Pooja Nathan
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pothebug.bsky.social
Pooja Nathan
@pothebug.bsky.social
PhD candidate studying the biology of ant-EFN interactions at EEB, Univ. of Toronto | UG - IISc Bengaluru 2019 | 🌿🪲🎶🐈🍲
Pinned
Now out in Oecologia! Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
Floral scent chemodiversity 🌸🧪 increases generalization in interactions with pollinators 🪰 – but reduces diversity of bacteria 🧫🦠 associated with flowers. New publication led by @mhanusch.bsky.social. @chemodiversity.bsky.social @unimarburg.bsky.social
@newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
October 22, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
October 18, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors
“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
www.404media.co
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
New biology: stink bugs inoculate their eggs with a fungus that protects them from parasitoids

www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...
Science Magazine - Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs
Tympanal organs have repeatedly evolved in diverse insects and were thought to be required for auditory perception (1).
www.sciencemagazinedigital.org
October 17, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
This week, I was awarded a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant. So proud to be included among individuals recognized for “extraordinary originality & dedication in their creative pursuits”. This research has been possible because I collaborate with the most incredible teams.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/a...
MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 ‘Genius Grant’ Winners
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
@sse-evolution.bsky.social just announced the following:

Call for Proposals: Research Synthesis Working Groups
The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) invites proposals for sponsored Research Synthesis Working Groups at the 2026 Evolution meeting (up to two in-person and one virtual). ...
October 9, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.
September 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
Presenting Dr. @bmsacchi.bsky.social !! Bianca successfully defended her thesis on Rumex sex chromosome degeneration and regulatory evolution today. Bravo!!
August 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Now out in Oecologia! Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
July 16, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
🧬 Shift between specialized & generalized diets in #bees is associated with evolutionary changes in their sensory genes. Generalists lose odorant receptors (ORs) and gain gustatory receptors (GRs), while specialists diversify existing genes 🌸🐝 #genomics #pollinators
academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
Shifts in bee diet breadths are associated with gene gains and losses and positive selection across olfactory receptors
Abstract. Bees are palynivorous insects that vary widely in the number of plant families from which they collect pollen. Their evolutionary history has bee
academic.oup.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
Out of site, out of mind? Considering #pesticide drift and plant #mutualisms

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

👆 A #Commentary by Charlie C. Nicholson on this article by Baucom et al. 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue #PlantScience
June 24, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
🎉 Our collaborative TropiRoot data paper “TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments” is out in Ecology! Explore 8,000+ standardized tropical root trait records from 104 studies across 25 countries. Data are freely available ! 🌿 doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #tropiroots
TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments
Tropical ecosystems contain the world's largest biodiversity of vascular plants. Yet, our understanding of tropical functional diversity and its contribution to global diversity patterns is constrain...
doi.org
May 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
It's published!
The largest research work I've ever undertaken:

Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important

Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz
1/x
April 2, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Thanks for the editorial support, Quarterly team! Check out my article on why natural history is still important :)
The new issue of The EEB Quarterly (my first as EIC) is online now!! Feat. news, photography, stories, and essays by @hayden-fargo.bsky.social @noam-harris.bsky.social @pothebug.bsky.social and more! @eebtoronto.bsky.social
Read it here: theeebquarterly.github.io (Vol.6 Issue 1)
Home
a review of U of T EEB
theeebquarterly.github.io
February 10, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The second chapter of my PhD is now available as a preprint! We sampled ant-plant interactions across a ~20° latitudinal gradient across the Indian subcontinent to test the biotic interactions hypothesis for mutualism. Check it out!
Are ant-plant mutualisms stronger at lower latitudes? A case study using the castor plant in the Indian subcontinent https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.07.631652v1
January 9, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
Applications now open for the 2025 International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2025! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Can also be used to attend #ESEB2025! Apply by January 31: https://buff.ly/3ZEWUqe @evolmtg.bsky.social
December 6, 2024 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Pooja Nathan
I'm excited to see our paper being part of this special issue!
December 4, 2024 at 1:16 AM