Dr Alex Bond

There is No Consensus on Biological Sex At this critical moment when misinformation about sex is being applied to policy globally, scientific clarification on the definition of biological sex is valuable. Here, we evaluate the primary appr...

New paper out in ecology letters! with @andylee.bsky.social @allydefduf.bsky.social

We synthesized the active debate on how scientists define sex, including limitations and assumptions. We believe this discussion will lead to more accurate science.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A screenshot of the BlueSky posts of @iss-piss-tracker.bsky.social showing the piss tank slowly emptying over the last 20 minutes

How do we alert the international space station that their piss tank has a slow leak? 😳🛰️💛

I love these papers on strange specimens in museums. No one will ever cite them, but they bring me joy. There's something pleasing about setting the record straight and solving a mystery.
(and at this stage in my career, citations are much less important)

Distribution of the Slender-billed Curlew Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris Lynx Edicions/BirdLife International

But what a record! They formerly bred in the Kazakh steppe, migrated through Carpathia and Italy, and wintered in Morocco & the Middle East. So one wandering around the shores of Lake Erie is a real vagrant. But nevertheless, the ID and the provenance check out! bioone.org/journals/bul...

The underside of the left primaries showing the extensive dark colour characteristic of Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris (Corso et al. 2014) (Paige R. Langle & A. L. Hines, Buffalo Museum of Science, BSNS O2092, reproduced with permission)

The specimen has the diagnostic dark undersides of the outermost primary feathers, so there's no doubt it's a Slender-billed (3/4)

The mounted Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris in the Buffalo Museum of Science (Paige R. Langle, Buffalo Museum of Science, BSNS O2092, reproduced with permission)

The specimen was shot in the Niagara Region of Ontario, likely in 1925 by Dr Irvin Terry Sr, a dentist from Buffalo. He assembled an otherwise small and unremarkable bird collection, but removed all data as he feared potential prosecution (2/4)

The only North American record of the extinct Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris Alexander L. Bond, Paige R. Langle Abstract An historical record of the extinct Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris from Ontario, Canada, is quite exceptional, being the only North American record. Its inclusion in North American, Canadian, or Ontarian avifaunal lists is patchy, and the specimen has not been assessed against current identification criteria. We show that the specimen is extant, in the collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science, and is indeed a Slender-billed Curlew. Here, we compile the history of the specimen and its collector in the wider context of the ornithology of the Niagara Region.

New paper in @britornitholclub.bsky.social - Paige Langle and I highlight (and confirm the identity!) of the only North American record of the now-extinct Slender-billed Curlew (1/4) bioone.org/journals/bul... #ornithology

I.... May have also done this

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) will soon have six vacancies among its ordinary members and is seeking nominations for new Commissioners to be elected in May 2027. Five vacancies stem from retiring Commissioners A. Ballerio (Italy; Coleoptera), P. Bouchard (Canada; Coleoptera), M. Harvey (Australia; Arachnida), D. Yanega (USA; Insecta), and H.-Z. Zhou (China; Coleoptera); a sixth vacancy needs to be filled to reach the Commission’s target of 28 members. The Commission hereby invites nominations, from any person, organisation or institution, of potential candidates for election. The nationalities and areas of expertise of the present members of the Commission may be found on the ICZN website (http:// iczn.org/commissioners). Article 2.2 of the ICZN Constitution prescribes that “The members of the Commission shall be eminent scientists, irrespective of nationality, with a distinguished record in any branch of zoology and an interest in zoological nomenclature”. Furthermore, according to Article 2.3 of the Constitution, the composition of the Commission shall be such as to secure representation of diverse interests and different parts of the world. Current activities within the Commission include monthly virtual meetings, voting on Cases every two or three months and participating in various activities as needed (e.g., reviewing or proofing Cases and Opinions, co-writing Declarations, participating in ad-hoc committees, preparing the next edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, updating the ICZN Constitution and Bylaws). Based on Article 3.1.1 of the Constitution, the maximum term of service of a member of the Commission is 18 years. Nominations, including the age, affiliation, nationality and qualifications of each nominee should be sent before 1 January 2027 to the ICZN Secretary (ic...@nus.edu. sg) together with a statement that the potential nominee will accept the nomination. Self-nominations are accepted.

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is calling for nominations for new members doi.org/10.21805/bzn... The call is behind a paywall 🤦‍♂️ but text is below. Current commissioners are listed here www.iczn.org/about-the-ic... #taxonomy #iczn

LinnéSys: Systematics Research Fund Grants for small-scale research and education projects on taxonomy and systematics

Calling all systematics and taxonomy researchers! Applications are now open for our Linnesys grants.

Run with the Systematics Association, the scheme supports small-scale research and education projects with grants of up to £1,500.

Find out more and apply by Friday 27 March
buff.ly/WrVmOnY

What did you just call me?

A brown penguin chick of some kind. It looks very much like a man in a suit. It is bedraggled and miserable

Made it to Friday but at what cost

Nicely done

python vs R?
base R vs tidyverse?
framework X vs Y?

unless you're getting paid, use the one that brings you the most joy.

life's too short to keep on writing code that you neither enjoy nor get paid for.

#rstats

OK not to be all shady, but in a journal called "Endangered Species Research" HOW is there a paper on Manx Shearwaters (nowhere near approaching the threshold of even hinting at being threatened)

Paper accepted! Watch out in early June for the story of the parrot that never was (ft some bizarre image choices)

I’m glad NPR included skeptical voices - because de-extinction is a dangerous fantasy - but we’ve seen this before. Colossal dangles a story/access, journalists take it and say other researchers have criticisms, and nothing changes save for an update to the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mammoth! timeline

Did you know?
- certain trees get important nutrients from human bones
- other trees collect souls and trap them in their ring labyrinths
- most trees agree that squirrels are jerks
- 3% of trees are named Dennis

Sir Gawain Fucks the Green Knight Here’s a tale ripe for telling. Can’t say where I heard it first—in pretty French or Dutch. Perhaps as a young lady walking ‘longside the Rijn. I’ll spin it for you in an English tongue, fine as frost on lace, sweet as malmsey wine. So it goes that young Gawain, strength kissed into his limbs, fresh as the bright dawn, comes trembling down to the Green Chapel. You’ve heard this tale, I know. His breath makes peach fuzz in the air, fear into him like worm to apple. Christmas Morn is too soon, time is short. You have your own life to save, he says, picking through thorn and bough to an ivy-clad cave. The creature is the Jack O’ the Glen / forest prince / the wood’s own laughter. Beard of lichen and eyes like dark elder. I need not repeat their exchange—my boy’s flinching heart—a songbird in a rattled cage. It is after the blows are dealt, he asks, what god is worshipped in these green trees? Boy, the Knight replies, boy, were you not just down on your knees? The Knight is the tang of sap / bark rough and petal soft / everywhere leaves scatter / easily crushed / Gawain clings / hardly knows what he clings to / he is the forest and the flower / a turmoil of roots / where god and tree meet and melt / the birch the oak the fern the deer / mushroom maggot crow / here Gawain is branch and bud / blow returned for blow

This is a sheer indulgence on my part, but it turns out I never actually shared the poem here, so:

🍃

there it is!!

shell yeah!

mooooooood

There have been MULTIPLE early leaks of scientific discoveries via DECORATED CAKE. Scientists are good at many things, but shutting up is definitely not one of them.

A medical journal says the case reports it has published for 25 years are, in fact, fiction A Canadian journal has issued corrections on 138 case reports it published over the last 25 years to add a disclaimer: The cases described are fictional. Paediatrics & Child Health, the journal…

Truly bizarre story from @retractionwatch.com. retractionwatch.com/2026/03/03/c...

requiem for vanished birdsong

An American Goldfinch grips the metal bars of a bird feeder. Overlay text reads Cats and Birds: Exploring the science behind this complex conservation issue

Cats are considered the number one threat to birds in Canada. It's a fascinating and complex conservation issue.

Tune into The Warblers podcast with @juliakilgour.bsky.social and @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social to hear some expert insights on human behaviours and cat research.

"I knew them before they were internet famous" -Dr A.L. Bond

eBird Checklist - 22 Mar 2025 - Tewaukon NWR - 23 species Submitted by Karl Bardon.

Is this the biggest ever single species count on eBird? Gobsmacking photos of an estimated 2.75M Snow Geese in North Dakota (HT @evornithology.bsky.social)

ebird.org/checklist/S2...

The "oh here's a neat specimen" to "I guess I'm writing to the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature for a suppression ruling" pipeline is fast, yo.

I feel like I've pulled a loose thread and unravelled an entire jumper's worth of taxonomy.