Anya Auerbach

@aauerbach.bsky.social

876 Followers 559 Following

Visiting prof at Oberlin College | PhD from UMN EEB studying Madagascar’s bird radiations | Loves birds, diversification, biodiversity, teaching evolution, and (natural) history museums | Queer. Organizer. Still a NYer at heart.

Image of the course description, which reads: Our society has been shaped by evolutionary ideas. Learning about evolution has led people to question human nature, our place in the natural world, and what that means for us as individuals and a society. Through reading, discussion, and museum visits, this class will explore how evolutionary study has filled us with wonder and a sense of kindship with all living things, been used to justify some of humanity’s greatest atrocities, and continues to be misused and misunderstood today. With grounding in the logic of evolutionary theory, we will ask how understanding evolution does – or doesn’t – help us understand ourselves. Field trip(s) required.
The cover slide from my dissertation defense talk. The background image is of a river flowing through rainforest in Ranomafana National Park, and along the sides are photos of various birds I studied in-hand. The title text reads: “Ecological diversification across taxonomic scale in three adaptive radiations of Malagasy birds”. Below that are listed my name (Anya Auerbach), my advisor Sushma Reddy, and my committee: Sharon Jansa, Keith Barker, Kieran McNulty, and David Fox.
A photograph of a western red-backed salamander that was sheltering under a log. It’s a small, slender salamander, brownish overall with an orange upper side.
A video of a river otter, rising up to the water’s surface. It makes delightful smacking chewing noises.
A greyscale drawing of the brain, skull, and exterior of a polish crested and normal chicken. The chicken has a pouf of feathers over most of the head. Under this, the braincase domes up dramatically and is full of small perforations. The brain itself is bizarrely shaped too, to fill this shape. It almost looks like a crawling baby. Very uncanny all around.
A photograph of two pans full of latkes on a stovetop. They are thin, crispy potato pancakes, cooking in olive oil. They objectively look delicious.
A screenshot of a recipe for Lime pie (or lemon or passion). The recipe is as follows. Preheat oven to 325. Process, or put in a ziplock and roll with a rolling pin or pound until you have crumbs (you can also buy graham crumbs and add powdered ginger): -gingersnaps, to make 1 cup crumbs Mix will with: -2 2/3 tbsp butter, melted. (If the crust seems to greasy, as with some richer kinds of cookies, I add a little almond flour) Pat evenly into an 8” pie pan (glass is best). Bake 10 minutes, then cool 10 minutes. Whisk or blend: -1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk -grated peel of 2 large limes -3/4 c fresh lime juice (about 4 large juicy limes, a lot more if small or dry) -4 yolks Pour into crust. Bake 25 minutes, until set. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving (important). Do not serve at room temperature. For a 9” pie use 1 ½ recipe. For passion pie, use 1 cup puree for 8” pie, 1 ½ cups for 9”.
A picture of a deep golden-yellow pie, like a key lime pie but closer to orange. Its not very pretty but it tastes fantastic I swear.
A photo of a deer taken with a phone through binoculars. It is lying down and dusted in snow.
A video from today’s mass action in Minneapolis. The song “we’re not gonna take it” is playing and people are singing and moving along. People are heavily bundled up against the cold, and many are carrying signs with messages like “ICE out”, along with Minnesota flags and an upside down American flag.
A photograph of a bowl filled with nicely charred roasted brussels sprouts. They’re heavily topped with toasted, ancho chili-coated sunflower seeds and pomegranate seeds.
A typically colored common dolphin leaping out of the water. It has a dark back, yellow sides, and a paler white strip running along the flank.
A photograph of a melanistic common dolphin porpoising out of the water. Its monochrome but sharply contrasting light and dark gray, with the usual orange areas replaced by a dark slate color.
A photograph of a Mihirung fossil. Its an enormous, obviously flightless bird with an absolutely massive, deep bill. It looks like it will hunt you down.
A photograph of a decently sized white oak tree growing on a small plot of land at a quiet intersection. Its plot is closed off by old fashioned-looking stone pilons. A stone marker in front of the tree reads: “For and in consideration of the great love I bear this tree and the great desire I have for its protection for all time. I convey entire possession of itself and all land within eight feet of the tree on all sides. -William H Jackson
An image of the first slide from my talk. Its titled “Tempo and mode of trait evolution in the adaptive radiation of Malagasy vangas”. The authors are myself, Euan Lim, and Sushma Reddy, all affiliated with the University of Minnesota. My email is auerb027@umn.edu. Around the text are five photographs of vangas, birds which look extremely different from one another.
A photograph of a male white-winged crossbill. He's perched on the twigs of a deciduous tree covered in buds. He's a pinkish bird with dark wings, white wing-bars, and a chunky bill crossed at the tips.
A photograph of a common redpoll standing in profile on a branch. It has one foot sticking forward and its head tilted down, appearing to be carefully examining the foot or possibly in deep contemplation of all that's gone wrong in its life. Redpolls are small birds, a kind of finch that's very fluffy and mostly streaky brown, with a yellow beak and little red patch on the forehead.
I’m holding the book “Jingo” by Terry Pratchett, the next in the City Watch series of Discworld books that I’ve slowly been working my way through.
A photograph of a surf scoter with a bivalve (probably a mussel) in its beak. Surf scoters are ducks with ridiculous-looking giant colorful beaks, which they use mostly to eat mussels.
Screenshot of text from an email. The header reads: Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost The text of the email reads: Dear students, faculty, and staff: Many of you have heard reports that several federal agencies have paused activities affecting federally-funded research. University leadership is closely tracking proposed changes, all executive orders, and the direction by the Office of Management and Budget to all departments and agencies. A team is assembled to assess and respond on behalf of our community. The team will draw on the expertise of leaders across the University, internal and external experts, and our peer institutions and professional associations. We are reviewing all guidance and updates as they emerge to determine what they mean for our students, faculty, and staff, and for our programs dedicated to the education, research, and outreach missions of the University. (continued in next image)
A photograph of a brown geode. The crystals look weirdly like the lungfish’s teeth. At least to me.
A photograph of a tufted titmouse perched on a twig among fallen leaves. It is a very cute little gray bird similar to a chickadee, with a big dark eye and little crest. They are supposed to have tails, which this one notably does not.
An image of my title slide. The title of the talk is “Tempo and mode of trait evolution in the adaptive radiation of Malagady vangas”. The authors are Anya Auerbach, Euan Lim, and Sushma Reddy, who are affiliated with the University of Minnesota and Bell Museum of Natural History. The text is surrounded by five photographs of different species of vangas, which look impressively different from one another.
A selfie of myself while cooking latkes. I’m a white person with shortish brown hair, wearing a t shirt with a logo that reads UE Local 1105. On the stovetop are two pans full of thin, crispy latkes at various stages of doneness. I’m wearing earbuds and, though can’t tell from the photo, listening to Yiddish Bundist music.
A video of snow falling at dusk, lit by the lights of the ferry I’m standing on. The video then pans to show the water of lake Ontario and the lights of Kingston
A photo of the NYC skyline from the back of the south Brooklyn ferry, with coastal Brooklyn, lower Manhattan, and Jersey City in view. The clouds overhead are multilayered and moody.
A blurry, very dark photograph of a purple sandpiper taken with a cell phone through binoculars. It’s standing on what I’m informing you are seaweed-covered rocks, silhouetted against waves lit orange with the last rays of light. Its paler, mottled belly and drooping bill shape are somewhat visible.
A photograph of an eared grebe swimming, a tiny ball of fluff of a waterbird. Its dark gray above and pale mottled gray below, with a small, pointy, upturned bill and a red eye.
A photograph of an American Bittern standing in some undergrowth, slightly obscured by twigs. Its a beautifully mottled brown heron with bizarre proportions - a chunky body, relatively short legs, a thick neck and small head.
A video closeup of a plant in a pot. A label says the plant is Myrmecodia tuberosa. The visible part of the plant looks like a knobbly, slightly spiky tuber. On one side its been sliced open, showing that the internal structure is full of narrow passageways. The exterior surface also has tiny holes across its surface, which let the ants get in and out. Towards the end of the video, a couple of tiny ants emerge from the passageways onto the surface of the plant.
A photograph of a rack of christmas tree ornaments. There are a set of carved and painted wooden cardinals, some bright red and others tan with a black face and orange beak.
A photograph of glittering ice crystals on fallen leaves
A photograph of a residential street. The grass and roads are covered in a thin layer of snow.
A photograph of a neighborhood. There is a light dusting of snow and a scattered flock of turkeys, two of which are hurrying to cross the sidewalk just ahead.
A photograph of a canada lynx crouched on a snow bank with dense spruce woods in the background. Its mouth is partly open and its eyes are slitted. You can also see the underside of one extremely fuzzy paw.
A photograph of a pair of lynx walking down a snow-covered gravel road. They are medium-sized cats with very fluffy gray fur, huge paws, and long black tufts on their ears. The lead lynx is in focus, the other is out of focus a ways behind.
A video of two Canada Lynx in a snowy forest. One is yowling at the other and slowly moving away, while the other follows at a distance.
Photograph of a bowl full of stew. Grains of barley, chickpeas, and lots of stewed herbs are clearly visible.
A photograph of me, a white person with shortish hair. Its dark and I’m sitting crosslegged on the ground, looking over my shoulder and away from the camera at a spectacular aurora borealis overhead.
Screenshot from the linked Washington Post article, which reads: ‘Jenny Vrentas, another Times business reporter and Guild steward, said she was frustrated that Times management would rather risk election week coverage than reach a deal with tech employees. “I see it as: If the company really valued the work that our tech workers do, and valued their contributions, then they would never have let it get to this point,” she said.’