south, seeking...
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Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
🐻 Wild animals of North America Washington, D.C., The National geographical society[c1918] [Source]
Illustration of a grizzly bear in a mountainous North American landscape, dated circa 1918. The bear is shown in profile, standing on rocky ground with its large, muscular body covered in thick brown fur with lighter patches around the shoulders. Its head is lowered, sniffing or investigating a rock. The background features rolling hills, grassy fields, and distant snow-capped mountains under a pale sky. The scene captures the bear's natural habitat and physical strength, emphasizing the rugged wilderness typical of grizzly bears. The image is detailed and rendered in soft, natural colors typical of early 20th-century wildlife illustrations.
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I was a little spoiled the last few years of my PhD and had ~*~my own office~*~ and it worked out pretty well. But then I pop into the group office to help troubleshoot some code and see the whiteboard content (silly stuff primarily captured here), and now I have to rethink some things.
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Nate Hooven @nhooven.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Great, now I can’t use the one pdf map I uploaded to Avenza nor can I add points, tracks, etc. unless I “upgrade” to a paid account. I used this app for free during my entire PhD field work. Anyone using alternative free mapping apps these days?
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Finally found a local business where I can stock up on Trex feed 🙃
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The American Genetic Association @theaga.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
A recent study highlights the importance of genetic management and conserving downstream populations to bolster adaptive capacity amid climate change. Paper here: doi.org/10.1093/jher... Corresponding author: www.flinders.edu.au/... #JHered 2/2
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Jeff Spence @jeffspence.github.io · 08/07/2026
Craig Smail wrote up a really nice Preview of @nikhilmilind.dev's paper where we try to explain why large effect variants tend to affect traits in the same direction on average, which we think about in terms of the non-linearity of gene dosage response curves. www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
cell.com
Gene dosage differences and non-linear impacts on complex traits
Large differences in gene dosage are usually associated with opposite phenotypic effects but show a bias toward one direction in aggregate genome wide. Milind et al. suggest that this is explained by ...
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Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
"Three roles for background natural history in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: (1) as spark (motivating research questions and hypothesis), (2) as scaffold (supporting the conduct of studies), and (3) as substrate (serving as raw material for new research)." www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
journals.uchicago.edu
Spark, Scaffold, Substrate: The Multiple Hidden Roles of Natural History in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | The American Naturalist: Vol 0, No 0
AbstractOver the last 30 years, as ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) has become more theoretical, experimental, and data driven, there has been a growing worry that the space for natural history ...
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Shuangjia Lu @lushjia.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
🔥 Does switching to a pangenome reference actually improve your association study? We tested it, and the answer is yes, measurably. Our preprint is online now: "Pangenome-based human genome analysis improves trait association and genomic prediction": doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
Pangenome-based human genome analysis improves trait association and genomic prediction
The Human Pangenome Reference Consortium has generated 462 open-access reference genomes and a variation graph that represents differences among them, providing a substrate for pangenome-based analysi...
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Reposted by Heather Clendenin🐾🧬
Wildlife Conservation Society @wcs.org · 07/07/2026
Until now, there has been no centralized, field-tested guide to help practitioners pick the most effective and cost-efficient approaches to conservation. Today, we’re co-launching the Conservation Monitoring Effectiveness Techniques (COMET) platform: comet.conservationmeasures.org 🌎
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Vertebrate Genomes Project @vertebrategenomes.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
🚨 MANUSCRIPT ALERT 🚨 The VGP Phase I manuscript pre-print is now live on bioRxiv! 🧬 doi.org/10.64898/202... Over 8 years, the VGP generated reference genomes for more than 800 vertebrate species, spanning ~95% of vertebrate orders and delivering some of the highest-quality genomes ever produced.
A graphic announcing the release of the Vertebrate Genomes Project Phase 1 manuscript on bioRxiv with drawings of various vertebrate creatures.The title and author list of the VGP manuscript, "The Vertebrate Genomes Project Phase I: A global reference genome resource"A QR code linking to the pre-print of the VGP manuscript
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Katie Abson @katieabson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Our paper is out! 📣 we find that molecular measures of genetic variation do not predict heritable genetic variation across species - important implications for the application of genomic data for conservation! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential | PNAS
The capacity to adapt is essential for a population to avoid extinction in a changing world and is recognized as a global conservation priority. Ad...
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marina alberti @malberti.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
UW summer course (hybrid format): Designing Evolving Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Climate Resilience malberti6.wixsite.com/nature-solut... Open to non-UW students and professionals - July 23-Aug 21 2026. If interested fill the form on the website or dm me.
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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 06/07/2026
Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, suggests a study in Communications Biology. The findings also suggest that laughter has become faster, more variable, and increasingly influenced by the situation it occurs in. #evosky 🌎🧪
go.nature.com
Rhythm and timing in laughter reveal that human vocal plasticity falls on a hominid continuum - Communications Biology
Comparative analysis of laughter rhythm across all extant great apes reveals that isochrony is ancestral to hominids, with tempo, variability, and context-sensitivity increasing progressively toward humans, tracing a continuum of vocal plasticity.
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Airam Rodríguez @airamrodriguez.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
🌍 Cat colonies reshape the abundance and body size of lizards. This video by Javier Martín Carbajal is the best graphical abstract of this study! Watch It! doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
The evolution of structural variation across 500 million years of vertebrate evolution www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Gotta say— the resemblance to my dad IS striking. 🤣
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ellie_ancient @elenaessel.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
So happy and proud to see this paper out in @natcomms.nature.com today! We show that traces of human DNA can persist on cave walls for thousands of years. Absolutely fantastic work by the wonderful Alba Bossoms Mesa at @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social and a great team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Investigating ancient human DNA preservation on cave walls and in rock art - Nature Communications
Ancient DNA can be preserved on materials from archaeological floor deposits such as bones, sediments and artifacts. Here, the authors investigate whether Palaeolithic wall art can preserve human DNA ...
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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Bonar et al. reveal that ∼66% of the common octopus genome is made up of repeats. The authors' re-annotation of the genome indicates four TW expansions at 18, 25, 33, and 56 MYA, and identifies a landscape of TE hot- and cold spots. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag137 #genome #evolution
GBE | Biological Implications of a Detailed Repeat Annotation in Octopus vulgaris
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Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
🐻 Animal guide, North American wild animals Worcester, Mass.: C. K. Reed, 1915. [Source]
Illustration of a large polar bear standing on an icy ledge near water in a cold, mountainous landscape. The bear is shown in profile, with its head lowered as if looking into the water. In the sky above, three birds are flying. The grayscale image emphasizes the bear's thick fur and powerful build, set against a backdrop of rugged terrain and distant peaks.
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
I haven’t used Tiktok in the last few years, but now that I’ve passed my defense & have a little downtime, I’m here getting teary over all of the Great American Sleepover content. Either it’s great or I still need a bit of a system reset 🙃 Also, I’m maybe burying the lede, but it’s Dr. Catnerd now
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Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Never had I imagined when I was a kid that I would see images like this in my lifetime.
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wenchangyue.bsky.social @wenchangyue.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
10 colour palettes I reach for in research charts — curated, and most are colourblind-safe. Categorical + sequential: Okabe-Ito, Paul Tol, Tableau 10, viridis, cividis, magma. Skip default tab10 and rainbow/jet. Which do you swear by? Anything I'm missing? #DataViz #ColorPalette #SciComm
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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
People. @ksamuk.bsky.social and others have made this argument before. There’s good software to do this right. Here’s the argument again: Invariant sites matter! They’re not in your standard vcf and many programs pretend they are anyway. academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
academic.oup.com
A Recipe for a Good π. How to Properly Estimate Population Genetics Summary Statistics and Why we Should Systematically Report Them
Abstract. Many long-standing questions in population genomics can now be addressed through comparative analyses and by leveraging the vast amount of genomi
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
This poor dingdong is recovering pretty well so far, but seemingly immune to the intended sedative effects of his meds and cleverly trying to use furniture to pry his cone off 🙃
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I guess emergency veterinary surgery one week before my I defend my dissertation is better than, like, the day of?? 😅😭 Prognosis is good, but c’monnnnnn
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Heather Clendenin🐾🧬 @littlemuseums.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
#catsarecats
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Dr Ross Barnett @deepfrieddna.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
www.the-independent.com/news/science...
the-independent.com
Ancient DNA from extinct cave lions sheds new light on the magnificent big cat
Despite its name, the cave lion, or Panthera spelaea, did not actually inhabit caves
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Josh Fruhlinger @jfruh.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
i can't choose just one fav but i love that most indo-european langauges have a word for bear cognate with "ursus" but proto-germanic speakers found bears so scary that saying the name became taboo so they just call them "the brown one"
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