Michael Bok

@[email protected]
257 Followers
136 Following
44 Posts
Researcher in the Lund Vision Group in Sweden. Interested in the evolution of vision in invertebrates. Previously at The University of Bristol, UK and UMBC, USA. Middling photographer.
Homepagehttp://www.michaelbok.com
Google Scholarhttp://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_6pbaeoAAAAJ&hl=en
Show threadMichael BokJul 10, 2023
@davidwilby Hah, it's good to spread the outrage around.
Michael BokJul 10, 2023

Biofluorescence nonsense has peaked:

"...we have reasons to believe that biofluorescence results from keratinization and is a structurally-based colouration."

Wow, that makes little sense! Let's check the evidence...

You guessed it - Museum rave pictures!🤦‍♂️

https://nature.com/articles/s41598-022-15952-7

Michael BokMar 30, 2023

We made a book! If you like weird and wonderful invert eyes, check it out:
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-23216-9

Featuring awesome contributions form a load of great researchers.

Distributed Vision

This volume explores the diversity of distributed eyes in nature, comparing optics, neural processing, and behavioral control.

SpringerLink
Michael BokJan 2, 2023

Abstract submission is now open for ICIV 2023 at Bäckaskog Castle, Sweden on 27 Jul - 3 Aug.

Submit your abstract before 28 Feb!

https://iciv.se/abstract

International Conference on Invertebrate Vision 2023

Michael BokDec 21, 2022

The website for ICIV 2023 hosted by the Lund Vision Group is online at: https://iciv.se

July 27 to August 3 in 2023 – at Bäckaskog Castle, Sweden.

Abstract submission will open January 1. Mark your calendars!

International Conference on Invertebrate Vision 2023

Michael BokDec 19, 2022
Journal of Exp BiolDec 19, 2022
Hey #ScienceMastodon, make sure you don't miss our new Conversation with Marie Dacke where she talks about her experiences of working in South Africa with dung beetles, establishing a new field site recently in Sardinia and the key experiments that confirmed that dung beetles can navigate by star light #dungbeetles #Science #navigation
https://journals.biologists.com/.../225/22/jeb245181/282888
Show threadMichael BokDec 16, 2022
@spugpow Ha! I had never heard of these things. Like a googly-eyed lamprey! Wiki says they were possibly filter feeders. Alciopids are pelagic obligate predators that capture prey with an eversible pharynx attack.
Show threadMichael BokDec 16, 2022
@spugpow They are likely the only group outside of vertebrates, arthropods, and cephalopods with high-resolution visual capabilities. Most worms have quite course vision, but these have extremely large, sophisticated eyes, and we have no idea what they actually use them for - maybe hunting. On top of that, they also probably have a strange secondary retina of photoreceptors up against the sides of their lens, that may have a secondary photoreceptive function, like looking for bioluminescence.
Michael BokDec 16, 2022

Anders Garm and I revived a Carlsberg Foundation grant to work on the truly bizarre eyes of alciopid polychaetes in Italy as well as a visit to Megan Porter in Hawaii!

This marks the second time I've been funded by Carlsberg since they sponsored my rugby team while I was doing my PhD in Baltimore!

Michael BokDec 15, 2022
Jolyon TrosciankoDec 13, 2022

Build your own high-sensitivity spectroradiometer for ~£250! See my pre-print here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.09.519768v1 and source here: https://github.com/troscianko/OSpRad

#colsci