Katie O'Reilly

Alternatively: Why you should give a carp about the recent news that juvenile invasive carp have been found closer to Lake Michigan and the stop-work order on the Brandon Road barrier. Thanks to @wttw.bsky.social for the opportunity to talk about this important issue! news.wttw.com/2026/08/19/e...

New extension position in urban and community forestry at the University of Illinois: illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree.... Short notice, as it closes November 9th - happy to answer questions about the position, department, and Urbana-Champaign.

The seasons are changing, the water is cooling, and the lookdowns are back in town #lookdown #elegantoddball #shiny #coralcitycamera

It's time for another #sundayfishsketch as I continue to box off the last few additions to my A-Z of sharks.

your moment of sea otter

First #SundayFishSketch in a while bc I've been thinking a lot about Snuffleupagus 🐡🦑

I was hoping to get this chap finished by today but it didn't happen. It'll be finished soon enough ❤️🦀 #SundayFishSketch #SciArt #NatureArt #naturalhistory #art

#SundayFishSketch this week is some first experimentations with linocutting. I’ve been wanting to try it for ages and finally picked up the necessary stuff at my local art supply store. I started small to not waste while I learn but I think that made it harder oops

Played around with watercolor pencils for this week’s #SundayFishSketch. Golden shiner for my continued “draw all the Kansas fish” project.

The final head-on sketches of Wisconsin fishes. Now I'm going to have to find new topics.... Or sketch dorsal fins? #SundayFishSketch

Is it an eel? A slimy rope? No, it's a caecilian! This weird amphibian is limbless with limited eyesight—and shocked scientists when they were found in Miami canals, far from their native river basins of Venezuela and Colombia.

I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

spectacular if anyone is now inspired to draw the 72 different species of fish that swim in the Cuyahoga River

Every year, Research!America does a poll that asks, "Can you name a living scientist?" In January 2026, 76% of respondents said "no." Of those who said "yes," 5% named a scientist who was, in fact, dead. www.researchamerica.org/blog/can-you...

Can you tell invasive carps apart? Swipe for some ID clues on Grass, Black, Silver & Bighead Carp. Think you’ve seen one? Snap a photo, note the location & report it at EDDMapS.org. Learn more at InvasiveCarp.ca #InvasiveCarp #GreatLakes

We have both in the freshwater, tidal portion of the Delaware River. I assume our PFAS levels are beyond detection and fairly high just knowing the legacy contamination/historic industrial use of our waterfront.😬

I don’t want to even know what the PFAS level is in Manoomin in my region is😬 PASG is funding research looking at PFAS in northern snakehead, should be finishing up soon! seagrant.psu.edu/research/pro...

A new study detected PFAS in Manoomin (wild rice) across the #GreatLakes region - while levels were low and unlikely to pose consumption risks, it highlights potential exposure pathways for harvesters and can help to inform tribal food sovereignty initiatives www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

you know you were thinking it

With lake whitefish numbers majorly down in Lakes Michigan and Huron, researchers are studying if river spawning runs could be reestablished to increase juvenile survival. As part of the study, Michigan DNR is asking anglers to release any tagged whitefish they catch www.woodtv.com/news/muskego...

me, working from Toledo while taking care of mom recovering from surgery: this is fine

Join me, won't you, for the case of the dead sturgeon. seagrant.wisc.edu/dead-sturgeon/ #GreatLakes

For the discerning fish biologist in your life! Or women (or men) everywhere who want fish! Consider this fetching gyotaku print hat from my etsy shop. www.etsy.com/listing/4599...

This is the cutest air mail logo 🥹

Some incredible reef mantas of Kume Island

New episode of #AskDrFish dropped today. We talk spooky season. (Chain rattle, chain rattle) www.askdrfish.com/15

BEWARE OF SWAMP MONSTER Aka a Snapping Turtle #SpookyNature #SpookySeason #herps 🌿

Starter home in an up-and-coming neighborhood, just needs a little TLC* *tender loving chewing

Now Accepting Career Award Submissions and Nominations! SFS Career Awards celebrate excellence in our community — from research to service, leadership, early-career achievements, and environmental stewardship. Nominate a colleague today: www.freshwater-science.org/programs-/ca...

Flathead Lake : Keep It Pink.

My Emerald Bowfin print is finally in my Etsy shop. Make sure to tell everyone you know. etsy.com/shop/chinookdesign If you're in the Chicago area, skip etsy and get it direct from me for $10 less (because I don't have to pay for postage and fees). No AI was used in the creation of this art.

various local catfish #fish #ichthyology #art #digitalart #marinebio

Southern blue devils

Another older Halloween comic. I lost the old file so I recently had to redraw it, and I had a lot of fun revisiting this.

#SundayFishSketch 👻🐟

I've not done a #sundayfishsketch for a while, or any fish sketch for that matter. But I started an A-Z of sharks a while ago am I'm determined to get it finished now. Today I did "T". It had to be the Tiger Shark. #sharks

#SundayFishSketch 🐠🐟And the series is now complete! Here is a selection of 21 pycnodont fish, showing their diversity through time Species in the Alt text #paleoart

A quick little Mooneye for #SundayFishSketch

Chubs^4 Quick watercolor sketches for “draw all the Kansas fish” self-imposed project. #SundayFishSketch #watercolor #fishart

#Artober day 6 - fish (Giant snakehead) #art #stars #celestial

This is for an aquatic extension agent stationed in West Alabama - beautiful country! Here is another link if the one below doesn't work: jobs-auburn.icims.com/jobs/10637/a...

We have a new paper in @iaglr.bsky.social on how the #GreatLakes research community could benefit from a coordinated basin-wide mesocosm network. A link between fieldwork/lab experiments, mesocosms could help us understand environmental variation across the basin authors.elsevier.com/c/1nxaV1MRgT...

With tinned fish all the rage, a Michigan company is highlighting #GreatLakes fisheries by selling tinned smoked whitefish from Lake Superior www.woodtv.com/news/grand-r...

New @pnas.org paper coauthored by Cary’s @jane-lucas-phd.bsky.social finds that elephants shape ecosystems even after death. Their carcasses flood soils with nutrients, suppress plant + microbe diversity, and increase microbe + herbivore activity for 7+ years www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1...

Wild rice can look like just another emergent aquatic plant. But if you trace its many connections, you'll find that almost everything is connected to it. The birds, fishes, food webs, Indigenous cultures - even history. Manoomin is a "Great Connector." 🌾👇 tnature.substack.com/p/the-great-...

no gods, no masters