James Gilbert
@jdjgilbert.bsky.social
Ok I suppose so. Senior Lecturer Uni of Hull. Late adopter.
james.gilbert at hull.ac.uk | wildecolhull.netlify.app | pollinators.hull.ac.uk | Bees, Insects, ecology, evolution, behaviour
james.gilbert at hull.ac.uk | wildecolhull.netlify.app | pollinators.hull.ac.uk | Bees, Insects, ecology, evolution, behaviour
Good morning #invertzoohull! Ready to start a new term with some glorious weirdness? So am I!
Meet Duobrachium sparksae: a newly described comb jelly that looks like a glowing hot-air balloon drifting just above the deep seafloor. Transparent, delicate, and unmistakably transfixing, it reminds us how much biodiversity is in the deep oceans.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
January 17, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Good morning #invertzoohull! Ready to start a new term with some glorious weirdness? So am I!
Great morning at Hull’s Community Orchard with @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social, sharing with the volunteers some results from the bee project, and getting vital feedback for future projects. This orchard sits on the last remaining common land in Hull. It’s a wonderful place full of vitality and energy ❤️
January 16, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Great morning at Hull’s Community Orchard with @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social, sharing with the volunteers some results from the bee project, and getting vital feedback for future projects. This orchard sits on the last remaining common land in Hull. It’s a wonderful place full of vitality and energy ❤️
Just 3 days left to apply for this PhD position - email me with any Qs :)
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Just 3 days left to apply for this PhD position - email me with any Qs :)
Reposted by James Gilbert
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
First data coming through from our pollen nutritional analysis! Do mason bees provide predictably different nutrition to larvae within nests that have been experimentally heated to temperatures representing different climate scenarios? We are about to find out....
December 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
First data coming through from our pollen nutritional analysis! Do mason bees provide predictably different nutrition to larvae within nests that have been experimentally heated to temperatures representing different climate scenarios? We are about to find out....
Reposted by James Gilbert
Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas.
Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...
Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...
December 12, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas.
Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...
Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...
Reposted by James Gilbert
*New paper alert*
So proud of this paper led by MSc student Jasmin Merkel!
It shows the long-term detrimental effects of high sugar diet and the lack of evolutionary adaptation to it. This is in insects but humans probably don't fare much better...
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
So proud of this paper led by MSc student Jasmin Merkel!
It shows the long-term detrimental effects of high sugar diet and the lack of evolutionary adaptation to it. This is in insects but humans probably don't fare much better...
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
Multigenerational exposure to high-fat and high-sugar diets exacerbates reproductive distress in an insect model
Abstract. In several insect models, high-fat diets and high-sugar diets have detrimental effects, but it is largely unknown if multigenerational exposure c
academic.oup.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:25 AM
*New paper alert*
So proud of this paper led by MSc student Jasmin Merkel!
It shows the long-term detrimental effects of high sugar diet and the lack of evolutionary adaptation to it. This is in insects but humans probably don't fare much better...
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
So proud of this paper led by MSc student Jasmin Merkel!
It shows the long-term detrimental effects of high sugar diet and the lack of evolutionary adaptation to it. This is in insects but humans probably don't fare much better...
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
Reposted by James Gilbert
more absolute filth in the pollination literature
![Gottsberger's florid report (1991) on the pollination of Cyclanthaceae: "beetles arrived at the inflorescences, crawled around, copulated, gnawed on the staminodes, and frequently entered into the interior [...] there they "licked" on the stigmatic exudates"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ywua4qjetzwsq5hzyty3exua/bafkreiac36nylqswha6xbr2ta47pzcwcxilfyx5tldl2rq6fcuwcffq7bu@jpeg)
December 10, 2025 at 7:20 PM
more absolute filth in the pollination literature
Reposted by James Gilbert
Death and Taxus. As a fan of bad puns in paper titles, this one is a classic. 🌲🌳🧪🌏 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Death and Taxus: the contribution of mechanical damage to the multiple factors associated with Taxus brevifolia mortality - Ecological Processes
Background Recent increases in tree mortality are often attributed to climate, but climate extremes may just be the last of many stressors that have unfolded over many years resulting in tree death. P...
link.springer.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Death and Taxus. As a fan of bad puns in paper titles, this one is a classic. 🌲🌳🧪🌏 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by James Gilbert
#Psakibriefing
Science break.
The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators.
Science break.
The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators.
June 7, 2025 at 1:24 AM
#Psakibriefing
Science break.
The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators.
Science break.
The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators.
Reposted by James Gilbert
🧵1/5
🌍🔬 Our new paper is out! We identify the global mechanisms shaping the elemental composition of organisms — and the results overturn long-standing assumptions in ecology.
👇 Thread ↓
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🌍🔬 Our new paper is out! We identify the global mechanisms shaping the elemental composition of organisms — and the results overturn long-standing assumptions in ecology.
👇 Thread ↓
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Nitrogen deposition reveals global patterns in plant and animal stoichiometry - Nature Communications
Organisms vary in their nitrogen and phosphorus content, shaping ecological and evolutionary processes. This study shows that nitrogen deposition is a consistent global factor associated with plant an...
doi.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
🧵1/5
🌍🔬 Our new paper is out! We identify the global mechanisms shaping the elemental composition of organisms — and the results overturn long-standing assumptions in ecology.
👇 Thread ↓
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🌍🔬 Our new paper is out! We identify the global mechanisms shaping the elemental composition of organisms — and the results overturn long-standing assumptions in ecology.
👇 Thread ↓
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Reposted by James Gilbert
🚨 Less than 1 week left!
Early Bird registration & abstract submission for #ECE2026Tours close 15 Dec 2025.
Join us in Tours, France for 50 symposia across 10 themes covering the full breadth of entomology.
Submit your abstract & secure reduced fees today 👉 buff.ly/xfwQHLl
irbi-tours.bsky.social
Early Bird registration & abstract submission for #ECE2026Tours close 15 Dec 2025.
Join us in Tours, France for 50 symposia across 10 themes covering the full breadth of entomology.
Submit your abstract & secure reduced fees today 👉 buff.ly/xfwQHLl
irbi-tours.bsky.social
ECE 2026 - XIII European Congress of Entomology
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Tours, France, in the heart of the Loire Valley, from June 29 to July 3, 2026.
www.ece2026.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
🚨 Less than 1 week left!
Early Bird registration & abstract submission for #ECE2026Tours close 15 Dec 2025.
Join us in Tours, France for 50 symposia across 10 themes covering the full breadth of entomology.
Submit your abstract & secure reduced fees today 👉 buff.ly/xfwQHLl
irbi-tours.bsky.social
Early Bird registration & abstract submission for #ECE2026Tours close 15 Dec 2025.
Join us in Tours, France for 50 symposia across 10 themes covering the full breadth of entomology.
Submit your abstract & secure reduced fees today 👉 buff.ly/xfwQHLl
irbi-tours.bsky.social
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Enhanced pollinator monitoring using novel flash-detection tags and DNA metabarcoding to track solitary bee foraging for pollen and nectar. at University of Hull, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
🚨 New PhD opportunity 🚨 studying foraging movements of #masonbees using novel tracking technology and metabarcoding! With me and @domino-joyce.fishsci.com.ap.brid.gy at Hull and Mike Smith at Sheffield. More at FindAPhD www.findaphd.com/phds/project... or message me directly :)
Reposted by James Gilbert
1/28 New preprint up, which I think is the best theoretical idea I've ever had. We asked a simple question: what are the costs of investment into non-reproductive somatic cells? Turns out these costs decrease with the *logarithm* of organism size!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The fitness costs of reproductive specialization scale inversely with organismal size
The evolution of reproductive specialization represents a fundamental innovation in multicellular life, yet the conditions favoring its evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we develop a populatio...
www.biorxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
1/28 New preprint up, which I think is the best theoretical idea I've ever had. We asked a simple question: what are the costs of investment into non-reproductive somatic cells? Turns out these costs decrease with the *logarithm* of organism size!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by James Gilbert
Onthophagus rangifer, one of the most extraordinary horned dung beetles you might ever see. From a baited pitfall trap near Skukuza on our #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation field course in the #Kruger park. #HullWildlifeConservation #insects #coleoptera #wildlifephotography @uniofhull.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Onthophagus rangifer, one of the most extraordinary horned dung beetles you might ever see. From a baited pitfall trap near Skukuza on our #MSc #Wildlife #Conservation field course in the #Kruger park. #HullWildlifeConservation #insects #coleoptera #wildlifephotography @uniofhull.bsky.social
Reposted by James Gilbert
Students on our #Msc #Wildlife #Conservation learning how elephants alter biodiversity and tree cover in the #krugernationalpark #HullWildlifeConservation. Exclusion experiments tell us how herbivores affect ecological comunities. When the herbivores are 🐘 you need serious gear to keep 'em out.
December 9, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Students on our #Msc #Wildlife #Conservation learning how elephants alter biodiversity and tree cover in the #krugernationalpark #HullWildlifeConservation. Exclusion experiments tell us how herbivores affect ecological comunities. When the herbivores are 🐘 you need serious gear to keep 'em out.
Reposted by James Gilbert
Biggest stingless bee nest entrance I’ve ever seen! [normal-sized adult male hand for scale]
December 8, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Biggest stingless bee nest entrance I’ve ever seen! [normal-sized adult male hand for scale]
Reposted by James Gilbert
New PhD position available! For applicants keen to combine evolutionary ecology, neuroscience and animal cognition. Based at UCL with me, @maxreuter.bsky.social, @fcamus.bsky.social and Tamara Boto (Bristol). Directly funded, see here for details and eligibility: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - How Memory Evolves: Integrating Cognitive Ecology, Neuroscience, and Experimental Evolution in Drosophila at University College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
New PhD position available! For applicants keen to combine evolutionary ecology, neuroscience and animal cognition. Based at UCL with me, @maxreuter.bsky.social, @fcamus.bsky.social and Tamara Boto (Bristol). Directly funded, see here for details and eligibility: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by James Gilbert
The University of Cambridge invites applications for a joint Assistant/Associate Professorship in Computational Biology starting April 2026. Strong research and teaching abilities are required. More info: cam.ac.uk #job
November 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The University of Cambridge invites applications for a joint Assistant/Associate Professorship in Computational Biology starting April 2026. Strong research and teaching abilities are required. More info: cam.ac.uk #job
🚨New #behavioural #mimicry paper out in Proc B!🚨
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Nature’s greatest method actors: the insects that cosplay bumblebees
When you’re an animal undercover, sometimes it’s not enough just to look like someone else
theconversation.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:36 PM
🚨New #behavioural #mimicry paper out in Proc B!🚨
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
In which we show that hoverflies have evolved to prefer the flower colour choices of their #bee models instead of their #fly relatives.
Conversation article here: theconversation.com/natures-grea...
Paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Reposted by James Gilbert
PhD position at the University of Bristol (with me!) entitled 'The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physiology, and fitness'.
Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions.
tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions.
tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physio...
PhD Project - Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal beh...
www.findaphd.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
PhD position at the University of Bristol (with me!) entitled 'The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physiology, and fitness'.
Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions.
tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions.
tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
Reposted by James Gilbert
Great PhD opportunity to work with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social & me looking at floral rewards in forests. @rbgkew.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social
PhD applications are now open @treesdla.bsky.social for 2026 intake. Have a look at a project on effects of forest diversity on floral reward production for pollinators that we advertise with @philstevenson.bsky.social. Do apply/get in touch if you are interested! www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/eff...
October 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Great PhD opportunity to work with @juliakoricheva.bsky.social & me looking at floral rewards in forests. @rbgkew.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social
Reposted by James Gilbert
An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown
theconversation.com/allotments-a...
theconversation.com/allotments-a...
Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them
In praise of digging for potatoes.
theconversation.com
August 8, 2025 at 3:30 PM
An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown
theconversation.com/allotments-a...
theconversation.com/allotments-a...
Reposted by James Gilbert
🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Understanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design
Urban agriculture depends on insect pollination, but knowledge gaps persist due to difficulties accessing diverse growing spaces. We developed a citizen science approach for monitoring insect visits ...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 4, 2025 at 1:09 PM
🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Congrats to Jamie Smith @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social on a great #ento25 talk presenting his PhD work on the dramatic effects of even mild heatwaves during the larval stages (simulating the 2022 UK heatwave) on fertility in mason bees. Wish I could have been there in support!
September 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Congrats to Jamie Smith @jamiesmithbio.bsky.social on a great #ento25 talk presenting his PhD work on the dramatic effects of even mild heatwaves during the larval stages (simulating the 2022 UK heatwave) on fertility in mason bees. Wish I could have been there in support!