Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧

ecologist-artist studying dryland songbirds | they/them | PhD candidate-Streby lab | co-organizer @TWS_OiTF | drab bird enthusiast 🐦 🌵 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ ⚧

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

🐦Do some birds have #PrettyPrivilege? New paper! 💫We show that ~half the variation in research effort on 293 bird species in US+Canada is explained by just 3 factors: 1)visual appeal, 2)range size, & 3)# of universities w/in ranges. Here’s what we did: 🧵https://t.co/hGu8xYYb4x

[Audubon Society @audubonsociety]

A new analysis of more than 27,000 ornithology papers confirmed a troubling bias: Beautiful birds were the subject of three times more scientific research than plainer species. That's alarming for ornithology and conservation. https://t.co/I82HQYvPnW

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

🆕 Excellent piece by Rebecca Heisman out now via @audubonsociety about our new paper (https://t.co/jwxsWN29dl)!

We show that visually appealing, accessible, familiar birds were studied more than drab, distant, inaccessible species. 🐦
@royalsociety

Read the piece 👇

[Audubon Society @audubonsociety]

A new analysis of more than 27,000 ornithology papers confirmed a troubling bias: Beautiful birds were the subject of three times more scientific research than plainer species. That's alarming for ornithology and conservation. https://t.co/I82HQYvPnW

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

@evornithology microcentrifuge tubes? 🩸

[Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids 🦆🧬 @Jente_O]

Six-decade research bias towards fancy and familiar bird species | Proceedings B
https://t.co/KYcRDwgub9

"Publication trends explained by aesthetic salience (visual appeal), range size (familiarity) and the number of universities within ranges (accessibility)."

#ornithology

[Claire Nemes @cenemes.bsky.social @cenemes]

Check out this important and thought-provoking new paper with real-world consequences for ecological knowledge and bird conservation! So impressed with @grayvireo for this one!

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

@Seiurus Thanks Tim, appreciate it!

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

🐦Do some birds have #PrettyPrivilege? New paper! 💫We show that ~half the variation in research effort on 293 bird species in US+Canada is explained by just 3 factors: 1)visual appeal, 2)range size, & 3)# of universities w/in ranges. Here’s what we did: 🧵https://t.co/hGu8xYYb4x

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

w/ awesome coauthors Josh Otten, Annie Lindsay, Donald Miles (@LizardProf), & Henry Streby! ✨
Just published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B @RSocPublishing @royalsociety
🔚

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

So, are you considering your next study system/species? Don’t forget to check your subconscious bias…what are we missing out on by only studying colorful/boldly patterned and geographically convenient species across the tree of life? Don't forget about the drab&distant species!

[Silas Fischer 🐦 ⚧ @grayvireo]

every day I wake up or fall asleep to new unimaginable horrors

[Columbus Dispatch @DispatchAlerts]

Senate Bill 1 eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion programs, prevents faculty strikes and bans schools from weighing in on controversial topics. https://t.co/au6uF9Ahek