New preprint led by grad student Caleb Charpentier that I'm very excited about! This is a hefty review & perspective on how we can close the gap in trust between new "Deep comparative methods", and the biological meaning & inferences that systematists want.
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Another long-time project is out now! I scanned these specimens for @sdbnorcal.bsky.social during my Postdoc @calacademy.bsky.social! Stan & @kaithefishguy.bsky.social led this description of a new deepwater species of Butterflyfish from Mozambique. doi.org/10.1643/i202...

I feel like I’m going to throw up

This excellent website allows you to scroll down into the deep sea and get a better feeling for how profoundly deep it is. And what lives where.
neal.fun/deep-sea/

Unbelievably! excited that the first chapter of my dissertation is PUBLISHED in EVOLUTION!! I am incredibly proud of the work and my amazing coauthors!

Special shoutout to my undergrad mentee and collaborator Ryan Isdonas! He’s fantastic, and it’s such a privilege to get to publish alongside him!

Congrats to #SICB er

@sicb-dpcb.bsky.social awardee of the

Wake Award for Best student talk (tie):
Linnea Lungstrom

for work on

#Phylogenetic relationships and the #evolution of fin and body shape in the #surgeonfishes

learn more about Linnea's work:

linnealungstrom.weebly.com

Huge congrats to Lindsey DeHaan on receiving the Stoye Award for best student presentation in ichthyology at #JMIH26 in New Orleans! Lindsey presented work on macroevolutionary shifts in spiny eels, representing one of her dissertation chapters. 📸: @leicurtis.bsky.social

There were more people at the DNR Fish Pond at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair (as there should be)!

Their Reflecting Pool was much clearer too…AND HAD GAR 😎👍

Oh, look. A proper reflecting pond.

THRILLED to have won the @sicb-dpcb.bsky.social Wake Award for best student talk at @sicb.bsky.social 2026 alongside my dear friend @mennajones.bsky.social. What an honor not only be recognized but to have been among such supportive scientists conducting incredible research! sicb.org/sicb-news/co...

Honored to have been awarded the Wake Award for best student talk at this year’s SICB meeting (alongside the brilliant @linnealungstrom.bsky.social)! Already looking forward to the 2027 meeting and hearing about more cool research @sicb.bsky.social @sicb-dpcb.bsky.social 🐸🙌
sicb.org/sicb-news/co...

They are never, ever going to win in Minnesota.

Minnesota Schools:

“The 5th graders are signing their names on this card, and asked us if we wanted to sign too. It’s to stop the bad ICE. They might even send it to the president!”

~my first grade daughter last night at dinner; we try to shield our kids, but they know something’s not right 😢

New @jexpbiol.bsky.social paper alert! The grips of hawks and owls on their often struggling prey are strong! Check out our new paper led by Alex Clark and with @linnealungstrom.bsky.social. Alex with the cover photo 🧪🌿🦉
#Biomechanics #AerialFishes

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

So excited that this paper is out!! Very proud of my molecular biology roots and incredibly thankful for the mentors I share authorship with! This represents some of my very first scientific contributions, and I couldn’t be happier for my younger self and this amazing team! doi.org/10.1038/s414...

No better reason to join Bluesky then to say the first chapter of my PhD is out as a preprint! New surgeonfish phylogeny, ecomorphological relationships, evolutionary shape correlations-with NEW method to accurately account for phylogenetic covariation among shapes!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...