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Mai Bonomo

@maibonomo

Trying to find my way in this wide weird world of marine biology πŸ™πŸ§¬ On the search for a PhD in marine molecular ecology/biology. Unrestrained foodie πŸ₯―

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06.08.2025
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Latest posts by Mai Bonomo @maibonomo

We can't wait for MTC2 at University of Haifa!

11.02.2026 13:52 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

When you start looking for a PhD position in the big wide world, nobody tells you how complex it's going to be. There's no one size fits all - every country has a slightly different system, expectations, funding models, etc.
I'm continuing to collect data of my process applying!

18.11.2025 14:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Non‐Invasive Underwater DNA Sampling Illuminates Red Sea Echinoderm Diversity Species-specific non-invasive underwater DNA sampling remains largely understudied for marine invertebrates despite its potential to revolutionise biodiversity assessment of vulnerable species or fra...

Woooohooo it's out! πŸ₯³ I'm happy to share my first scientific paper with you!
"Non-Invasive Underwater DNA Sampling Illuminates Red Sea Echinoderm Diversity" presents a sampling method that is cheap, robust, and easy to use. Best of all: non-invasive!

Enjoy!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

15.10.2025 07:46 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
a man in a suit and tie is standing in a field of flowers . ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in a field of flowers .

Submitted revisions for my first paper!
Me trying to be casual about it for the next however long:

16.09.2025 11:57 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm looking for some good resources to discuss AI and how it meets us grad students/researchers in the biological sciences, including the good, the bad, and the ugly - ethics, useful tools, considerations, etc.
Please share if you've come across anything good!

11.09.2025 10:04 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Nestflix BeardedVulture 20 Aug 2025-7
Nestflix BeardedVulture 20 Aug 2025-7 YouTube video by Nestflix

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR56...

Officially having this on during all work hours. Beautiful feed! πŸ¦…

20.08.2025 10:40 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A New Approach to Coral Reef Monitoring / Aqaba, Jordan - May 2025 This is "A New Approach to Coral Reef Monitoring / Aqaba, Jordan - May 2025" by TRSC on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

This fantastic scientific group, the Transnational Red Sea Center, attempts to stimulate Red Sea reef research and promotes regional cooperation. I love what these guys do and have had the pleasure of working with them a bit!

Great new video of their work in Aqaba, Jordan:
vimeo.com/1110945817

20.08.2025 08:24 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A few weeks ago I went on a whale watching tour from Gloucester and we came across this beautiful male, Satula πŸ‹
He has a unique trait where he β€œpurrs” before taking a dive - he is the only whale they’ve heard do it, and they don’t know why! Guesses?

Volume up to hear the purr (and excitement lol)

19.08.2025 06:32 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Preparing to apply to PhDs in the US as an international student is… confusing. πŸ˜΅β€πŸ’«

If anybody wants to share their academic CV or take a look at mine, let me know!

19.08.2025 06:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I want to believe that the author didn't know what she was looking at

17.08.2025 14:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Really interesting! We are seeing the same in the Eastern Med - constant new species popping up, and the climate is getting nice and tropical for those migrating Red Sea species

17.08.2025 14:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Sex on the reef! πŸ˜› Video I captured a couple of weeks ago in the Red Sea.

Every year, masses of these brown surgeonfish get together to spawn for a few weeks at sunset. Other fish love to join the party, like the Seargant Major fish here that immediately go for the egg and sperm.

14.08.2025 10:21 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Here's a close up I got of one eating! Very common in the northern Red Sea

14.08.2025 08:08 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yep, looks like it!

14.08.2025 08:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Me waiting for my first (!!) paper that's under review

14.08.2025 07:52 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Cultural transmission of animal tool use driven by trade-offs: insights from sponge-using dolphins | Royal Society Open Science Although tool use offers obvious benefits to the user, the role of costs in the spread of tool use has received scant attention. Sponge tool use is a foraging technique restricted to a small subpopula...

Full paper:

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

14.08.2025 07:49 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Dolphins learn to wear sponges β€˜like a clown nose’ to hunt fish Some dolphins in Australia learn to wear a sponge on their beak – which allows them to safely forage through rocky seabeds

We love a marine mammal trend!
Sponges are IN baby 🧽

www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

14.08.2025 07:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

(and let me know if you hear of anything good)

13.08.2025 17:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Starting my search for a marine bio/eco/conservation/molecular PhD! 🫣

I'm planning to track how many emails/apps I send in, how many responses I get, how many interviews, etc., and see what the stats are like at the end. Obviously it's person-dependent, but fun to see.

Let's gooooooo!

13.08.2025 17:44 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

It’s one of those things where the more you find out, the more you realize how little we know, and how incredibly much there is under that [blue] surface.

I can recommend reading Ian Urbina’s book of the same name (warning: it’s hard to swallow) and reading articles on their website and newsletter.

09.08.2025 12:40 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast | The Outlaw Ocean Project

🎧 Podcast recommendation!

The Outlaw Ocean is an independent investigative journalism project dedicated to exposing the myriad of crimes happening today in the ocean.

I can recommend it as one of the most fascinating and harrowing investigative series I’ve listened to.

theoutlawocean.com/podcast

09.08.2025 12:40 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This documentary was such a difficult watch - but important!

Bottom trawling doesn't just catch fish for consumption, it completely uplifts, disrupts, and destroys the local seafloor habitat and its benthic community, often catching much more than the intended catch.

07.08.2025 19:10 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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I will forever be haunted by this footage.

Trawling has only been filmed underwater a few times in documentary history, and never with such clarity.

What’s so heart-rending about these shots is watching how the animals don’t just get swept up β€” they swim for their lives.
πŸŒŽπŸ¦‘πŸ§ͺ

09.05.2025 21:32 πŸ‘ 1845 πŸ” 1242 πŸ’¬ 86 πŸ“Œ 264

Hello world! 🌞

06.08.2025 19:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0