Mark Westneat 🐟
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mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟
@mwestneat.bsky.social
2.1K followers 600 following 170 posts

Biologist at UChicago interested in biomechanics, phylogenetics and evolution, structure and function, marine biodiversity and conservation, fishes of coral reefs and freshwaters

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Environmental science 51%
Geography 14%
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mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · 3d
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 πŸ§ͺπŸŒΏπŸ¦‰
#Biomechanics #AerialFishes

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Biomechanics of raptorial dorsiflexion and tensile material properties of the m. tibialis cranialis tendon in the hindlimbs of hawks and owls
Summary: Skeletal morphology and tendon tensile properties of raptorial bird hindlimbs yield insight into prey capture capabilities, with surprisingly elastic tendon modulus values compared with mamma...
journals.biologists.com

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat, FabiΓ‘n Muniesa, Anders Nilsson , and 3 more

merriam-webster.com
Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com Β· Nov 19
Autocorrect has become our worst enema.

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Nov 19
We are doing a food drive across multiple Departments and programs at UChicago. Our box in Culver Hall for Organismal Biology and Anatomy is now greatly overflowing πŸ€™ To the food pantries soon!
A box of food donations for local food pantries in south Chicago

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Mark W. Westneat, Trevor A. Branch , and 1 more

ljrissler.bsky.social
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social Β· Nov 13
NSF is open again!

A few comments:

*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.

*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.

*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Oct 31
Happy Halloween! We are THE haunted Harper Ave block in Hyde Park, and will serve candy to thousands of South Side Chicago kids tonight! I have a bunch of cool skulls out in the yard but the baseball graveyard is the most popular. πŸ˜†
Halloween graveyard with Cubs playoff hopes and White Sox whole season deeply grieved.

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Oct 17
Seems like the L flag was bad luck. Brewers are now 0-3 after using it to celebrate their opponents loss. Oops.

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

sicbjournals.bsky.social
SICB journals @sicbjournals.bsky.social Β· Oct 15
ICB
From the Evan's lab!
Developmental and Functional Interactions Structure Patterns of Variational #Modularity in the Lunar #Wrasse Skull
by
Hugi,& @sternarchella.bsky.social et al

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Evans lab
koryevans.weebly.com/people.html
Fig. 3 Modularity hypotheses for cranial bones of Thalassoma lunare. Each color represents a different module. The operculum represents the preopercular/opercular series. See Table 1 for a description of the functional and developmental patterns that underly each hypothesis.

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

linnealungstrom.bsky.social
Linnea Lungstrom @linnealungstrom.bsky.social Β· Oct 12
Our killer team of @mfarjo.bsky.social, Ryan Isdonas, Andrew George, and @mwestneat.bsky.social found:
🐠head/body shapes are related to diet
🐠fishes have pairs of high/low aspect ratio propulsive fins (caudal/pectoral)
🐠caudal fins have the highest evolutionary rates & covary with body/pectoral fins

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Oct 12
So excited to see our paper on #phylogenetics and #morphometrics integrated with feeding #ecology in the surgeonfishes by @linnealungstrom.bsky.social get posted, her first in a series on their incredibly cool biology. πŸŸπŸ¦‘πŸ§ͺ🌎🌿
linnealungstrom.bsky.social Linnea Lungstrom @linnealungstrom.bsky.social Β· Oct 11
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...
Phylogenetic relationships and the evolution of fin and body shape in the surgeonfishes
Patterns of evolutionary change in the fin and body shapes of fishes are strongly related to dietary ecology and locomotor mechanisms, and associations between shapes affects ecomorphological relation...
www.biorxiv.org

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

linnealungstrom.bsky.social
Linnea Lungstrom @linnealungstrom.bsky.social Β· Oct 11
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...
Phylogenetic relationships and the evolution of fin and body shape in the surgeonfishes
Patterns of evolutionary change in the fin and body shapes of fishes are strongly related to dietary ecology and locomotor mechanisms, and associations between shapes affects ecomorphological relation...
www.biorxiv.org

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Oct 7
Seems worth noting this award in light of the present circumstances. Get the troops out of our fair city please, perhaps after they enjoy a great Malnati’s pizza!
Headline photo of Chicago skyline with note about award for being the best big city.

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

danielbolnick.bsky.social
Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social Β· Sep 27
Science news article about 2nd year grad students being unceremoniously dropped from the GRFP eligibility with no explanation or warning:
www.science.org/content/arti...
β€˜Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry
The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded
www.science.org

Reposted by Kelly R. Zamudio, Mark W. Westneat, John R. Hutchinson

jessicalwarelab.bsky.social
Dr. Jessica L Ware @jessicalwarelab.bsky.social Β· Sep 26
Join us! We are hiring a new #curator at the #AMNH in #Vertebrate #Zoology careers.amnh.org/postings/4600 #academicjobs #tenuretrack
Assistant Curator, Vertebrate Zoology
The Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) seeks an Assistant Curator in either the Department of Ornithology, Ichthyology, or Mammalogy to start on or after J...
careers.amnh.org

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat, Vincent Raoult

whysharksmatter.bsky.social
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Sep 11
Drone observations reveal white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) dorsal fins are highly flexible and possible investigatory structures

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

πŸ§ͺπŸŒŽπŸ¦‘πŸ¦ˆπŸ 
Drone observations reveal white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) dorsal fins are highly flexible and possible investigatory structures
Drones are becoming increasingly useful in their ability to observe wildlife. They have been especially useful in documenting marine animals such as sharks. Here we present novel aerial drone observa....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Mark W. Westneat, Jesse M. Alston

meganbarkdull.bsky.social
Megan Barkdull @meganbarkdull.bsky.social Β· Sep 8
While full solicitation isn’t up, looks like we have 2025 proposal deadlines for the GRFP: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Sep 3
It’s a start, congrats to our Harvard colleagues!

www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/p...
Harvard wins an important case

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat, Rosemary A. Joyce, C. Kirabo Jackson , and 2 more

govpritzker.illinois.gov
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov Β· Sep 2
I'm aware that the President likes to go on television and beg me to call him to ask for troops.

I find it strange, as Chicago doesn't want troops.

I also have experience asking him for assistance – just to have the rug pulled up from underneath me when execution meets reality.

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat, John R. Hutchinson

jmhuie.bsky.social
Jonathan Huie, PhD @jmhuie.bsky.social Β· Aug 28
Excited to share the first paper from my PhD!

We looked at what traits help Aneides salamanders excel at climbing using museum specimens, CT scans, SEM, and more! No claws or toe pads, so how do they do it? In short, with long limbs, big feet and grippy toes! 🦎πŸ§ͺ

DM for PDF

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Phylogeny of Aneides and Plethodon with animal photos Phylomorphospace showing body shape variation Morphospace of toe bones and box lots showing estimated gripping force Representative SEM images of salamander feet

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

nancyknowlton.bsky.social
Nancy Knowlton @nancyknowlton.bsky.social Β· Aug 28
#OceanOptimism newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...
Philippines Declares New MPA in Biodiversity-Rich Siquijor Waters
New York, NY, August 13, 2025β€”In a historic milestone nearly 18 years in the making, the Philippines has officially designated Bitaug Marine Protected Area (MPA), now the largest MPA in Siquijor and c...
newsroom.wcs.org

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Aug 27
Great, thanks for using it!

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Aug 27
Ever wonder how the axial locomotor system is arranged into segmented myomeres of red and white muscle in a large pelagic surgeonfish? Well, now you know! 🐟πŸ§ͺπŸ¦‘
Red and white fish muscle with bright white tendons

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat

czobek.bsky.social
Christopher Zobek @czobek.bsky.social Β· Aug 26
I’m proud to announce my first first-author paper of my Ph.D! We described and modeled the muscle architecture of a pangolin’s tongue using DiceCT and 3D modeling approaches. Each model is available on the Holliday lab Sketchfab.

academic.oup.com/icb/advance-...

sketchfab.com/holliday/col...
3D Muscle Architecture of the Tongue of the White-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) Reveals a Muscular Hydrostat
Synopsis. The tongues of pangolins are among the more derived of other mammalian ant-eating specialists, extending nearly a body length to capture food. Pa
academic.oup.com

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Aug 26
Naso! Great genus of surgeonfishes, sporting the vicious cutting scalpel blades at the base of their tail. Here is a better color photo of that bignose where you can see the tail blades.
πŸŸπŸ¦‘πŸ§ͺ🌎
A bignose unicornfish, dark fish with yellowish fin edges, vertical bars on the body, and double scalpel blades at the base of the tail.

mwestneat.bsky.social
Mark Westneat 🐟 @mwestneat.bsky.social · Aug 26
Bignose Unicornfish! Yep, Naso vlamingii, a very nice specimen for our research, collected with permit. They have 2 wicked sharp scalpel blades on each side of their tail base, but are they venomous? We will know soon!
πŸŸπŸ¦‘πŸŒΏπŸ§ͺ🌎

Reposted by Mark W. Westneat