Keith Barker

Birdo nerd peeps, it’s happening!!!! #IOC2026 in Merida Yucatán, Nov 30 - Dec 5. Early Bird (doiiii) just opened! iocongress2026.com #orno #ornithology

UMN: Don't Close Boynton Dental Clinic! On March 5th, the University of Minnesota announced plans to permanently close the Boynton Health Dental Clinic, which has served the university community for nearly 106 years. This closure will hav...

#UMN has closed their dental clinic with no warning or explanation, and in flagrant violation of their contract with UMN grad workers - this is the only dental care covered by our health plan!
If associated w/ UMN, please sign/share the petition to stop this: actionnetwork.org/petitions/um...

First-generation hybrids between two highly divergent Wren species Despite four million years of divergence, Winter Wren and Pacific Wren can still interbreed.

Your daily Avian Hybrids story!

First-generation hybrids between two highly divergent Wren species
avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2022/04/09/f...

#ornithology

And no one—certainly not me—has ever judged a game by its choice of bird vocalizations. Mumble BOTW mumble.

Mostly consensus, but:
Star Trek 2: TWOK
Star Trek: TNG
Rogue One
Aliens

Go see one, it’s worth it.

On sabotage of our young scientists, by @holdenthorp.bsky.social @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Dietary specialization drives adaptation, convergence, and integration across the cranial and appendicular skeleton in Waterfowl (Anseriformes) Abstract. Convergence provides strong evidence for adaptation, reflecting similar responses to recurring selection pressures. Waterfowl (order Anseriformes

I can finally share my main postdoc project! It took a while but we finally got it out

So if you want to read about an updated phylogeny for waterfowl and all the convergent evolution they get up to boy do I have a paper/thread for you

academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan... 🪶🧪

We also have a job search open for a researcher/prof in systematcs & malacology 🐌 🦪 🐙 🦑 @ib_unam! Here’s the info www.ib.unam.mx/ibunam/Convo... Malacólogues del mundo, venid a la @UNAM!

Come join me and other great colleagues at @ib_unam !! We’re searching for a new orno 🦅 🦢 🦉 systematics researcher/prof. for the largest bird collection in Mexico. See details herein www.ib.unam.mx/ibunam/Convo... Amigxs ornitólogxs! Habemus búsqueda de nuevx investigadorx! Apliquen!

My department at CSU Northridge is hiring a vertebrate functional morphologist! We've got a great EEB group, and we're looking for someone to carry forward a tradition of enriching organismal courses and community-engaged research. App review starts March 15

csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...

TPM is my pick. I stayed up for a midnight showing on opening day and was livid leaving the theater. I waited all those years for THAT!!??!! Ewan and Liam did their best though.

No evidence that haplodiploidy favors the evolution of eusociality | PNAS The potential role of haplodiploid sex determination in promoting the evolution of altruism and eusociality has been the subject of intense debate ...

📄 No evidence that haplodiploidy favors the evolution of eusociality 🐝🐜

⬇️
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Diagram showing the evolutionary relationships among several groups of songbirds, including the recently extinct, nectar-feeding ʻōʻō.

Phylogenetic position of ʻōʻō (Hawaiian "honeyeaters"): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 🪶🧪 (📷Zhao et al.)

If you are a student whose NSF GRFP application was returned without review for vague 'eligibility' reasons:
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;

Cultural Lutheranism FTW

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is amazing, but y'all should know that it employs about 200 people to make those resources happen. Serving detailed biodiversity information takes significant resources, on the order of tens of millions of dollars per year.

Mandibular morphology clarifies phylogenetic relationships near the origin of crown birds - BMC Ecology and Evolution Background The phylogenetic relationships of fossil birds near the origin of the avian crown group remain debated, in part due to a limited amount of character evidence from incomplete fossils. The av...

🚨NEW PAPER OUT🚨
The anatomy of bird lower jaw bones has been understudied...until now! Here, we examine avian mandibular anatomy, answering some and raising more questions about the phylogenetic affinities of key early crown-group birds. Read on!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Solidarity hot dish.

Um 3M makes that shit.

Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump.

Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.

There has been another shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis and I am working to get more information. I will update as soon as possible. To the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress who have stood silent: Get ICE out of our state NOW.

JFC - they put families in Sophies Choice situations and then blame them.

It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing

Minneapolis, MN -

The crowd already inside the Target Center are doing the wave. Minnesota is charmingly goofy.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators filling the streets with signs and banners

Demonstrators as far as the eye can see. Current status of the march in Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota for Ice Out of Minnesota. They are turning onto 3rd Street from 5th Avenue.

List of Minnesota businesses closing for Jan. 23 anti-ICE strike First announced by faith leaders and unions on Jan. 13, Minnesota businesses have begun announcing plans to join the action.

I guess this post escaped containment, so here's the local media with the partial, constantly updated list of closures.

bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li...

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

Thank you to everyone who is risking their safety and contributing their time and money to protect our neighbors. If you are so inclined, please check out Stand With Minnesota (standwithminnesota.com) to find a way to help.

And no one start any beefs with Will Stancil. (2/2)

Oxygen-free metabolism in the bird inner retina supported by the pecten - Nature While the photoreceptor outer segments in the bird outer retina have access to oxygen, the inner retina operates under chronic anoxia, supported by anaerobic glycolysis in the retinal neurons.

Birds have a thick retina devoid of blood vessels - so how do they ensure sufficient oxygen availability?
They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten.

Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...