Being a theoretician means listening to an obscene amount of music

Our rules are broken up into 3 pillars: iteration in the data model integration process, using multiples sources of data, and understanding and embracing uncertainty. We had a lot of fun crafting and refining the ten rules and hope it’ll be of use to those new to the data-model integration process.

Baby capybaras @ the Sacramento zoo #healing #love #hope

Another year without any progress on this important topic. What is the deal with Neanderthal lice? Where & who are they & how many & did we share lice with them & did they share lice with us & was there lice hybridization with human-neanderthal hybridization? Plz help. @reginafairbanks.bsky.social

Lastly, we apply it to a model of keystone predation to demonstrate how the loss of a top predator can cause the secondary extinction of a prey species, paying homage to classic experiments of secondary extinction by Dr. Robert Paine. (8/X)

We then apply our method to a grassland community with both facilitation and competition. We find several possible secondary extinctions and find that a mix of competition against the secondarily extinct species and facilitation for competitors against the secondarily extinct species. (7/X)

We apply this to three different models to show its utility. We use an empirically-derived model from
@nathanjbkraft.bsky.social's lab to identify possible secondary extinctions in a fully competitive, annual plant community and demonstrate how these dynamics arise! (6/X)

Once we identify when a secondary extinction occurs, we can understand why by asking (1) why the secondarily extinct species has a negative invasion growth rate at the disassembled community but (2) a positive invasion growth rate in a community containing the primarily extinct species (5/X)

We use invasion growth rates to develop the "Community Disassembly Graph". Nodes represent coexisting communities and directed edges represent transitions from one community composition to another due to extinction. We can use this graph to identify possible secondary extinctions. (4/X)

Coexistence outcomes often depend on the complex interplay of species interactions. Consequently in some cases, the extinction of one species can trigger the loss of another, a process known as secondary extinction, as explained by a plaque I came across at the Bronx Zoo. (2/X)

Spotted in the UC Davis arboretum. Unsure what it is. Maybe a northern shrike? @phylogenomics.bsky.social