Andy Turko

In their final projects, #UofG students make surprising discoveries in giant snails and hissing cockroaches. "There’s no better way to teach science than by actually doing science." @UofGCBS @IntUGrativeBiol @UofG_MCB Read more: news.uoguelph.ca/2025/05/shell-…

JOB ALERT: TT Assistant Professor in Comparative Physiology at the University of Ottawa. @J_Exp_Biol @SEBiology @sicb_dcpb @AJPRegu @CompBiochPhys See 👇

While a despot attacks Canada, total silence from Americans we had considered friends and allies. The silence is deafening, but it won't ever be forgotten. #USPolitics

My lab is keen on recruiting grad students for 2025 (fully funded positions! Living wage!) on topics related to plant phylogenomics, macroevolution, and adaptation to dry environments: See: edelinegagnon.wixsite.com/gagnon-lab-1..… Job Details: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

ICYMI: Freshwater ecosystems are in crisis ☠️ A new study in Nature shows 24% of nearly 24,000 freshwater species, including crabs, fish, and dragonflies, are at high risk of extinction. Threats like pollution and habitat loss are pushing them to the brink 🦀 Get the details:

@waitbutwhy Close, but if you want some more nuance this may be of interest... journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.11…

Our fishy ancestors evolved lungs and bony fins, not for living on land but for life in the waters of Devonian swamps. They evolved bony fins to help push them through the think swamp mud. Because the waters they lived in tended to be a bit low on oxygen, their gills mutated into primitive lungs that could supplement their oxygen intake with the occasional gulp of air at the water's surface. These changes happened to also give them the ability to briefly scurry across land to evade a predator or move to a different swamp. Over millions of years, these little excursions got longer and longer until they had come to live entirely on land. Later, some of their descendants would do the same thing in the opposite direction. Whales and dolphins evolved from four-legged galloping dog-like animals. They developed a big enough lung capacity that they could take little excursions into the water to hunt prey. Over millions of years, their lung capacity grew and their excursions got so long they came to live entirely underwater, only needing to rise to the surface for air. Whales are currently in the equivalent stage our fishy ancestors were when they could spend a lot of time on land but still had to return to the water here and there. Perhaps, in a few more million years, whales will have completed their transition, modifying their lungs back into gills and no longer needing to come to the surface at all. By the way, fish all swim by oscillating their bodies from side to side. But whales and dolphins swim in an up and down motion—a remnant of their past as land gallopers.

New 📰| Effects of acute suspended sediment exposure on the swimming and schooling performance of imperilled Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) 🐟 Read it ➡️ ow.ly/wgVI50Ub2fK @PitcherLab @TurkoLab @scas_scsa Part of this collection ⤵️: ow.ly/PUPG50Ub2pT

@PitcherLab @FRECUwindsor So much science to be done! Thanks Trevor and crew for all the help today!

@RSocPublishing has temporarily removed the paywall for anyone interested in downloading the full article! 🦇 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…

Doing good science is 90% finding a science buddy to constantly talk to about the project.

We are hosting a Southern Ontario Pub Night with Tox on Tap in Kitchener on October 7! Join us for an engaging talk, some delicious food and fine brew at a unique venue. Featuring the amazing @Erin_M_Leonard! RSVP here: laurentiansetac.ca/event-details/…

@PitcherLab @IntUGrativeBiol @GLIERUWINDSOR @FRECUwindsor Thanks again for showing off the facility and sharing your fish!

These killifish protect their babies from predators by laying their eggs on land! Check out the highlights in @J_Exp_Biol Outside JEB based on the study from @UTArlington 🐠 journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/22…

We're hiring here @ZoologyUBC in comparative physiology! Come be my colleague in a fantastic department! If you have any questions about the department, UBC, or Vancouver, please don't hesitate to ask. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28155 Please spread widely.

One of the saddest drone shots you will ever see. Complete and utter destruction of a once great ecosystem - the North American Tall Grass Prairie.

What a day to be on the alvar. Monarchs, dragonflies, baby turkeys, frogs and sadly, a lot of sweet white clover. The weather was warm today and the clouds were fascinating. Good day to be outside exploring. #hiking #turkey #monarch #invasivespecies #clouds

Tenure-track job alert 🚨🚨 We are hiring an avian ecologist (broadly defined) at @TrentUniversity. Trent is a great place to build a research program, and ptbo is a wonderful place to live. DEADLINE AUGUST 19. Details: universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?jo…

@bagida_waad Thanks for having us - we had a blast!

We learnt a lot today with Andy Turko and Olivia from the University of Guelph. We were identifying minnows. The weather was fabulous and catching fish was a blast. #minnows #biodiversity #teamwork #laughter #learningtogether #fishing

Lots of #capelin spawning this morning at Bellevue Beach