Rachel Larson, PhD

Conbio postdoc at @sdnhm, urban ecologist 🏙🐿🦝🦌, artist 👩🏻‍🎨 (she/her) | art insta: @ sciurusstitches | also @

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

I’m moving to the other site just like everybody else. Find me with the same handle
https://t.co/2WcOxKWrwH

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

This postdoc would work closely with me on the Urban Nature Alliance. Let’s be postdoc friends!

[Christopher Schell @UrbanSchell]

Come work with us! The Schell Lab is looking for a new postdoc to work on urban biodiversity initiatives in the Bay Area and throughout California. The future postdoc will also be an integral partner of the California Urban Nature Alliance. https://t.co/vUSIiwggwQ

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Fun Fact: Thorny devil lizards drink water with their feet. They step in water on the ground and the grooves on their skin channel water to their mouths through capillary action. This allows them to drink passively without lowering their guard.🦎🥤🐾

[Bryan McLean @sousliks]

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE #squirrel TREE OF LIFE:

Urocitellus idahoensis
Snake River Plains ground squirrel

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Fun fact: Baby birds often ‘gape,’ opening their mouths wide to signal hunger. Parents feed them by regurgitating food until they’re weaned and learn to eat on their own. 🐥🦜
BLACK FRIDAY MERCH HERE
https://t.co/f4hLvtDr5b

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

Some of my favorite photos from our 1st season of #cameratrap sampling in #SanDiego

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Throwback fact: Porcupines are covered in around thirty-thousand quills. Each quill has barbs at the tips that make them difficult to remove. 🌵🐖💺 #naturalhabitat #naturalhabitatshorts #naturalhabitok

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Fun fact: Flamingos can drink near-boiling water. They can even drink super salty and alkaline water.🦩☕️🔥
GET MERCH AT https://t.co/f4hLvtDr5b #naturalhabitatshorts #naturalhabitat #naturalhabitok

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

@masonfidino I literally have your post about integrated presence/absence + presence-only models open right now. Your blogs provide a great intro & help me understand posts on other sites. If I’ve never thanked you before, thank you for the work you put into your blog; it’s so helpful!

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Spooky fact: Chipmunks’ stripes allow them to blend in to their wooded environment and hide in plain sight. 🐿️🌳📞 check out our merch at https://t.co/f4hLvtDr5b #naturalhabitatshorts #naturalhabitat #naturalhabitok

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

Summary metrics, like species richness, are useful but only part of the story. It's important to understand how individual species respond to urbanization, especially species of management concern like deer mice (they carry Lyme disease)

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

More of my dissertation work is published in the Journal of Mammalogy! - "Variation in species-specific responses to habitat fragmentation and land cover structure urban small mammal communities"
https://t.co/YE4DNlDbNv

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

However, there were some pretty interested species-specific responses to both vegetation cover and habitat fragmentation - for example, deer mice do not like urban environments, but short-tailed shrews seem to benefit

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

@LPZ_UWI Could it be the butt-end of a cottontail? The large hind legs and fur patterning seem correct

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

My favorite part of #TWS2024 (besides meeting other passionate wildlife biologists, obviously) was walking away with more squirrel & coyote swag from @BlueAsterStudio - I love seeing artists with booths at conferences!

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

If you’re looking for more small mammal research after today’s talks, check out my talk tomorrow afternoon (3:30pm in Peale) on the relationships between predator occurrence and urban deer mouse abundance
#TWS2024

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

I feel like I should sit down and play w/ @R_nimble after attending Perry de Valine’s talk at #TWS2024 Seems like a really useful tool for complex ecological models!

[Rachel Larson, PhD @RLarson92]

If you’re also at #TWS2024 this week and want to meet up, you can find me wearing my woodland cardigan (that I knit myself, btw!)

[Natural Habitat Shorts @Natural_habitok]

Spooky fact: When threatened, Horned lizards shoot blood from their eyes as a defense mechanism. Their blood is also toxic from a diet of venomous ants. 🦎🩸💀 #naturalhabitatshorts #naturahabitat #naturalhabitok