Taya de Blonk

The amount of connections to scientists working in the field of genomics that I'm finding in the Epstein emails is terrifying, disgusting, and sadly unsurprising We need to deeply investigate how much these scientists actually knew, or how much they were involved There need to be consequences

🐸 🐟 Crikey! Wednesday again already, time for my “wind-back Wednesday” post! An absolute cracker of a #Frogfish I think these are incredible, they can take some spotting too amongst the reef! 📍 Philippines, 2010. 📸 Panasonic. 🤿 🌊 #scubadiving #underwaterphotography #wildlifewednesday #marinelife

As we all settle back in at home after an amazing #ssb2026 in Baton Rouge, it seems fitting to share this recent pub from @mbomaaaron.bsky.social where he writes about the utility of taxonomic education. Aaron was a @systbiol.bsky.social mentee and so it is very exciting to see this work of his out!

Washington banned octopus farming in 2024, but a new bill is making its way through the Legislature that would also ban the sale, possession, transport and distribution of farmed octopus. The aim isn't to outlaw the culinary use of octopus, proponents say, but to ensure it is treated humanely.

Frontiers | Spawning patterns and reproductive biology of yellowtail scad (Trachurus novaezelandiae) off south-eastern Australia www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.... 🧪🐠🦑🌎

“What would our world look like if all natural history collections disappeared?” Loved #SSB2026! Organized by @jembrown.bsky.social. Great workshops, talks, panel discussion, and collections tours, plus an awesome social hosted by @prosanta.bsky.social. Great to meet some more fishy folks as well 🐠

Actual botanists don't feel like they need to lie to their neighbors about their jobs.

The great @jembrown.bsky.social closing out #ssb2026 It was a wonderful meeting thanks to the hardwork of Jeremy and funding from @lsu.bsky.social and other sources. Systematic biology is alive and well. Especially proud of all the Global South who attended.

I’m so proud of @lsu.bsky.social Museum of Natural Science and @tropicalbotany.bsky.social Herbarium folks who volunteered for these tours to over 100 folks - I’m sure they won’t forget what they saw behind the scenes. #museums #naturalhistory #ssb2026

The wonderful Emily Graslie talking to the #SSB2026 crowd about the importance of natural history museums. She has an art background and became enamored with the University of Montana natural history collections and created the #brainscoop series.

The American Fisheries Society extends our support to the furloughed fisheries and aquatics professionals affected by the U.S. federal government shutdown. Read our full statement on the shutdown and its impacts on natural resources here fisheries.org/2025/10/afs-...

This week, Alanna talks to Dr. Jessie Kittel, a research scientist at the Blue World Research Institute. Jessie's research using modeling techniques has varied from humpback whales to yellowtail flounder. Jessie is also a 100-ton captain!

Quote of the Day, as found in "Comparative Vertebrate and Human Anatomy: Ecology, Evolution, and Function" pressbooks.palni.org/comparativev... Check it out - looks great! #EndlessFishMostBeautiful

“We are undergoing unprecedented loss of freshwater across the planet.” And need new leadership yesterday. :/ www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

NEMO! (a clownfish) with lil cymothoid isopod friend! Lembeh Photo by Dave Johnson Photography www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4...

Every fish that we catch has a story, some are crazier than others. We caught this unicornfish during a night dive in Okinawa last year. The trip was memorable because we had to end the dive early when North Korea fired a missile in our general direction and we had to take cover

July Editor's Choice article: "Parental care drives the evolution of male reproductive accessory glands across ray-finned fishes" Lucas Eckert, Jessica S Miller, John L Fitzpatrick, Sigal Balshine, Benjamin M Bolker academic.oup.com/evolut/artic... @lucaseckert.bsky.social @bbolker.bsky.social

New paper alert: 42 ecological traits for all 6,000+ valid species of #Neotropical_freshwater_fishes, the most diverse continental vertebrate fauna on Earth. A foundation for future studies on the ecology and conservation of tropical aquatic biodiversity. nature.com/articles/s41...

Hot off the press. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

An (omics) perspective on the evolution of vision in deep-sea fishes reveals exceptional adaptations to life in the extreme Musilova & Cortesi 2025 Functional Ecology besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec... #ichthyology #teamfish neat review of genetics of deep-sea vision in fishes

Pseudojuloides edwardi Quite possibly the most beautiful wrasse in existence

Have you ever seen a juvenile Buffalo Trunkfish (Lactophrys trigonus)? I absolutely love their weird skeleton which forms this bony carapace making their body rigid.

Two new studfish! Thanks to the Sandel Lab for letting me tag along :) www.mapress.com/zt/article/v...

Life in emergent freshwater marshes. For my forthcoming book "PONDS: An Illustrated Guide," Yale University Press, 2026. 🧪🌿🌎 #sciart #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #iNat #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #marshes #freshwater #wetlands

1/11 New #OpenAccess #anglerfish paper in @plosone.org! We combine genomic, mitochondrial, and morphological data to produce the most complete evolutionary hypothesis for anglerfishes! Includes new body shape, habitat analyses, and a new frogfish subfamily) 🦑 doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Black background fish photography are MY NACHOS.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Emerald Bowfin!☘️🐟 From the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, few freshwater fishes are as festive as male bowfins! Their bellies and fins turn bright green during spawning season (right now in parts of their range!)🌎 *Gulf of MEXICO.

It’s true! ~ this lungfish, probably

We granted 8 microgrants totalling £1295! 🥳🥳🥳 Our next funding round will open for applications on 26th May. Thank you to all our donors for making this possible!! 🫶

Oh HELL yeah look at that squid on the cover, beautiful reef squid we LOVE a reef squid in this household

In the process of digitizing the fish prints from Okinawa and the results are stunning

I love the diversity of #fishfaces These are images from a collecting trip to Taiwan in 2006 (the first of three trips I have made to that beautiful island). #ichthyology #fishes #TeamFish

Pair of Florida Gars swim among the cypress trees in the Everglades; we got to walk right alongside them! Our National Parks are incredible and MUST be protected; our federal workers are integral to natural resource conservation!

This little guy is the second Canadian record of the minute nudibranch species Tenellia flavovulta. The first was one I found nearby in 2023. Not the only out-of-range nudibranch I've found here on southern Vancouver Island. #MolluscMonday

Your regular reminder that the US air & water pollution laws passed in the 60s & 70s -- and the elaborate federal bureaucracy created to administer them -- constitute one of the most successful gov't interventions in history. WILDLY successful. The envy of the world.

I just donated to support @misselasmo.bsky.social Minorities in Shark Science, and it’d be great if you’d consider doing that too donate.misselasmo.org/campaign/def...

Trump Administration’s Threats to Dismantle NOAA Are an Attack on Our Safety and Our Economy

For this weeks #SundayFishSketch I'm staying close to home and painted the Shorthead Pirate Perch, Aphredoderus mesotrema. David Starr Jordan first described this in 1877 as a new species of Pirate Perch due to it's intermediate cloachal position. And later determined this was only a juvenile...

Swimming smarter, not harder: fishes exploit habitat heterogeneity to increase locomotor performance Di Santo & Goerig 2025 Cool new commentary that "synthesizes existing research to offer a perspective on how fishes actively exploit complex environments to enhance their locomotor efficiency"

We ichthyologists have lost a legend: obits.csnh.com/william-bill...

A little more light hearted news for your feed. 🐟🦑 "The film delves into the complex relationship between humans and nature, promoting a message of harmonious coexistence between the two: something we hope to echo through this naming." www.bbc.com/news/article...

PhD opportunity: I am looking for a PhD student to study taxonomy and systematics of labrid fishes and other coral reef taxa. Successful applicants will be jointly based at the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum Research Institute.

White House budget proposal may slash NSF funding from 9 billion to 3 billion a year.

2 new studfish species (Fundulus) coming soon! Selecting type series at Bell Museum. Photo by Hugh Gabriel