Poster for the Ontario Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution Colloquium registration which closes April 10. OE3C is at Brock University from April 30 - May 2. This is your last chance to register!

Registration for Ontario #Ecology, #Ethology, and #Evolution Colloquium closes TOMORROW, April 10th! #OE3C Plenaries from Drs. Jesse Popp, Nancy Chen & Mélanie Guigueno! CCOVI tour and #wineTasting #workshops #GuidedHikes #PhotoContest + more! @brocku.ca

Attention all artists! We are doing an art gallery at Brock for OE3C this year. If you are interested in displaying your art from April 30th to May 2nd to promote your work, email oe3c@gmail.com.

Join us here at @laurentianu.bsky.social as we rebuild our ecology/evolution group.

We are hiring an assistant professor in animal ecology

Working with me is a treat, so that's a bonus not mentioned in the ad.

laurentian.ca/about/career...

Reminder for people interested in attending this year's OE3C conference at Brock University. Share with your grad and undergrad students studying behaviour, ecology, evolution. Come to Niagara! Come for the talks, stay for the wine!

www.oe3c.ca

Ah learnings, you know it must be good because it's plural. Double the learning!

OE3C 2026 Photography Contest 📸

If you’re attending OE3C 2026 and enjoy taking pictures as you coexist within nature, you’re encouraged to participate in our Photography Contest!

Enter for a chance to display your skills and win a prize pack full of fun nature-themed goodies.

In early spring, #ResearchRoundup highlights a dataset on Blue-spotted Salamanders, which begin migrating despite sub-zero body temperatures. Explore this dataset by @tattersallg.bsky.social and @giacometti.bsky.social from @brocku.ca here: doi.org/10.5683/SP3/...

It’s half third year and half fourth year students.

Do you have an advert? I could share with animal behaviour students here. Or i could post a text announcement to my course website

no that is gen Ai image. Our dean is a strong advocate for gen Ai use though, and I think this is more ethical way to promote pi day than dragging a goat to campus.

Congratulations, Dr. Denommé Stauder!

I am really proud to congratulate Dr. Melanie Denommé Stauder for her successful PhD Defence! The thesis entitled "Analyzing common husbandry practises and potential indicators of welfare in Pogona vitticeps" was defended today in front of her examining…

Assistant Professor-Department of Biology (Zoologist) Assistant Professor-Department of Biology (Zoologist)

New Faculty Positions opening up at Wilfrid Laurier University!
Integrative Organismal Zoologist:
careers.wlu.ca/job/Waterloo...

Microbial Systems:
careers.wlu.ca/job/Waterloo...

Computational Ecology/Modelling Biologist:
careers.wlu.ca/job/Waterloo...

Biochemistry:
careers.wlu.ca/job/Waterloo...

Why leave the water if you are a fish?

Despite being a major event in early tetrapod evolution, many living fish species occasionally leave water, but the reasons are not always obvious. Some do it to feed, some to escape predation, and some to cope with poor water quality, although rarely for…

Ottawa seeks to attract grad students from abroad Immigration Department advertises option for families to come to Canada as figures show steep decline in international students

"Look, we know we told you all loudly and repeatedly to fuck off for two years, and talked down Canadian institutions as being low-quality for the same space of time, but that's all behind us, please won't you come?"

- A government that can't think more than one news cycle ahead

🚨 New paper!

We show that even short-term, gentle handling changes skin temperature and activity in salamanders, with implications for thermal physiology research and animal welfare. 🌡️🔥

doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

@tattersallg.bsky.social @melaniedscientist.bsky.social @thermal-biology.bsky.social

Handle with care: when measuring temperature changes the temperature Measuring body temperature should seem straightforward, but in ectotherms, the act of measuring can be part of the problem. For especially small amphibians in particular, common approaches like cloacal thermometry require restraint and direct contact, raising the possibility that handling itself alters body temperature before it is even recorded. In this study, we asked a simple but important question: does brief, gentle handling measurably change the body temperature of salamanders?

Handle with care: when measuring temperature changes the temperature

Measuring body temperature should seem straightforward, but in ectotherms, the act of measuring can be part of the problem. For especially small amphibians in particular, common approaches like cloacal thermometry require…

I said something similar at a hibernation meeting in 2014 and nearly got taken outside and thrashed.

Award season in the lab

A lot of news has happened in the past month and I have been negligent about updating. All lab members have had awards, scholarships, and bursary announcements that warrant celebration! • Melane Denommé Stauder (PhD student) will be receiving the Jack Miller Graduate Award…

⭐EDITOR'S CHOICE⭐
Operative temperatures of Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) reveal a Goldilocks effect for habitat use
harrykumbhani.bsky.social et al., including Dr. Glenn Tattersall and
Dr. Danilo Giacometti (he/him) 🇧🇷🇨🇦

https://ow.ly/vhwz50XWN0C
#FreeAccess while featured!

Stay tuned this January and February as we explore the Journal of Thermal Biology's most interesting hibernation
publications in this limited series ❄️

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and please complete your mandatory e-learning by 31 December.

Supercool interview with NPR Danilo Giacometti was interviewed by NPR a couple of weeks ago about our blue-spotted salamander paper in CJZ. Check it out here: And next spring, see if you can find salamanders migrating over snow.

Supercool interview with NPR

Danilo Giacometti was interviewed by NPR a couple of weeks ago about our blue-spotted salamander paper in CJZ. Check it out here: And next spring, see if you can find salamanders migrating over snow.

Try Before You Buy: How Experience Shapes What Bearded Dragons Prefer A recent paper from the lab, led by PhD student Melanie Denommé, examines a foundational assumption in reptile husbandry: that animals will inherently prefer naturalistic enclosures over simpler, more utilitarian ones. Using bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) as a model species, Melanie conducted preference tests in which lizards were given free choice between naturalistic and standard enclosure styles (Figure 1).

Try Before You Buy: How Experience Shapes What Bearded Dragons Prefer

A recent paper from the lab, led by PhD student Melanie Denommé, examines a foundational assumption in reptile husbandry: that animals will inherently prefer naturalistic enclosures over simpler, more utilitarian ones. Using…

Too Hot, Too Cold, Just Right: The Goldilocks Effect in Garter Snake Habitat Use

Our new paper, led by MSc student Harry Kumbhani and building on fieldwork conducted by former MSc student Curtis Abney, explores how Eastern Garter Snakes (Figure 1) navigate the complex thermal landscapes of…

Oxytocin Neurons and the Rhythm of Warmth and Wakefulness

A new study led by Morgane Vandendoren, Nicole Bedford, and others from Adam Nelson's lab at the University of Wyoming has uncovered a new role for oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone.” Published in eLife, the research shows that oxytocin…

It’s spotted salamander month in the @jexpbiol.bsky.social calendar!

Taxonomic chauvinism Research in ecology and behaviour is dominated by studies on birds and mammals, and scientists who work on less ‘popular’ organisms (such as amphibian…

pretty much anybody working with amphibs & reptiles is used to this reason for rejection, desperately hoping their study animal can grow wings or fur. :)

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exaggeration Through Sexual Selection May Impact the Thermal Biology of Arthropods Synopsis. Sexual selection is often invoked to explain the evolution of extravagant morphologies, such as antlers and horns. While the focus is typically o

🚨 New paper in ICB! 🚨

We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding ponds while snow still blankets the ground and ice lingers on and in the soil. This is a risky strategy for a species that can’t survive freezing. Our recent Natural History note…

Supercool Survival Strategies of Blue-Spotted Salamanders

In the cold, temperate forests, long before spring fully arrives, blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are already on the move. These small amphibians begin migrating to their breeding ponds while snow still blankets the ground and…