Noah Leith
@noahleith.bsky.social
Sexual selection - animal communication - ecophys - disease ecology - global change
NSF Postdoc Fellow at UC Berkeley 🏳️🌈(he/him)
leith-ecology-evolution.com
NSF Postdoc Fellow at UC Berkeley 🏳️🌈(he/him)
leith-ecology-evolution.com
Reposted by Noah Leith
Great new paper by the amazing @noahleith.bsky.social and his colleagues! 🌎🧪🦑
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Carryover Effects on Reproduction Can Buffer Against Mortality‐Driven Population Declines at Elevated Developmental Temperatures
We show that hotter juvenile temperatures can increase adult fertility in an emerging model insect system. These reproductive benefits may be crucial for insect populations to avoid extinction during....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Great new paper by the amazing @noahleith.bsky.social and his colleagues! 🌎🧪🦑
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Noah Leith
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
New paper with @kfowlerfinn.bsky.social and team in Ecology Letters!
Hotter developmental temperatures reduce survival in juvenile insects, but also enhance adult fertility enough to potentially avoid population declines in warming climates
doi.org/10.1111/ele....
#evosky #ecology #climatechange
Hotter developmental temperatures reduce survival in juvenile insects, but also enhance adult fertility enough to potentially avoid population declines in warming climates
doi.org/10.1111/ele....
#evosky #ecology #climatechange
Carryover Effects on Reproduction Can Buffer Against Mortality‐Driven Population Declines at Elevated Developmental Temperatures
We show that hotter juvenile temperatures can increase adult fertility in an emerging model insect system. These reproductive benefits may be crucial for insect populations to avoid extinction during...
doi.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:44 AM
New paper with @kfowlerfinn.bsky.social and team in Ecology Letters!
Hotter developmental temperatures reduce survival in juvenile insects, but also enhance adult fertility enough to potentially avoid population declines in warming climates
doi.org/10.1111/ele....
#evosky #ecology #climatechange
Hotter developmental temperatures reduce survival in juvenile insects, but also enhance adult fertility enough to potentially avoid population declines in warming climates
doi.org/10.1111/ele....
#evosky #ecology #climatechange
Reposted by Noah Leith
Thrilled to share this paper that started as a summer research project and ended as a co-first author pub with amazing undergrad mentee Naomi 🪰
#evosky 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
#evosky 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
November 12, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Thrilled to share this paper that started as a summer research project and ended as a co-first author pub with amazing undergrad mentee Naomi 🪰
#evosky 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
#evosky 🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
Reposted by Noah Leith
Here's my latest contribution to the "Lost Science" series at the New York Times: Jay Falk, a scientist who studies why some female hummingbirds look just like males. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qF7Qje
October 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Here's my latest contribution to the "Lost Science" series at the New York Times: Jay Falk, a scientist who studies why some female hummingbirds look just like males. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qF7Qje
Reposted by Noah Leith
Pumped to share our work on bird behavior and the 2024 Eclipse, in today's @science.org. 100k bird vocalizations + 10k continent-wide observations from the public = really fun collab led by Liz Aguilar, with @juncowren.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @imillercrews.bsky.social #NSF
October 9, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Pumped to share our work on bird behavior and the 2024 Eclipse, in today's @science.org. 100k bird vocalizations + 10k continent-wide observations from the public = really fun collab led by Liz Aguilar, with @juncowren.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @imillercrews.bsky.social #NSF
Reposted by Noah Leith
It seems the GRFP solicitation is FINALLY released (like 5 minutes ago)! Due dates have also been pushed back, thankfully! 🧪 🔭
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 26, 2025 at 3:46 PM
It seems the GRFP solicitation is FINALLY released (like 5 minutes ago)! Due dates have also been pushed back, thankfully! 🧪 🔭
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Reposted by Noah Leith
Why do males and females often differ in traits?
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same
August 23, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Why do males and females often differ in traits?
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same
Reposted by Noah Leith
🚨 New paper in ICB! 🚨
We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...
@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social
We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...
@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social
Exaggeration Through Sexual Selection May Impact the Thermal Biology of Arthropods
Synopsis. Sexual selection is often invoked to explain the evolution of extravagant morphologies, such as antlers and horns. While the focus is typically o
doi.org
September 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
🚨 New paper in ICB! 🚨
We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...
@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social
We demonstrate that sexually selected traits like horns and claws aren’t just about mating success: these structures can also shape thermal biology. 🦀🪲🌡️
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...
@tattersallg.bsky.social @avpalaoro.bsky.social @sicbjournals.bsky.social
Reposted by Noah Leith
New paper! PhD student Julie Rej found that invasive brown anoles are more aggressive than native green anoles across a wide range of temperatures. The difference is greatest when it's hottest, ie, heat amplifies the aggression of an invasive species!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
High temperatures amplify aggressiveness of an invasive lizard toward a native congener
Invasive species cause major disturbances to endemic wildlife and often displace native species. Behavioral aggression can contribute to invasive spec…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
New paper! PhD student Julie Rej found that invasive brown anoles are more aggressive than native green anoles across a wide range of temperatures. The difference is greatest when it's hottest, ie, heat amplifies the aggression of an invasive species!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Noah Leith
new paper from my lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social in @natclimate.nature.com, led by @sarahnalley.bsky.social!
Dragonflies with dark mating ornaments on their wings are disappearing from parts of the United States that have had more warming and wildfire over the last 40 years 🧪🌍🐙
rdcu.be/eFm7e
Dragonflies with dark mating ornaments on their wings are disappearing from parts of the United States that have had more warming and wildfire over the last 40 years 🧪🌍🐙
rdcu.be/eFm7e
Showy dragonflies are being driven extinct by warming and wildfire
Nature Climate Change - The authors use 1,603 estimates of local extinctions from 1980 to 2021 to show that dragonfly species with wing ornamentation have disproportionately gone extinct and lost...
rdcu.be
September 10, 2025 at 11:51 AM
new paper from my lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social in @natclimate.nature.com, led by @sarahnalley.bsky.social!
Dragonflies with dark mating ornaments on their wings are disappearing from parts of the United States that have had more warming and wildfire over the last 40 years 🧪🌍🐙
rdcu.be/eFm7e
Dragonflies with dark mating ornaments on their wings are disappearing from parts of the United States that have had more warming and wildfire over the last 40 years 🧪🌍🐙
rdcu.be/eFm7e
Reposted by Noah Leith
Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
September 8, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Spent hours being spellbound by Convolvulus Hawk Moths last night as they nectared on Nicotiana plants in my highland garden!. Up to 3 feeding at a time, their entire abdomens glowing red hot in the thermal from flight muscle use!! #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Reposted by Noah Leith
🦠 New Research - The gut microbiome shapes latitudinal differences in host immunity and pathogen load in a damselfly ➡️ buff.ly/0f99mq4
September 1, 2025 at 11:02 AM
🦠 New Research - The gut microbiome shapes latitudinal differences in host immunity and pathogen load in a damselfly ➡️ buff.ly/0f99mq4
Reposted by Noah Leith
new paper, led by Lin Yan from the Elias Lab at UCB
Latent preference for red ornamentation drives interspecific mating in nascent jumping spider species (Habronattus americanus group, F. Salticidae)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Latent preference for red ornamentation drives interspecific mating in nascent jumping spider species (Habronattus americanus group, F. Salticidae)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
August 23, 2025 at 2:59 PM
new paper, led by Lin Yan from the Elias Lab at UCB
Latent preference for red ornamentation drives interspecific mating in nascent jumping spider species (Habronattus americanus group, F. Salticidae)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Latent preference for red ornamentation drives interspecific mating in nascent jumping spider species (Habronattus americanus group, F. Salticidae)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Noah Leith
Introducing "The SORTEE Guidelines for Data and Code Quality Control in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"
The first standardised set of data editor guidelines. Led by SORTEE with input from numerous data editors across ecology and evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.32942/X24...
The first standardised set of data editor guidelines. Led by SORTEE with input from numerous data editors across ecology and evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.32942/X24...
The SORTEE Guidelines for Data and Code Quality Control in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint.
doi.org
August 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Introducing "The SORTEE Guidelines for Data and Code Quality Control in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"
The first standardised set of data editor guidelines. Led by SORTEE with input from numerous data editors across ecology and evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.32942/X24...
The first standardised set of data editor guidelines. Led by SORTEE with input from numerous data editors across ecology and evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.32942/X24...
Reposted by Noah Leith
Are you looking for a PhD position and want to spend your summers in the Rocky Mountains?
My lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social is looking for 1 PhD student to work on a NSF-funded project to study elevational range shifts in Colorado! 🧪🌍🐙
Apply by Nov 1!
Details here docs.google.com/document/d/1...
My lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social is looking for 1 PhD student to work on a NSF-funded project to study elevational range shifts in Colorado! 🧪🌍🐙
Apply by Nov 1!
Details here docs.google.com/document/d/1...
2025 - Hypoxia PhD job ad
The Moore lab at the University of Colorado Denver is searching for 1 Ph.D. student to study the elevational limits of dragonflies in Colorado (http://moore-evo-eco.weebly.com). This position is fully...
docs.google.com
August 18, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Are you looking for a PhD position and want to spend your summers in the Rocky Mountains?
My lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social is looking for 1 PhD student to work on a NSF-funded project to study elevational range shifts in Colorado! 🧪🌍🐙
Apply by Nov 1!
Details here docs.google.com/document/d/1...
My lab @cudenverclas.bsky.social is looking for 1 PhD student to work on a NSF-funded project to study elevational range shifts in Colorado! 🧪🌍🐙
Apply by Nov 1!
Details here docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Noah Leith
A few weeks ago, I had the joy of speaking at the Linnean Society about my research on anole lizards 🦎 and how they handle the wild temperature changes of Neotropical mountains.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCV8...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCV8...
Mountains, Lizards, and the Battle with Temperature
YouTube video by Linnean Society
m.youtube.com
August 15, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A few weeks ago, I had the joy of speaking at the Linnean Society about my research on anole lizards 🦎 and how they handle the wild temperature changes of Neotropical mountains.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCV8...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCV8...
Reposted by Noah Leith
My Husband is Hot! – How having an attractive mate can provide tangible benefits to birds
Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
August 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
My Husband is Hot! – How having an attractive mate can provide tangible benefits to birds
Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
Reposted by Noah Leith
"The dynamic gut" is a hugely flexible organ and environment!
In this paper, we provide an updated review on how animals modulate this organ to meet energy and nutritional demands, with implications for the microbiome
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
In this paper, we provide an updated review on how animals modulate this organ to meet energy and nutritional demands, with implications for the microbiome
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
The dynamic gut: the vertebrate gastrointestinal tract and associated microbiome exhibit physiological flexibility and adaptations to diet
Summary: This Review covers morphological, functional, molecular and genetic adjustments in vertebrate gastrointestinal tracts and resident microbiota to different diets, and interprets these within t...
journals.biologists.com
August 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
"The dynamic gut" is a hugely flexible organ and environment!
In this paper, we provide an updated review on how animals modulate this organ to meet energy and nutritional demands, with implications for the microbiome
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
In this paper, we provide an updated review on how animals modulate this organ to meet energy and nutritional demands, with implications for the microbiome
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Noah Leith
Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity | PNAS
The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent
or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...
doi.org
July 24, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Noah Leith
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...
Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.
www.queensu.ca
June 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Details found here👇
www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Reposted by Noah Leith
must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away
“In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately”
June 5, 2025 at 8:15 PM
must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away
Reposted by Noah Leith
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Noah Leith
So I know there's a lot going on, BUT my paper just came out in AnBeh, so get in losers, we’re skeeting the science.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
tldr: @katelaskowski.bsky.social and I used Bayesian updating to model the winner effect and it’s a pretty good way to think about it
1/19 🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
tldr: @katelaskowski.bsky.social and I used Bayesian updating to model the winner effect and it’s a pretty good way to think about it
1/19 🧵
Bayesian updating for self-assessment explains social dominance and winner–loser effects
In animal contests, winners of previous contests often keep winning and losers keep losing. This coupling of previous experiences to future success, r…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 29, 2025 at 12:54 AM
So I know there's a lot going on, BUT my paper just came out in AnBeh, so get in losers, we’re skeeting the science.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
tldr: @katelaskowski.bsky.social and I used Bayesian updating to model the winner effect and it’s a pretty good way to think about it
1/19 🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
tldr: @katelaskowski.bsky.social and I used Bayesian updating to model the winner effect and it’s a pretty good way to think about it
1/19 🧵
Reposted by Noah Leith
Taking a moment to celebrate our new paper out today in Nature Ecology Evolution, led by the amazing @jacanamama.bsky.social Sara Lipshutz. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Repeated behavioural evolution is associated with convergence of gene expression in cavity-nesting songbirds - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors performed phylogenetically controlled behavioural assays and analysed brain transcriptomes across five avian families, identifying convergent patterns of gene expression associated with aggression and nesting behaviour in obligate cavity-nesting birds.
doi.org
April 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Taking a moment to celebrate our new paper out today in Nature Ecology Evolution, led by the amazing @jacanamama.bsky.social Sara Lipshutz. doi.org/10.1038/s415...