Nicole Gerlach
@ngerlach.bsky.social
Behavioral ecologist, evolutionary organismal biologist (birds, other verts, & critters in general), & educator. Aspiring Ms. Frizzle. Avid reader. Seeker of tiny moments of joy and magic. she/her.
Comments, opinions, & photos my own.
Comments, opinions, & photos my own.
Pinned
Nicole Gerlach
@ngerlach.bsky.social
· Aug 20
Hi, I'm Nicole. I'm a biologist and full-time teaching faculty. I'm primarily a behavioral ecologist by training, with my main research interests in mate choice / parental care behavior, especially extra-pair mating behavior in socially monogamous songbirds like the dark-eyed junco!
I knew about the downward part, but not the upward part, and now I'm not okay.
Wow, today was a real fucked one.
Let's do some of that again, but not most of it.
Definitely not most of of it.
Here's something that happened you DIDN'T know about, for I was the only one capturing, thus everyone NOT on bluesky is missing out!
I give you January 30th's Full Pelican 🪶
Let's do some of that again, but not most of it.
Definitely not most of of it.
Here's something that happened you DIDN'T know about, for I was the only one capturing, thus everyone NOT on bluesky is missing out!
I give you January 30th's Full Pelican 🪶
February 12, 2026 at 8:01 PM
I knew about the downward part, but not the upward part, and now I'm not okay.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
My students' responses to our #ValentineASpecies discussion make me so happy. They had to write a "roses are red" poem about an animal, then riff on their classmates' poems. Some wrote limericks. Some made Valentine's cards. Most looked up a behavior they didn't know about and learned something new.
February 12, 2026 at 4:09 PM
My students' responses to our #ValentineASpecies discussion make me so happy. They had to write a "roses are red" poem about an animal, then riff on their classmates' poems. Some wrote limericks. Some made Valentine's cards. Most looked up a behavior they didn't know about and learned something new.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Ominous bird valentines.
February 12, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Ominous bird valentines.
Happy #DarwinDay! The closing words of On the Origin of Species are a perfect summation of why I love biology so much. (And also the only time he uses any form of “evolve”/“evolution” in the whole book.)
February 12, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Happy #DarwinDay! The closing words of On the Origin of Species are a perfect summation of why I love biology so much. (And also the only time he uses any form of “evolve”/“evolution” in the whole book.)
Even though I am squarely in the right demographic for it, I feel like rewatching Dawson’s Creek isn’t a good way for me to commemorate James Van Der Beek’s passing, given how much I hated Dawson as a character. But JVDB as a person seemed like a pretty stand-up guy; he’ll be missed.
February 11, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Even though I am squarely in the right demographic for it, I feel like rewatching Dawson’s Creek isn’t a good way for me to commemorate James Van Der Beek’s passing, given how much I hated Dawson as a character. But JVDB as a person seemed like a pretty stand-up guy; he’ll be missed.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Why don't you come with me, little frog
On a magic carpet ride 🐸
(Today someone on my Flickr feed liked this 2021 pic of a young pine woods tree frog atop a yellow pitcher plant in a N. Carolina bog. So I figured why not share here, too) 🌿📷
On a magic carpet ride 🐸
(Today someone on my Flickr feed liked this 2021 pic of a young pine woods tree frog atop a yellow pitcher plant in a N. Carolina bog. So I figured why not share here, too) 🌿📷
February 11, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Why don't you come with me, little frog
On a magic carpet ride 🐸
(Today someone on my Flickr feed liked this 2021 pic of a young pine woods tree frog atop a yellow pitcher plant in a N. Carolina bog. So I figured why not share here, too) 🌿📷
On a magic carpet ride 🐸
(Today someone on my Flickr feed liked this 2021 pic of a young pine woods tree frog atop a yellow pitcher plant in a N. Carolina bog. So I figured why not share here, too) 🌿📷
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Oops I accidentally spent three hours making a powerpoint presentation on phylogenetics and legless gecko diversity/appreciation.
Look at how cute Aprasia inaurita is!
📷 Nick Volpe @nvolpe.bsky.social
Look at how cute Aprasia inaurita is!
📷 Nick Volpe @nvolpe.bsky.social
February 11, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Oops I accidentally spent three hours making a powerpoint presentation on phylogenetics and legless gecko diversity/appreciation.
Look at how cute Aprasia inaurita is!
📷 Nick Volpe @nvolpe.bsky.social
Look at how cute Aprasia inaurita is!
📷 Nick Volpe @nvolpe.bsky.social
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Mosasaurs had more than one set of teeth. Look at the palate of this Tylosaurus, one of the largest mosasaurs we know of. See? More teeth, perhaps to help keep a grip on prey as the lizard manipulated its meal in its mouth. 🧪
February 11, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Mosasaurs had more than one set of teeth. Look at the palate of this Tylosaurus, one of the largest mosasaurs we know of. See? More teeth, perhaps to help keep a grip on prey as the lizard manipulated its meal in its mouth. 🧪
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
We always say it is the Heron moment that matters and that the perfect Heron photo is mere icing on the cake 🎂 💙
I am simultaneously so pleased with this shot and so peeved that it’s not in better focus. That’s what I get from using an old cell phone at dusk, I suppose. (Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias) 🪶
February 11, 2026 at 5:55 AM
We always say it is the Heron moment that matters and that the perfect Heron photo is mere icing on the cake 🎂 💙
This is too cool to let it languish in the replies. Look at the little flower petal sleeping bags that this bee makes for her babies!! 🐝🌸 #bugsky
I had to look up what was happening with Osmia avosetta and apparently they construct cells for their larvae out of flower petals glued together with a thin layer of mud. How cool!
Fig. 10. Female of Osmia avosetta with a petal in its mandibles...
Download scientific diagram | Female of Osmia avosetta with a petal in its mandibles approaching nest entrance (photo J.S. Ascher). Figures 11-15. Cells of Osmia avosetta. 11. Open cell, side view. 12...
www.researchgate.net
February 11, 2026 at 3:19 AM
This is too cool to let it languish in the replies. Look at the little flower petal sleeping bags that this bee makes for her babies!! 🐝🌸 #bugsky
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
Whenever I see pseudoscientific conspiracy theories about ancient aliens or giant petrified trees or ice age satellites or whatever it drives me crazy because THE EARTH IS COOL ENOUGH JUST AS IT IS! WE DON’T NEED TO REACH FOR REASONS TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING! HAVE YOU SEEN A TULLY MONSTER??!!
February 10, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Whenever I see pseudoscientific conspiracy theories about ancient aliens or giant petrified trees or ice age satellites or whatever it drives me crazy because THE EARTH IS COOL ENOUGH JUST AS IT IS! WE DON’T NEED TO REACH FOR REASONS TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING! HAVE YOU SEEN A TULLY MONSTER??!!
Oh my goodness I love all of them. 🐝💗
February 10, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Oh my goodness I love all of them. 🐝💗
I am simultaneously so pleased with this shot and so peeved that it’s not in better focus. That’s what I get from using an old cell phone at dusk, I suppose. (Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias) 🪶
February 10, 2026 at 2:55 PM
I am simultaneously so pleased with this shot and so peeved that it’s not in better focus. That’s what I get from using an old cell phone at dusk, I suppose. (Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias) 🪶
I was driving during the peak colors so didn’t get a photo, but even the tail end of sunset last night was spectacular.
February 10, 2026 at 2:50 PM
I was driving during the peak colors so didn’t get a photo, but even the tail end of sunset last night was spectacular.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
You don’t have a Valentine for Valentine’s Day?
Lots of people don’t have a shark for Shark Week. Check your privilege.
Lots of people don’t have a shark for Shark Week. Check your privilege.
February 10, 2026 at 1:01 PM
You don’t have a Valentine for Valentine’s Day?
Lots of people don’t have a shark for Shark Week. Check your privilege.
Lots of people don’t have a shark for Shark Week. Check your privilege.
The tentacled snake has one of the coolest behavioral adaptations that I teach about in my Animal Behavior class. Since this post doesn't go into detail about it, and today's the day we're covering it in class, let's talk about it! A thread: 🧵 1/
The tentacled snake is one of nature’s most fascinating ambush predators. Disguised as a stick and fully submerged, this aquatic snake relies on patience, precision, and a truly wild adaptation to catch its prey.
February 9, 2026 at 6:31 PM
The tentacled snake has one of the coolest behavioral adaptations that I teach about in my Animal Behavior class. Since this post doesn't go into detail about it, and today's the day we're covering it in class, let's talk about it! A thread: 🧵 1/
+5 internet points to the person who added that "[citation needed]" to this Explain XKCD article.
![Cueball and Megan (as biologists) are on a first date. As opposed to the usual romantic talk or discussion about each other's histories or character, the comic suggests that 30% of the time, two biologists on a first date will end up making Punnett squares, which non-biologists might not consider very interesting or romantic.[citation needed]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mz3pnf5fmkbtbhffawqukgyf/bafkreigosve2g5yh7ngwn6k3qxcnfivghz72guv4lkm7abdttoo5ocm64u@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
+5 internet points to the person who added that "[citation needed]" to this Explain XKCD article.
My Christmas cactus has always been more of an Epiphany cactus, but this year it has decided to be… an early Darwin’s birthday cactus? #bloomscrolling
February 9, 2026 at 2:18 PM
My Christmas cactus has always been more of an Epiphany cactus, but this year it has decided to be… an early Darwin’s birthday cactus? #bloomscrolling
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
A group of male harlequin ducks cruising the waves in the Norwegian Sea at the mouth of Seyðisfjörður, part of Austfirðir in Eastern Iceland.
These badass ducks specialize in rough water, well known for living in fast-moving sections of rivers, and are gorgeous on top of their hardcore habitats.
These badass ducks specialize in rough water, well known for living in fast-moving sections of rivers, and are gorgeous on top of their hardcore habitats.
February 9, 2026 at 4:54 AM
A group of male harlequin ducks cruising the waves in the Norwegian Sea at the mouth of Seyðisfjörður, part of Austfirðir in Eastern Iceland.
These badass ducks specialize in rough water, well known for living in fast-moving sections of rivers, and are gorgeous on top of their hardcore habitats.
These badass ducks specialize in rough water, well known for living in fast-moving sections of rivers, and are gorgeous on top of their hardcore habitats.
It's been 14 years since HungoverOwls was actively posting but I still think about it every time I see an owl photo. This is an especially good candidate. www.tumblr.com/hungoverowls
February 8, 2026 at 5:43 PM
It's been 14 years since HungoverOwls was actively posting but I still think about it every time I see an owl photo. This is an especially good candidate. www.tumblr.com/hungoverowls
The next time I have a class lecture on dinosaurs isn't for another 9 months and I've already added it to my PowerPoint.
What is the over/under line for the number of times this image will appear in talks at [choose a conference about evolution and/or paleontology] this year?
xkcd.com/3204/
xkcd.com/3204/
Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs
xkcd.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:58 PM
The next time I have a class lecture on dinosaurs isn't for another 9 months and I've already added it to my PowerPoint.
I was being silly in the notes for my observation of this Great Egret (Ardea alba) I saw yesterday. I really appreciate the laugh I got from this commenter who decided to be silly in response.
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 PM
I was being silly in the notes for my observation of this Great Egret (Ardea alba) I saw yesterday. I really appreciate the laugh I got from this commenter who decided to be silly in response.
Reposted by Nicole Gerlach
I’m antsy for the end of winter, so here’s a couple of Miocene frogs for #FossilFriday
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
February 6, 2026 at 3:24 PM
I’m antsy for the end of winter, so here’s a couple of Miocene frogs for #FossilFriday
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
POV: you, a foolish human, attempted to relax on the couch during what was obviously supposed to be playtime.
February 6, 2026 at 3:09 AM
POV: you, a foolish human, attempted to relax on the couch during what was obviously supposed to be playtime.