Paul Manning
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paulypod.bsky.social
Paul Manning
@paulypod.bsky.social
Assistant Prof at Dalhousie University – Faculty of Agriculture. Researching the importance of insect biodiversity for ecosystem health. Here - bugs, science, art, running, and the occasional book.
Reposted by Paul Manning
Fifteen Years

xkcd.com/3172/
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
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Terrific new paper by @jessicalwarelab.bsky.social and others on dragonfly wings, in particular the hydrocarbons which act in multiple ways - structurally, pheromonally and in terms of water resistance. Wish I were still teaching, I'd use this as a great example. of multiple adaptations.
The secrets of the extreme durability of odonata wings
Abstract. Essential properties considered in the design, fabrication, and application of contemporary bio/nanomaterials have been modeled on adaptations of
academic.oup.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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No Longer Feel Alone
Mike Gough
2025
November 26, 2025 at 12:01 AM
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when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
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Today’s xkcd made me cry.

In a good way.

xkcd.com/3172/
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Paul Manning
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.

This is who it was:
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 AM
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ChatGPT’s signature writing style is everywhere now, and I hate it. It reminds me of when we tried mixing all the beverages at the soda fountain in middle school. We didn’t actually create the perfect drink, we just made a cloying monstrosity that lost everything good about its constituent parts.
November 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Paul Manning
There are over a million insect species (that currently have scientific descriptions, at least), and they're *everywhere* ... under rocks, on flowers, around lights at night, in tree bark, and more.
November 19, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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November 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
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November 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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Salt marsh on Dorchester Cape to be protected by First Nation #NewBrunswick

Land deemed valuable for its climate role and sacred medicine

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
First Nation to protect salt marsh on Dorchester Cape | CBC News
A Mi'kmaw land trust has purchased a southeastern New Brunswick salt marsh near Dorchester for protection and conservation by Amlamgog, or Fort Folly First Nation.
www.cbc.ca
November 14, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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🍃📣Upcoming CSEE Event! Join us online on Nov. 26th for a panel discussion Q&A on faculty positions. CSEE members will receive the link in their mailbox. (Event in English) #CSEE #online #paneldiscussion #eeb
November 13, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Aberdeen, Scotland, 57.2°N, 1:45 AM local time. Taken with a sufficiently ancient & cheap camera that it basically looked like this to the naked eye, no joke.
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 AM
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Congrats again to @pkuper.bsky.social on his scientific communications award from the Entomological Society of America!
November 12, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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Listening respectfully but internally chanting “SNOOTS SNOOTS SNOOTS;” hooting and hollering
November 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
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“New York Times conducts hostile interview with children’s education influencer questioning her recognition of comprehensively documented war crimes” is not a sentence I could have imagined a few years ago
November 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
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“Indoor cats live longer!” Bumper stickers available now! pigeonpost.cafe/products/ind...
November 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Really pleased with this new paper! We asked campus stakeholders to rate photorealistic images of no-mow landscapes. We found:

At least 70% preferred no-mow over turfgrass.

Support for now-mow was highest in less-familiar areas.

Designs with mown paths always win!
Stakeholder feedback on perspective renderings indicate broad support for no-mow management of campus greenspaces
No-mow management of greenspaces is becoming a popular intervention to conserve biodiversity and balance other human functions (e.g. aesthetic qualiti…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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Fall on the farm - just two weeks until I go chase another summer
October 1, 2025 at 7:18 PM
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Male and female chalcids that emerged from redbud seedpods. Both are in the genus Eurytoma and are possibly the same species but further identification is beyond my skill set. I can't find any mention of them being recorded as parasitoids of redbud bruchids. 🌿 #wasps #hymenoptera #insects #bruchidae
October 10, 2025 at 1:31 PM
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History-changing day for labour relations at @dalhousieu.bsky.social. Lockout of faculty could begin as early as Wed morning. Rest assured, DFA members are ready for what is about to happen. #keepdalstrong @cupe3912.bsky.social @nsgeu.bsky.social @ansut.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social
August 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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WTF? I was quoted in this story but I have never spoken to the reporter nor would I have said those things. Is everything just generated by LLMs these days?

cosmosmagazine.com/earth/oceans...
July 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Paul Manning
Wrapped up another series of super-fun radio interviews about the cool critters you might find on our Atlantic Canadian shorelines! 🌊🐚🦪🪼🐙🦑🦀🦞🦐

Keep your ears tuned for "A Shore Thing" on CBC Radio this summer!
June 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Paul Manning
Today I learned there is a ChatGPT "spider ID assistant."

Please do not use ChatGPT or any other generative 'AI' to identify spiders (or anything else for that matter). A model trained on the current quagmire of misinformation and misidentified images online cannot be effective.
June 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM