Gary Burness
@garyburness.bsky.social
Ecological and Evolutionary Physiologist. Our lab studies animal energetics, mostly birds, sometimes mammals or fish; most recently butterflies too. Trent University (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada).
Webpage: BurnessLab.ca
Webpage: BurnessLab.ca
Reposted by Gary Burness
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Reposted by Gary Burness
Please repost: 🚨Field assistant position 🐧
We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology.
Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology.
Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
January 5, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Please repost: 🚨Field assistant position 🐧
We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology.
Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology.
Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
Reposted by Gary Burness
Bird retina uses anaerobic glycolysis for energy!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Oxygen-free metabolism in the bird inner retina supported by the pecten - Nature
While the photoreceptor outer segments in the bird outer retina have access to oxygen, the inner retina operates under chronic anoxia, supported by anaerobic glycolysis in the retinal neurons.
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Bird retina uses anaerobic glycolysis for energy!!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gary Burness
It’s Penguin Awareness Day which seems like a great excuse to post the greatest ever Wikipedia edit.
January 20, 2026 at 9:37 AM
It’s Penguin Awareness Day which seems like a great excuse to post the greatest ever Wikipedia edit.
Ever wonder why wild turkey choose certain roost trees? Using GPS- tagged birds over multiple years, recent MSc graduate student Kayla Martin showed that tree size is much more important than microclimate @jeffcbowman.bsky.social 🧪
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Wild turkey roost selection is more consistently associated with tree traits than microclimate
Animals must cope with a range of climatic conditions across seasons, and they can accomplish this by selecting habitats that are favourable for thermoregulation. Sheltering from environmental condit...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Ever wonder why wild turkey choose certain roost trees? Using GPS- tagged birds over multiple years, recent MSc graduate student Kayla Martin showed that tree size is much more important than microclimate @jeffcbowman.bsky.social 🧪
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Gary Burness
Darwin speculated that it was energetically costly to be an hermaphrodite. He thought that might explain why they were relatively rare in animals. Our paper out today tested this conjecture for the first time.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Hermaphrodites have lower metabolic rates than gonochores
Abstract. Hermaphroditism, where an individual can reproduce as both male and female, offers some clear reproductive advantages. Simultaneous hermaphroditi
royalsocietypublishing.org
December 11, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Darwin speculated that it was energetically costly to be an hermaphrodite. He thought that might explain why they were relatively rare in animals. Our paper out today tested this conjecture for the first time.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
A nice write-up on the research of former PhD student @tbrownbirds.bsky.social on light attraction in Atlantic puffins fledglings (pufflings!)
www.trentu.ca/news/story/2...
www.trentu.ca/news/story/2...
The Puffin Conundrum: Young Atlantic Puffins Need Darkness, But Are Attracted to Light
New research by Environmental & Life Sciences Ph.D. graduate offers key insight for helping Newfoundland’s beloved provincial bird avoid the risks of getting stranded
www.trentu.ca
December 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
A nice write-up on the research of former PhD student @tbrownbirds.bsky.social on light attraction in Atlantic puffins fledglings (pufflings!)
www.trentu.ca/news/story/2...
www.trentu.ca/news/story/2...
Reposted by Gary Burness
Reposting this - deadline to apply is January 15
The Fudge Lab at Chapman University is recruiting a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the biophysics of hagfish defensive slime deployment. Please repost!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
December 9, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposting this - deadline to apply is January 15
Reposted by Gary Burness
Extreme heat doesn’t just feel exhausting — it ages your body.
A new study shows repeated heatwaves can age you as much as smoking or drinking.
Climate change is literally speeding up our biological clock.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A new study shows repeated heatwaves can age you as much as smoking or drinking.
Climate change is literally speeding up our biological clock.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Repeated heatwaves can age you as much as smoking or drinking
Long-term study suggests that the more heatwaves people are exposed to, the more it accelerates body ageing.
www.nature.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Extreme heat doesn’t just feel exhausting — it ages your body.
A new study shows repeated heatwaves can age you as much as smoking or drinking.
Climate change is literally speeding up our biological clock.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A new study shows repeated heatwaves can age you as much as smoking or drinking.
Climate change is literally speeding up our biological clock.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Gary Burness
Melatonin synchronizes internal processes & is an antioxidant. Scientists found that melatonin supplementation improved egg & sperm production in ALAN-exposed crickets. I don't think the upshot is supplements for bugs but it does show that similar mechanisms are involved in invert responses to ALAN
Dietary melatonin supplementation mitigates the negative effects of artificial light at night in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus
Abstract. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is linked to negative behavioural and physiological consequences in animals. A potential mechanism for these adv
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Melatonin synchronizes internal processes & is an antioxidant. Scientists found that melatonin supplementation improved egg & sperm production in ALAN-exposed crickets. I don't think the upshot is supplements for bugs but it does show that similar mechanisms are involved in invert responses to ALAN
Reposted by Gary Burness
EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us!
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
Employment - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
eeb.utoronto.ca
December 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM
EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us!
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
Reposted by Gary Burness
Not all sexual swellings signal fertility. Some signal strategy. In our new Current Biology paper, we show how gelada females “fake it” during male takeovers—and why it works.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7%7E93QW...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7%7E93QW...
November 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Not all sexual swellings signal fertility. Some signal strategy. In our new Current Biology paper, we show how gelada females “fake it” during male takeovers—and why it works.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7%7E93QW...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7%7E93QW...
Reposted by Gary Burness
ChatGPT fake citations in a 1.6M$ report! Absurdly unprofessional by Deloitte, NL gov't should sue for a full refund. I expect in a few years this too may be seen as 'normal'. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
N.L. asks Deloitte to carry out review after 'incorrect' citations found in $1.6M provincial health plan | CBC News
The Newfoundland and Labrador government says it's been in contact with the private company responsible for a new report meant to guide the province into the future, which was found to contain fake ci...
www.cbc.ca
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
ChatGPT fake citations in a 1.6M$ report! Absurdly unprofessional by Deloitte, NL gov't should sue for a full refund. I expect in a few years this too may be seen as 'normal'. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Gary Burness
The claim "the earth is not sitting on the back of a giant turtle" is not evidence-based because studies have not ruled out the possibility....
U.S. CDC C.D.C. Changes Website to Reflect Kennedy’s Vaccine Skepticism. A previous version denied a link between vaccines and autism. It now echoes the doubts about that conclusion voiced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/h... via @nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The claim "the earth is not sitting on the back of a giant turtle" is not evidence-based because studies have not ruled out the possibility....
Reposted by Gary Burness
Everyone should check out the recently updated CDC webpage on Vaccines and Autism. It's now loaded with blatant anti-vax misinformation. Infuriating, but also totally unsurprising considering who it in charge.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
Autism and Vaccines
Answers to common questions about vaccine safety and autism.
www.cdc.gov
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Everyone should check out the recently updated CDC webpage on Vaccines and Autism. It's now loaded with blatant anti-vax misinformation. Infuriating, but also totally unsurprising considering who it in charge.
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
Reposted by Gary Burness
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
November 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
Reposted by Gary Burness
Please enjoy my cartoon in today's Toronto Star
November 13, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Please enjoy my cartoon in today's Toronto Star
Reposted by Gary Burness
When downy woodpeckers pound wood with their beaks they hold themselves rigid like hammers & grunt like tennis stars to stabilise their core muscles at the moment of impact
@nickantonson.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
@nickantonson.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
November 11, 2025 at 9:18 AM
When downy woodpeckers pound wood with their beaks they hold themselves rigid like hammers & grunt like tennis stars to stabilise their core muscles at the moment of impact
@nickantonson.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
@nickantonson.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Gary Burness
1/13 New paper out! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Historical records across thousands of women showed that mothers with more children had shorter lifespans during a famine, fitting an evolutionary explanation for why we age
@hannahdugdale.bsky.social
@lummaalab.bsky.social
@erikpostma.bsky.social
Historical records across thousands of women showed that mothers with more children had shorter lifespans during a famine, fitting an evolutionary explanation for why we age
@hannahdugdale.bsky.social
@lummaalab.bsky.social
@erikpostma.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 10:57 AM
1/13 New paper out! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Historical records across thousands of women showed that mothers with more children had shorter lifespans during a famine, fitting an evolutionary explanation for why we age
@hannahdugdale.bsky.social
@lummaalab.bsky.social
@erikpostma.bsky.social
Historical records across thousands of women showed that mothers with more children had shorter lifespans during a famine, fitting an evolutionary explanation for why we age
@hannahdugdale.bsky.social
@lummaalab.bsky.social
@erikpostma.bsky.social
Reposted by Gary Burness
We're hiring! Post-doctoral fellow in evolutionary ecology w/focus on ecophysiology.
Uncover why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild birds. Work with @cyanistesnord.bsky.social 👏
Please apply no later than 25 November.
👉 lnkd.in/dkAh9jnc
Uncover why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild birds. Work with @cyanistesnord.bsky.social 👏
Please apply no later than 25 November.
👉 lnkd.in/dkAh9jnc
November 5, 2025 at 7:30 AM
We're hiring! Post-doctoral fellow in evolutionary ecology w/focus on ecophysiology.
Uncover why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild birds. Work with @cyanistesnord.bsky.social 👏
Please apply no later than 25 November.
👉 lnkd.in/dkAh9jnc
Uncover why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild birds. Work with @cyanistesnord.bsky.social 👏
Please apply no later than 25 November.
👉 lnkd.in/dkAh9jnc
Reposted by Gary Burness
Reposted by Gary Burness
The Fudge Lab at Chapman University is recruiting a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the biophysics of hagfish defensive slime deployment. Please repost!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
November 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The Fudge Lab at Chapman University is recruiting a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the biophysics of hagfish defensive slime deployment. Please repost!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
We are looking for new graduate students! Feel free to repost or pass along to prospective students
November 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
We are looking for new graduate students! Feel free to repost or pass along to prospective students
Reposted by Gary Burness
We should be paying more attention to this situation. An online letter has been put together and is being circulated to stop this data from being disclosed. Please sign the online letter here, if you are comfortable: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 4, 2025 at 1:22 PM
We should be paying more attention to this situation. An online letter has been put together and is being circulated to stop this data from being disclosed. Please sign the online letter here, if you are comfortable: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...