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marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦
@marcofesta.bsky.social
1.4K followers 250 following 700 posts

🇨🇦🇨🇦 Retired ecology prof in Sherbrooke, Canada. Evidence-based wildlife conservation, mountain ungulates, kangaroos, ice-free fishing. 🇨🇦🇨🇦 elbows up!

Videos
Environmental science 41%
Biology 27%
Posts Replies Media Videos

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 9h
Antivaxxers win another one, and Canadians get to be sick some more. People will die.
luckytran.com Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 13h
UPDATE: Canada has announced that it has lost its measles elimination status.

This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
Canada is currently experiencing a large, multi-jurisdictional outbreak of measles that began in October 2024 with cases in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. While transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status. PAHO's Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

alexandreshields.bsky.social
Alexandre Shields @alexandreshields.bsky.social · 13h
En entrevue à La Presse, François Legault ironise sur la destruction prévue d'habitats essentiels protégés du chevalier cuivré (voir l'extrait). Rappelons que le gouvernement Legault s'opposait à la protection de cette espèce en voie de disparition endémique au Qc: www.ledevoir.com/actualites/e...

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Alan Richardson

luckytran.com
Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 13h
UPDATE: Canada has announced that it has lost its measles elimination status.

This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
Canada is currently experiencing a large, multi-jurisdictional outbreak of measles that began in October 2024 with cases in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. While transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status. PAHO's Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Hansraj Gautam

stephanielking.bsky.social
Stephanie L King @stephanielking.bsky.social · 22h
3 year postdoc funded by @ukri.org NERC on between-group cooperation in the Shark Bay dolphins is now live - please share widely 🙏 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol
University of Bristol Beacon House Queens Road Bristol, BS8 1QU, UK Tel: +44 (0)117 928 9000 Contact us
www.bristol.ac.uk

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

bksandercock.bsky.social
𝙱.𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 @bksandercock.bsky.social · 22h
NINA-Tromsø has an open job search for four research scientist positions working in arctic ecosystems, including freshwater, marine, and vegetation ecology. Application deadline 8 Dec 2025. @ninanatureresearch.bsky.social nina-english.attract.reachmee.com/jobs/83-nina...
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research | NINA Tromsø is recruiting Researchers/Senior Researchers in Arctic Ecology and Environmental Social Science
The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) is aiming to further strengthen our dynamic Arctic research group through recruitment of several researchers/senior researchers within Arctic ecology...
nina-english.attract.reachmee.com

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 1d
Vegetation growth inside exclosures suggests a good spring for kangaroo forage.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

nigelb.bsky.social
NigelBankes @nigelb.bsky.social · 1d
Hooray! The Aussie Juice Media comes to Canada!
Whether you're already familiar with their wonderful satirical takes or not, you shd take a look at this if you have Qs about the claimed benefits of LNG exports from the west coast, or, more generally, build-baby-build legislation.
#abpoli #cdnpoli
Honest Government Ad | Watch out, Canada
YouTube video by thejuicemedia
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Dominique Berteaux, Ryan K. Brook , and 1 more

aerinj.bsky.social
Aerin Jacob, PhD @aerinj.bsky.social · 1d
[8 Nov 2025] Another roundup of #ConservationJobs, mostly in 🇨🇦.

All postings include salary. I am not involved in these positions.

Please share to help others — working to conserve nature is rewarding and needed!

www.linkedin.com/posts/aerinj...

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 2d
For a northern hemisphere type, emus need some getting used to.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

alexandreshields.bsky.social
Alexandre Shields @alexandreshields.bsky.social · 2d
Le budget déposé par le gouvernement Carney est venu confirmer que le Canada continuera d’appuyer le très polluant secteur pétrolier et gazier, même si les scientifiques répètent depuis plusieurs années qu’il faut réduire notre dépendance aux énergies fossiles. www.ledevoir.com/actualites/e...
Le Canada, cancre climatique?
Le gouvernement fédéral soutient des projets chers à l’industrie des énergies fossiles.
www.ledevoir.com

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 3d
Hopping

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Anthony Ricciardi, Kelly R. Zamudio , and 3 more

c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 3d
My ask of any science enthusiasts who tell the story of Rosalind Franklin:
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.

Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 3d
The continuing mismeasure of people makes it to PNAS - and poorly applied genomics will not fix the confounding of family wealth, other environmental variables and genetics. A zombie idea likely popular with far-right types. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Confounding fuels misinterpretation in human genetics | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
The scientific literature has seen a resurgence of interest in genetic influences on human behaviour and socioeconomic outcomes. Such studies face the central difficulty of distinguishing possible causal influences, in particular genetic and non-genetic ...
royalsocietypublishing.org

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 4d
These 2 wombats seemed mad at each other and showed it the way wombats do. By digging.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 4d
Found a corella tree.

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Trevor A. Branch

danielbolnick.bsky.social
Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 4d
I hadnt seen this particular take on this story till now. A minimalist apology. Not impressed.
nationalnews.co.uk/news/shamed-...
Shamed Scientist Apologises For The First Time About The Academic Scandal That Destroyed His Career And Shocked The World
An ecologist who shot to fame after discovering that spiders have human-like personalities has made an emotional apology after being
nationalnews.co.uk

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 5d
Moonrise over the roo study area

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 6d
In 'I can read with my eyes shut', Dr. Seuss suggested a cool kangaroo collar prototype. We make ours with material from Ritchey. The top layer is scraped away with a Dremel tool, exposing a symbol or pattern in the central layer. They are lightweight and long-lasting, especially on females.
We make identification collars for kangaroos (and bighorn sheep and mountain goats) with material from Ritchey tags https://ritcheytags.com/products/1-1-2-engraveable-neck-bands?srsltid=AfmBOorh32oLuOFUBoO0Zp1F2j0kx6uki2XbYo4TMMqDeL000_6xL6d4. They are very resistant and do not fade. On females, they can last for 6-8 years. Males seem to mostly lose them within 1-3 years. Possibly they rip then when fighting, as neck clawing is part of their repertoire. Dr. Seuss: "You might learn a way to earn a few dollars, or how to make doughnuts or kangaroo collars"

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Julia M. Wright, Ryan K. Brook

bhaggart.bsky.social
Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 6d
As a Canadian researcher/academic, it's beyond discouraging that the federal gov't is rolling out the welcome mat for foreign assistant professors, doctoral students and postdocs, while *cutting* domestic research funding and doing nothing to support those of us who are already here, doing the work.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 6d
Tone-deaf federal gov't. Given the 2% cut and 5-year freeze in tri-council budget, are these talented researchers expected to panhandle? Someone should tell the feds that research actually costs money.
avisfavaro.bsky.social Avis Favaro @avisfavaro.bsky.social · 6d
Globe & Mail reports “the budget is expected to include up to $1-billion to attract high-quality talent and researchers from the United States and elsewhere”
So far hospitals and universities have been going it alone….
www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...
@ctvnews-mirror.bsky.social

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

avisfavaro.bsky.social
Avis Favaro @avisfavaro.bsky.social · 6d
Globe & Mail reports “the budget is expected to include up to $1-billion to attract high-quality talent and researchers from the United States and elsewhere”
So far hospitals and universities have been going it alone….
www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...
@ctvnews-mirror.bsky.social

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 7d
Yellow tail black cockatoos often fly over the roo study area, almost always even- numbered flocks: 2, 4, or 6. Beautiful birds.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Jonathan Lenoir, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 7 more

martin-nunez.bsky.social
Martin A. Nuñez @martin-nunez.bsky.social · 7d
a century of glaciers melting 🧪🌐

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Pablo García‐Díaz

danmacnulty.bsky.social
Dan MacNulty @danmacnulty.bsky.social · 7d
🧪Now that the flaws in Ripple et al. (2025) are on record, it’ll be an interesting test of scientific integrity to see if and how that paper is used. This Science letter, for instance, cites Ripple et al. (2025) in calling for strict wolf protection across Europe. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
Some birds construct fancy nests. Masked lapwings are minimalists.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
Surprised that roo 558, at least 16 yrs old, has a pouch young. She weaned 5 young over her lifetime but didn't reproduce last year, possibly to rebuild body reserves. Reproductive senescence in roos stats at about 12 yrs. Male 1361 is 4 and his chances of mating are slim. #LongTerm
Roo 558 was at least 3 years of age when first caught in 2012, so she's at least 16 now. She has ranged in weight from 26 to 30.5 Kg. Male 1361 is showing interest in her but he will likely be chased off by a larger male if 558 comes into estrus.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
Une société formidable qui a beaucoup contribué à la recherche en écologie comportementale et évolution au Québec et ailleurs. J'ai manqué cette rencontre importante car je suis sur le terrain à étudier le comportement des kangourous.
denisreale.bsky.social Denis REALE 🇨🇦 @denisreale.bsky.social · 8d
50eme conférence de la Société Québécoise pour l’Etude Biologique du Comportement (SQEBC). 50 ans de recherches en comportement au Québec. Intéressante table le ronde sur l’histoire et future de la recherche.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
As usual, Canadian gov'ts flaunt their own Endangered Species laws because industry, jobs, clearcuts, blahblahblah. Build an illegal bridge wrecking endangered trout habitat? Slap on the wrist, no fine. But hey, DFO investigated so that's all good. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Construction of bridge in Kananaskis puts threatened trout species at risk, activists say | CBC News
Endangered trout could be significantly impacted after the federal government approved rebuilding a controversial bridge for a logging project in Kananaskis Country, according to a study from a conser...
www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

denisreale.bsky.social
Denis REALE 🇨🇦 @denisreale.bsky.social · 8d
50eme conférence de la Société Québécoise pour l’Etude Biologique du Comportement (SQEBC). 50 ans de recherches en comportement au Québec. Intéressante table le ronde sur l’histoire et future de la recherche.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 9d
We find about half the roos that die, and recover collars. Survival of females aged 3-9 is over 90%, for males it is 75-85%. Declining drastically for roos aged 10+ esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Recovered visual collars of eastern grey kangaroos that died. Survival of adults is high and very stable, especially for females until about 9 years of age. For older females it varies a lot from year to year, between 20 and 90%. For older males it averages about 50%. That is excluding known roadkills, that take about 10% of males and 2-4% of females each year.