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Nicole Gerlach

@ngerlach.bsky.social
759 followers 731 following 1.8K posts

Behavioral ecologist, evolutionary organismal biologist (birds, other verts, & critters in general), & educator. Aspiring Ms. Frizzle. Avid reader. Seeker of tiny moments of joy and magic. she/her. Comments, opinions, & photos my own.

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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 12h
The fact that I had to stop myself from accidentally re-buying books that I bought during last year's 70% off sale but haven't had the chance to read yet is probably an indication that I shouldn't buy any more books. (I bought two.)
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Dustin Reichard @juncowren.bsky.social · 17h
New paper with Abbi Turner and @thecowbirdlab.bsky.social! We examine repeated parasitism of individual female dark-eyed juncos by brown-headed cowbirds using the Ketterson lab @iubiology.bsky.social's publicly available dataset. So much nest searching, but what a pay off! doi.org/10.5751/JFO-...
doi.org
Journal of Field Ornithology: Repeated parasitism of individual female Dark-eyed Juncos (<em>Junco hyemalis</em>) by Brown-headed Cowbirds (<em>Molothrus ater</em>) over two decades
Repeated interactions between individual brood parasites and their hosts within and between breeding seasons are an understudied dynamic of most host-parasite systems due to a lack of longitudinal dat...
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 15h
Oh, definitely. Trying to teach taxonomy/phylogenetic systematics can be tough; they want the "real" tree and I have to explain that without a time machine, we'll never know the real tree with 100% certainty. But what I really want to know is: did they get the Back to the Future reference?
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Jim 🇺🇦 @pom137.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Sitting on a car, a very sporty looking metallic wood-boring beetle. My guess is Chrysobothris chrysoela. #bugsky #inverts #insects #trees #forests #ECK #nature #macro #beetles
A metallic black beetle with green-yellow spots on wings and green coloration on head around eyes. Silvery-grey background
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
I had one of these hitchhike inside on my shoulder once, then hang out on the bathroom mirror while I got a good look at it. It's the coolest beetle I've ever seen in real life!
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Fun thing I learned today: local legend says that Amazon River Dolphins are shapeshifters who turn into handsome young men to seduce and impregnate women living near the river. They have to keep their head covered when in human form, though, since their blowhole remains. 📷: flaviovarricchio, iNat
A pink and grey dolphin with an elongate snout and very small eyes lifts its head out of the murky, tannin-stained river water. 

Photo © Flávio Varricchio, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-ND), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381061743
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Amazing!
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Marshal Hedin @mhedin.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
you think the springtail knows that this is gonna be a VERY long bus ride ? from this pass weekend in the CA Sierra Nevada .... pure luck
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I love the colors on tiger beetles!
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The pictures do not do justice to how incredibly sparkly the dew was making these mushrooms. Green-spored Parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites) #fungi 🍄
The cap of a large tan mushroom growing in the grass; it’s covered in hundreds of tiny water droplets, shining in the morning sun. The stem and gills of a large tan mushroom; the top of the cap is covered in tiny water droplets.
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David Tan @mangrovepitta.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Ah, so that's what those giant fans are for.
Great Cormorant having a bit of a dry off.
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Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Marbled Madness!!! Lots of Ambystoma opacum out tonight. I love how each marbled salamander has its own unique pattern of black and silver markings. #herps.
A chubby black and silver salamander in a small puddle.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
As someone who a) lives in a college town and b) doesn’t particularly care about college football, Homecoming Weekend is definitely more Homestaying Weekend.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I can hear the soundtrack to this picture. I feel like it has a lot of kazoos.
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Coral City Camera @coralcitycamera.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Manatee w no propeller scars ✅ Healthy staghorn coral thicket ✅ Water below bleaching temps ✅ Juvenile grunts and snappers ✅ Life is good in Coral City 😎 ✅✅✅ #manatee #manateesofcoralcity #staghorncoral #acropora #coralcitycamera
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
23. Florida Gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) I was so excited about this! This is only the fourth time I've seen a gar on campus (or at all), despite having looked for them every single time I've passed this part of the creek, ever since I saw my first one four years ago. #LocalVertDiversity #fish
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
22. Greenhouse Frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) An introduced species here. They're not exactly rare, but I see these less commonly than many of our native frogs, which is good. This one did NOT appreciate being investigated by my dog, so I only got the one pic. #LocalVertDiversity #herps
A small brown frog, pretty generically frog-like, with a lighter brown stripe running the length of its body backwards from each eye.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Opossum and I have a lot in common.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Me when my students don't rotate their images before posting them to an assignment.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
At most places of employment, this e-mail would be strange and possibly concerning, but in a biology department it's just a regular Wednesday.
Hello, Is anyone missing a Bipalium that was left in the mailroom in a petri dish? We have your worm if you'd like to come gather it from [redacted]. [Picture of a hammerhead flatworm]
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Sarah Andersen @sarahseeandersen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The image is of a four panel comic.
In panel one, we see a crow’s face. It says, “I AM DEATH’S MESSENGER”.
In panel two, we see the same crow’s face. It continues, “YOUR TIME IS NEAR”.
In panel four, we see the crow awkwardly hopping away from a stick figure.
In panel five, we see the grim reaper with the crow perched on his hand. The grim reaper says, “So you should probably fly away dramatically instead.”
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
21. Sunfish (Lepomis sp.) These are probably Bluegill (L. macrochirus), but there are a few other congeners around campus too. My normal fish-observing path is fenced off now so I couldn't get close enough for a reasonably decent picture. #LocalVertDiversity
A highly-zoomed-in pixelated photo of four fish in a shallow stream, There are faint dark vertical stripes on at least one of them.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Look at this wonderful snooted weirdo who showed up at my porch light last night! #BugSky #moth Beautiful Grass-Veneer (Crambus satrapellus)
A side and back view of a small orange and white moth. It’s long and skinny, with a distinct projection between its eyes forming a “snoot”. Its wings are mostly orange with a white racing stripe down the side, and they flare out a bit at the back, giving it a bit of a forked tail.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I had to read this a few times before it finally clicked, but now that it has: Bravo, sir. Well played.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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Diane Traenkle 💙✊🏾🌈 @dtrenk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#BirdSuperModel Dar-eyed Junco showing off its curves #BirdOfTheDay
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Get To Know Nature @gettoknownature.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
My phone says this is a Panicled Aster and I thought it said Panicked Aster and I was like “yeah I get it, it’s rough out there.” #BloomScrolling 🌿
A cluster of white flowers with very thin petals and round yellow centers, surrounded by a lush green background of leaves.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I love these kind of DIY scientific apparatuses that come from some creative thinking at the hardware store! Simple, but obviously effective.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I got to see an unshelled 3-day-old chicken embryo yesterday, which was pretty cool.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The front view almost looks like a dragonfly, at least in the thumbnail view.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Wow! I had no idea.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Hmm, no digits, though. Freakishly large Tiktaalik?
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I love juncos dearly, but I have SO MANY pictures of them looking pissed at me. Maybe it's a subspecies thing, and J. h. carolinensis are just grumpier than J. h. hyemalis? #birds
A female junco stands on a rock, with her head turned to the side to glare somewhat angrily at the photographer. She's mostly light grey, with a white belly and outer tail feathers. She has hot pink and black plastic bands on her legs.A fledgling junco (10-11 days old) held in photo grip. It still has tufty old-man-eyebrow feathers and yellow mouth flanges, and its wing feathers are still partially in sheathes. It is looking at the camera like "....seriously?"
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The Boogieman from the Ghostbusters cartoon. There's still a part of me that doesn't like sleeping with the closet door open.
youtube.com
Chasing The Boogieman | The Real Ghostbusters Clip | GHOSTBUSTERS
YouTube video by Ghostbusters
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
“That sign can’t stop me because I can’t read.” 🪶 vs. “Raaawr, I am the fearsome lurking danger of whom the signs foretold!!” 🐊
An anhinga sits on top of a signpost that says:
“NO FISHING
⚠️ DANGER ALLIGATORS AND SNAKES
IN AREA
STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER.
DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE”A teeny tiny little alligator pokes its eyes and nostrils out of the water near the reflection of a signpost that that says:
“NO FISHING
⚠️ DANGER ALLIGATORS AND SNAKES
IN AREA
STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER.
DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE”
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Wrightsock anti-blister socks are miracle workers!
wrightsock.com
Anti Blister Running Socks and Blister Free Hiking Socks | Wrightsock
Wrightsock Anti Blister socks designed to prevent blisters and keep you on the move. Shop for run, hike or everyday wear.
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Smart Alyk @smartalyk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
DAY 485 SPECIES 485 - Didinium gargantua STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen D. gargantua is a single celled marine ciliate named after the gluttonous giant in François Rabelais' classic 1534 novel Gargantua. #sciart #watercolor #eukaryotic #protistsonsky
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thanks! I was definitely mixing up Seymouria and seymouriamorpha when it came to the larvae.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Hmm, I hadn't seen this paper. Interesting!
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
There's a lot going on in this paper, but most of its analyses puts Seymouria either just outside Amniota or just outside crown-group Tetrapoda rather than close to modern amphibians. I think "unresolved" is the current state but I wonder if there's confusion between being amphibious vs. amphibian?
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Phylogeny of Paleozoic limbed vertebrates reassessed through revision and expansion of the largest published relevant data matrix
The largest published phylogenetic analysis of early limbed vertebrates (Ruta M, Coates MI. 2007. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 5:69–122) recovered, for example, Seymouriamorpha, Diadectomorpha ...
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Stem amphibians? I've always taught Seymouriamorpha as stem amniotes, although the fact that we have fossilized aquatic larvae mean they definitely weren't true amniotes yet. Has there been a revision to the taxonomy?
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Aled Thompson @aledthompson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Daily birds 77 - Greater lophorina
A black bird facing forward with its tail feathers spread out so it looks like an oval with a blue segment on its chest and above the eyes, an an open beak to show a yellow mouth
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
YouTube's auto-captioning thinks that this calling cassowary is a zombie. Or maybe cassowaries actually do want brains even without being undead?
A screenshot of a video of a calling cassowary. The captioning reads "brains, brains, brains, brains,".
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A side-note: every single time I see crows (which is basically every day), part of my brain starts singing "A Murder of One" from Counting Crows. There's "joy" in this picture, but counting the ones out of frame, it was "boys."
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
20. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 🪶 #LocalVertDiversity We also have Fish Crows around here (near-identical to American Crows), but these were being very noisy as they inspected people's recycling, so ID was easy. (way-zoomed-in pic bc my dog still likes to chase them if we get too close)
Two crows on a lawn.
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John Burns @burnsajohn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Today I sat in the grass and saw a weevil and that was enough.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Commentary from some passing students about the second alligator: “Yo, he’s straight chillin’, bro!” 😆
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A one-gator day is better than a no-gator-day, but a two-gator day is better than a one-gator day. 🐊🐊
A small alligator lays in the water just at the edge of a stream. A significantly larger alligator lies in the mud at the edge of a stream, with its chin propped up on a little hillock of mud.
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As always with these kind of check-ins, it is very obvious that some people are responding from a tablet with a stylus, and others are responding on their phones with their finger. Although if I had to do it, I think it'd probably look like I drew it with my finger even if I were using a stylus. 😆
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Nicole Gerlach @ngerlach.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've been having a rough few days, but at least I got a bunch of awesome little sketches from my students on today's "Draw me an amphibian" check-in question.
A 3x7 grid of small sketches in blue, depicting frogs and salamanders with varying levels of detail and biological accuracy.
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