Benjamin Freeman

How are Pacific NW mountain birds responding to climate change? I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out. but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible" new paper here: esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Finally my prayers have been answered 🫨 ch3rryblossom.github.io/birdguessr/ bsky.app/profile/seij...

(1/4) New paper in which we identify sex-linked candidate genes for egg coloration in a brood parasite and detail the cascading genomic consequences of selection on those genes. Link at the end of thread (yes, trying the teaser method)! I

This is a BIG WEEK for avian taxonomy! This week, the newly revised 2026 avian taxonomy is released. Look for 202 newly updated species profiles; an in-depth explanation of all the changes; and an upcoming "What's New in Avian Taxonomy” webinar. birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home.

Excited to share a game I've been working on with my friend @jasonjoby.bsky.social - presenting BirdGuessr (ch3rryblossom.github.io/birdguessr), a daily game where you're given 5 real checklists from eBird, and you guess where they came from! Can you narrow down a location based on its birds?

Job Alert! I am recruiting for a post doc in my group. The position will focus on establishing how changes in climate cause population change in birds and mammals. @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social

Ecology postdoc opportunity based in Fort Collins, CO, working with a great team Project focuses on ungulates and fire in Utah 🦌 🔥 Check it out and pass it along! 🌎 csusystem.wd12.myworkdayjobs.com/fortcollins_...

New work from our lab! We've developed a culturing pipeline for generating clonal and axenic strains of Blastocystis, a prevalent human gut eukaryote with some intriguing links to health. Using this pipeline, we uncovered multiple strains of the same subtype coexisting within a single host.

we're re-flying a MS position (jan 2027 start) to do wading bird surveys in Oklahoma (focusing on Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons). please share! www.gilbertecology.com/opportunities

It’s official—Colors in the Crown: Chasing Warblers Through the Evolutionary Tree, coming from Johns Hopkins University Press in 2028! A touch of science. A dash of memoir. And 100% wood warblers. By yours truly and illustrated by @rushstudio.bsky.social 🦉🧪

*Job alert* We are looking for a *postdoc in ecological modelling*, starting from spring 2027. Wondering how lags in mountain plant distribution shifts might turn out in the future? Apply and find out! 🪻🏔️↗️⏳ All details here: jobs.unibas.ch/offene-stell... Please repost and share widely!

This is a heist. cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

91% is a big number, so more please.... My news to me good news for Oct 20 #EarthOptimism www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

First paper out from Surama Pereira's PhD: link.springer.com/article/10.1... an avifaunal inventory from her study site totalling 516 species #Ornithology

I've just published my 100th scientific paper, which feels like a milestone. Half a dozen fairly random thoughts on that - and about whether papers really measure contribution to science. scientistseessquirre... 🧪

We now are hiring TWO teaching track faculty! Apply by Nov 1!

fully funded PhD position studying salt marsh ecology & resilience in the Kostka Lab at Georgia Tech! Start date August 2027 (+ working with Bald Head Island Conservancy)

750 km constant flight? Easy for a Turtle dove! Despite their popularity and massive work to protect them, we still know very little about Turtle Doves' movement. In our new study, we shed some light about their migration through the Eastern Flyway. www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🪶🌎🧪🐾

Phew! With a lot of blood, sweat, and tears over the years, we introduce a new way of thinking about thermal performance curves in endotherms. We propose that thermal imbalance, quantified using net sensible heat flux, provides a helpful axis for predicting performance. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

What drives wealth-biodiversity relationships in urban areas? Our new paper in TREE develops a framework to understand different pathways that can all lead to the same “Luxury Effect”, thus helping to better develop strategies for equitable cities cutt.ly/8yEkEAzS #urban #SDG11

This is such an often overlooked thing. It also goes for review work. If you think a piece of work - or specific part of it - is cool, it doesn't hurt to tell the authors. We mostly get rejections and criticisms, which is somehow part of the game, but also makes sincere and specific praise valuable

Join us Friday, Oct. 23, 3–5 p.m. at Scheller Tower for a book talk featuring Georgia Tech President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough. Clough will discuss his new book, The Ever-Changing Georgia Coast. 🎟️ Free and open to the public.  🔗 RSVP: sciences.gatech.edu/presenting-s...

Join us in Atlanta!! Excited to keep growing our awesome eco evo group.

🚨We are hiring! 🌴Tropical forest research technician position at the University of Liverpool. Join my group for 2 years, working in awesome tropical mountains around the world⛰️. Deadline: Oct. 30th. tinyurl.com/4z8eyjxz

I've been poking around the forest of @tapirvalley.bsky.social for six years, hoping to see this bird there. Today I got to see two Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoos working an ant swarm this morning. I hope they stick around for a bit. #birds #costarica #nature

New paper by David Adams from the lab! Shifting elevation AND aspect could buffer lizards from climate warming. However, cool mountain slopes are less well represented in North America than warmer, more southern facing slopes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

very cool paper by Hengxing -- makes me feel very excited & motivated for how we can turbocharge natural history w/ eBird/iNaturalist data!

In our new perspective paper @pnas.org, we show how the comments you put in eBird/iNaturalist can help ecologist with collecting much-needed data on species interactions: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

I just watched a young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak fly full speed into MOSE's glass facade and fall dead one of six birds that died today at this building, a death trap for campus birds In contrast Kendeda has bird-safe glass and no bird window deaths GT - let's get bird safe glass on MOSE

whats that expression - like a gosling off an eagles back? WILD paper for natural history sickos among us (should be all of us) #ornithology bioone.org/journals/jou...

Come join the bio dept at Georgia Tech - we are hiring an ecologist! tinyurl.com/GT-eco-coasts

CNN reminded me to remind all of you that rakes exist and that a healthy yard invertebrate ecosystem uses downed leaves to overwinter.

good morning. I strongly suspect that we don't really know (or agree) what geographic ranges are, and therefore, our estimates of how species' ranges are shifting in the Anthropocene are uninterpretable. I wrote something about this: doi.org/10.1111/2041... and I'll share the main findings...

I'm hiring a postdoc to help build tools for inferring complex speciation histories with genomic data. strong computational skills are a must, but this is a training opportunity. 60K$+ salary, 2 years, details flexible. please reach out! (and repost) ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150

🦋 Butterfly wing patterns create motion illusions that protect them from predators! Our new study (8 years in the making) is out in Nature today doi.org/10.1038/s415... @grahancock.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social @scienceanna.bsky.social @lauraakelley.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

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

Our new paper on bird vocal amplitude is out in @sse-evolution.bsky.social ! Across 123 species, we found two new contenders for world’s loudest bird: bare-throated bellbird and seriema Along with the white bellbird, both can reach jackhammer-level amplitudes! doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpag153

Heavier great tit nestlings 🐥 usually end up as heavier adults 🐦. Is this always a strong correlation? Our new preprint shows that the strength of this 'silver-spoon' association shifts continuously with environmental context, and is stronger in harsh conditions! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

pls note the bats have been carefully depicted HANGING FROM THEIR LITTLE BRANCHES on this radial phylogeny (bats drawn by Fiona Reid, whose portfolio is here --> fionareid.ca)

When a female doesn’t show up, a camera will have to do (yes, he also mounted it)

Our new paper led by Leo Miranda in @science.org - Comparing #Amazon protection strategies reveals that avoiding deforestation is most cost-effective for carbon storage, while avoiding forest disturbance yields the highest benefits for #biodiversity 🌎🪶🌴🧪 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

Our new paper led by @ollie333.bsky.social highlights poor performance of global bird classifier models (Perch and Birdnet) for Amazonian species identification, but shows they can be used as data-derived acoustic indices capturing species richness #Ornithology 🌎🧪🪶📊 doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

the relative longitudinal consistency is fascinating

#ZeugmaAlert the very rare three noun zeugma I love it

Such an impressive compilation of data from tracked birds across (most of) the global range and diversity of Whimbrel in this new collaborative paper in Ibis: look at the map - so many major transoceanic movements onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...