Body sizes of life publication in PLOS

A multi-year collaboration between Eden Tekwa and the Pinsky lab group has identified a bimodal conformance pattern, associated with organism body size, that is predominant across Earth’s biomass. In the recent publication The sizes of life the research team discusses the evidence of favoritism towards large and small organism size ranges, when applying a bimodal Gaussian mixture model. “We found that our world is dominated by the microbes and the trees. These are the silent partners that recycle the nutrients and replenish the air all around us.” commented Malin Pinsky in a recent Rutgers interview. As well, resulting data may even be suggestive of an “universal upper size limit” due to a variety of factors remarked Eden Tekwa.

Malin Pinsky recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

With the announcement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) 2022 Fellows, Dr. Malin Pinsky was honored for his significant contributions to the field of marine biology. The AAAS is widely regarded as a multidisciplinary scientific society focused on the advancement of scientific discoveries.

Further information discussing Dr. Malin Pinsky’s contributions predicting the impacts of climate change can be found here. As well, a comprehensive list of AAAS’s 2022 Fellows can be found here.

FishGlob Bottom-Trawl Database Pre-Print

The FishGlob biodiversity synthesis group has created a database comprised of 26 public scientific bottom trawl surveys into a user interface. This is the first known database of this depth with special interest in demersal fish surveys. Collectively, the database includes over 230,000 hauls with more than 2,000 fish taxa from 1963 to 2020, from the North Atlantic and the Northwest Pacific continental shelves and slopes. The FishGlob pre-print can be found here.

ASN Asilomar 2023 Conference

The lab visits California for the ASN Asilomar 2023 Conference.

Members of the lab had the opportunity to attend and present at the American Society of Naturalists’ Asilomar 2023 Conference from January 6th to 9th at Pacific Grove, California. Strong storms were braved and massive swells were overcome to discuss ecology and evolution at such a beautiful location. Links to presentation descriptions and pictures from the conference can be found below:

Brendan Reid

Jeewantha Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage

Jaelyn Bos

Kyra Fitz

Zoe Kitchel