Faith Borak
@borak-faith.bsky.social
Texan living in South Florida and the personal servant to a demon cat. Lab tech by day, invertebrate nerd by night. I enjoy photography and taking walks in natural spaces, and sometimes I do art
Reposted by Faith Borak
#SpongeThursday: 3 nice examples of Archaeoscyphia conicula - a Late #Silurian (~424 MYA) conical, annulate lithistid demosponge from Somerset Is., #Nunavut, Canada 🇨🇦; sectioned specimens show the large sediment-filled spongocoel & thick body wall. #fossils
March 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
#SpongeThursday: 3 nice examples of Archaeoscyphia conicula - a Late #Silurian (~424 MYA) conical, annulate lithistid demosponge from Somerset Is., #Nunavut, Canada 🇨🇦; sectioned specimens show the large sediment-filled spongocoel & thick body wall. #fossils
A sleepy floof on a cozy bed of even more floof 💛
December 20, 2024 at 7:36 PM
A sleepy floof on a cozy bed of even more floof 💛
Such sweet little creatures. It’s always a treat seeing them 🤎
Found two Brown Creepers with @borak-faith.bsky.social today. 🥹 One was very slowly exploring a single crease of a palmetto frond, another was at the base of a magnolia tree all but disappearing into the bark. Creepin' 🤎
(Attidops cinctipes)
(Attidops cinctipes)
December 16, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Such sweet little creatures. It’s always a treat seeing them 🤎
Reposted by Faith Borak
BREAKING: The USFWS today proposed to protect the monarch butterfly as "threatened" under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct.
The decision came in response to a scientific petition and lawsuit by @centerforbiodiv.bsky.social and Center for Food Safety.
The decision came in response to a scientific petition and lawsuit by @centerforbiodiv.bsky.social and Center for Food Safety.
December 10, 2024 at 9:03 PM
BREAKING: The USFWS today proposed to protect the monarch butterfly as "threatened" under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct.
The decision came in response to a scientific petition and lawsuit by @centerforbiodiv.bsky.social and Center for Food Safety.
The decision came in response to a scientific petition and lawsuit by @centerforbiodiv.bsky.social and Center for Food Safety.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was introduced to ghost plants by the lovely @apsciencebydan.bsky.social (whose birthday may or may not be today 👀)! They certainly live up to their name with their ghostly white appearance
December 10, 2024 at 7:18 PM
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was introduced to ghost plants by the lovely @apsciencebydan.bsky.social (whose birthday may or may not be today 👀)! They certainly live up to their name with their ghostly white appearance
Reposted by Faith Borak
New paper out! We show that heart cockles use bundled fiber optic cables to transmit light through "skylights" in their shell for their photosynthetic algae. The skylights filter out harmful UV radiation. These coral analogues are cool critters!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight to photosymbiotic algae using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses - Nature Communications
Some bivalves have evolved photosynthetic symbioses. Here, the authors show that heart cockles transmit light through their upper shell to internal photosynthetic symbionts, using mineral fiber optic ...
www.nature.com
December 9, 2024 at 2:45 PM
New paper out! We show that heart cockles use bundled fiber optic cables to transmit light through "skylights" in their shell for their photosynthetic algae. The skylights filter out harmful UV radiation. These coral analogues are cool critters!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Faith Borak
Moths can hear the clicking wails of a sad, dry, injured plant.
And they run the other way to lay their eggs. Totally wild to think how many things around us are communicating in ways we cannot even comprehend! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/s...
And they run the other way to lay their eggs. Totally wild to think how many things around us are communicating in ways we cannot even comprehend! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/s...
When They Hear Plants Crying, Moths Make a Decision (Gift Article)
A new study suggests that the insects rely on the sounds made by distressed vegetation to guide important reproductive choices.
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2024 at 5:36 PM
Moths can hear the clicking wails of a sad, dry, injured plant.
And they run the other way to lay their eggs. Totally wild to think how many things around us are communicating in ways we cannot even comprehend! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/s...
And they run the other way to lay their eggs. Totally wild to think how many things around us are communicating in ways we cannot even comprehend! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/s...
Reposted by Faith Borak
ICYMI, my latest for American Scientist magazine is about the new national ocean biodiversity strategy, the latest example of the Biden-Harris administration making great science policy https://buff.ly/4eXvlNM
An All-of-Government Approach to Saving the Ocean
The new National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy exemplifies important science policy done right.
buff.ly
December 8, 2024 at 3:52 PM
ICYMI, my latest for American Scientist magazine is about the new national ocean biodiversity strategy, the latest example of the Biden-Harris administration making great science policy https://buff.ly/4eXvlNM
A wax scale insect. They are very silly creatures, with their “tail” being made up entirely of wax!
December 8, 2024 at 4:48 PM
A wax scale insect. They are very silly creatures, with their “tail” being made up entirely of wax!
A tiny Florida native sundew for your viewing pleasure. Our native carnivorous plants hold a very special place in my heart ❤️
December 7, 2024 at 2:35 AM
A tiny Florida native sundew for your viewing pleasure. Our native carnivorous plants hold a very special place in my heart ❤️
