Brian Leavell

@bleavell.bsky.social

378 Followers 242 Following

sensory ecology | behavior | evolution ○ lover of midges, frogs, bats and bagels ○ PhD w/ @xebernal.bsky.social @ Purdue All my ❤️ to 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ ☮️🌎

Stick figure drawings of two people holding hands, smiling.
At top "For the Common Good of The People". Middle: drawing of Boston Terrier. Bottom: "Commonwealth"
Dinosaur running with a dunkin donuts coffee, with the word "massachusetts" in the top right
Fringe-lipped bat mid-flight, eavesdropping on the calls of male túngara frogs, which it uses to find its prey. Photo by Christian Ziegler.
Overhead video of experimental setup for female choice tests. There is a rectangular pool filled with water, with speakers and hoses on either side. The hoses rested on the water, with speakers (out of frame) driving air to create ripples on the water surface. At the start of the video, the female túngara frog is in the middle of the arena. During playback she hops towards the right speaker/hose, ultimately touching the hose with her body, indicating a selection.
Calling male túngara frog being attacked by eavesdropping frog-biting midges. Photo by Katherine González
Male túngara frog calling in a pond amongst vegetation. As he calls, he is attacked by eavesdropping frog-biting midges, which hear the calls using their antennae. As they land and crawl on the túngara (looking for access to a blood meal), the frog swats at the midges, creating ripples in the water.
Fringe-lipped bat mid-flight, eavesdropping on the calls of male túngara frogs, which it uses to find its prey. Photo by Christian Ziegler.
AP news headline: UN body says Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, as hunger worsens Photo below: Palestinians queued up with bowls to receive food
Excerpt from linked article: Toward the end of Khalil’s short remarks, he looked at Mamdani as if it were just the two of them in the room, and he said, “I am excited about the possibility of raising my son in a city where you are mayor.” It was a stunning moment, one of those times when you could, if you were listening, hear a collective catching of breath before a fresh wave of applause. People made their way to the exits, some wiping away tears. I saw a friend, and we hugged. She said, “I didn’t realize I was crying, but now I can’t stop.”
President George W. Bush giving speech in front of "Mission Accomplished" sign
Image of "Bad Luck Brian" meme.
Graph of Dow Jones Industrial Average 1-year figure, showing that current $ = $ at September 2024.
Image of Reddit post from r/Conservative subreddit. Title: "Reddits Algorithm Is forcing Every Protest In the Nation To Hit My Feed". Subject body: "I block each sub that hits my feed with DOGE protestors and they just keep coming. I honestly hope this entire site gets shut down for good if reddit can't get new management to stop...".
Word cloud showing the 100 most frequent words used in Senator Cory Booker's record-breaking speech that started March 31, 2025 and ended April 1, 2025. Larger words = more frequently used. Most frequent word, which is shown as the largest in the middle is "people".
EUR/USD graph showing +2.6621%
Wall Street trader holds forehead in hand while wincing. Photo above Yahoo Finance website headline, "Trump's tariffs wreak havoc on battered Wall Street" with caption, "US stocks plunged as President Trump's tariffs sent shockwaves through markets and the global trade order."
Photo of a túngara frog calling in water while being attacked by eavesdropping frog-biting midges.
Illustration by Julia Beck of Dr. Ximena Bernal wearing a headlamp and holding a frog, both looking at the viewer.