Alex Slavenko
@alexsla.bsky.social
Zoologist & ecologist
Obsessed with herps, birds, and PNG
Doing ecological modelling for a living and still shocked by that
Obsessed with herps, birds, and PNG
Doing ecological modelling for a living and still shocked by that
Pinned
Alex Slavenko
@alexsla.bsky.social
· Apr 15
New species alert!
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
Reposted by Alex Slavenko
Excited to announce that the 1st paper from my postdoc is now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social ! Using a large dataset of 3D preserved fossils, we explore the diversification of jaws in early bony fishes. 1/15
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Macroevolutionary role reversals in the earliest radiation of bony fishes
Troyer et al. examine lower jaw evolution in Silurian-Devonian bony fishes and find
substantial differences in patterns of morphological disparity, rates of shape evolution,
and functional diversity b...
www.cell.com
September 1, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Excited to announce that the 1st paper from my postdoc is now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social ! Using a large dataset of 3D preserved fossils, we explore the diversification of jaws in early bony fishes. 1/15
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🌏
A recent paper claims, opposed to what conservation science has known for decades, that there is no evidence that foxes and cats were a major driver of Australia's mammal extinctions. Turns out there are quite a few issues here. Strap in for a looong thread 🧪
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia's endemic mammals
Abstract. Over half of Australia's threatened and extinct endemic mammal species have been attributed to introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and cats (Fel
academic.oup.com
April 28, 2025 at 2:03 AM
🌏
A recent paper claims, opposed to what conservation science has known for decades, that there is no evidence that foxes and cats were a major driver of Australia's mammal extinctions. Turns out there are quite a few issues here. Strap in for a looong thread 🧪
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia's endemic mammals
Abstract. Over half of Australia's threatened and extinct endemic mammal species have been attributed to introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and cats (Fel
academic.oup.com
April 17, 2025 at 2:13 AM
A recent paper claims, opposed to what conservation science has known for decades, that there is no evidence that foxes and cats were a major driver of Australia's mammal extinctions. Turns out there are quite a few issues here. Strap in for a looong thread 🧪
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
New species alert!
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
April 15, 2025 at 4:51 AM
New species alert!
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
🦎🧪
We (myself, Glenn Shea, Stephen Richards and Paul Oliver) just published a description of a fantastic new species of Prasinohaema from New Guinea. A short thread:
Reposted by Alex Slavenko
I want to summarize the results of this preprint for the public because I think they're significant. Please keep in mind that the paper has not yet been through peer review.
This is a genetic analysis H5N1 2.3.4.4b, the new bird flu strain everyone's talking about.
🧪🧵 1/6
This is a genetic analysis H5N1 2.3.4.4b, the new bird flu strain everyone's talking about.
🧪🧵 1/6
Really excited to share that my postdoctoral work on HPAI in North America is now preprinted! Please feel free to reach out with any feedback and thoughts! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Intensive transmission in wild, migratory birds drove rapid geographic dissemination and repeated spillovers of H5N1 into agriculture in North America
Since late 2021, a panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus has driven significant morbidity and mortality in wild birds, domestic poultry, and mammals. In North America, infections i...
www.biorxiv.org
January 8, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I want to summarize the results of this preprint for the public because I think they're significant. Please keep in mind that the paper has not yet been through peer review.
This is a genetic analysis H5N1 2.3.4.4b, the new bird flu strain everyone's talking about.
🧪🧵 1/6
This is a genetic analysis H5N1 2.3.4.4b, the new bird flu strain everyone's talking about.
🧪🧵 1/6
🧪
I'm very happy to announce I just published a paper from my post doc with Gavin Thomas in @natureecoevo.bsky.social! So if you're interested in #macroevolution, #phylogenetics and sexual size dimorphism (SSD), strap in
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in tetrapods is driven by varying patterns of sex-specific selection on size - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A phylogenetic comparative analysis of male and female body size across tetrapods globally shows that directional change in size is usually greater in males but reveals different underlying mechanisms...
doi.org
December 24, 2024 at 7:03 PM
🧪
I'm very happy to announce I just published a paper from my post doc with Gavin Thomas in @natureecoevo.bsky.social! So if you're interested in #macroevolution, #phylogenetics and sexual size dimorphism (SSD), strap in
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in tetrapods is driven by varying patterns of sex-specific selection on size - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A phylogenetic comparative analysis of male and female body size across tetrapods globally shows that directional change in size is usually greater in males but reveals different underlying mechanisms...
doi.org
December 23, 2024 at 11:06 PM
I'm very happy to announce I just published a paper from my post doc with Gavin Thomas in @natureecoevo.bsky.social! So if you're interested in #macroevolution, #phylogenetics and sexual size dimorphism (SSD), strap in
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
@callanalexander.bsky.social on birds in vineyards - heaps of native birds present, and using a cool combination of supervised and unsupervised machine learning models to overcome false positive issues in AI detection of bird calls
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 12, 2024 at 3:08 AM
@callanalexander.bsky.social on birds in vineyards - heaps of native birds present, and using a cool combination of supervised and unsupervised machine learning models to overcome false positive issues in AI detection of bird calls
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
Reposted by Alex Slavenko
Now at #ESAus2024 Paul Sunnocks is reflecting on how ecology and genetics are closely entwined in #conservation🌏 science.
Genetic traits drive demography of populations.
Things that increase extinction risk:
- inbreeding depression
- loss of useful function
- reduced adaptability
Genetic traits drive demography of populations.
Things that increase extinction risk:
- inbreeding depression
- loss of useful function
- reduced adaptability
December 11, 2024 at 10:45 PM
Now at #ESAus2024 Paul Sunnocks is reflecting on how ecology and genetics are closely entwined in #conservation🌏 science.
Genetic traits drive demography of populations.
Things that increase extinction risk:
- inbreeding depression
- loss of useful function
- reduced adaptability
Genetic traits drive demography of populations.
Things that increase extinction risk:
- inbreeding depression
- loss of useful function
- reduced adaptability
Mike Kearney showing how to determine which koala traits are functional based on theory around heat exchange
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 10, 2024 at 11:44 PM
Mike Kearney showing how to determine which koala traits are functional based on theory around heat exchange
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
Awesome research showing that employing "teacher toads" right before a cane toad invasion can teach taste aversion to goannas, allowing them to persist in the landscape once the actual invasion front arrives
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 10:36 PM
Awesome research showing that employing "teacher toads" right before a cane toad invasion can teach taste aversion to goannas, allowing them to persist in the landscape once the actual invasion front arrives
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
There are many ways to make your code reproducible! Here are some by @daxkellie.bsky.social that I wasn't aware of to keep track of package versions in your R project (yikes)
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 5:43 AM
There are many ways to make your code reproducible! Here are some by @daxkellie.bsky.social that I wasn't aware of to keep track of package versions in your R project (yikes)
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
@julesfarquhar.bsky.social getting an extraordinary amount of data from snake call outs, snake catchers sitting on heaps of high quality data
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 5:07 AM
@julesfarquhar.bsky.social getting an extraordinary amount of data from snake call outs, snake catchers sitting on heaps of high quality data
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
The dire state of Australian frogs by Geoffrey Heard
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 3:52 AM
The dire state of Australian frogs by Geoffrey Heard
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
Important reminder by @chapplelab.bsky.social - data deficient / not evaluated species should be treated the same as threatened, and they are more likely to be threatened than not
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 12:41 AM
Important reminder by @chapplelab.bsky.social - data deficient / not evaluated species should be treated the same as threatened, and they are more likely to be threatened than not
#ESAus2024
#ESAus2024
Loving the puns by @meg-shaw.bsky.social #ESAus2024
December 9, 2024 at 12:08 AM
Loving the puns by @meg-shaw.bsky.social #ESAus2024
It's been a while since I've been active here, but what better way to return than with an awesome conference? Come find me next week at #ESAus2024 or stay tuned for my general impressions of the state of Australian ecology (probably very impressed)
December 6, 2024 at 1:18 AM
It's been a while since I've been active here, but what better way to return than with an awesome conference? Come find me next week at #ESAus2024 or stay tuned for my general impressions of the state of Australian ecology (probably very impressed)
Reposted by Alex Slavenko
These two pics were the most viral thing I ever posted to Twitter, so in the interest of reposting our bangers, here is my turtle Stu, whom I “rescued” from the local grocery store.
November 24, 2024 at 6:43 PM
These two pics were the most viral thing I ever posted to Twitter, so in the interest of reposting our bangers, here is my turtle Stu, whom I “rescued” from the local grocery store.
Proud member of squid cluster
SQUID CLUSTER RISE UP
SQUID CLUSTER
August 8, 2023 at 1:04 PM
Proud member of squid cluster
Five years ago I was in Hawaii with a good camera. Neither of these is true anymore, but I miss those days. So here's a photo of an 'I'iwi from back then, because these are amazing birds 🪶
August 4, 2023 at 4:11 AM
Five years ago I was in Hawaii with a good camera. Neither of these is true anymore, but I miss those days. So here's a photo of an 'I'iwi from back then, because these are amazing birds 🪶
Adding some #herps to my feed, with this Manapany day gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata) from Réunion
July 27, 2023 at 3:54 AM
Adding some #herps to my feed, with this Manapany day gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata) from Réunion
My first post on this app, so naturally reposting a lizard
July 27, 2023 at 3:37 AM
My first post on this app, so naturally reposting a lizard