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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦

@not-klaatu.bsky.social
805 followers 427 following 279 posts

Michael D. Rennie, Professor of Aquatic Biology at Lakehead University, Research Fellow at the IISD ELA. He/him. Dad w/ 3 awesome kids. Klaatu barada nikto. Views = mine. ceelab.ca

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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
HR: Faculty shall be on site and report to senior admin when not present with an expectation you are at work during the work day. Also HR: we are only open 3 days a week :/
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Canada's National Observer @nationalobserver.com · 01/10/2026
Bill C-39 doubles down on habitat offsets, in which companies can "build" new habitat elsewhere to compensate for what they destroy in building a mine, a port, a pipeline or other project. The practice is highly contested by scientists. “This is our worst fear,” said biologist Misty MacDuffee.
nationalobserver.com
Offsetting for habitat loss almost never works. Ottawa wants more of it
New policy proposed in Bill C-39 will allow developers to buy credits or pay fees to compensate for the habitats they destroy.
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
There’s a long list of papers demonstrating not only the myth of ‘offsetting’ but also how monitoring approved by the regulator (conducted by the proponent) is almost never sufficient to determine if endpoints have been reached. And no consequences when they aren’t….
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It's your stupid president's constant threats to our sovereignty and attacks on our country that did this, not our decision to respond to them. www.latimes.com/business/sto...
latimes.com
Canada's boycott forces the sale of a California winery
As California's wine industry struggles, a family-owned vineyard spanning 3,500 acres is for sale after its exports to Canada dropped 35% in a year.
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is almost as bad as when Archie Bunker sent a package to England that was meant for London, Ontario. Almost.
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Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Day 01 of “Birds and Reptiles Week” of the Master’s of Bioacousitcs (MoBi) program in the ENES lab at the University of Saint-Etienne. Great lectures and research activities led by Nicolas Mathevon, Ole Larsen, and Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard. What a line-up! @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Good news is good news so it's welcomed, but let's look at the long-term trend. Nowhere near complete recovery, just over half the stock before the collapse. Shifting baseline strikes again. 🧪 cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...
Northern cod collapsed because of overfishing, then remained very scarce because of multiple factors, including seals, sea temperature change, continued fishing as bycatch.  In 1192, Canada's Dept of Fisheries and Oceans said the moratorium would lead to recovery in 2 years.  Since then, DFO has repeatedly announced recovery, aiming to reopen fishing.  In reality, stocks are now just over half of what they were before the collapse, 34 years later. A long ways to go to recover the over 90% loss in 3 generations.
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is seismic news for fisheries scientists. Northern cod is *the* iconic symbol of total fisheries collapse due to overfishing (and other factors) *and* the iconic symbol of a complete failure to recover for decades afterwards. This is like announcing the complete recovery of bison on land.
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Staring down the barrel of Program Review with basically no time left on the clock an 90% of the work left to do. And an NSERC renewal looming on the horizon… pray to whatever gods will get me through this gauntlet #BeingDepartmentChairSucks
static.klipy.com
Lots Of Tears Crying Hard
ALT: Lots Of Tears Crying Hard
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leftylady.bsky.social @leftylady.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Power to the people! ✊
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Kent Fellows @gkfellows.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
In addition to @alexusherhesa.bsky.social 's well reasoned and understandably scathing critique of this recent MLI Study, I would assert that even if the authors addressed all of Alex's concerns, the paper STILL wouldn't actually show what it purports to. Let me explain in a too lengthy thread 1/16
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James Andrew Smith @drsmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
It shouldn't require a cell phone and an app to pay for parking for my car.
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 01/09/2026
UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke to combine herbaria, creating the third-largest university plant collection in the United States ncbg.unc.edu/2026/08/31/u...
ncbg.unc.edu
UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke to combine herbaria, creating the third-largest university plant collection in the United States - North Carolina Botanical Garden
The combined herbaria will create an unmatched archive for studying plant diversity in the southeastern United States (Chapel Hill, N.C.— Aug. 31, 2026) UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University will unite....
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International Association for Great Lakes Research @iaglr.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The stewardship of the Great Lakes depends on cooperation, respect, and a common understanding of shared waters. IAGLR will continue to use the name Lake Ontario across all publications, conferences, and activities, regardless of the recent federal change to the GNIS. bit.ly/4y2OZkP (1/3)
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Simon Little 🍁 @simonplittle.ca · 31/08/2026
OH MY GOD ITS SO CUTE YOU GET TO PICK A LITTLE GUY! THE ICONS ARE ALL 8-BIT
MapQuest screenshot. I'm a little wizard guy.
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Tom Near @tjnear.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
1/7 🐟🧬 New preprint! "The largest radiations of freshwater fishes initiated at the K-Pg boundary" Phylogeny of Otocephala: Clupeiformes, Alepeocephaliformes, & Ostariophysi 144 species, UCEs + whole genomes, Bayesian dating. 11,700+ species covered. Here is what we found 🧵👇
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Rick @rickylongthread.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Lake America
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Tabatha Southey🇨🇦 @tabathasouthey.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
In the midst of cyclospora, there is also opportunity.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 24/08/2026
As LLMs get better at certain tasks and much more convincing, it's a useful exercise to ask about a subject you know intimately. Here, ChatGPT 5.6 diagrams the wrong game, doubles down, then finally admits its mistake. It cites a paper that doesn't exist, doubles down, and finally confesses again.
ChatGPT query: Diagram the enquist model of agonistic signaling

[poster output]User: This is fucked up. So you just made that up.

ChatGPT: Yes. I did, and you’re right to call it out.

My first description was not a faithful account of Enquist’s model. I supplied a plausible generic sequence for agonistic assessment—“initial assessment → signaling → reassessment → escalation”—without having verified that those were actually the stages or assumptions in Enquist (1985). Then, when you challenged the “prior information” point, I compounded the problem by giving another specific reconstruction instead of checking the source first.

I’ve now checked secondary material explicitly discussing Enquist’s 1985 model, and it describes the model as one in which players choose among possible displays/actions in an agonistic game, with the evolutionary question being when those choices can constitute honest signaling. That is importantly different from the staged assessment process I initially gave you.

So: do not use either of my previous stage descriptions as a representation of Enquist (1985). I should have looked up the paper/model before answering a source-specific question.ChatGPT: Yes. You’re right — again.

The poster actually says:

Enquist, M. (1985). “Communication during agonistic encounters.” In R. R. Hinde (Ed.), Advances in the Study of Behavior, Vol. 15, 65–106. Academic Press.

And that citation is not the original Enquist model paper I should have been using.

I made three separate errors here: I generated an unverified citation, then misreported what the poster said twice. That’s a basic source-handling failure.

If you want, I can now do this properly: verify the actual Enquist agonistic-signaling model from the primary paper and give you only the real sequence/stages, with no reconstruction.

User: The paper on the poster doesn't even exist.

ChatGPT: Correct. That poster citation is fabricated. I generated a title and book chapter that do not exist.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
It carries real risks but if Canada is ever going to use the energy weapon, a midterm election where US voters are already primed for sensitivity about gasoline and electricity prices would be the time to do it.
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hard-hitting As It Happens interview by David Green, former COSEWIC chair, on why allowing this, and especially future, Canadian gov't to override the Species At Risk Act based on whatever they may see as 'National Interest' is a very, very bad idea. Go to minute 37 www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
5 former chairs of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, myself included, raise alarm over the Carney gov't proposed 'major projects' initiative. It will lead to extinctions, likely including southern resident killer whales www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
cbc.ca
Proposed changes to endangered species law would 'stab it to death,' says scientist | CBC News
The former chairs of a panel that advises the federal government on endangered wildlife have published an open letter highlighting concerns over proposed changes to the Species At Risk Act, which they...
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The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 14/08/2026
“I would never have agreed to be a diplomat in Canada if I knew I’d have to be diplomatic to Canadians,” says Pete Hoekstra
thebeaverton.com
"I would never have agreed to be a diplomat in Canada if I knew I'd have to be diplomatic to Canadians," says Pete Hoekstra
OTTAWA - Tensions between Canada and the United States flared this week when US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra was captured on a live microphone admitting that he regretted his decision to accept a diplomatic post in Canada, citing his lack of interest in being diplomatic toward Canadians.
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Nasty. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
static.klipy.com
Janet Jackson: Miss Jackson If You're Nasty
ALT: Janet Jackson: Miss Jackson If You're Nasty
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Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde @albrechts-h.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I support hi speed rail but this is not good Proposed Alto rail route slashes through Queen’s field biology station universityaffairs.ca/news/propose...
universityaffairs.ca
Proposed Alto rail route slashes through Queen’s field biology station - University Affairs
Federal government praises the wilderness station as ‘globally unique,’ considers cleaving it with high-speed train.
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Tristan A.F. Long @thelonglab.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
WTF!?! universityaffairs.ca/news/propose...
universityaffairs.ca
Proposed Alto rail route slashes through Queen’s field biology station - University Affairs
Federal government praises the wilderness station as ‘globally unique,’ considers cleaving it with high-speed train.
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Peace @dogsmile.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
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Forbes @forbes.com · 03/08/2026
During a contentious interview, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several claims about COVID-19, vaccines and measles. Here are some of the statements that were factually inaccurate.
forbes.com
A Doctor Fact-Checks HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s CNN Interview
A public health expert fact checks RFK Jr.'s recent contentious interview on CNN with facts on vaccines, COVID-19 and measles.
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Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 01/08/2026
Are you saying the DOJ withdrew that pool vandalism indictment… upon reflection?
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
What it looks like when people have principles and stand up to corruption. I feel like we haven’t seen this as a society as often as we used to, or as much as we should.
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Alberta doing its best to keeps up "ass-backwards" brand www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Plans for sprawling coal mine expansion forge ahead in Alberta despite opposition | CBC News
A sprawling expansion of a massive thermal coal mine near Hinton, Alta., has been approved by Alberta’s provincial regulator, clearing the way for the operator to extend the life of the project well i...
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Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
In which I vent about the foolishness we display when we say "Our budgets have been cut? We'll just have to do more with less". That's a losing strategy, every time. Why do we teach toddlers, but not governments, that choices have consequences?
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
The foolishness of “doing more with less”
I got a little bit riled up the other day, and I realized that it might be worth sharing because the thing that riled me is a longstanding pattern in academia (at least in Canada, anyway). It’s a w…
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Simon J. Greenhill @simongreenhill.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Somewhere a university academic is being told to "do more with less" by someone whose job title didn't exist two reorgs ago.
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
🔥🔥🔥🔥 worth a read
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Andrew Kurjata @akurjata.ca · 23/07/2026
Subject: Washington wildfire crosses border into B.C. To: House of Representatives cc: White House vernonmorningstar.com/2026/07/22/w...
vernonmorningstar.com
Washington wildfire crosses border into B.C. - Vernon Morning Star
Fire is burning in remote, steep, densely forested terrain: North Cascades National Park Service
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Emma Lehmberg, PhD (she/her) @eslehmberg.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Question for the audiophiles/ichthyologists! Has anyone had experience recording with the Audiomoth aquatic version (Hydromoths)? @not-klaatu.bsky.social & I are cooking up a project that'll involve recording fishes this fall & it's the best option we've come across for doing it.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Stunning indeed. There were likely many introductions of fish, wildlife and plants by people thousands of years ago. Some oral tradition and archeo evidence in N Am for plants (butternut), fish (trout above falls), reptiles (turtles as totems) mammals (mountain goats!) on islands. 🧪
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Scott Bryan @scottygb.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Wayne Rooney speaks for everyone.
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
2018 JWildlManage commissioned a model to question that prolonged, intense selective hunting leads to evolutionary shrinkage of mountain sheep horns. Then stonewalled rebuttal, despite positive referee comments, 6-mo COPE probation for unethical behavior. Rebuttal: 🧪 www.nwsgc.net/proceedings/...
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
“You said the 2020 election was rigged by either Venezuela or China. When you called that fella in Georgia pleading for 11,780 votes, was that part of the rigging, or part of the 6-year investigation? Just one more thing, sir, who was president while all this rigging took place?”
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Please, fuck right off already. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
cbc.ca
Trump threatens increased tariffs for wildfire smoke that has 'unnecessarily invaded' U.S. | CBC News
U.S. President Donald Trump is adding his voice to the chorus of Republican politicians who are blaming Canada for wildfire smoke drifting across the border.
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Drum roll! 🧪
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Is anyone surprised? Expect this pattern moving forward. So many promises around restoration and clean up are easily sidelined by 'entering receivership' making it all our problem, not the company. So many more mining projects like this in Canada. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Uncertainty looms over jobs, clean-up costs as N.W.T.'s Ekati mine nears closure | CBC News
Ekati Diamond Mine had been slated to close in 2029 but is now in receivership after its parent company could not secure a buyer for the site. Receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers, along with experts, are ...
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Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Scientists--if your funding was cut over the last year (for research on climate, global health, DEI, LGBTQ or womens health, etc) but you managed to keep the research going, I want to talk to you for an upcoming article! Plz contact me: gewin at me dot com. Re-posts appreciated!
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freshwater fELA 🇨🇦 @not-klaatu.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
50% of revenue. Fuck that. “Construction of the Gordie Howe bridge, which ​began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the U.S. declined to pay for it. The costs were ​to be covered by ⁠tolls over 30 years” www.reuters.com/business/new...
reuters.com
US, Canada strike deal on tolls to let new bridge open on July 27
A new $4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, ​Ontario, which President Donald Trump threatened to block, is set to open on July 27 after the U.S. and Canada struck ‌a deal on toll revenue...
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Canadian Science Publishing @cdnsciencepub.com · 10/07/2026
Freshwater browning does not stop at the shoreline. This collection examines darkening across the freshwater–sea continuum, from permafrost peatlands to coastal waters of the Baltic Sea ▶️ ow.ly/NrR050Yl9nh #FishEcology #AquaticScience Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Aerial view of water showing brownish discoloration blending into darker coastal waters, illustrating freshwater browning and coastal darkening effects.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/07/2026
WOW -- Danish reporter *goes there* with Rutte "You sit next to Trump when he talks about conquering Greenland, lashes out at allies like Spain -- things it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any affect on your self-respect when you sit there and say nothing?"
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Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Elections Alberta uses dodgy stats to reject petition the gov't dislikes. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Questions emerge about statistical sampling used on rejected anti-coal petition | CBC News
A statistics professor raises concerns about Elections Alberta's sampling method used to verify Corb Lund's Water Not Coal petition which was deemed to be under the signature threshold last week.
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Brian Hayden @drhaydo.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Training got a refresh at Atomic Ecology recently: new courses, new rates and new ways to learn - www.atomicecology.com/training
atomicecology.com
Training | Atomic Ecology
"From atoms to ecosystems....."
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