Allan McDevitt
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shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt
@shrewgod.bsky.social
620 followers 340 following 76 posts

Lecturer in ATU 🇮🇪 Shrews are my thing but work on all sorts of critters across land and water! Molecular ecologist by trade, doing a lot of eDNA work these days! Lab website: https://sites.google.com/view/mcdevittlab/home .. more

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Environmental science 47%
Biology 30%
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shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · Oct 8
1st PhD chapter from @jjackman27.bsky.social on comparing #eDNA filtration methods in a hyper-tidal estuary. Although some methods outperform others, all are generally effective in recovering fish biodiversity, including the passive metaprobe. Paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Reposted by Tim M. Blackburn, Allan D. McDevitt

lockwoodlab.bsky.social
Julie Lockwood @lockwoodlab.bsky.social · 13h
The audio version of my Very Short Introduction on Invasive Species is out. This is a quick read that provides a comprehensive overview of invasion science! rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...
RBmedia | Invasive Species
Listen to the audiobook Invasive Species, written by Julie Lockwood;Dustin J. Welbourne, narrated by Wendy Tremont King.
rbmediaglobal.com

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

deepfrieddna.bsky.social
Dr Ross Barnett @deepfrieddna.bsky.social · 1d
This story has everything. Adrian Shine's hugely impressive beard, Boaty McBoatface, Nessie, Repair Shop. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The Repair Shop fixes 56-year-old Loch Ness Monster camera trap
The device was left underwater in the 1970s and rediscovered by accident by a robot submarine.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

kushpal.bsky.social
Kush Paliwal @kushpal.bsky.social · 3d
Big milestone today: My first PhD paper is officially out! We took a deep dive into eDNA transport dynamics in flowing waters. Check out the full study in ES&T.

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Laboratory Study on Fate and Transport of Water-Borne eDNA: A Tale of Tempered Tails and Parafluvial Processes
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a powerful marker for assessing species presence in flowing waters; however, estimating the spatial and temporal origins of these signals remains a challenge. T...
pubs.acs.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Howard I. Browman, Allan D. McDevitt

naiarare.bsky.social
Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta @naiarare.bsky.social · 3d
New paper by Cristina Claver (@azti.bsky.social), published in @icesmarine.bsky.social JMS.

We combine #eDNA and acoustic-trawl data in a Bayesian joint model to estimate biomass of the European anchovy in the Bay of Biscay.

From the potential of eDNA to operational use

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/ices...
Integrating eDNA and acoustic-trawl data to provide small pelagic biomass estimates for fish stock assessment
Abstract. Accurate abundance estimates of fisheries resources are essential for sustainable fisheries management. In response to the growing need for devel
doi.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Allan D. McDevitt

marinednadude.bsky.social
Marine eDNA Dude @marinednadude.bsky.social · 5d
New pre-print is live of our review synthesizing the many factors that influence accurately putting names on eDNA metabarcoding sequences doi.org/10.3897/arph...

Great team led by Prof. Allison Watts with many MBON and NOAA colleagues
Guidance and best practices for species identification using eDNA metabarcoding - When do you call a cod a cod?
With the rapid uptake of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for a wide range of conservation and management uses, there is a growing need for guidance and best practices for species identification...
doi.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Allan D. McDevitt

tschenekar.bsky.social
Tamara Schenekar @tschenekar.bsky.social · 5d
New paper: eDNA metabarcoding at African savanna waterholes revealed 95 species. Wet season shows overall richness, dry season favors mammals. Primer choice matters. We’re excited about eDNA powering wildlife monitoring! 🦒🐢🪿🐍 doi.org/10.1111/eva.... #eDNA #Africa #wildlife

Reposted by Matthew J. Collins, Allan D. McDevitt, Catherine J. Frieman

tommyhigham.bsky.social
Tom Higham @tommyhigham.bsky.social · 5d
We have a new paper out in Rapid Comms in Mass Spectrometry about 14C dating bone using a minimally destructive approach.
analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Minimally Destructive Radiocarbon Dating of Bone
Rationale Bone is commonly used in radiocarbon dating in archaeology and other disciplines. Despite advances in collagen extraction protocols, the process remains destructive, requiring sawing, dril.....
analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · 8d
Irish people scrambling to find all those Father Ted memes....

shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · 8d
It's why I could never watch this. Because deep down, I'm still too angry about it, even after 24 years!

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

alice-risely.bsky.social
Alice Risely @alice-risely.bsky.social · 9d
If anyone is looking for a v talented postdoc with expertise in molecular ecology, #microbiomes, mycobiomes, and/or pathogen #genomics, my friend @microbianac.bsky.social is finishing her PhD & looking for a #postdoc. Reach out if you have something coming up (Europe pref but potentially flexible).

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

migueldelaney.bsky.social
Miguel Delaney @migueldelaney.bsky.social · 9d
Saipan screenwriter Paul Fraser:

“It’s written as a tragedy. I saw it as two impossibly complicated egos unwilling to step down and look at the consequences. If one of them could have just…

Final words uttered a lot over the last 24 years

www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
What Keane and McCarthy’s absurd row in Saipan tells us about Irish identity
The new film dramatises a seminal moment in Irish footballing history, and Miguel Delaney details the lessons learned and how an undiscovered twist adds a new layer to one of the biggest controversies...
www.independent.co.uk

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

aer-ese-bes.bsky.social
Ecol. Solutions & Evidence | Applied Ecol. Resources @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social · 9d
Valuable camera-trap data can sit unanalysed for months—too slow for day-to-day management decisions 📸

Learn how researchers are tackling this issue by developing a deep-learning model in our latest blogpost! 👇
buff.ly/lfLamVC

🌍🧪
Turning camera-trap overload into actionable wildlife monitoring in African rainforests
To support adaptive management, Magaldi et al. have developed a deep-learning model to analyse ground-level camera traps in African tropical forests. A familiar problem If you work in wildlife rese…
buff.ly

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Allan D. McDevitt

florianaltermatt.bsky.social
Florian Altermatt @florianaltermatt.bsky.social · 9d
Utilizing aquatic #eDNA 🧬 to address global 🌍🌐 #biodiversity targets 🎯

Our #article @natrevbiodiv.nature.com is now freely available (upon registration) till Feb 16th: ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s44... part of special collection 📚 on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework #GBF 🌍 🦐 🐟 🧬

shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · 9d
Frontiers started off relatively well though but then went downhill fast. MDPI's practices quickly ruined the reputation of some of their decent journals too (Genes, Diversity etc.). So I think comparing things back then with now is very different.

Reposted by Katerina Harvati, Allan D. McDevitt

andrewcurry.com
Andrew Curry @andrewcurry.com · 9d
If there's one thing that defines humans–and our ancestors–it's tool use and innovation. In a new @pnas.org paper, @harvatilab.bsky.social and @annemiekemilks.bsky.social identify the world's oldest known wooden tool, dropped amidst the remains of a butchered elephant 430,000 years ago. @science.org
Oldest wooden tools may have been used to butcher elephants
Branches sharpened 400,000 years ago shine light on humans’ early toolmaking
www.science.org

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

wardvalley.bsky.social
Ward Valley @wardvalley.bsky.social · 11d
www.rte.ie/news/regiona...
Appeal for citizen scientists to track oystercatchers
The Marine Institute is seeking the help of "citizen scientists" to track the movements of oystercatcher birds in Dundalk Bay.
www.rte.ie

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

science.org
Science Magazine @science.org · 13d
A newly sequenced 5500-year-old genome of Treponema pallidum rewrites the origins of syphilis, according to a new study in Science.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Zpv2W2
A 5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome from Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia
Treponematosis, a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies and T. carateum (yaws, bejel, syphilis, pinta), has afflicted humans for millennia. Despite paleopathological evidence and...
scim.ag

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

soozuk.bsky.social
Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · 14d
KEIR FUCKING HELL I HAVE LITERALLY POSTED THIS 385473458Q234783455345 TIMES IN FIVE YEARS
LEONARD NIMOY SIMPSONS "MY JOB HERE IS DONE...." MEME

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

nicolasdussex.bsky.social
Nicolas Dussex @nicolasdussex.bsky.social · 14d
Interested in👇 ?

- museomics: genome erosion, adaptation 🦌 🦜 🐬
- marcogenomics of sea warming (methods dev. or empirical data)
🌊 🐟🦭🐋

Check this call (2 y. postdoc) and get in touch to discuss potential projects (deadline 31.03.26)
#popgen #consgen #evolbiol

👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
DDLS Research School Postdoc call 2026
Call for Academic and Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data-Driven Life Science 2026 Generic Description of the DDLS Postdoc Program The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Drive...
www.scilifelab.se

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Graeme S. Cumming, Trevor A. Branch , and 4 more

nickdulvy.bsky.social
Nick Dulvy @nickdulvy.bsky.social · 15d
New paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com by the #GlobalSharkTrends team: Bending back the curve of shark & ray biodiversity loss;
Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9
@sfu.ca
@sfubiosciences.bsky.social
@earth2ocean.bsky.social
Bending back the biodiversity loss curve of sharks and rays. The loss of sharks and rays to date has involved serial depletion of the largest, most evolutionary and functionally distinct species, and the increasing prevalence of smaller-bodied species that have benefited from release from predation.

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

akamolphat.bsky.social @akamolphat.bsky.social · 15d
Now out in ME: dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Empirical comparison of WGS and RADseq selection scans shows missed signals and false outliers in RADseq selection scans resulting from population specific allelic dropout @katarinastuart.bsky.social @lee-rollins.bsky.social @annasanture.bsky.social
Missing or Mis‐Telling the Story? Trade‐Offs for Restriction‐Site Associated Compared to Whole Genome Sequencing
Researchers must navigate several trade-offs when deciding which population sequencing method to use. The decision between reduced representation approaches and whole genome sequencing (WGS) impacts ...
dx.doi.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Allan D. McDevitt

marianilab.bsky.social
The Mariani Lab @marianilab.bsky.social · 16d
Maybe there’s no better “natural #eDNA sampler” than a sponge. But here we show why #jellyfish maybe also deserve some consideration:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@craigwilding.bsky.social @ljmubiocon.bsky.social #OGS #Trieste #Miramare
Four species of jellyfish used to extract environmental DNA

shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · 17d
Not bad here in West Galway either!

Reposted by Matthew J. Collins, Allan D. McDevitt

cam-archaeology.bsky.social
Cambridge Archaeology @cam-archaeology.bsky.social · 21d
📣 Work with us! 📣

We are seeking to appoint a part-time, permanent Biomolecular Research Laboratory Technician!

Hear a bit more about the role from @matthewcollins.bsky.social

📅 Closing date: 2 February

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/biomole...

shrewgod.bsky.social
Allan McDevitt @shrewgod.bsky.social · 21d
New paper led by Portuguese colleagues on a lack of resistance to, and a build up of, anticoagulant rodenticides in brown and black rats in Portuguese ports (island and mainland) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Rats, residues and rodenticide resistance: Hepatic concentration of anticoagulant rodenticides in genetically susceptible wild brown and black rats
Invasive rats are major pests worldwide, posing economic and public health risks. Since the 1950s, efforts have been made to control or eradicate thes…
www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by David M. Schultz, Peter Thorne, Emili García‐Berthou , and 20 more

hansonmark.bsky.social
Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 23d
We've got ISSUES. Literally.

We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?

arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563

A 🧵 1/n

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

ericrlarson.bsky.social
Eric R. Larson @ericrlarson.bsky.social · 24d
Do precipitation events have opposing effects on aquatic versus terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) recovered from streams and rivers? New from the lab at Ecological Applications: doi.org/10.1002/eap....
Linear mixed model predictions for aquatic (blue solid) and terrestrial taxa richness (brown dotted) in response to (A) rainfall (in centimeters) and (B) water temperature (in degrees Celsius) with 95% CIs.

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt, Prakash Kashwan

andrewcurry.com
Andrew Curry @andrewcurry.com · 27d
In a new study, researchers from @uab.cat claim people have been whaling for almost 5,000 years – and that the earliest evidence comes from the warm coastal waters of Brazil, not the Arctic. www.science.org/content/arti... @science.org
World’s oldest whale harpoons discovered in Brazil
Far from the icy Arctic, ancient South Americans hunted whales using whalebone tools
www.science.org

Reposted by Julie L. Lockwood, Allan D. McDevitt

neobiota.pensoft.net
NeoBiota @neobiota.pensoft.net · 28d
🐀The invasive black #rat (𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘶𝘴) reappeared on World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island.

Using #DNA analysis, this new study examined whether the rats were survivors of the 2019 eradication programme or new arrivals from mainland Australia.
➡ doi.org/10.3897/neob...

#rodent #invasivespecies

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

gregerlarson.bsky.social
Greger Larson @gregerlarson.bsky.social · 29d
Starting off 2026 in a highly porcine manner. The story dropped on Jan 1 when a lot of the planet was focussed more on a hangover cure (myself included), than on the latest in human-pig research. Huge congrats to the dozens of amazing scientists and hooray for pigs!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific
Several millennia of human-mediated translocation of non-native pig species (genus Sus) to the islands of Wallacea and Oceania have considerably altered local ecosystems. To investigate the timing and...
www.science.org