Casey terHorst

@ecoevolab

Biology Prof at Cal State Northridge. Pro- species diversity, genetic diversity, and diversity in STEM #BLM #TransLives he/him🏳️‍🌈 But also into non-academic things (TV and Broadway)

779 Folgt1.903 Follower1.272 Posts

Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir ecoevolab.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· 5d

Chef's kiss to this

Link to an account named the Bicelium Network. The fungal fabric of lgbtq+ culture

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 22

Guys doing survey work on the lawn outside #Evol2026 and I’m waiting for a team to run out there with quadrats

Several men on a lawn with a long transect tape

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 18

While editing a student thesis, I just learned that you can put an image into a comment in Word and now all my editing is just going to be memes

Kevin from The Office saying "me think, why waste time say lot word, when few word do trick"

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· May 22

Sooo, like the dot over the i in Jeremy Bearimy…this broke me

Book cover of Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· May 21

We've been having joint lab meetings with @mutualismecology.bsky.social's lab. The Mother Rooster group (best anagram of our two last names) has been great and ended the semester with an intense bowling competition yesterday

A group of faculty, grad, and undergrad students holding different colored bowling balls at a bowling alley

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Mar 31

Also, this logo is 🔥 #MansionMeeting2027

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Dec 2

Our grad students deserve to be paid FAR more than they are now. Rally to support them tomorrow:

Flyer for a rally for CSU Northridge academic student workers
Wednesday, December 3, 12-1pm
Meeting in front of the SRC and march to Valera Hall 200
More protection for marginalized workers. Increased Pay. Sick Leave.

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Nov 19

Please apply to join the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Naturalists! www.amnat.org/announcement...

Flyer that says American Society of Naturalists Diversity Committee. The DC works to promote diversity, equity, and inclusiveness to enhance the study of evolution, ecology, and behavior and to foster the career of its developing scientists. We pursue initiatives that support marginalized groups, which include helping to create an inclusive, accessible environment at the Evolution conference, the stand-alone ASN meeting, and our field in general. Apply by November 1. Seeking two new members starting Jan 2026. 3 year term

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Sep 1

This was excellent

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jul 25

I don’t know what use this crucible has in our lab, but I will die to protect it

$A very tiny crucible occupying only a tiny fraction of the palm of my hand$

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jul 18

This sign is hanging outside of our Biology building today. It's a response to a new policy that severely limits faculty reassigned time for research

Black spray paint on a white sheet that says President and Prov. Meera Destroy Research

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 23

Pale Tiger Moth (?) caterpillar outside #Evol2025

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 23

And now we know why

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 23

This talk’s gonna be great! #Evol2025 @ecarlen.bsky.social

Liz’s adorable little white dog sitting very attentively on her lap

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 21

Birds and pronoun pins at the Tri-Society Diversity table #Evol2025

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 18

Three books: The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene, and Letters to A Young Scientist. Accompanying sign says Free. Important book by bad people

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 17

I always bring peanuts for the crows and ravens on walks with the dog. There was a large crowd this morning! Rule 1: befriend corvids

A group of about a dozen large black birds on the ground

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jun 13

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Apr 5

Just a tiny fraction of people at the #HandsOff protest in Pasadena today

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Mar 10

A student picked this paper from @ruha9.bsky.social for lab meeting today and it's REALLY good, focusing on how AI = eugenics, in ways I hadn't fully thought about it. But also includes this story that I hadn't heard before lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...

As when, in 2013, venture capitalist turned Michigan governor Rick Snyder adopted a $46 million dollar program called MiDAS (Michigan Integrated Data Automated System) to efficiently identify residents committing insurance fraud. After his administration laid off the majority of state employees who would normally review insurance claims, the state’s new automated system wrongly accused over 20,000 people of fraud. Not only did people lose access to unemployment payments; after heavy fines as high as $100,000 were levied, individuals’ tax refunds and wages were garnished as well. About 11,000 people filed for bankruptcy, some lost their homes, and others disproportionately divorced or died by suicide. These are just a handful of the “social elements” that pop up when automated technologies are hastily integrated into every facet of life.

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Feb 17

Trying to return to finding something joyful every day amid the madness. Today the dog met a horse:

A medium-sized black fluffy dog attempting to touch noses with a white horse

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Feb 13

Image posted with remaining alt text

[continued alt text from previous message]
WSN continues to welcome all of our members. Our demographic surveys in recent years demonstrate an increasing number of scientists of color and LGBTQ+ scientists, which reflects the excellent efforts put forth by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. We will continue to welcome and facilitate participation in our annual meetings by transgender and non-binary members. WSN does not discriminate on the basis of citizenship or documentation status and welcomes any scientists willing to engage with others about their science. Increasing the representation of marginalized groups remains a fundamental goal of our Society. We will not shy away from these principles, nor bow to political pressure to do so.

Together, we as a Society can continue to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community of scientists. We encourage members to call their elected representatives and advocate for federal funding for science and the need for depoliticized funding and academic freedom. If there is anything that our Society can do to help or if there are additional changes you would like to see in the Society, please reach out at secretariat@wsn-online.org. We wish you well in the face of upcoming challenges and look forward to gathering together in San Diego in November.

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jan 27

Love hiking with this furry butt

A black fluffy dog named Korra walking in front of me on a trail

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Jan 22

This chonks loves to cuddle any electronic

A fat cat cuddling an iPhone but in a cute way

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Dec 17

We live in an odd neighborhood, summed up nicely by this neighbor’s garage

This is embarrassing to even write, but…it’s Santa mounted and riding a T rex

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Dec 3

Emerald moth trying to be in the Christmas mood #CatalinaIsland

Green emerald moth against a red painted wall

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Nov 21

Maybe some sample bias, but still a good sample of the Western Society of Naturalists membership: <70% women or non-binary ~40% LGBTQIA2S+ ~23% URM (more work to do, but better than the past) This didn't just happen, but req'd changing meeting culture, DEI committee work, and ongoing intention

Three graphs showing WSN demographics.
The first bar plot shows 63.7% women, 29.8% mean, and 8.1% nonbinary, gender fluid, or genderqueer.
The second bar plot shows 12.% Asian, 5.2% Black or African American, 16.3% Hispanic or Latinx, 83% White or Caucasian, and one respondent each for American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Ashkenazi Jew, Middle Eastern, Filipinx, and Arab American.
The third pie chart shows 39.3% who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, two-spirit + and 58.5% who do not.

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Nov 13

Related, I can't wait to read this:

The cover of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's new book titled, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Future. There is also a picture of the author, a young Black nerdy (in the best way) woman. There is a quote from the book that says "Fuck hope. Where's the strategy? What are we going to do so that we don't need hope?"

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Nov 6

This is all I've got for students this morning. It's not enough. It's trite. There are no words

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light”
-Albus Dumbledore
“Stay angry, little Meg,” Mrs Whatsit whispered. “You will need all your anger now.”
-Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
“Do the next right thing”
-Frozen 2

Casey terHorst@ecoevolab· Nov 4

I’m worried that the Days Without An Accident clock is about to reset