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auroraobrien.bsky.social
Blue-haired herpetologist ~ Research assistant at the University of Wolverhampton ~ Conservation genetics ~ linktr.ee/auroraobrien
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Just finished my second lecture on #amphibians - this time with the first year students 🐸 I'm starting to become more confident with lecturing, and the students seemed very interested in Tiktaalik! #Herpetology

Just returned from a fantastic weekend at the ARC-BHS Joint Scientific Meeting. All of the talks were incredible - looking forward to the next one! #Herpetology 🐍

I'm pretty sure the universe is against me saving money.. my corn snake does need a new vivarium though.

I delivered my first ever lecture today on UK amphibian conservation & habitat management to the third year students 🐸 I definitely stumbled over my words a few times πŸ™ˆ but two students came up to me after and said it was a really interesting lecture! #amphibians

🚨 PhD opportunity 🚨 We are looking to recruit someone to put forward for PhD funding under the IAPETUS DTP scheme. The project will work on adder (Vipera berus) conservation in the North Pennines, England. See iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships... for more info #conservation #herpetology #snakes πŸ§ͺ🐍🐸

A Parson's Chameleon (Calumma parsonii) captured in a tree, Toamasina Province, Madagascar. This cutie was a foot or so above over my head, so I had to use the camera's tilt-screen function to capture the shot. I saw LOTS of chameleons on my visit! #herps 🌿

I did some math in August & noticed that if we sell 5000 advent calendars, I can fund @skypeascientist.bsky.social 2025 without getting any grants. I wrote grants anyway, but I wanted some backup! So far, 0 grants for 2025. BUT! We've sold 2,183 calendars!! 1/2 way funded! Get one: Squidfacts.net

I got the Halloween Merck pin! My lil goth heart is so happy πŸ¦‡πŸ₯Ό #merckpins

Really enjoyed all of the talks today at #VenomDay πŸπŸ¦‚πŸ¦ 

This paper was a long time coming! Exploring the interaction between two convergent lizards who evolved separately on different Caribbean islands and were introduced to south Florida. Read all about how character displacement could play out in real time in the wild! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Just came home to my first ever Merck pin for my lab coat! πŸ₯Ό I'm still hoping I get the Halloween bat pin #merckpins

Well, it's my birthday and I've just started a PhD application. The dedication is real πŸ˜…

'A single blurry photo sparked a national monitoring campaign. A few days later someone who had seen the picture on iNaturalist suggested that the insect might be of significance.' Never stop posting (terrible) pictures of bugs on iNaturalist folk! πŸ§ͺπŸ›πŸŒΏ www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

I made a #Herpetology starter pack because I haven't found one yet & have been struggling to find all the herpers on here! 🦎🐊🐒🐍🐸 I'm still searching for more users so comment below and I'll add you! go.bsky.app/6yaYc2u

Back to sequencing parasite DNA today after spending the last three weeks at Newcastle University learning ddRADseq - a next-generation technique that uses two enzymes to cut and sequence targeted genome regions to study genetic variation. I had a great time networking & learning new lab skills! πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ”¬

Genomics, evolution, and more starter pack! Help build community with this starter pack. This list is currently incomplete. Want to be included? Reply and I will remedy that! go.bsky.app/JjvzkWU

I fear I'm late to the Bluesky party. Anyone want to be friends? Research Academia Herpetology Reptiles Amphibians Genetics Science Nature LOTR Gaming PokΓ©mon Stardew Valley World of Warcraft Baldur's Gate Breaking Bad Cats

Since I'm new here, I thought I should introduce myself πŸ‘‹πŸ» I'm currently a Research Assistant at University of Wolverhampton investigating #parasites in UK #amphibians 🐸 My #research interests are population #genetics, #phylogenetics, #biogeography and #evolution. I love all things #herpetology🦎