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The One True Kat

@theonetruekat.bsky.social
2.3K followers 629 following 3.9K posts

Biologist. Californian. All things herp. 🐢Madly in love with nature. Always outside. Garden nerd. Cyclist. Big fan of informed democracy. She/her/y’all All photos mine unless credited.

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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 7h
Thanks, I hate it.
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Tyson Wepprich @tysonwepprich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I worked on the tamarisk biocontrol beetle's rapid evolution & spread for a few years. This article does a good job explaining the ongoing puzzle of tamarisk control and restoration in the west. biographic.com/the-trouble-...
biographic.com
The Trouble with Tamarisk | bioGraphic
Twenty-five years ago, land managers unleashed a beetle to control an invasive tree sucking rivers dry. But water levels haven’t risen—and the real villains are still causing trouble.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 21h
Out here wilding on a Saturday night. #inverts #davisca
A bucket-style moth trap is plugged in and a white sheet hangs behind.
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Ken '|<3ns41' - Pro-Ukraine 🌻 @k3n5s.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This whole thread is #PunkAF 👊🏻
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Shhhh. No thoughts, only slug posting.
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Wes Siler @wessiler.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sure looks like the Secretary of the Interior is about to invoke emergency wartime powers to use taxpayer funds to build a bunch of data centers on public land, without any public input: wessiler.substack.com/p/whats-doug...
wessiler.substack.com
What’s Doug Burgum Doing With Defense Production Act Authority?
It sure looks like things are adding up for widespread data center construction on public lands, without public input
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
22 California billionaires have spent a combined $150 million to defeat Prop 40. Their combined wealth in January 2025 was $439 BILLION. By September 2026, it had grown to $722 BILLION. They're accidentally making the case for the billionaire tax better than anyone else could.
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Noah Bressman, PhD @noahwithfish.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My favorite emails from students are those with the subject, “What fish is this?” Here, we have a skilletfish, our local clingfish species that uses is suction cup-like pelvic fins to stick under crevices and in shells.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
But like, this whole thread.
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The Orianne Society @oriannesociety.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Are you a graduate student? Are you conducting research that has clear potential to benefit the conservation or management of reptiles and amphibians in the Southeast? If so, check out The Orianne Society's 2026 Small Grant Program. Applications are now open!
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A larger version of the tiny eyeballed noodle posted earlier. This is an adult Sierra Gartersnake, Thamnophis couchii. #herps #fieldwork
A brownish black snake with a faint dorsal stripe and a muddy look overall is held with two hands. Creek in the background.
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Jennifer Molidor @jennifermolidor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Condors are a rewilding miracle. As we recover this highly endangered species, illegal lead ammunition puts their existence in jeopardy. Still these holy giants are wilder every year, traveling further. They need wild places protected to be truly free baynature.org/magazine/fal... @baynature.org
baynature.org
California Condors Return to the East Bay
As the population recovers, they've been making test flights northward. Here's where to (possibly) see them.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This tiny noodle with eyeballs is the OTHER gartersnake species up here, Sierra Gartersnake (T. couchii). Super young but happily fishing our reach as we consolidated the fishes in pools, buffet style. #herps
A very small snake in a human hand. Tiny noodle is very new to this big world. Smol greenish brown snake with big eyes and muddy patterning. Creek in the background.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Co-workers from today. Mtn Gartersnake (T. elegans elegans) #herps Mr steal your fish.
A boldly yellow-striped black snake in a drying creek. The human is touching it. Side view as human picks up snake to show off him beauty.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Why is electrofishing awesome? My dudes. 1: You get to wear a ghostbuster-style backpack setup. Observe.
It’s a backpack. That makes an electrical current. And has fish stickers on it.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Electrofishing all the fishes today and dear lord I have to go another 12hrs tomorrow. But….. ALL the sculpin (and a lot of lovely trout). #fieldwork
Humans taking a short break from netting fish on a stretch of creek. A handful of inland riffle sculpin.
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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 03/09/2024
the three genders
three squeeze bottles of sauce labeled 
special, Halloween & Mild
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Dr Mark D. Scherz @markscherz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🚨We're hiring a new Curator of Mammals!!🚨 🦍🐕🦝🐅🦓🦌🐃🐖🐏🐫🐘🦏🦛🐿️🦔🦇🦥🦦🦨🦘🦡🐋🦭🦒🧸 Come join the Vertebrate Unit at @nhmdk.bsky.social—a fantastic team in the heart of Denmark's beautiful capital! Amazing collections, incredible history. Please share widely! 🧪🏛️ candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
candidate.hr-manager.net
Tenure Track Assistant Professor or Associate Professor and Curator of Mammals
Tenure Track Assistant Professor / Associate Professor, and Curator of Mammals at Natural History Museum Denmark The Natural History Museum Denmark wishes to ap
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Good Morning! I think this is a wee little Eufala Skipper, a new species for the yard list. #bugs
A small skipper butterfly with brown back and top wings. It has a faint white rim on the trailing edge of the wings and is perched on a yellow seed head. The tiny skipper is grayish brown underwings with large dark eyes. It is perched on a dark purple butterfly bush. Little skipper drinks from a dark purple budleia
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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Please pass along: I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab. We study physical ecology, macroecology, and biodiversity — spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested 🧪🌐🌾
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
For the last 34 years I have been on the faculty of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Biology and have never regretted that decision. This year we are hiring TWO new Assistant Professors in the broad area of Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology 1/n bio.unc.edu
Front page of the website
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Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Emory Biology department is hiring a tenure-track ecologist at any rank. Deadline is Nov 1, link below! As I've said many times before, I couldn't ask for a more supportive department. Our faculty colleagues, dept chair, and admin staff are truly awesome ❤️ apply.interfolio.com/191783
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’ve been off my bike for almost a year amid *waves hands*, but I managed to drag myself out today and remembered how much I love spinning my legs. #rideyourbike
A pair of legs and a left hand prop up a bicycle
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
If you're in line for the wolverine butt-scratching log, stay in line!
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Also the bravery to “take a lane” or use bike lanes with no barriers. I still remember being terrified of huge trucks whizzing by, 3ft from my left elbow. Anyone who wants to drive should have to ride a mile of unprotected bike lane while traffic whizzes by.
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Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 28/09/2026
🚨 FACT: There is a federal criminal law that prohibits any armed agent of the federal government from being at the polls. There is only one exception. Marc Elias explains. Stay in the know: demdock.com/3T3Owjg
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Little Willie Wilson’s warbler hitting the backyard migration station now. 🪶
A bright yellow bird with a black cap is perched on a metal fence. Wilson’s warbler showing off his little cap
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
ANHU catching a break and a snack in the front garden. 🪶
An Anna’s  hummingbird sips from a bright purple salvia.
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Tom Kimmerer, PhD @tomkimmerer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Joshua trees are uncommon, with a limited range, and threatened by climate change. Read what scientists are doing to stabilize the species.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Those ears tho! 🙌🏼
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
YEWA passing through. 🪶
A bright yellow bird with a white eyering and a streaky belly perches on a stick.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
One of my roommates. She moved into an owl box I put up and we hang on the regular. #opossum #backyardwildlife
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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation @xercessociety.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Every year we make the case for keeping leaves, branches, & plant stems in your yard. Bugs need them for shelter! That’s not to say you can’t tidy up: rake leaves into garden beds, around trees, or just in a pile out of the way. All we ask is that you #LeaveTheLeaves! 🍂🐝 xerces.org/blog/leave-t...
xerces.org
Leave the Leaves!
One of the most valuable ways to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the shelter they need to survive the winter. Thankfully, all you need to do is do less yard work.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I mean, herps have my heart, but LOOK at this beauty of a mayfly. #inverts
A reddish brown bug with long, upright, oval wings and two long antennas at its butt. It’s hanging out near the stream it recently emerged from.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Can’t sleep, posting bugs. Mayfly doing a develop. #invertebrates
Multi colored mayfly larva
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Let’s play a game called “How many tap dancing criminals are on the roof?”. 🦝🦝🦝🦝
Four raccoons on a roof, caught on a trail camera.
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Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
OTD in 1962, Silent Spring was published. “Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds.” ― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Rachel CarsonThe front cover of Silent Spring.
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 Please share! We're looking for an entomologist to join our dept.! I'm excited as it's broadly advertised to find someone who can build a stellar teaching program w/research on insect ecology. Deadline is tight (end of Oct.). Read more & apply at jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/235...
Flyer that says: 

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY
AND PLANT PATHOLOGY

We're hiring!

The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is seeking applications for a nine-month, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Insect Ecology (60% teaching/40% research). The position will play a central role in the department’s undergraduate curriculum, including ENT 201: Insects and People, as well as additional undergraduate and graduate courses. The position also provides an opportunity to build a nationally recognized research program in insect ecology, secure external funding, and mentor undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead instruction for ENT 201: Insects and People and teach additional courses using effective, technology-enhanced approaches. Mentor undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs.

Establish a nationally recognized, externally funded research program in insect ecology (e.g., behavior, plant–insect interactions, community ecology, conservation, or global change biology). Publish in peer-reviewed journals and engage students in research.

Contribute to departmental, college, and university service, engage with scientific societies, review manuscripts and grant proposals, and participate in outreach.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

Demonstrated teaching experience at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.

Expertise in one or more areas of insect ecology (e.g., IPM, invasive species, pollination biology, vector ecology, trophic interactions, global change, or molecular/community ecology).

Ph.D. in Entomology or a related field, with a proven publication and funding track record (as PI/Co-PI or lead author).

JOIN OUR TEAM!

For more information and to submit your application, please visit:
https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/234875
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Oh to be a sleepy little tussock moth caterpillar, snoozing next to a creek.
A small black and orange caterpillar, on a small boulder, with a creek flowing in the background. #inverts
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Guess which lucky girl gets to work on benthic macroinvertebrates up near Tahoe today…. Woot.
A beautiful mountain creek, flowing through a high-elevation meadow.
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Corey Callaghan @coreytcallaghan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Do you use #iNaturalist data in research—or advise students who do? We put together a practical guide to using iNaturalist data in scientific research, covering how to access, acquire, analyze, and attribute the data, with examples in R and Python. Paper: doi.org/10.1093/bios... #ecology
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Well, that explains why I haven’t seen the second mantis female for a day or two. #invertebrates #mantis
A mantis egg case affixed to a wooden table leg in the gardenCloser view of the freshly laid mantis egg case
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Periodic reminder. #psa
“In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy” - John Sawhill
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Dr. Earyn McGee @afroherper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Can you #FindThatLizard?! 🦎 Lizards pant to cool themselves off when temperatures get too high! All animals need ways to cool down, lizards included, because they can overheat. Humans sweat, birds bathe or swim, and pigs roll in mud. So it makes sense that lizards would have a cooling strategy.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The doublemint twins are still hanging out together! These two siblings are getting so big now! 🦨🦨
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Olive Ridley having a go! ktla.com/news/califor...
ktla.com
Sea turtle nests on Southern California beach for first time in recorded history
A sea turtle currently nesting on a Southern California beach is the first known sea turtle on record to nest naturally anywhere on the West Coast, according to NOAA Fisheries. An olive ridley sea …
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hold on to your butts, Amphibian Season is coming. #herps #anaxyrus
A western toad butt, on a very chonk toad
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Steve Boland @steveboland.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Required viewing for all those interested in California transit
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Jay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
One of my favorite cases of someone being Wrong on the Internet was a very earnest, very confused vegan who was telling people how cruel honey is; and it eventually turned out they thought honey was made by putting bees in a centrifuge and spinning them around until they threw up.
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The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Today’s visitors to the backyard fountain. 🪶
A yellow warbler stops in for a drink. The tiniest of loud mouths, a red-breasted nuthatch, examines a branch
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