Jessica Light (she/her)
@jeclight.bsky.social
Prof @TAMU. Evolutionary Biology. Mammalogy. Parasitology. Curator. March Mammal Madness. Mom.
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Love this from @stephenbheard.bsky.social on how to prioritize learning and useful discussion over tearing apart papers, and look forward to using some of these question prompts in future lab meetings: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/01/13/h...
How to lead a journal club you won’t be embarrassed by later
One of the jobs facing an early-career scientist, and a developing writer, is to learn what their field’s literature looks like. One of the best tools to that end is the journal club. If you’ve nev…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Love this from @stephenbheard.bsky.social on how to prioritize learning and useful discussion over tearing apart papers, and look forward to using some of these question prompts in future lab meetings: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/01/13/h...
Anyone looking for opportunities for summer courses? @Umich Biological station has spring and summer courses. Attend an informational session or check out more info at this link: lsa.umich.edu/umbs #ecology #evolution
January 15, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Anyone looking for opportunities for summer courses? @Umich Biological station has spring and summer courses. Attend an informational session or check out more info at this link: lsa.umich.edu/umbs #ecology #evolution
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Had such a great time hosting the Future of Natural History Collections panel at the #ssb2026 meeting this weekend. Big thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social sky.social for organizing the meeting for @systbiol.bsky.social and for all the amazing panelists who shared so much knowledge and great ideas!
January 12, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Had such a great time hosting the Future of Natural History Collections panel at the #ssb2026 meeting this weekend. Big thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social sky.social for organizing the meeting for @systbiol.bsky.social and for all the amazing panelists who shared so much knowledge and great ideas!
Great work led by Natalie Hamilton! @tamueccb.bsky.social
Tracing the genetics of pigment loss in maternity colonies of Townsend's Big-Eared bats, Corynorhinus townsendii
doi.org/10.1093/jmam...
The anomaly was not linked to inbreeding or low genetic diversity, but patterns suggest some heritability in the trait.
doi.org/10.1093/jmam...
The anomaly was not linked to inbreeding or low genetic diversity, but patterns suggest some heritability in the trait.
January 11, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Great work led by Natalie Hamilton! @tamueccb.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Managed to sneak in one paper before the New Year with coauthors @flyliceresearch.bsky.social and Daniel Gustafsson (not on Bsky)!
Introducing 2 new species of bird-infesting lice that, despite having no wings, appear to be adept at jumping across bird hosts and continents!
doi.org/10.1111/mve....
Introducing 2 new species of bird-infesting lice that, despite having no wings, appear to be adept at jumping across bird hosts and continents!
doi.org/10.1111/mve....
January 1, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Managed to sneak in one paper before the New Year with coauthors @flyliceresearch.bsky.social and Daniel Gustafsson (not on Bsky)!
Introducing 2 new species of bird-infesting lice that, despite having no wings, appear to be adept at jumping across bird hosts and continents!
doi.org/10.1111/mve....
Introducing 2 new species of bird-infesting lice that, despite having no wings, appear to be adept at jumping across bird hosts and continents!
doi.org/10.1111/mve....
Finally published: #Cryptic species and taxonomic revision of kangaroo mice, the rodent genus #Microdipodops. 4 new species! Integrative taxonomy! Great co-authors! @n8upham.bsky.social @mammalogists.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jmam...
Cryptic species and taxonomic revision of kangaroo mice, the rodent genus Microdipodops
Abstract. This study presents the first systematic revision of kangaroo mice, the heteromyid genus Microdipodops, in over 8 decades. The study relies on a
doi.org
December 19, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Finally published: #Cryptic species and taxonomic revision of kangaroo mice, the rodent genus #Microdipodops. 4 new species! Integrative taxonomy! Great co-authors! @n8upham.bsky.social @mammalogists.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jmam...
Congratulations to my fabulous student Haley! She successfully defended her Master’s thesis yesterday! #Peromyscus #mammals #morphology #ecology #collectionsareessential @tamueccb.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Congratulations to my fabulous student Haley! She successfully defended her Master’s thesis yesterday! #Peromyscus #mammals #morphology #ecology #collectionsareessential @tamueccb.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
#NSF BIO virtual office hour today at 1 EST
#NSF BIO is hosting a Virtual Office Hour December 18 at 1:00 Eastern Time
www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-b...
www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-b...
NSF BIO Virtual Office Hour: Updates from the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences
Please join the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences for a virtual office hour on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
www.nsf.gov
December 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
#NSF BIO virtual office hour today at 1 EST
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
December 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Made a site comparing the sizes of living things :)
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
The great Julius Csotonyi spent 5 months painting over 60 illustrations for the site, no ai used
> neal.fun/size-of-life/
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
Do you want to support #student #research & like #mammals & #parasites? Consider donating to the Eckerlin Mammalian Parasitology Award, in honor of Dr. Ralph Eckerlin who passed away in 2024 & was an amazing educator & researchers www.mammalsociety.org/committees/e... #GivingTuesday
Eckerlin Mammalian Parasitology Award | American Society of Mammalogists
Currently this is ad hoc committee
www.mammalsociety.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Do you want to support #student #research & like #mammals & #parasites? Consider donating to the Eckerlin Mammalian Parasitology Award, in honor of Dr. Ralph Eckerlin who passed away in 2024 & was an amazing educator & researchers www.mammalsociety.org/committees/e... #GivingTuesday
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Looking for input on rodenticide testing . . .
Colleagues are using a lab that needs 1 gram of liver sample to test, but often has specimens with less than that. Does anyone know if that amount of sample is really needed and/or have leads on labs that might be able to work with less?
🧪
Colleagues are using a lab that needs 1 gram of liver sample to test, but often has specimens with less than that. Does anyone know if that amount of sample is really needed and/or have leads on labs that might be able to work with less?
🧪
December 2, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Looking for input on rodenticide testing . . .
Colleagues are using a lab that needs 1 gram of liver sample to test, but often has specimens with less than that. Does anyone know if that amount of sample is really needed and/or have leads on labs that might be able to work with less?
🧪
Colleagues are using a lab that needs 1 gram of liver sample to test, but often has specimens with less than that. Does anyone know if that amount of sample is really needed and/or have leads on labs that might be able to work with less?
🧪
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.
I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
Consider Sharing Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion)
Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort.
www.insidehighered.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.
I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Job Alert! Please share widely. Tenure-track position in Plant Systematics in the Dept. of Ecology & Conservation Biology at Texas A&M @tamueccb.bsky.social. Job details here: apply.interfolio.com/171016 #plants #botany #herbaria #systematics #ecology #conservation #evolution
September 30, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Job Alert! Please share widely. Tenure-track position in Plant Systematics in the Dept. of Ecology & Conservation Biology at Texas A&M @tamueccb.bsky.social. Job details here: apply.interfolio.com/171016 #plants #botany #herbaria #systematics #ecology #conservation #evolution
Job Alert! Please share widely. Tenure-track position in Plant Systematics in the Dept. of Ecology & Conservation Biology at Texas A&M @tamueccb.bsky.social. Job details here: apply.interfolio.com/171016 #plants #botany #herbaria #systematics #ecology #conservation #evolution
September 30, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Job Alert! Please share widely. Tenure-track position in Plant Systematics in the Dept. of Ecology & Conservation Biology at Texas A&M @tamueccb.bsky.social. Job details here: apply.interfolio.com/171016 #plants #botany #herbaria #systematics #ecology #conservation #evolution
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
🪳 Want to learn all about lice?
Check out Dr. Jessica E. Light’s (@jeclight.bsky.social) new paper on lice classification in Insect Systematics: Past, Present, and Future. This new publication should do the trick!
🔗 academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#TAMUECCB #InsectSystematics #Taxonomy #Lice
Check out Dr. Jessica E. Light’s (@jeclight.bsky.social) new paper on lice classification in Insect Systematics: Past, Present, and Future. This new publication should do the trick!
🔗 academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#TAMUECCB #InsectSystematics #Taxonomy #Lice
Phthiraptera systematics: past, present, and future
Abstract. Parasitic lice (Psocodea: Phthiraptera) are small, wingless parasites of birds and mammals that have been at the forefront of coevolutionary stud
academic.oup.com
September 25, 2025 at 4:13 PM
🪳 Want to learn all about lice?
Check out Dr. Jessica E. Light’s (@jeclight.bsky.social) new paper on lice classification in Insect Systematics: Past, Present, and Future. This new publication should do the trick!
🔗 academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#TAMUECCB #InsectSystematics #Taxonomy #Lice
Check out Dr. Jessica E. Light’s (@jeclight.bsky.social) new paper on lice classification in Insect Systematics: Past, Present, and Future. This new publication should do the trick!
🔗 academic.oup.com/isd/article/...
#TAMUECCB #InsectSystematics #Taxonomy #Lice
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Do you know someone who has contributed to strengthening the evolutionary biology community by promoting inclusion and diversity?
Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info:
www.systbio.org/idea-award.h...
You may self-nominate!!!
Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info:
www.systbio.org/idea-award.h...
You may self-nominate!!!
IDEA Award
The ASN/SSE/SSB Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Award was created in 2019 by the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the...
www.systbio.org
September 8, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Do you know someone who has contributed to strengthening the evolutionary biology community by promoting inclusion and diversity?
Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info:
www.systbio.org/idea-award.h...
You may self-nominate!!!
Nominate them for the IDEA award! More info:
www.systbio.org/idea-award.h...
You may self-nominate!!!
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. (My story of some surprising evo-devo!) nyti.ms/42Cg8xH
September 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM
How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. (My story of some surprising evo-devo!) nyti.ms/42Cg8xH
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Thumbs are cool and all, but have you ever thought about how important thumbnails are? They just might have been the key to rodents' evolutionary success. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
September 8, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Thumbs are cool and all, but have you ever thought about how important thumbnails are? They just might have been the key to rodents' evolutionary success. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
Join us! The Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History is hiring a curatorial associate! For more information : careers.amnh.org/postings/4529
Curatorial Associate
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, and has as its mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cult...
careers.amnh.org
September 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Join us! The Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History is hiring a curatorial associate! For more information : careers.amnh.org/postings/4529
Reposted by Jessica Light (she/her)
🧬🔬 Explore phylogenetic analysis from genome to tree! Basic workflow with #rstats #bioconductor. Learnt to work with large genomic data. Extract 16S rRNA from 10K+ E.coli strains using dataset dehydrate, barrnap for extraction, rapidNJ for tree building & FigTree for visualization.
#microsky #idsky
#microsky #idsky
Learning The Basics of Phylogenetic Analysis | Everyday Is A School Day
🧬🔬 Explore phylogenetic analysis from genome to tree! Basic workflow with R/Bioconductor. Learnt to work with large genomic dataset. Extract 16S rRNA from 10K+ E.coli strains using dataset dehydrate, ...
www.kenkoonwong.com
August 31, 2025 at 3:07 PM
🧬🔬 Explore phylogenetic analysis from genome to tree! Basic workflow with #rstats #bioconductor. Learnt to work with large genomic data. Extract 16S rRNA from 10K+ E.coli strains using dataset dehydrate, barrnap for extraction, rapidNJ for tree building & FigTree for visualization.
#microsky #idsky
#microsky #idsky