Asst. Prof of Natural Science at Berklee College of Music. I teach Oceanography and Environmental Science to your next favorite artist! Cat mom, design aficionado, Celtics fan, PhD from the Byrnes lab at UMassBostonhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3mnd3ibiw2k2oAnyone have a marine biology textbook they adore? I’m thinking “Ocean Ecology” by Emmett Duffy but would need to supplement it with something like “Biology of the Invertebrates” by Pechenik02 Jun 2026 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnd3ibiw2k2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3mihs5fu7c22xOne of my Environmental Science students was so inspired by the documentary I assigned, @pbs.org’s H20: The Molecule that Made Us, that they wrote a letter to their senator!01 Apr 2026 22:58 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mihs5fu7c22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3mgxscvr7uk2iMoved out of my University of Massachusetts Boston grad student desk space today. Feeling very nostalgic and a little emotional. Did a lot of great work here, processed a decent amount of trauma, made some lifelong friends and countless memories. Anyway, now it’s official. #PhDone13 Mar 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgxscvr7uk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3m65pfwemw22r@dkokamoto.bsky.social I make my oceanography students report ocean news during the semester and yesterday someone reported this: https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/11/14/even-moderate-heat-waves-depress-sea-urchin-reproduction-along-the-pacific-coast/ you are now famous at the other Berklee!21 Nov 2025 16:31 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65pfwemw22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3m4yqexyjc22jIt’s Doctor McCollum now! 🎉06 Nov 2025 23:40 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4yqexyjc22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3m3drohibds2hIt’s probably just a music school thing but sometimes I get applause after a lecture and it feels really nice16 Oct 2025 22:12 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3drohibds2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3m2coxamiu22kYou guys, it’s finally happening!03 Oct 2025 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2coxamiu22khttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3m27tqgh2lk26I’m trying to find a seminal paper explaining how species ranges are shifting up attitudinally. I think it might be C. Parmesan’s 1996 Nature Paper “Climate and species’ ranges” but I don’t have access to it via my institution. Any help or advice would be super appreciated! DOI 10.1038/382765a002 Oct 2025 15:13 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3m27tqgh2lk26https://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3lpmyfgbn522gFirst dive of the year is in the books! Canoe Beach, Nahant, MA. 56 minutes at 16ft (hah!), a chilly 47 degrees F. Always nice to find out that your wetsuit still fits! 😅20 May 2025 21:04 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpmyfgbn522ghttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3lpcq7koslc2kI haven’t even finished reading it yet, but I have to tell you all to go check out Lotze et al., 2022 “Long-term (~4000 years!) ocean and resource dynamics in a hot-spot of climate change”, especially if you’re interested in the Gulf of Maine! DOI: 10.1139/facets-2021-019716 May 2025 19:11 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpcq7koslc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3ldby6lzn7c27Another excellent final project for oceanography:14 Dec 2024 18:58 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldby6lzn7c27https://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3ldbvtilzrs27Strongly recommend having your students write haiku about your lecture topics! Here are my favorites: Divergent boundary Convergent boundaries and Transform boundaries Continental shelf Separates the land and sea Slope to the abyss Baby volcano I live above the mantle Feed me some magma14 Dec 2024 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldbvtilzrs27https://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3ld2fw3stj22mFor the last question on my Environmental Science final, I have my students fill out @ayanaeliza.bsky.social’s joy in climate action Venn diagram. The responses are so heartwarming! ❤️ my @berklee.bsky.social students11 Dec 2024 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ld2fw3stj22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3ld275v267s2tProbably the hardest question on my exam, but who remembers how Coriolis Effect modifies prevailing wind directions? #popquiz #oceanography #finalsweek ignore that the down arrow is there twice (hint: it’s a red herring)11 Dec 2024 16:42 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ld275v267s2thttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3ld25s5h2ps2tOne of my oceanography students made Medusa and Polyp (Cnidarian) treats for our final exam today!11 Dec 2024 16:17 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3ld25s5h2ps2thttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3lc7ta3igfs2iJust ate fries made out of spam while waiting for my flight out of SeaTac. After 3 hours of delays, they were a weird choice but not the worst part of my travel day!01 Dec 2024 04:59 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lc7ta3igfs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/breckmccollum.bsky.social/post/3lbkh6u4qhk2tHi All, happy to be here with you! Loved and missed our Twitter community over the last few years. Looking forward to reconnecting and catching up on all the amazing marine ecology research out there!22 Nov 2024 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:os7rfkwpgwiloe63rm7fue7x/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbkh6u4qhk2t