Matthew Morris
@mrjmorris.bsky.social
Associate Professor at Ambrose University, biologist, and overall fish enthusiast
Black crappie (and possibly white) have been found in huge numbers in Cardiff Trout Pond north of Edmonton. This is a new record for the province, and was almost certainly released illegally. Don't let it loose! Photo credit: N. McNelly
November 4, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Black crappie (and possibly white) have been found in huge numbers in Cardiff Trout Pond north of Edmonton. This is a new record for the province, and was almost certainly released illegally. Don't let it loose! Photo credit: N. McNelly
Reposted by Matthew Morris
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
October 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
Reposted by Matthew Morris
I wrote an angry scree about the Albertan government and my local paper posted it.
www.westernwheel.ca/opinion/lett...
www.westernwheel.ca/opinion/lett...
LETTER: Back-to-work bill should be breaking point
Conservatives used to hold bedrock rights as absolute and sacred, but it would appear that the UCP no longer does.
www.westernwheel.ca
October 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I wrote an angry scree about the Albertan government and my local paper posted it.
www.westernwheel.ca/opinion/lett...
www.westernwheel.ca/opinion/lett...
Over 456 000 signatures!
October 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Over 456 000 signatures!
So they actually used the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back without a contract. First reading approved. Unsurprising in the sense that I am not sure anything this government does will surprise me any more.
October 28, 2025 at 12:04 AM
So they actually used the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back without a contract. First reading approved. Unsurprising in the sense that I am not sure anything this government does will surprise me any more.
The Apalochicola redhorse finally has a name - Moxostoma antelunare
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
View of <strong>Description of the Apalachicola Redhorse (Catostomidae: <em>Moxostoma</em>)</strong>
mapress.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:44 PM
The Apalochicola redhorse finally has a name - Moxostoma antelunare
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
It is fascinating to see a pro-UCP Facebook chat accuse the ATA of being both Marxist and fascist. I'm no political scholar but...
October 27, 2025 at 9:41 PM
It is fascinating to see a pro-UCP Facebook chat accuse the ATA of being both Marxist and fascist. I'm no political scholar but...
Rick Bell in the Calgary Herald is more palatable if you read him while doing a Captain Kirk impression
October 24, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Rick Bell in the Calgary Herald is more palatable if you read him while doing a Captain Kirk impression
15th report of the Alberta Bird Record Committee dropped. I was surprised to find how few glossy ibis records have been accepted; no reason was provided but I could imagine they are easily mistaken for white-faced ibis. Document any interesting bird finds on iNaturalist opus.uleth.ca/server/api/c...
opus.uleth.ca
October 16, 2025 at 7:33 PM
15th report of the Alberta Bird Record Committee dropped. I was surprised to find how few glossy ibis records have been accepted; no reason was provided but I could imagine they are easily mistaken for white-faced ibis. Document any interesting bird finds on iNaturalist opus.uleth.ca/server/api/c...
Out with the family doing the fish rescue on this Christmasy Thanksgiving!
October 12, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Out with the family doing the fish rescue on this Christmasy Thanksgiving!
Forever Canada petition has nearly met their goal. They are over 80% there but have until Oct 28. You have to sign in person, go to www.forever-canadian.ca to find a location near you. It might seem absurd to sign a petition to say that Alberta should remain a province, but it is strategic.
Keeping Alberta Forever Canadian
Join the Forever Canadian campaign to affirm Alberta remains in Canada. Volunteer, donate, or help collect signatures for this citizen‑initiated petition.
www.forever-canadian.ca
October 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Forever Canada petition has nearly met their goal. They are over 80% there but have until Oct 28. You have to sign in person, go to www.forever-canadian.ca to find a location near you. It might seem absurd to sign a petition to say that Alberta should remain a province, but it is strategic.
Reposted by Matthew Morris
Shit is so bad that the best American news of the week is that Dolly Parton didn't die.
October 10, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Shit is so bad that the best American news of the week is that Dolly Parton didn't die.
Reposted by Matthew Morris
Our new study modeling selection for (behavioral) variability has been covered in a lovely @genetics-gsa.bsky.social podcast featuring first author Shraddha Lall and @ecoevogal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
Family-based selection: an efficient method for increasing phenotypic variability
This article introduces a model comparing various selection regimes for increasing phenotypic variability. Individuals with the same genotype, reared in id
academic.oup.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Our new study modeling selection for (behavioral) variability has been covered in a lovely @genetics-gsa.bsky.social podcast featuring first author Shraddha Lall and @ecoevogal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
I received an unusual self-published book on science and faith. It was unusual because (a) the author acknowledged at the start that he fed his ideas to AI and then edited the 600 page output, and (b) it opens with an AI-written prelude that both praises and critiques the book. Points for honesty?
October 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I received an unusual self-published book on science and faith. It was unusual because (a) the author acknowledged at the start that he fed his ideas to AI and then edited the 600 page output, and (b) it opens with an AI-written prelude that both praises and critiques the book. Points for honesty?
A nice little write up on the Ambrose main page today featuring alum Nathan Yeung and our work on suckers: ambrose.edu/news/ambrose...
Ambrose Biology 2025 Graduate Published in Canadian Journal of Zoology | Ambrose University
ambrose.edu
October 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
A nice little write up on the Ambrose main page today featuring alum Nathan Yeung and our work on suckers: ambrose.edu/news/ambrose...
Reposted by Matthew Morris
🦇The fungus behind white-nose syndrome continues to spread across Alberta. Our latest detection, near Fort McKay, marks the northernmost detection yet. Thank you to our partners at the Wood Buffalo Wildlife Research Institute for collecting this sample. See maps at www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/white_nose_s...
October 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
🦇The fungus behind white-nose syndrome continues to spread across Alberta. Our latest detection, near Fort McKay, marks the northernmost detection yet. Thank you to our partners at the Wood Buffalo Wildlife Research Institute for collecting this sample. See maps at www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/white_nose_s...
Check out my latest paper, co-authored by Ambrose alum Nathan Yeung. He did some great work on juvenile suckers in the Peace River drainage of Alberta! Final version (rather than pre-print) dropped today:
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...
Using meristic and morphometric techniques to identify juvenile Catostomus suckers (Largescale Sucker C. macrocheilus, Longnose Sucker C. catostomus, White Sucker C. commersonii —Teleostei: Cyprinifor...
Catostomid suckers are an important but understudied component of North American freshwater ecosystems. Alberta populations of Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, 1856; Catostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1...
cdnsciencepub.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Check out my latest paper, co-authored by Ambrose alum Nathan Yeung. He did some great work on juvenile suckers in the Peace River drainage of Alberta! Final version (rather than pre-print) dropped today:
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/...
Live from the field: rosy red young of the year strongly suggest they are reproducing in Alberta waters. Country Hills, Calgary.
September 17, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Live from the field: rosy red young of the year strongly suggest they are reproducing in Alberta waters. Country Hills, Calgary.
The origin of the love bite: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
Behold the Gloriously Weird Spotted Ratfish. It Has Teeth on Its Forehead for Sex
Researchers have finally traced the origin of the spotted ratfish’s bizarre forehead teeth, which are used for mating
www.scientificamerican.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The origin of the love bite: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
23andMe's recent bankruptcy and resulting sale of genetic information has led to some important conversations about genetic privacy. Canada's laws are, predictably for a rapidly changing sector, insufficient. www.queensjournal.ca/genetic-priv... www.science.org/doi/full/10....
The precarious future of consumer genetic privacy
Congress and other lawmakers must act to robustly protect direct-to-consumer genetic data and biospecimens into the future
www.science.org
September 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
23andMe's recent bankruptcy and resulting sale of genetic information has led to some important conversations about genetic privacy. Canada's laws are, predictably for a rapidly changing sector, insufficient. www.queensjournal.ca/genetic-priv... www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Too a closer look at the netful of fathead minnows I scooped up when catching the rosy reds in Fish Creek the other day. Two of the minnows were not like the others...longnose dace (top and third) compared to fatheads.
September 13, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Too a closer look at the netful of fathead minnows I scooped up when catching the rosy reds in Fish Creek the other day. Two of the minnows were not like the others...longnose dace (top and third) compared to fatheads.
It was a beautiful day for hunting for rosys. It seems like they might be breeding in Fish Creek Park
September 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM
It was a beautiful day for hunting for rosys. It seems like they might be breeding in Fish Creek Park
One of the difficult things about studying rosy reds in Alberta is that the fathead minnow naturally occurs here but has the same species name as the rosy red. Invasive species reporting tools like iNaturalist and EDDMaps cannot distinguish between then.
September 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
One of the difficult things about studying rosy reds in Alberta is that the fathead minnow naturally occurs here but has the same species name as the rosy red. Invasive species reporting tools like iNaturalist and EDDMaps cannot distinguish between then.
My plan on here is to shout into the void, so that I don't scream these things into my pillow at night. For instance:
The lake sturgeon is now 👏👏Huso fulvescens👏👏 and NOT 👏👏Acipenser fulvescens👏👏
The lake sturgeon is now 👏👏Huso fulvescens👏👏 and NOT 👏👏Acipenser fulvescens👏👏
September 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
My plan on here is to shout into the void, so that I don't scream these things into my pillow at night. For instance:
The lake sturgeon is now 👏👏Huso fulvescens👏👏 and NOT 👏👏Acipenser fulvescens👏👏
The lake sturgeon is now 👏👏Huso fulvescens👏👏 and NOT 👏👏Acipenser fulvescens👏👏
The Alberta government has promised to hire 3000 new teachers over the next three years, as if this somehow answers the big problems of classroom complexity and underfunding. I have heard through ATA connections that over 1000 AB teachers are expected to retire next year - so still a net loss.
September 10, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The Alberta government has promised to hire 3000 new teachers over the next three years, as if this somehow answers the big problems of classroom complexity and underfunding. I have heard through ATA connections that over 1000 AB teachers are expected to retire next year - so still a net loss.