Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I recently had the chance to visit the Sternberg and thought it was a really special and unique place. Hope this doesn’t come to pass :( 000
Reposted by Marina VollinTony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026We generated chromosome-level genomes from 19 gecko species, including representatives from all 7 gecko families. These species have diverse sex-determining systems, including both XY and ZW sex chromosomes and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). 1126
Reposted by Marina VollinChris Clark @selasphorus1.bsky.social · 17/05/2026youtu.be/q2YT-WyCrBwyoutu.beThe Secret Sound of Nightjars: High-Speed Video Reveals the TruthYouTube video by UC Riverside 021
Reposted by Marina VollinChris Clark @selasphorus1.bsky.social · 13/05/2026Woohoo! New paper!! Nightjars bang their wings together to make sound! nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1... 2329
Reposted by Marina VollinLee Henry @henrylabsymbio.bsky.social · 13/05/2026New paper out in @molbioevol.bsky.social 🧬🦠 We show phage toxin diversity in protective symbionts isn’t random—toxin families are linked to defense against different parasitoid species. This suggests toxin diversification is a major force shaping the functional evolution of these microbes. 2136
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 03/04/2026High school science dream achieved, I'm in a zefrank True Facts video!! My research is featured at around 11:50, but the whole video is packed with cool info and great science. 🦎 www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Jb...youtube.comTrue Facts: GeckosYouTube video by Ze Frank 083
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 10/07/2025Burnt the candle on both ends to sneak some herping into my 2025 Ecuador- Mindo birding tour. Totally worth it! 040
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 16/06/2025Anyone out there know what happens when you try to use (12 years) expired formalin to fix tissues? Asking for a me. Visually it looks fine, no discoloration or gunk. 000
Reposted by Marina VollinDr. David Miller 🏳️🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 02/05/2025I am so heartened to this seriously AWESOME #SaveNSF website go up today!!!! Has a take action toolkit with: 1. Press outreach templates 2. Social media toolkit 3. Elected official outreach 4. Talking points Check it out and share widely!!!! Likely more to come. www.savensf.com 9600419
Reposted by Marina VollinBen Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 02/05/2025Appreciated @jackiefmogensen.bsky.social's ode to the majestic hellbender — bellwether of aquatic ecosystems, victim of extreme weather and political bullshit. www.motherjones.com/environment/...motherjones.comLegend has it this salamander came from hell. We’re about to send it back.Climate disasters, human sprawl, and now Trump: This is how extinctions happen. 1207
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 28/04/2025Sometime in the last few years I saw a short form video (prob tiktok) going around the internet showing a large adult iguana dropping most or all of its tail (like a BIG slab of meat). Can't find it now, anybody seen it? I'd like it for a lecture! 🦎 000
Reposted by Marina VollinBirgit Szabo, PhD 🦎🐸🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ @birgitszabo.bsky.social · 03/04/2025I am very proud to share our new gecko research! We wanted to know if experimenter identity influences gecko behaviour during experiments that increases error of behavioural measurements. The answer is yes, identity matters but only in a familiar context! OA paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415... 33811
Reposted by Marina VollinTim Higham @highamlab.bsky.social · 21/02/2025Very excited for our new review paper (with Tony Russell) on gecko adhesion, locomotion, and ecomechanics. This stemmed from the JEB symposium last year. @jexpbiol.bsky.social @ucriverside.bsky.social #gecko #ecomechanics #adhesion journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...journals.biologists.comGeckos running with dynamic adhesion: towards integration of ecology, energetics and biomechanicsSummary: We propose a set of lab and field experiments to further investigate adhesively assisted gecko locomotion, which is controlled by a hierarchical system including muscles, vascular tissue, tendons and hair-like adhesive structures. 3155
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 19/02/2025Some Ensatinas I found in San Diego co. over the weekend. Last of the SoCal salamander genuses for my life list! And man it was sooo nice to disappear into nature for a day. Grateful for CA’s beautiful state parks! 🦎 1282
Reposted by Marina VollinBrian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Our opinion piece in our local newspaper - Cutting funding for science in Arizona hurts our economy and our future 🌐🧪🧮🌾 tucson.com/opinion/colu...tucson.comLocal opinion: Cutting funding for science in Arizona hurts our economy and our futureThe cuts are leading us down a path that will cede the United States' world leadership in science, medicine and health. 59632
Reposted by Marina VollinEric Gangloff @eric-gangloff.bsky.social · 06/02/2025Though widespread and popular in the pet trade, we know very little about their natural history. In this study, lead by undergraduate student Ethan Livingston, we characterized their thermal biology. This Includes one of the highest temperature tolerances *ever recorded* for a vertebrate! 063
Reposted by Marina VollinJoe Spring @joespring.bsky.social · 05/02/2025How did L.A.'s wildfires affect its animals? @antonsrkn.bsky.social has answers in this stellar piece, which features his stunning photos. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...smithsonianmag.comHere’s How the Los Angeles Wildfires Are Affecting Animals, From Fish to Snakes to BirdsWhile scientists were able to save and move some creatures in the aftermath, researchers are worried about the prospects for other species 094
Reposted by Marina VollinSarah Z @sarahz.bsky.social · 21/01/2025The Transgender Law Centre works on supporting trans rights in areas like healthcare, employment, and immigration. They're trans-led and provide legal assistance, policy advocacy, public education. I've just donated and, if you can, I would recommend you do too <3 transgenderlawcenter.org/donate/ 1421091379
Reposted by Marina VollinProsanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · 21/01/2025Love this story of rattlesnakes collecting raindrops on their bodies to drink. Congrats to @snakeymama.bsky.social and the authors of this wonderful paper Paper here: academic.oup.com/cz/advance-a... @nytimes.com coverage here www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/s...academic.oup.comRain-harvesting behavior in free-ranging prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis)Abstract. Organisms inhabiting arid environments face challenges to obtain dietary water. To prevent desiccation, some organisms possess unique adaptations 03914
Reposted by Marina VollinChris Martine | Plant People FTW @martinebotany.bsky.social · 06/01/2025Do you teach field-based courses? Or hope to? Wrote a brief commentary for the new Plant Science Bulletin on why these course need to be offered/supported. TL;DR the kids need to get outside... where integrative biology lives. #SICB2025 #STEMeducation digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/21...digitalcommons.bucknell.eduField-Based Courses Still Matter, but not Like They Used ToIncreasingly, field-based courses are providing the first real opportunities for students to experience nature in meaningful ways. As a baseline, even before the content delivery and the graded assess... 35220
Reposted by Marina VollinChris Clark @selasphorus1.bsky.social · 04/01/2025Hey! I'll be presenting at SICB tomorrow in the "Sound production and acoustic cues" session, room A704. The talk is actually biomechanics: it's about how Bearded Tachuri (a flycatcher from Argentina) makes sounds with fluttering feathers #SICB2025 081
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 29/12/2024Oh, I’ll also have stickers to hand out throughout SICB! Please stop me and ask for one if you see me 😁🦎 0102
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 29/12/2024OMG, #SICB2025 is in less than a week! Looking forward to seeing everyone soon in Atlanta. I will be presenting on my work examining gecko locomotion and prey capture following autotomy on Saturday (1/4) at 1:30 PM. Stop by International Salon 10 and say hi! 🦎 1261
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 17/12/2024A precarious perch (Great blue heron, Bolsa Chica CA) 191
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 05/12/2024A pretty little princess I met yesterday (Yellow-rumped warbler) 041
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 23/11/2024Me with my big find of today’s field trip - an itty bitty baby newt (Taricha torosa)! It’s the last field trip of the quarter and what a great critter to go out on! #herps 0212
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 17/11/2024Wow, really wild story and a great write up! I thought the discussion around getting the public engaged with wild animals vs the preservation of the native natural ecosystem to be especially interesting. 040
Reposted by Marina VollinJames T. Stroud @jameststroud.bsky.social · 14/11/2024This paper was a long time coming! Exploring the interaction between two convergent lizards who evolved separately on different Caribbean islands and were introduced to south Florida. Read all about how character displacement could play out in real time in the wild! www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comObserving character displacement from process to pattern in a novel vertebrate community - Nature CommunicationsWhen similar species coexist, they often evolve differences to reduce competition, a process called character displacement. This study provides rare evidence of character displacement in action, showi... 69146
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 11/11/2024🐍 Coluber lateralis from the vertebrate natural history class field trip this weekend. I love their enormous eyes O.O 0182
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 07/11/2024Despite…everything… I actually managed to hit submit on my NSF post doc proposal. Good luck to all my PRFBuddies out there! I hope we all get it! 010
Reposted by Marina VollinKinsey Brock @doc-brock.bsky.social · 03/11/2024Super cool work on urban wall lizards by my friend Eric Gangloff, new MS student Alyssa Head, and others! 🌆🦎 ☠️ 🩸 041
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 21/10/2024Xantusia vigilis from a chilly San Bernardino Co. herping trip this weekend 020
Marina Vollin @mfvollin.bsky.social · 18/10/2024Hi Bluesky! Finally trying to make the move over from science twt. I'm a graduate student at UCR finishing up my thesis on the biomechanical consequences of gecko tail autotomy and currently looking for postdoc opportunities! Interested in anything reptile and amphibian -related, but esp genetics. 1142