Pedro Monarrez
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pedromonarrez.bsky.social
Pedro Monarrez
@pedromonarrez.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. Geologist/Paleobiologist/Stratigrapher. JEDI and ethical data collection advocate. Dodgers fan. First-gen 🇲🇽🇺🇸. CSU Fullerton and UGA alum. he/him/él. Skeets and reskeets are my own.
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
If you are in Eastern Oregon today, stop by the C2C project’s booth at the Watershed Festival, where we explore how ancient volcanic eruptions have shaped climate and life.

Volcanoes, Lava, and Life—words to live by!

Featuring Leif Karlstrom, Lauren Adamo, &
@pedromonarrez.bsky.social
June 27, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Good article on the importance of basic science and how it benefits society
www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
June 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
🧵New paper + open database drop!
The Marine Organismal Body Size ( #MOBS ) Database is now live—85,000+ marine species, from plankton to whales, with standardized size data.
A huge leap for biodiversity, conservation, and climate science. #science #marinelife onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
MOBS 1.0: A Database of Interspecific Variation in Marine Organismal Body Sizes
Motivation Body size is a fundamental trait influencing an organism's life history, ecology, physiology and evolutionary dynamics. While extensive body-size databases exist for terrestrial vertebrat...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Let's continue National Snail Day Shellebrations with the snails in short series, where I collaborated with @franzanth.bsky.social 🐌🦑 #nationalsnailday

first up some snail basics
May 29, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Abstract submissions for GSA Connects 2025 in San Antonio are open now through August 5. Consider submitting an abstract to one of the two sessions I’m co-convening. Or don’t, that’s cool too. connects.geosociety.org/program/tech... #GSAConnects #paleobiology #extinction #stratigraphy #strapaleo
May 29, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Humans may have been making tools from whale bones up to 20,000 years ago, according to evidence presented in Nature Communications. go.nature.com/4kePeD6 🏺 🧪
May 27, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
When we take measures to address the racial bias that has allowed whites to enjoy privilege, they call our survival mechanisms 'racial bias.' Pure hypocrisy.

www.science.org/content/arti...

#saveNSF #NSF
NSF’s grant cuts fall heaviest on scientists from underrepresented groups
Projects to broaden participation were cut disproportionately—and were often led by Black scientists, women, and those with disabilities
www.science.org
May 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
It's official. 15% ICR on NSF grants.

My favorite line: "Reducing administrative burdens for awardee institutions."

Say the opposite of what is true... the communication strategy of our time: www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...
Policy Notice: Implementation of Standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate
www.nsf.gov
May 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Day 4 of photoshopping @lastweektonight.com's John Oliver onto fossils (badly) in the hopes that he saves the Paleontological Research Institution

Fossil is PRI's newest plush paleozoic pal of Diplocaulus salamandroides, comedian is H. sapiens

#savePRI #MuseumoftheEarth 🧪 almost #fossilfriday
May 1, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Physiology and climate change explain unusually high similarity across marine communities after end-Permian mass extinction | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Physiology and climate change explain unusually high similarity across marine communities after end-Permian mass extinction
Survivors expanding into hot, low-oxygen habitats explain why marine ecosystems were similar after the end-Permian extinction.
www.science.org
March 27, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Happy #taxonomistappreciationday! Taxonomy is the science that names and identifies species, forming the basis of communication in other fields of biology. My own expertise is in marine snails, especially the Turritellidae.
March 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
If trans people are going to perpetually catch so much shit for existing, we may as well be bold. We may as well own that we are exceptional, we shine, and we carry deep knowledge the rest of the world wishes they could comprehend.
March 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F.

18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it.

We made this website to tell our story:
18f.org
We're not done yet | 18F
18f.org
March 1, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
A historic milestone for #AGU! 🚀🌍 Dr. Brandon Jones has officially taken the helm as AGU’s President, bringing a bold vision for the future of#Forbesanization-makes-history-with-new-president/#Leadershipv#ScienceMattersxt-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky"> Earth and space science.

Read more about his leadership and impact in this #Forbes feature: www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

#Leadership #ScienceMatters
February 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Zelenskyy went into that nest of vipers and roasted them all. Good. They all exposed themselves, they demeaned themselves in a way that was undeniable. Perfect.
February 28, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
A court hearing this afternoon could be pivotal for NSF staff terminated illegally. A colleague’s declaration of harm is in Document 18, attachment 9 and speaks for a lot of us who were fired from NSF.

www.courtlistener.com/docket/69655...
American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. United States Office of Personnel Management, 3:25-cv-01780 - CourtListener.com
Docket for American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. United States Office of Personnel Management, 3:25-cv-01780 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating ...
www.courtlistener.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
A genome-based phylogeny for Mollusca is concordant with fossils and morphology | www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org
February 27, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Please let the GEO/EAR community know: Program Directors and Mission Support who’ve been at NSF under two years were just terminated via Zoom. Even those of us whose offer letter stated one probationary year and whose government data states “permanent”.
February 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
First day as an assistant professor and I couldn’t have asked for better colleagues!
January 21, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
We are looking for geoscientists who are or were in the workforce to take a participate in a survey about their experiences. There is almost no data on disabled geos beyond the student level and we aim to change that. Please share widely!
December 21, 2024 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
A colleague, Tamara Pico, is conducting a study about potentially gendered, sexist, or sexual language in the geosciences: ucsantacruz.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_.... Responses welcome from subtle to more memorable, and even if you have not heard this language!
December 6, 2024 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Pedro Monarrez
Reminder I'm recruiting a graduate student to join the
@oupaleobiology.bsky.social lab in fall '25. My lab uses fossils, fieldwork, & statistical phylogenetic methods to study macroevolutionary processes in marine invertebrates, especially echinoderms. Please share & feel free to reach out! 🧪
December 3, 2024 at 9:03 PM