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Phoebe Chapman

@phoebechapman.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.2K following 70 posts

🇦🇺 in 🇳🇿 at Uni of Otago using genomic approaches to explore diversity, microbes and parasites primarily in aquatic/marine ecosystems. Variously an ecologist, wildlife wrangler/photographer, diver/hiker/skier/etc 🐧 🐢 🐸 🧬 🌊 🏳️‍🌈 phoebeachapman.github.io

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Reposted by Phoebe Chapman
CuriousCat @felissapien.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
The work we did with kākāpō is now not possible because the govt has said that our funding should go to science that makes money. Members of our current govt have said that if an endangered species is in the way of a mine or a new road then it’s goodbye #nzpol peterkdearden.substack.com/p/on-kakapo
peterkdearden.substack.com
on Kākāpō
and extinction
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
If there’s one thing I miss about Aus (other than a Brisbane summer storm) it’s the smell of flowering wattle.
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Elin Videvall @elinvidevall.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I've sometimes wondered if there are additional reasons why bacteria thrive inside mammal guts, and this is a fascinating answer to that question. 👀
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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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TheBossRoss 🧶 @thebossross.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
A different perspective. Always helpful.
Christopher Penn wrote:

Just remember that given the abundance of neurodivergent people in science, it's far more likely that autism causes vaccines.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Teaching science through art #SciArt #MarineLife #cyanotyping
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
What contributes to the occurrence of disease-like blemishes in bull kelp in New Zealand? In this project led by superstar student Sabine de Klein, we surveyed and modelled blemish numbers in Durvillaea poha beds with respect various environmental factors. 🧪🦑🐙
sciencedirect.com
Environmental and anthropogenic stressors may influence the prevalence of disease-like phenotypes in an intertidal kelp
The effects of climate change and human pollution on ecosystems worldwide are becoming increasingly apparent and are expected to increase disease susc…
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Calling a spade a spade 🪏
newsroom.co.nz
Winner of top science prize blames ‘batshit’ Budget for brain drain
Dr Samuel Mehr says the Government values science, but their ‘idiotic’ approach to funding it will cost them their brightest.
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Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
H5 strain of bird flu on Heard Island? Samples are yet to be tested. "The majority of mortalities were detected in elephant seal pups and in a small number of adults." — Dr Julie McInnes, wildlife ecologist with AAD and @imas-utas.bsky.social ▶️ www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... 📸 Matt Curnock
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
The last paper from our project looking at the link between skin bacteria and a tadpole’s ability to regenerate its tail. A good summary in @frogsquisher.bsky.social’s comments!
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Sisyphus @sisyphusreturns.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
#BirdoftheYear 🇳🇿
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Would love an add as well if possible Pamela!
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Jamie Wood @larusnz.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Parasite extinctions in threatened species may be far more prevalent than previous estimates suggest. Our new study of kākāpō dung spanning from ~1,500 years ago to present, finds >80% of parasite species were lost as the host species declined.
cell.com
Long-term parasite decline associated with near extinction and conservation of the critically endangered kākāpō parrot
Boast et al. analyze a unique fecal record of the endangered kākāpō parrot to reveal >800 years of changing parasite communities. Parasite losses occur during the species’ decline to near extinction a...
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Petra Korlević @petrathepostdoc.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
You want to collect insects (and maybe other arthropods) for reference genome sequencing, but don't want to spend a fortune on dry ice shipping! All you gotta do is SQUISH. THAT. BUG! More details in our recent preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
a silly #SciArt redraw of the squish that cat meme, but it is a grey stickfigure squishing a mosquito (that looks like a little cat) with the text SQUISH THAT BUG!
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mr dog @firstdogonthemoon.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Everyone knows about AMOC but have you heard about SMOC?! Stand by for extreme penguinity! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Ocean current scientists are very upset and you should be too | First Dog on the Moon
It’s bad news for the Antarctic sea ice and everyone who relies on it being there (everyone)
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Saw this somewhere on the socials today, seems… relevant.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Better late than never for #worldpenguinday and #superseabirdsunday! Deadpan Gentoo had enough of my photography crap I reckon #marinelife 🦑 #birds 🪶
Portrait of a plump gentoo penguin from chest up, looking straight into camera. A white chest, black neck and head with white band/crown running behind eyes. Orange and black beak. In the background are large black pebbles.
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Philipp Bayer @philippbayer.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
My nightmare in #eDNA is to detect a rare or threatened species that turns out to be a false positive, so we set out to evaluate some of the commonly used taxonomic classifiers. The results are finally out: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 1/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A Comprehensive Evaluation of Taxonomic Classifiers in Marine Vertebrate eDNA Studies
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a widely used tool for surveying marine vertebrate biodiversity. To this end, many computational tools have been released and a plethora of bioinformatic app...
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Zoë Irene 😷❤️🦈 @getcaughtliving.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline has dropped by more than a third over the last decade. Researchers recorded a 39% decrease in coastal debris density and a 16% increase in areas with “no plastic debris at all.” www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...
sbs.com.au
Australia making a dent in plastic packaging pollution on coastlines, CSIRO finds
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline has dropped by more than a third over the last decade. That’s according to new research from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, published in the M...
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Tyler, from the Internet (Haunted) @tylerfromtheinternet.com · 13/04/2025
Two children at school in uniforms and it looks like Japan, both of them look like girls or femmes. One is holding a giant tuba so that it's stuffed over the face of the other one that's pinned up against the wall. The one holding the tuba is labeled every company. The tuba is labeled unwanted AI And the one against the wall is labeled me
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Weee yupes!!
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
For this week’s #superseabirdsunday - hoiho / yellow-eyed penguin, Enderby Island #seabird #birds 🪶 #naturephotography #penguin #newzealand
A black penguin, turning back to look at the camera. The penguin has a pink beak and light coloured eye, with a yellow band running between its eyes around the back of its head. In the background are green ferns and tall reeds. The foreground is light green lush grass, obscuring the bottom half of the bird.
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 03/04/2025
SAVE THE PENGUINS. STOP TRUMP’S TARIFFS.
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Heard Island Government @heardislandgov.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
If you’re new here, welcome. Our Antarctica Nudist Colony Government was formed after Seal hunters left our land around 1920. We occasionally allow scientists to study our 29 mammals, multiple seabirds, and limited flora, but have no permanent human settlement. Australia partially protects us 1/2
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Even when it's just the two of them, in an otherwise empty Oval office, Trump and Musk still aren't the smartest guys in the room.
"Trade war with penguins":
Trump places 10% tariff on
uninhabited Antarctic
islands
Planned tariffs shared by the White House
included a 10% duty on imports from the barren
Heard and McDonald Islands
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Mac McGill @maddmac.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Thought I'd revisit Star Wars. Just in case anyone forgot what starts the whole saga: it's a #TradeWar about #tariffs
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Hooray! Thank you :)
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Oh yes please!
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Three Southern Royal albatross sharing a juicy piece of gossip on Enderby Island (NZ sub-Antarctic) #seabirds #superseabirdsunday #marinelife #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #birds
Three large albatross, predominantly white with black mottled wings and light pink bills. The centre bird faces away from the camera, and the birds on either side face inwards towards it; all three have their heads together as if discussing something. They stand on a hill covered in yellow, green and red herbs, mosses and grasses.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
A bit of Saturday science - our new paper out this week is the first published record of a myxozoan parasite in Murray River turtles (Emydura macquarii) in Australia @vgonzaleza.bsky.social #parasitology 🪱 #herpetology #turtle 🐢
sciencedirect.com
Renal myxosporidiosis by an unknown Bivalvulidan myxozoan parasite in Murray River turtles (Emydura macquarii) in Australia
This case series provides the first published record of a myxozoan parasite in Murray River turtles (Emydura macquarii) in Australia. Thirteen turtles…
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
And based in Dunedin!
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
I dunno about Harlequin but I can give a plug for my wife @zgrokit.bsky.social who writes lady-loving-lady romance
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Not much a skua won’t fight over. Enderby Island, sub-Antarctic New Zealand #birds #marinelife #seabirds #birdphotography
Two medium sized mottled dark brown birds having a tug of war over a long piece of brown kelp on a sandy beach.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Back from two weeks aboard the HMNZS Canterbury as one of the scientists on the 2025 Blake Expedition to the NZ sub-Antarctic Islands. Will progressively drop photos and commentary here as I go through them #marinelife #naturephotography #sealion #pinniped
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
2025 Blake Expedition on Operation Endurance with the NZ Navy. Off to the sub-Antarctic Campbell and Auckland Islands to do some sciencing and inspire the next generation!
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Next step… takahē world (or maybe just NZ) domination 🤞🪶
doc.govt.nz
Takahē released to grow wild population
Efforts to expand a wild population of takahē near Queenstown began yesterday with the release of 18 birds in the Rees Valley.
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Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen. Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !” globalnews.ca/news/9793403...
globalnews.ca
How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca
In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
New tool for estimating prey size and energy content from animal-worn camera footage 🐧🦐
otago.ac.nz
Revealing underwater secrets with new technique
Scientists from the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka are hoping their new research technique will help unlock underwater secrets of marine wildlife.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Well the award for most cowardly, boot-lickingest academic society has squarely gone to the American Society of Microbiology, who has taken down features of various non-white scientists. Absolutely pathetic behavior. Those articles are now coming up as “under review”. Truly sickening cowardice here.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
For #superseabirdsunday - the honey coloured (and slightly judgey) eye of a Campbell albatross. Otago Canyons, NZ #birds #marinelife
An albatross sitting on the green-grey ocean surface, looking side on at the camera. The bird is mostly white, with dark grey wings and a peach/orange coloured hooked bill. It has black ‘eyeliner’ surrounding a pale yellow eye.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Glad you’ve enjoyed them, co-Phoebe! Look forward to following your posts :)
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
As an Australian living in NZ at the moment I would say the Australian health system (while not without issues) is overall definitely better.
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Nathan Lombardi @lom.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
I've just found the best hack. Swear in your search request. It's a great way to bypass the AI summary and make your search history look like you're chronically pissed off at everything!
Throw a "fuck" or "fucking" into your search to bypass the AI Overview
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Kevin Pluck @kevpluck.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Super! <useful tool> now has an AI✨ interface! Brilliant! That'll make me so much more productive. I'll use this everyday. Said no one ever.
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I saw the ABC article on this today! Cool work
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Michelle Wille @duckswabber.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Between 2019 and 2023, researchers paid $8.968 billion to make papers open access. Imagine what else could be done with this money if it wasnt paid to for profit publishing companies... 👉 arxiv.org/abs/2407.16551
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Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Pet owners accidentally poisoning garden birds. Our latest research finds pet flea treatments (fipronil and imidacloprid) in 100% of blue tit and great tit nests, with nestling mortality higher in the more contaminated nest. @SongBirdSBS @SussexUni @CannelleTassin
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Phoebe Chapman @phoebechapman.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Exciting news that Tīeke/South Island saddlebacks have arrived at Orokonui Ecosanctuary (near Dunedin) as the first step in reestablishing them on the mainland of NZ’s South Island. Go well little guys! #birds
orokonui.nz
Tīeke at Orokonui - Orokonui Ecosanctuary
Nau mai haere mai e kā Tīeke. On the 25th of January 2025 Tīeke / South Island Saddleback began their return to Coastal Otago as part of an exciting translocation of these taoka to Orokonui from the t...
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Draculosity Jones: Ghost Skeleton @brainmage.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
I've built a machine that can be Confidently Wrong. It can also make pictures that all look a bit the same, as well as make a video of you kissing any celebrity or person you know. In payment, I'd like to boil the world's oceans dry, & steal all literature. For some reason, my head is not on a spike
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Amy Remeikis @amyremeikis.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
F*ck me it is very easy to give into despair at the moment. Which is when I fall back on some more of my Oma's advice - when all seems lost, keep going just to spite those you fight against. If all else fails, exist to spite someone you can't stand 😉
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