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verntasco.bsky.social
Ben Vernasco
@verntasco.bsky.social
1.6K followers 740 following 38 posts
Research Scientist/Adjunct Assistant Professor @WhitmanCollege
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verntasco.bsky.social
Ben Vernasco @verntasco.bsky.social · Sep 13
New paper published in collaboration with Kira Long, Mike Braun and Jeff Brawn! We examined the relationship between genetic and telomeric variation in a manakin hybrid zone. Especially stoked because our paper got featured on the issue’s cover!!!

doi.org/10.1111/mec....
Genetic and telomeric variability: Insights from a tropical avian hybrid zone
Telomere lengths and telomere dynamics can correlate with lifespan, behaviour and individual quality. Such relationships have spurred interest in understanding variation in telomere lengths and their....
doi.org
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
drgodwit.bsky.social
Please repost! We are looking for two field technicians to work on our deer mouse project in the Colorado Rockies this spring-fall. Learn about physiology, ecology, and evolution, all in one project! Not to mention that you get to be in the ⛰️. Reach out if you have any questions.
February 10, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
alexanderlees.bsky.social
New paper links Salmonellosis disease dynamics to avian irruptions mediated by transmission at bird feeders - with subsequent spillover to humans causing severe illness and death 🪶🌎 #ornithology #UKBirding
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #BirdFeeding #Rethink @mwtingley.bsky.social
A climate-mediated ecological cascade leads to salmonellosis outbreaks in the United States. Temperature differences in successive summers are associated with differences in tree cone production in high-elevation and high-latitude forests (Top row), such that a warm summer followed by a cold summer is associated with a drop in cone production the following year (Top Right panel). Cone production is negatively associated with facultative bird migrations (irruptions) of eight seed-eating species (Middle row), such that when cone numbers are low, birds are more likely to irrupt in large numbers (Middle row, Right panel). When irruptions of pine siskins (S. pinus) occur, more songbirds are often found infected with, or dead from, salmonellosis (Bottom Right panel).
January 21, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
thecowbirdlab.bsky.social
Update on some of our decades long cowbird research in @audubon.org magazine: www.audubon.org/magazine/got...
Got Beef With Cowbirds? This Researcher Wants to Change Your Mind
The nest parasites get a bad rap for making other birds raise their young, but study by study, Mark Hauber and his “Cowbird Lab” have revealed a species worthy of respect.
www.audubon.org
January 15, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
jlwilliamson.bsky.social
The Wyoming Game & Fish Dept. is hiring two Black Rosy-Finch technicians to conduct alpine surveys in Wyoming's high elevation mountains during June 1st to Aug 31st 2026: www.governmentjobs.com/careers/wyom.... Spread the word!
Job Opportunities | .
www.governmentjobs.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:38 AM
verntasco.bsky.social
www.cpr.org/2026/01/11/u...
Fed agency looking for wildlife refuges that 'no longer align with the mission'
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it's looking for ways to make hundreds of wildlife refuges and dozens of fish hatcheries more efficient.
www.cpr.org
January 11, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
dendromecon27.bsky.social
Update: the mini bus package that includes USDA passed the House.
January 9, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
antoinestier.bsky.social
Please repost: 🚨Field assistant position 🐧

We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology.

Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
January 5, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
dr-bff.bsky.social
New ornithological method just dropped: capture only the birds needed for your study with the click of a button.
Pub from me & @verntasco.bsky.social
Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture. Journal of Field Ornithology. journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/a...
Journal of Field Ornithology: Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture
Capturing and marking animals is often an essential component of studying wild populations, but the process of capturing and marking can have detrimental effects on captured birds. For instance, resea...
journal.afonet.org
December 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM
verntasco.bsky.social
Do you trap songbirds at a bird feeder, with a focus on particular species or individuals? Consider trying out our new design which uses a key FOB to remotely close the trap!

journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss4/a...
Journal of Field Ornithology: Bye-bye bycatch: a remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture
Capturing and marking animals is often an essential component of studying wild populations, but the process of capturing and marking can have detrimental effects on captured birds. For instance, resea...
journal.afonet.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
kevinfpbennett.bsky.social
New paper out. If you like colorful birds, hybridization, and phylogenetics, read on! 🧵https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003501
A colorful legacy of hybridization in wood-warblers includes frequent sharing of carotenoid genes among species and genera
Introgression between species can shape evolutionary trajectories in important ways. This study of the entire family of the colorful wood-warblers (Parulidae) uses whole-genome sequencing to reveal fr...
doi.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
verntasco.bsky.social
New research in @sicbjournals.bsky.social on individual variation in glucocorticoid physiology. We examine intrinsic and extrinsic sources using a captive population of Red Crossbills. One cool result - we find adult telomere length predicts glucocorticoid concentrations

doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
State-dependent and social modulation of circulating glucocorticoids in a nomadic songbird, the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
Abstract. Glucocorticoids facilitate the integration of environmental information and coordination of organismal responses to perturbations. Circulating gl
doi.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
ecologyofgavin.bsky.social
I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉

gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
Opportunities
***PhD and MSc openings – Movement ecology and conservation*** I will periodically support graduate students, postdocs, and other staff through the Biology Department at the University of New…
gavinmjones.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
dinalab.bsky.social
Also DNA PEOPLE!! We need your help!! Our cool friends collected the white witch caterpillar's poop but need to process it to find what kinds of plants it eats!

Does your lab do some kind of poop plant analysis? Please let us know!! We have special poop!
December 3, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
birdfiddler.bsky.social
New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes...
1/n
#Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
Climatic Variability Threatens Population Growth and Persistence of a Declining Grassland Songbird
Determining the factors responsible for population change in threatened populations and the degree to which changing climates might put those populations at risk is one of the most pressing roles of ...
dx.doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
thecowbirdlab.bsky.social
@fieldornith.bsky.social new position search!
November 11, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
emilyhduval.bsky.social
We're hiring! Florida State University’s Department of Biological Science is seeking a tenure-track Evolutionary Geneticist. Our E&E group is outstanding - join us! Please share with anyone who might be interested! #Evolution #Genetics #EvoDevo #FacultyJob
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675930/a...
November 2, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
mollyschumer.bsky.social
Anyone looking for an undergrad research assistant this coming summer? I have a truly phenomenal undergrad with expertise in genetic mapping, long read sequencing & bioinformatics who wants experience in another lab before grad school. She has been in our lab for 3 years & writing her first paper!
October 23, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
amynusbaum.bsky.social
Looking for an adjunct to teach Indigenous Psychology in the spring. Could be asynchronous or via Zoom in the evening (Pacific). Very open to whatever approach/content you'd like to cover. Pay is $3,300 for the semester. We're a Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution, as well as an HSI!
October 16, 2025 at 10:56 PM
verntasco.bsky.social
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Bezos grant to fund AI innovations to monitor and protect wildlife | Cornell Chronicle
A $1.8 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund will help the Cornell Lab of Ornithology develop acoustic sensors and artificial intelligence analytics to identify real-time threats to forests from ill...
news.cornell.edu
October 23, 2025 at 10:21 PM
verntasco.bsky.social
The perfect paper, the perfect grant proposal, the perfect fellowship application…
grantdraws.bsky.social Grant Snider @grantdraws.bsky.social · Oct 16
Some thoughts on destroying the illusion of perfection:
incidentalcomics.substack.com/p/destroying...
October 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
benardmf.bsky.social
New from CWRU alumn Troy Neptune, with Diana Koester (CLE Metroparks Zoo) in @animalecology.bsky.social. Gray treefrogs use daylength as a seasonal cue to prepare for winter. Autumn daylength triggers frogs to accumulate 14-fold more liver glycogen than summer photoperiod.
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Adult Gray Treefrog. A treefrog is sitting in brown, dead cattail fronds. The treefrog has a mottled pattern of light and dark green patterns on its back. Figure showing the amount of daylength in the three treatments from the start of the experiment (Day 0) to the end of the experiment (around day 90). The early treatment simulates breeding starting in april, and the daylength is about 12.5 hours per day, and goes up to about 15 hours per day. The average treatment simulates breeding in july, and simulates breeding starting in July and at 15 hours of light per day, and going down to around 12 hours of light per day. The late treatment simulates breeding in mid-august. Late treatment starts with about 14 hours of light per day, and goes down to about 10 hours of light per day. Plot of total glycogen in liver. The values are low (between 0 and 20) for frogs from the early and average photoperiod, but are much higher (40) for frogs from the late treatment. Figure showing size-corrected growth rate (grams per day) from the three photoperiod treatments. The late photoperiod treatment has the lowest growth rate, significantly lower than the average photoperiod, and lower (but not significantly different from) the early photoperiod.
October 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
jlwilliamson.bsky.social
My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.
October 14, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
rosvall-lab.bsky.social
This is a nice IU short on our eclipse project. #NSF youtube.com/shorts/PrQGn...
Indiana University scientists lead project on how birds responded to the 2024 Great American Eclipse
YouTube video by Kimberly Rosvall
youtube.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social
Latest articles from the WJO: Call rate and types of calls produced vary with flock movements in wild Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus). #ornithology doi.org/10.1080/1559...
Call rate during Pine Siskin flock movements (arrival, circling, departure) was significantly greater than during baseline minutes.
October 7, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Ben Vernasco
dirtbagqueer.rocks
thank you bills tiktok
October 3, 2025 at 1:11 AM