iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Pambazuka News @pambazukanews.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

"The Jason Arday Tragedy: Not a Crisis of Black Intellectualism but one of White Supremacy" - by Patricia Daley @malangwa.bsky.social pambazuka.org/The-Jason-Ar...

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Sussex Wildlife Trust @sussexwildlife.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

South Downs scenes - Hornet Robberflies mating whilst the female consumes a dung beetle 🪰🪲 Whatever floats your boat! 📷© Richard Allen via our Nature Table Facebook group

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The European Eel is one of the most widespread fish in Europe, found in freshwater ecosystems throughout most of the continent, but it’s also one of Europe's most imperiled fish. Since the 1970s the eel population has plummeted by over 90%, making it Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The IUCN Red List page for the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla), listing it as Critically Endangered (CR).

Page: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/60344/152845178

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

What is a parasite? Why are they so important for ecosystems and hosts? And what can we do to protect the 1000s of species at risk of extinction? A few weeks ago I spoke with a BBC Science Focus podcast about why parasites are awesome and you can listen HERE: open.spotify.com/episode/5864...

open.spotify.com

How parasites play a vital role as caretakers of Earth’s ecosystems

Instant Genius · Episode

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National Museum of Ireland @nmireland.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

What if the most influential organisms on Earth are the ones we rarely see? Parasite Tales at the Dead Zoo Lab uncovers the hidden world of parasitic worms-revealing their role in biodiversity, evolution & health. Discover the science of the unseen: www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Feather lice from a kingfisher Alcedo spp. that crashed into a building in the University College Cork. Photo credit: Paddy Sleeman, University College Cork

Roundworm Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Dujardin, 1845) Boulenger, 1922 taken from the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758). Photo credit: Peter Stuart, Munster Technological University

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George McGavin @georgemcgavin.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Two dance flies (Empis tessellata) in a hedgerow. The male hangs by his front legs as he copulates with a female who is feeding on a nuptial gift (a bibionid fly) he has caught and offered her as a prelude to mating...I watched the whole event..transfixed!

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

What's cooler than a sea slug? A SOLAR POWERED SEA SLUG!!! Elysia viridis are kleptoplasts, retaining chloroplasts from the algae they consume and using them for photosynthesis. These two specimens were found in the rockpools at Filey, on a shore search survey with @yorkswildlife.bsky.social

A small brown sea slug in a petri dish alongside some green seaweed. Hard to see by the naked eye the sea slug has small green spots from the chloroplasts it extracts from algae.

Two specimens of E. viridis in a petri dish

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

super cool development in our understanding of co-extinction

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Catriona Flesher @c-flesher.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

My first article is out in Climate and Development (and it's Open Access)! Based on data collection with one Malawian village, I examine how to build fairer and effective toolkits for community-based loss and damage assessments in post-disaster contexts. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

Power, voice and participation: reflections on participatory methods and oral histories for community-based loss and damage assessments in Chikwawa, Malawi

Following the establishment of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage at COP27, interest in community-based loss and damage (l&d) assessment methodologies has rapidly grown. Community-based l&d...

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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Finally, the bug is back with a round of the Guinness.

Macro photo of a brown stink bug in face view on a leaf, guarding a tightly-clustered bunch of eggs that are shaped and colored exactly like a full tray of dark beer with foam on top.

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Journal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

🌊 Parasites are not always bad! In blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), trematode infection can buffer acute heat stress, linked to increased heat shock protein expression. A surprising twist on host-parasite interactions under warming conditions 📖 buff.ly/5dVyY6X

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Ectoparasites of electric eels are like buses - you wait your whole life for one and suddenly two turn up in a year! (dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/10/dolo...)

dailyparasite.blogspot.com

<i>Dolops discoidalis</i>

The electric eel , also known as poraquê , is a formidable animal. Not only is it capable of stunning its prey with an electrifying shock, ...

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Matt Friedman @friedmanlab.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Spookiest decoration at the "Zoo Goes Boo" event at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids? Giant model of parasitoid wasps hatching from cocoons affixed to their caterpillar host.

Large model of a green caterpillar, the back of which is covered by dozens of white cocoons. Wasps can be seen emerging from some of the cocoons.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

You probably have a general idea of what a tick looks like, but did you know that there are three distinct families of ticks, each with their own appearance, habitat, and adaptations? These families are the Ixodidae (or hard ticks), Argasidae (or soft ticks), and the Nuttalliellidae. (1/4)

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Eline D. Tabak @elinetabak.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

www.bloomsbury.com/uk/unsettlin... No cover yet, but there's a web page. Incredibly pleased to be part of this important - and affordable! - volume on extinction studies. Pre-order now because I promise it will be good

bloomsbury.com

Unsettling Extinction

Featuring contributions from key names in the field alongside some of the most exciting new voices, this collection presents cutting-edge work on species extinc…

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

checking a species name with GBIF after not finding it via NCBI feels very much like the asking your Dad after your Mum already told you "No" of taxonomy

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IDEA: The Ethics Centre @idea-leeds.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

UK followers under 35, please consider filling in this form to help researchers better understand modern dating.

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

We wrote this as a fun introduction to the strange and wonderful world of parasite conservation! Hopefully it gets you thinking about how there's more than meets the eye with parasites and whether we should bring them into the fold of conservation concern theconversation.com/parasites-ar...

theconversation.com

Parasites are ecological dark matter – and they need protecting

Save the pandas, sure, but what about the worms in their guts?

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

my extremely nuanced opinion on the woolly mice is that they are very cute (good), but mean basically nothing as far as conservation is concerned (less good) and are really just a PR exercise for a somewhat malevolent profit-making machine (bad)

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Am I right in thinking that Colossal's (non-)conservation work allows them to patent a lot of genetic technology which they could then make massive profits from if/when those technologies are used for wider applications than woolly mammoth PR?

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Interdisciplinary research is not only hugely valuable, it's also a hell of a lot easier than people make out - the hard part is fighting the institutions to get them to let you do it

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Really excited to share this paper which was the result of a big collaborative effort of PhD students @extinctionleeds.bsky.social! It's full of incredible, original thoughts about how we view and interact with the world around us in a time of massive biodiversity loss 📷🍃 doi.org/10.1017/ext....

doi.org

Extinction studies in focus: Reflections on photography at a time of ecological decline | Cambridge Prisms: Extinction | Cambridge Core

Extinction studies in focus: Reflections on photography at a time of ecological decline - Volume 3

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Huge analysis out as a preprint today! For every 9 years an animal spends in the wildlife trade, it shares an additional pathogen with humans. Clear long-term impacts based on 40 years of global trade data 🧪😷 biorxiv.org/content/earl...

Phylogenetic map of wildlife trade; graphs showing overlap with other traits like synanthropy; path analysis showing impact on zoonotic host status

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Hey #WildlifeDisease & #conservation folk, please check out our survey on attitudes to parasite conservation. Are parasites important for biodiversity, would you remove them to protect host welfare, or something more nuanced? We want to hear all views to improve guidance for practitioners 🪱🧪🌍🧵1/n

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Leverhulme Extinction Studies DTP @extinctionleeds.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Come and see some of the work we’ve been doing… SPIRIT: an exhibition of nature photography from the Scottish Small Isles. Parkinson Court, 4-6 Feb.

A poster for an exhibition. Features an animal skull on rocks with orange lichen.

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Really enjoyed this truly interdisciplinary paper on hookworm in early 20th c. Jamaica! Jon historicises hookworm infection and extinction, showing how plantations (+ environment & individual factors) created the conditions for hookworm to thrive, but were also key in eradication/extinction efforts

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

A lot of awesome pictures in the full paper!

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Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Parasite conservation sounds like a counterintuitive idea, but actually there are lots of reasons why this is important for the long term sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. #parasitology #ticks #ectoparasite 🪱🧪🌍 therevelator.org/ryukyu-rabbi...

therevelator.org

Saving the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick: The Posterchild of Parasite Conservation • The Revelator

This endangered invertebrate is harmless to humans — and rabbits. Saving it from extinction might even benefit both species.

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Ever heard of parasite conservation and thought "Why on earth would we want to do that 😱"?! Read our new paper to find out... We cover key questions including: Why conserve parasites? How do you conserve parasites? & What parasite conservation is already happening? doi.org/10.1111/cobi... [1/3]

A panel showing three images of parasites. From left to right: a bat fly clinging to the face of a Mozambique long-fingered bat, a mass of helminths in the feces of a gray seal, botfly larvae from the stomach of a mountain zebra.

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tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

How have freshwater fish populations responded to warming temperatures over the past 75 yrs? We found a characteristic pattern of climate change-induced changes in river fish populations, with differing impact for different species depending on key characteristics. See our new paper for more info!

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