Do you work on Scottish open ecosystems, whether that’s species-level, habitat-specific or whole landscapes? 🌿🦋🐦🐑 Join us for the Scottish Open Ecosystems Research Day🌾Hosted by CSFL, @n-t-s.bsky.social and @thebotanics.bsky.social 📅 11 May 2026 10:00–17:00 📍 ECCI (Edinburgh) 💻Register by 30 April

Very excited to share that my first first-author paper is out in the Journal of Vegetation Science! 🌱🥳 Our paper used a 20-year grazing experiment in the Scottish uplands to assess how grass community traits shift in response to grazing. 📖 Paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🚩Dig into plant functional ecology! 🌱⛏️ Join the 8th Go Belowground! PhD course (13–19 Sep 2026, Czech Republic) Lectures, hands-on field, lab training ▶️ 1url.cz/2ziQz #clonality #budbank #belowground #mophology #roots #traits #GoBelowground #ExFuMo @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

Come work with us! #PhD position on #ecosystem and #biodiversity effects of large #herbivores on the Eurasian steppes now announced: www.euraxess.de/jobs/395512 Nice combination of fieldwork and meta-analysis, co-supervised by @jonastrepel.bsky.social and ejlundgren.github.io

Catch my talk today at 16:15 in the Ecosystems and Functional Ecology session (Kilsyth) at #BES2025 🙌🌍 Exploring how environment 🌦️ (including fire 🔥) shape grass traits 🌾, with a look ahead to linking traits with biodiversity 🦋 and carbon storage 🌳

I'm very sad to say William Bond, of the University of Cape Town & Fellow of the Royal Society (@royalsociety.org ), has passed away. It is a great loss. He was an enthusiastic ecologist and a critical thinker. I learned a lot, and I still had a lot to learn from him. RIP. 😢 🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience

Less than two weeks until #BES2025! 😁 I’ll be presenting my work modelling Malagasy grass trait-environment relationships on Tuesday 16th at 16:15 in the Ecosystems and Functional Ecology session (Kilsyth). Come hear how using herbarium traits can reveal grass differentiation across Madagascar 🇲🇬

After so many years of hard work, I can finally say my PhD journey has come to an end!🌾🥳🎉 Thanks to Caroline (@caroaceae.bsky.social) Graham (Stone) for being such great mentors through this process! #PhDone

Does anyone have specific leaf area (SLA) or leaf mass per area (LMA) measurements for adult leaves of #Eucalyptus pellita or #Corymbia tessellaris that they'd be willing to share with me? 🧪 #PlantTraits #ecophysiology #physiology #WildOz #botany #ecology #AusTraits

Had such a beautiful day last week at @thebotanics.bsky.social new staff induction 🌿 Learned about the garden’s history, met new colleagues from across departments, and even got a peek 👀 inside the refurbished glasshouse before the plants return! #science #postdoclife

Three years ago, I joined this fabulous group of researchers in western Norway for the sixth Plant Functional Traits Course. Now, we've published the dataset covering morphological traits, spectroscopy, carbon flux, and more: doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05509-4 🧪 #OpenAccess #Botany #PlantTraits 🧵

Really enjoyed the ACE Early Career Symposium yesterday! Great to present my work on intraspecific adaptations of Scottish grasses, chat with other early career academics, and hear from the panel on the many different ways careers can develop. Thanks to the ACE team for hosting an incredible event!

Yesterday I started as a Research Fellow in Biodiversity Science at @thebotanics.bsky.social ! 🌿 Over the next 6 months I’ll be continuing my work exploring Madagascar’s biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics… and enjoying more time in the beautiful gardens😍 #postdoc

Last week I was at the @bes-rewildinggroup.bsky.social workshop in Northumberland 🌿 Great to connect with researchers & practitioners from northern England & Scotland to discuss UK #rewilding- challenges, new tech 🎮, long-term monitoring, & the value of collaboration! Lots to think about! 🤔

That's a wrap! Thank you to the wonderful attendees of our inaugural @bes-rewildinggroup.bsky.social field event with @northwildlife.bsky.social and with support from @britishecologicalsociety.org . I have learnt loads & met many excellent people working on #rewilding in the region! 👍🌱

Brilliant day this week on the Tropical East Asian Savanna Network workshop- out on Salisbury Crags with the Global Grassy Group practicing ground layer data collection and loving the #grasses! @s-eshelman.bsky.social @wieczor.bsky.social @naomibschwartz.bsky.social @royalsoced.bsky.social

This week I attended the Tropical East Asian Savanna Symposium at RBGE and helped lead a Global Grassy Group Surveying workshop with visiting researchers in Holyrood Park. It’s been great connecting with scientists working in a region I haven’t explored much in my own research 🌏🌾😊

The Tropical East Asian Savanna Symposium is today! Join us in person or online to hear from some truly fantastic speakers. Online via teams Meeting ID: 374 127 860 994 5 Passcode: Yq3je9Jo or in person at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 9:30-4:30 @royalsoced.bsky.social 🌐🌏 #ecology #savanna

Out in the Pentlands yesterday with the first-year field ecology students, playing the role of ‘grass specialist’. Shared some ID tips for common UK grasses –fingers crossed I converted a few into budding grass enthusiasts. 🌾👀 #grassgang #fieldecology 🧪 🌍 🌱

As an international PhD graduate who has lived in the UK for almost 5 years, the recent changes to immigration guidelines are devastating. (1/6) #InternationalStudents #AcademicLife #UKImmigration #PhDLife

Yesterday, I successfully defended my thesis! 🍾🥳🎉 Huge thanks to my committee –James Bullock (@jmbecologist.bsky.social), Tiina Särkinen, and Catherine Kidner – for an incredible viva experience discussing grasslands, traits, and conservation management. From now on, it’s Dr. Eshelman! 👩🏻‍🎓🌍🧪 #PhDone

Submitted my thesis today 🥳🥳🥳 It’s been a journey—wild, exhausting, amazing 🌾🌾🌾Thanks to everyone who help me along the way! Next step… viva (after some well deserved weeks off 😊)

Fantastic FunkyBio presentations from @anyacourtenay.bsky.social @wieczor.bsky.social @adamdevenish.bsky.social @s-eshelman.bsky.social @jess-rickenback.bsky.social at the Savanna Science Network Meeting. Thanks to SANParks for always hosting a brilliantly collegiate conference. Till 2026!

Feeling grateful for the opportunity to attend #SSNM2025 and share my work on Malagasy grasses 🌾. After an incredible week in the bush🐆🦓🦏🐘🦒, it’s time to head back to reality—just three weeks left to wrap up my PhD! 😅

Tomorrow (9.30), I’ll be giving a quick talk at #SSNM2025 on Malagasy 🇲🇬 grassy flora—using herbarium traits to explore how top-down and bottom-up drivers shape grass structures and life history strategies. Looking forward to sharing this work from my PhD! 🌾🌾🌾

Halfway through #SSNM2025 and it’s been wild so far! 🐘🐆🦓Great science, great people, and great game drives! What more could I ask for? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Applications for the 2025 TBA Field Course are still open! Visit tropical-biology.org/courses/ for more information and to submit your application. Share this opportunity with interested and qualified applicants. Deadline: 14th March 2025

Not just USA: L'Oreal offers awards for women postdocs around the world. Application deadlines vary. For the Aus/NZ award, you just need to be based in the region, no citizenship requirement. www.forwomeninscience.com/map/ 🧪 #WomenInSTEM

Senior scientists who will be reviewing tenure & promotion files in the future - please remember that the effects of many of these executive orders will disproportionately affect researchers from marginalized groups - often the same folks penalized by COVID-related delays, childcare issues, etc. 🧪

Reiterating my call to fellow federally-funded scientists: Call your reps, tell them how this hurts science and everything good that comes from science (Also non-scientists, and scientists without federal funding! But the more of us who can directly speak to the impacts of these freezes the better)

Enjoy an alpine grassland? Take a quick trip to 4000 m asl in Bhutan to think about encroachment from work led by Tshering Dorji (not on 🔵 ☁️). globalgrassygroup.github.io//2023/12/01/...

We're offering a PhD place on Rewilding! This PhD will study the wilder grazing at Purbeck Heaths ‘Super National Nature Reserve’, which is shifting towards the restoration of natural processes to create a more dynamic, complex landscape www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

hey everyone! i made a list of some useful starter packs (primarily biology/earth sciences with a few bonus things thrown in) to share with friends who have joined bsky in the last week and thought it may be useful for some people here too! 🌍🧪 #SciSky #BioSky docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Do you estimate % cover in your research? Check out COVERater (coverater.com), a standardised method of training to improve visual estimates of cover. Our app helps streamline data collection in global studies and is a useful teaching tool for undergrads! 🌿(paper here: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...)

Hi Bluesky!🦋 I’m a botanist/ecologist studying global grassland dynamics, 🌾 particularly how grass traits interact with disturbances like grazing. 🐄🦏🐑🦓 I’ve been lucky to work across Europe and Africa! 🌍 Currently doing my PhD at the University of Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh 🌱

New game unlocked: Where’s Susan? 👀

Thank you to everyone who attended my talk yesterday on Scottish upland grass communities! 🌾 Missed it or want to chat more? Find me at #BES2024 or drop me a message—I’d love to connect! 🌍

Excited to see everyone posting about science (again)! Short intro: I'm an ecologist/biogeographer fascinated by biodiversity & dynamics of open ecosystems—and a bit of a data science nerd. I'm currently doing a PhD at Edinburgh on herbaceous diversity patterns in African grasslands and savannas 🌾🔥

Excited to present my PhD research at #BES2024 today! 🌾Join me at 16:00 in Auditorium 1C as I dive into how species turnover and intraspecific trait plasticity shape grass community responses to grazing. See you there!

Here's a starter pack for grassland ecology and management, covering scientists and institutions working in semi-natural as well as natural (e.g., prairie, steppe, savanna) grasslands. More additions welcome, so please let me know if you work in the field and I'll gladly add you. go.bsky.app/4KMDs2e

Here's a starter pack for assembling a versatile collection of Ecology and Evolution journals. Please send suggestions Bookmark it in your browser for quick access to explore their publications (see posts in the pack) or find outlets for your work: go.bsky.app/TivtkJn

The Early Career Ecologists starter pack is officially completed! Please have a look and give a follow to each and every one of these amazing individuals And, to anyone who is still interested in joining, perhaps we can do part 2 in a bit? go.bsky.app/Di74bDy

Here is a starter pack for scientists and others interested in trait-based ecology and evolution. Still trying to find everyone here. Please let me know if you would like to be added to the list! go.bsky.app/PThMXeX 🧪🌎🌾

Grazing is reshaping grasslands in the Scottish Uplands—but how? 🌾 Are species shifting, or are traits like plant height changing within species? 🤔 Find out next Wednesday at #BES2024 (Auditorium 1C) when I present my PhD research on Scottish grass communities

Women are under-represented at senior levels in #academia globally, & across all #science 🧪 disciplines, as shown by these "scissor-shaped curves" ✂️ So how can we ever achieve #gender #equality? We discuss various strategies in this #Cell Commentary #WomeninSTEM www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... 🧵 1/

Interested in plant systematics, ecology, and taxonomy in the tropics? Looking for a PhD? The next round of UKRI funded PhDs @EdinburghUni are out, & include 3 with me, @xaxapezzini and David Harris at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Applications due 6 Jan. e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/super... #botany