Lauren Sumner-Rooney
@laurensr.bsky.social
Evolutionary biologist (invertebrates, vision, brains), Junior Group Leader @multipleye-lab.bsky.social @MfNBerlin.bsky.social. Gradual learner of 🇩🇪 She/her. Views mine, all mine!
Pinned
Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
A new systematic review has found that trans women on HRT have the same level of fitness as cis women and don't retain any advantage in sports.
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Trans athletes may not have fitness advantage in women’s sport, landmark study finds
Findings suggest physical performance in trans women converges toward that of cis women over time
www.independent.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:22 PM
A new systematic review has found that trans women on HRT have the same level of fitness as cis women and don't retain any advantage in sports.
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
JOB ALERT! Come work with us as a PhD student for 4 years if you are interested in biodiversity monitoring, technology development, insects and agriculture.
January 31, 2026 at 7:48 AM
JOB ALERT! Come work with us as a PhD student for 4 years if you are interested in biodiversity monitoring, technology development, insects and agriculture.
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Lecturer in Ecology and Evolution position available in Biology Department at Stanford University. Apply by April 1, 2026. (Photo by Rick Morris)
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31606
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31606
January 30, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Lecturer in Ecology and Evolution position available in Biology Department at Stanford University. Apply by April 1, 2026. (Photo by Rick Morris)
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31606
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31606
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
New from Jessie Foley!
#Heliconius have elongated lives and excellent memory, but do they have excellent memory across their elongated lives? Find out now!*
Featuring learning and memory assays in 330 butterflies, and an absolute pig of an experiment to do.
*the title is a spoiler 🧪
#Heliconius have elongated lives and excellent memory, but do they have excellent memory across their elongated lives? Find out now!*
Featuring learning and memory assays in 330 butterflies, and an absolute pig of an experiment to do.
*the title is a spoiler 🧪
Cognitive robustness in a new insect model of extended longevity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.25.701637v1
January 28, 2026 at 7:33 AM
New from Jessie Foley!
#Heliconius have elongated lives and excellent memory, but do they have excellent memory across their elongated lives? Find out now!*
Featuring learning and memory assays in 330 butterflies, and an absolute pig of an experiment to do.
*the title is a spoiler 🧪
#Heliconius have elongated lives and excellent memory, but do they have excellent memory across their elongated lives? Find out now!*
Featuring learning and memory assays in 330 butterflies, and an absolute pig of an experiment to do.
*the title is a spoiler 🧪
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Environmental assessments need to account for spectrum and brightness of light affecting sensitive species. 🌙
We map impact zones using "moonlight equivalent" measures accounting for species visual sensitivity, then apply spectral tuning and shielding.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/
We map impact zones using "moonlight equivalent" measures accounting for species visual sensitivity, then apply spectral tuning and shielding.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/
Assessing and mapping taxon-specific effects of ecological light pollution for environmental impact analysis
Predicting the adverse effects of light at night is necessary to ensure compliance with laws and regulations that protect species. Using two case stud…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Environmental assessments need to account for spectrum and brightness of light affecting sensitive species. 🌙
We map impact zones using "moonlight equivalent" measures accounting for species visual sensitivity, then apply spectral tuning and shielding.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/
We map impact zones using "moonlight equivalent" measures accounting for species visual sensitivity, then apply spectral tuning and shielding.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
🕸️ The #silk of this gorgeous little cribellator is not your standard silk - read @evoimec.bsky.social new study here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... 🕸️
January 27, 2026 at 6:10 PM
🕸️ The #silk of this gorgeous little cribellator is not your standard silk - read @evoimec.bsky.social new study here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... 🕸️
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Comparative databasing
January 28, 3–4pm UTC
This event hosts an outstanding neuroscientist & biologist particularly interested in insect brains who will present his work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/comparativ...
Comparative databasing
January 28, 3–4pm UTC
This event hosts an outstanding neuroscientist & biologist particularly interested in insect brains who will present his work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/comparativ...
January 23, 2026 at 1:04 PM
🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Comparative databasing
January 28, 3–4pm UTC
This event hosts an outstanding neuroscientist & biologist particularly interested in insect brains who will present his work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/comparativ...
Comparative databasing
January 28, 3–4pm UTC
This event hosts an outstanding neuroscientist & biologist particularly interested in insect brains who will present his work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/comparativ...
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Today the 12yo has declared Chiton Awareness Day!
These amazing marine molluscs can come in extraordinary colours, and are not to be confused with the garment worn in Ancient Greece and Rome.
These amazing marine molluscs can come in extraordinary colours, and are not to be confused with the garment worn in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Chiton - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 24, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Today the 12yo has declared Chiton Awareness Day!
These amazing marine molluscs can come in extraordinary colours, and are not to be confused with the garment worn in Ancient Greece and Rome.
These amazing marine molluscs can come in extraordinary colours, and are not to be confused with the garment worn in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Our journals @dev-journal.bsky.social, @jcellsci.bsky.social & @jexpbiol.bsky.social offer Travelling Fellowships of up to £3,000 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. Apply by 6 February 2026.
biologists.com/grants/trave...
biologists.com/grants/trave...
January 23, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Our journals @dev-journal.bsky.social, @jcellsci.bsky.social & @jexpbiol.bsky.social offer Travelling Fellowships of up to £3,000 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. Apply by 6 February 2026.
biologists.com/grants/trave...
biologists.com/grants/trave...
Undergraduates, come and work with us in Bristol this summer! If you're interested in eyes and vision, get in touch to discuss projects - we have several opportunities to study the impacts of eye loss, evolution of retinal musculature, and the growth of distributed visual systems, to name a few!
Are you finishing your undergraduate degree next year?
Are you interested in animal eyes, and would you like to gain some paid research experience this summer @bristolbiosci.bsky.social?
If so, get in touch! @rankprize.bsky.social funds 8-week studentships 👇
www.rankprize.org/grants/under...
Are you interested in animal eyes, and would you like to gain some paid research experience this summer @bristolbiosci.bsky.social?
If so, get in touch! @rankprize.bsky.social funds 8-week studentships 👇
www.rankprize.org/grants/under...
Rank Prize
Stimulating and celebrating the brightest minds in nutrition and optoelectronics
www.rankprize.org
January 22, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Undergraduates, come and work with us in Bristol this summer! If you're interested in eyes and vision, get in touch to discuss projects - we have several opportunities to study the impacts of eye loss, evolution of retinal musculature, and the growth of distributed visual systems, to name a few!
Amazing, 3-yr postdoc working on bioluminescence and visual ecology in comb jellies with Anders Garm in Copenhagen!
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Postdoc in Marine Bioluminescence
A 3-year postdoc position is open, shared between the sensory biology group lead by Assoc. Prof. Anders Garm at the Marine Biological Section, University of Cop
candidate.hr-manager.net
January 21, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Amazing, 3-yr postdoc working on bioluminescence and visual ecology in comb jellies with Anders Garm in Copenhagen!
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Wow, incredible job opportunity for a marine scientist of almost any flavour at the amazing Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 🤩
🧪📍🌊 🦑🍎 Marine Scientist Position – Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), full-time, permanent Marine Scientist position based in Panama. Application review begins February 15, 2026 (open until filled). Early-career researchers are strongly encouraged to apply. www.stri.si.edu
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute was founded with the purpose of increasing and sharing knowledge about the past, present and future of tropical ecosystems and their relevance to human welf...
www.stri.si.edu
January 20, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Wow, incredible job opportunity for a marine scientist of almost any flavour at the amazing Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 🤩
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England!
4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.
Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.
Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.
Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.
Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
January 9, 2026 at 9:36 AM
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England!
4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.
Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.
Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.
Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.
Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 6, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
🚨 Tenure-track professorship at Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany, with a focus on evolutionary ecology of social hymenoptera 🐝🐜
Initially for 6 years:
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/pr...
Initially for 6 years:
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/pr...
Goethe University Frankfurt hiring Professur (W1 mit Tenure Track) für Evolutionäre Ökologie der Hymenopteren in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany | LinkedIn
Posted 11:13:19 PM. Die Professur wird zunächst auf sechs Jahre befristet besetzt, nach erfolgreicher Evaluation…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:43 PM
🚨 Tenure-track professorship at Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany, with a focus on evolutionary ecology of social hymenoptera 🐝🐜
Initially for 6 years:
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/pr...
Initially for 6 years:
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/pr...
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
“Whatever method Santa uses, he may be relying on magnetic north to find his way to your house and back home again. Or maybe the reindeer just know the way.”
#scicomm
www.sciencealert.com/earth-has-tw...
🧪 🎅🏻
#scicomm
www.sciencealert.com/earth-has-tw...
🧪 🎅🏻
Earth Has Two North Poles. How Does Santa Know Which One Is Home?
When Santa is done delivering presents on Christmas Eve, he must get back home to the North Pole, even if it's snowing so hard that the reindeer can't see the way.
www.sciencealert.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:01 AM
“Whatever method Santa uses, he may be relying on magnetic north to find his way to your house and back home again. Or maybe the reindeer just know the way.”
#scicomm
www.sciencealert.com/earth-has-tw...
🧪 🎅🏻
#scicomm
www.sciencealert.com/earth-has-tw...
🧪 🎅🏻
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.
Post-doc positions:
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."
uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."
uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
Call for Applications: Early Career Rescue Fellowship – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
uni-freiburg.de
December 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
News on the function of tremulation:
Female Pisaura mirabilis spiders are not appeased by the courtship tremulations of males - at least in our playback setup. Result of Stefan ter Haar's internship from Groningen led by
@monikaeberhard.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Female Pisaura mirabilis spiders are not appeased by the courtship tremulations of males - at least in our playback setup. Result of Stefan ter Haar's internship from Groningen led by
@monikaeberhard.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
No Appeasement Through Vibrations: Male Vibratory Pre‐Copulatory Courtship in the Cursorial Spider Pisaura mirabilis Does Not Affect Female Predatory Response
Male courtship can serve various purposes such as species recognition, mate localization, or advertisement of individual quality and physical condition. In predatory species such as spiders, courtshi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:06 AM
News on the function of tremulation:
Female Pisaura mirabilis spiders are not appeased by the courtship tremulations of males - at least in our playback setup. Result of Stefan ter Haar's internship from Groningen led by
@monikaeberhard.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Female Pisaura mirabilis spiders are not appeased by the courtship tremulations of males - at least in our playback setup. Result of Stefan ter Haar's internship from Groningen led by
@monikaeberhard.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
This is such an important, rigorous, and beautiful paper by Rochelle - light pollution impacts both the "normal" visual cues of detecting sunset to trigger activity AND the polarised visual cues of the sky used for navigation...in two completely different animal species! 🦋🕷️🌌 Such amazing work!
Multiple anthropogenic stressors can negatively impact species but can a single stressor also have multiple, concurrent impacts? Here we show that light pollution creates several simultaneous impacts to the nocturnal movement ecology of a moth and a spider: tinyurl.com/5eku5bff (1/5)
December 18, 2025 at 8:40 AM
This is such an important, rigorous, and beautiful paper by Rochelle - light pollution impacts both the "normal" visual cues of detecting sunset to trigger activity AND the polarised visual cues of the sky used for navigation...in two completely different animal species! 🦋🕷️🌌 Such amazing work!
This gorgeous description of the Bogong moth visual system is just... *chef's kiss*
Congratulations to the authors, this is really beautiful work!
Congratulations to the authors, this is really beautiful work!
Ever wanted to know how the visual system of a long distance migratory moth looks like? Then you'll find your answers in our new paper. Finally out, after about a decade of collecting data by a group af amazing co-authors. Find it here, open access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
December 19, 2025 at 7:34 AM
This gorgeous description of the Bogong moth visual system is just... *chef's kiss*
Congratulations to the authors, this is really beautiful work!
Congratulations to the authors, this is really beautiful work!
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Hello Bluesky! We are the Ecology of Vision group at Bristol University, UK. Our research focuses on all things animal vision with particular interest in polarization vision, the effects of light pollution on vision and visual behaviour, and visual adaptations. See more here: www.ecologyofvision.com
ECOLOGY OF VISION
Nicholas Roberts Ecology of Vision Research Group. Research into animal vision.
www.ecologyofvision.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Hello Bluesky! We are the Ecology of Vision group at Bristol University, UK. Our research focuses on all things animal vision with particular interest in polarization vision, the effects of light pollution on vision and visual behaviour, and visual adaptations. See more here: www.ecologyofvision.com
Congratulations @rochellemeah.bsky.social @ecologyofvision.bsky.social (and all our wonderful coauthors!) on her first PhD publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🤩
Light pollution suppresses natural peaks in activity AND natural celestial polarization patterns at key times in arthropods 🕷️🦋✨
Light pollution suppresses natural peaks in activity AND natural celestial polarization patterns at key times in arthropods 🕷️🦋✨
Multiple anthropogenic stressors can negatively impact species but can a single stressor also have multiple, concurrent impacts? Here we show that light pollution creates several simultaneous impacts to the nocturnal movement ecology of a moth and a spider: tinyurl.com/5eku5bff (1/5)
December 18, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Congratulations @rochellemeah.bsky.social @ecologyofvision.bsky.social (and all our wonderful coauthors!) on her first PhD publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🤩
Light pollution suppresses natural peaks in activity AND natural celestial polarization patterns at key times in arthropods 🕷️🦋✨
Light pollution suppresses natural peaks in activity AND natural celestial polarization patterns at key times in arthropods 🕷️🦋✨
Just TWO DAYS until the application deadline for our funded PhD disentangling the impacts of light pollution on spider eyes and visual ecology! 👀🕷️🌃
The project will combine development, morphology, behaviour, and genetics, and can be shaped by the student👩🏽🔬
Interested? Apply!
Questions? Message me!
The project will combine development, morphology, behaviour, and genetics, and can be shaped by the student👩🏽🔬
Interested? Apply!
Questions? Message me!
Exciting times ahead - I'm beyond delighted to be joining @bristolbiosci.bsky.social in 2026! 🎉🕷️🎉🐌🎉
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
I'm also looking for a PhD student to join @multipleye-lab.bsky.social in our new home! Come and study the effects of light pollution on the evolution and development of spider eyes with us 🌃🕷️👀 👇
December 13, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Just TWO DAYS until the application deadline for our funded PhD disentangling the impacts of light pollution on spider eyes and visual ecology! 👀🕷️🌃
The project will combine development, morphology, behaviour, and genetics, and can be shaped by the student👩🏽🔬
Interested? Apply!
Questions? Message me!
The project will combine development, morphology, behaviour, and genetics, and can be shaped by the student👩🏽🔬
Interested? Apply!
Questions? Message me!
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
If you have a student, anywhere in the world, who would like and entomological society membership please have them come on over to our entopoc.org website to sign up for up to three free memberships per student!
December 3, 2025 at 10:59 AM
If you have a student, anywhere in the world, who would like and entomological society membership please have them come on over to our entopoc.org website to sign up for up to three free memberships per student!
Reposted by Lauren Sumner-Rooney
Happy to share the first paper from my journey at @psich.bsky.social towards X-ray connectomics, now out in @natmethods.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Happy to share the first paper from my journey at @psich.bsky.social towards X-ray connectomics, now out in @natmethods.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41...