We hope you all enjoyed the poster night as much as we did! 😄 Congrats to all the poster presenters! 🥳 Come on by to our final talk here at #ASFB2024, where @Pooven_Muruga will be sharing his latest PhD work! @AustSocFishBiol @bellwoodlab

Oops, looks like we have double-booked ourselves today! At least you'll be spoiled for choice with @SiqueiraAleC and @helenyaan both presenting this afternoon! 🤭 #ASFB2024 @AustSocFishBiol @bellwoodlab

Happy Monday, Newcastle! In T-30 mins, #ASFB2024 begins! 🥳 Join us later this afternoon at the first session, where @iSEAbelle_ng will be showcasing her latest PhD chapter! 🐟 @AustSocFishBiol @bellwoodlab

#ASFB2024 🐠 kicks off tomorrow! We're represented by 3 PhD candidates @iSEAbelle_ng, @helenyaan, & @Pooven_Muruga + 1 adjunct alum @SiqueiraAleC! Come say hi 👋 & swing by to our talks ⬇️ See you all at the Welcome Reception tonight! @AustSocFishBiol @bellwoodlab

6/ So, what was the role of diets in the evolution of reef fishes? ⌚Chronologically: Mass extinction rebound event = Ecological opportunities➡️Diet diversification➡️Rise of families➡️MORE Diet diversification➡️Species diversification & Trophic group➕functional innovations

5/🦴🐟The Eocene was a busy time. @bellwoodlab suggests that this period was the birth of modern reef fishes. Based on key trophic innovations – small powerful jaws that bit the reef. This likely led to the 2nd dietary expansion. 📷📃: doi.org/10.1007/BF01626074

4/🌍Diet diversity exploded on 2 separate occasions. One was suspiciously close to the K/Pg mass extinction event (i.e. when🦕🦖 went extinct 66 mya). Fishes filled the empty niches & diversified their diets. The 2nd was during the Eocene…But what had happened then?

3/🧬Isabelle studied how prey items evolved across 13 families using multivariate phylo comparative methods. They capture the full spectrum of prey diversity that is consumed by a species expressed using colours: 1 prey🟰1 colour➡️mixture of colours 🟰a multivariate diet state!

2/🔄📚Earlier work by @SiqueiraAleC showed that trophic ecology drives the diversification of reef fishes. But when and how did their diets diversify in the first place? This was the main question for Isabelle's 1st PhD chapter. 📃: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-1…

66 million yrs ago🦕dinosaurs vanished, but what happened beneath the surface?🌊 PhD candidate @iSEAbelle_ng investigates the evolution of reef fish diets in this new ProcB paper: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.10… w/ @bellwoodlab, @JanStrugnell, V Parravicini, & @SiqueiraAleC 🧵(1/7)

Written by Sharon and beautifully illustrated by Terri Po, it highlights the importance of animal and plant species in maintaining healthy and balanced ecosystems. It is a fabulous book, and it launches globally TODAY! Amazing work, Sharon! Congratulations 🎉 (2/2)

Our lab alumni, Sharon Wismer, has just released another kids’ book!📖 🌟Wildlife in the Balance: The Species That Shape Earth’s Ecosystems🌟 It explores the critical roles plants and animals play, all around the world🌍 @FlyingEyeBooks @jcu @bellwoodlab #scicomm (1/2)