Happy autism day! To my fellow auties: 💧Reminder to hydrate, stim and stay weird! To my non-auties: 🗣️ Call out ableism/misinformation on autism when you see it. 🕸️ Remember autistic identities and experiences intersect with race, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, etc. 💬 Let us infodump.

It's #TransDayOfVisibility! Feels weird to post about it this year considering how visible I've had to become to drive my fundraising. Being visible is a mixture of joy and absolute terror but, more than anything else, it's necessary for me right now 🏳️‍⚧️

🌱🌾🌍🌺🍄🌴🍂🌳🐝🪳🧪 Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026 - UK and Ireland's quiz and festival for degree students enthusiastic about plants. Currently seeking financial support!

Garlic mustard spotted on one of my walks this week. 🤍💚 #WildflowerHour

A large blueberry the size of a small blueberry 🫐

Open Science peeps, we need to have a conversation about the platforms we use in relation to socially responsible research given the sort of power dynamics and equity issues we see playing out. See recent news about GitHub 👇🏽 www.theverge.com/news/757461/...

FYI peeps who use GitHub, there are changes to their AI training policy. Context: www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/g... Sidenote: Even more of a reason not to store sensitive info on GitHub even on private repos! Alt text: screenshot of GitHub privacy page showing permissions for AI model training.

So cool to see the Academic Wheel of Privilege (AWoP) being used in trainings! In our article we focused on the use case for authorship order decisions but the applications of the AWoP framework are many! osf.io/preprints/me...

NEW: Wikipedia has banned AI-generated content.

Practice #4 in the MORPHSS catalogue of open research practices in AHSS: Collective, collaborative or communal authorship. "Collective authorship practices allow the demonstrably communal nature of authorship to manifest as an open and collaborative process..." #OpenResearch #AHSS

In these turbulent times in academia of funding cuts, job insecurity, rampant harassment/discrimination, uncritical use of genAI, etc., I find myself returning to my favourite book. My fellow educators, what are we doing!? How are we resisting and reimagining in small and big ways? ✊🏾

Please enjoy this drawing of a frog I did as a lil kid 🐸

Attention Science Communicators! We are conducting a survey on the landscape of science communication & need your help gathering experiences. Please send this to #SciComm ppl you know. We want to get as thorough a sense of the state of the field as we can. umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Issue 3.1 of ‘Plant Perspectives’ is now live online. This journal is #openaccess again in 2026 through #subscribetoopen – with warm thanks to all of our subscriber-supporters! Read it here: www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/index #plantstudies #envhum @plantperspectives.bsky.social

Folks, the use of AI to write reviews is a clear violation of peer review ethics + it endangers the authors' intellectual property rights. Don't do it.

A cheeky #Goniatite, on the prowl, looking for morsels. #SciArt #Paleoart

Probably a reach here but I'm looking for someone (early career maybe) who would be willing to mentor me as I navigate the post-PhD life. I feel lost on a lot of things and would be grateful to bounce ideas and experiences with someone who's been through a couple of years post-PhD. 😭

Out now! The Academic Wheel of Privilege 🎡 We developed a framework & app to guide authorship teams in making equitable and thoughtful authorship decisions. @saralilplants.bsky.social, @justinsulik.bsky.social, Bethan Iley, Mahmoud Elsherif, @flavioazevedo.bsky.social 🔗 osf.io/preprints/me...

This has been many years in the making. We wanted to do it right—not simply get it done. Our goal was to contribute, however modestly, to an academia that genuinely strives for inclusivity. May the AWoP—small as the step may be—help move academia toward greater inclusion. 🤝🫂🌈🍉🏳️‍⚧️✊⚖️♿🦮🌐

It's been a long journey to this point but very rewarding. Check out the app I built to support it---it was fun working out how to make this static image into something dynamic/interactive (though still room for improvement, especially accessibility). academic-privilege-2177e04480f1.herokuapp.com

After 4+ years of work the Academic Wheel of Privilege is out! One of the most complex projects I’ve led! Deeply grateful to coauthors Justin, Bethan, Mahmoud, Flavio and 30+ expert reviewers for their care, time and dedication in developing this framework. 🔗 osf.io/preprints/me... #AcademicSky 🧪

✨️Preprint: Awareness & Use of Open Research Practices: An International Survey of Researchers Across Disciplines 📝We surveyed >3,000 researchers (45 countries; 24 disciplines) 📌We show variation in open research adoption across regions, disciplines, methodology, & career level🌎 lnkd.in/e6Ddw-UT

Purple toothwort in @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social. #WildflowerHour

Bumped into some lovely violets on one of my walks earlier in the week. #WildflowerHour

Great thread! As someone who develops training materials and makes infographics, I love the messy middle between initial brain dump and final product. I personally don't use GenAI tools to fast track this process. I tried it out in the early days out of curiosity and it was a joyless experience.

Perks of teaching intro plant biology, my office now is packed with a variety of plants! Please appreciate my Selaginella terrarium muhahahaha #ib103 #plantjoy #iamabotanist

Nice septa on show in this ~190 million year old ammonite I found it Whitby, North Yorkshire. #FossilFriday #Paleontology

The autistic urge to line up our fossil finds while waiting for the train back home 😂 @geologyjohnson.bsky.social Nice bunch of ammonites that are about 200 million years old (Redcar Mudstone, Siliceous Shales). #FossilFriday #Paleontology

@saralilplants.bsky.social your faves in the news. This is a carboniferous crinoid columnal that has been eroded in a pleasing way.

Geology shirts are back online. Only two designs available atm with more on the way. I'm looking into prints of my tiny fossils, nice rocks, and natural history art too. If you could share that would be super appreciated! geology-johnson-shop.fourthwall.com

How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Bringing this back up for the International Day of Women in Science, and yes, I consider scientific art, as part of scientific process and communication 🫰

So excited to have been accepted to write this piece. Thanks to all who have entertained my ramblings over the years and have encouraged me in my passion for #ecophysiology and #evolution 🙏 #IAmABotanist 🌱

Always nice to see gorse by the sea 💛💚 #WildflowerHour

Saw my first primrose this week! #WildflowerHour

Snowdrops out in abundance this week around the Whitby area 🤍💚 Found these snowdrops at Runswick Bay on a very wet and windy day (surprised camera got them in focus)! #WildflowerHour

Very excited to announce the new pin in my "It's Dr, Actually" collection: Glow in the dark!! 😍🧪 canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/1841...

A lovely find today with @geologyjohnson.bsky.social at Robin Hoods Bay. Lots going on here in this Staithes sandstone including: scallop, oyster, and a cute little crinoid ossicle 🤩 #FossilFriday #Paleontology #Geology #Fossil

Have you ever seen any one as pleased as @saralilplants.bsky.social finding some crinoids? Probably not. #FossilFriday #geology #paleontology #fossils #crinoids #jurassic #RobinHoodsBay

The world is on fire so please enjoy these nice middle #jurassic trace #fossils. @ichnologist.bsky.social one for you! #geology #paleontology #dinosaur

Went to check on the little patch of colt's-foot in Whitby and it's back 💛 Photo by @geologyjohnson.bsky.social

I suspect that one of the reasons behind the widespread adoption of generative AI by faculty is that it gives people the illusion that they can still do the things they knew how to do as a postdoc. Gen AI is used as a poor substitute to maintaining core skills.

Great to work with our friends at @metoffice.gov.uk @climatecentreuk.bsky.social & @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social to spread the word about how climate change is impacting plant flowering times. Huge thanks to everyone who took part in #NewYearPlantHunt & collected vital data! #CitizenScience #NYPH

For people that feel helpless, this period is so tough but there's ways to help for anyone. Go out there support Venezuelan ppl and artists living in it as they prepare for unpredictable times Here is a starter pack of artists with commissions or donations open as well: go.bsky.app/8daQmpX

Being in the mountains fills me with joy. The views were something else 😍 High Atlas mountains, Morocco

We need more publicly owned 3rd places.

Delighted to publish Forum Article by @nicolasgaltier.bsky.social et al: "Journals run by learned societies or universities have more ethical policies while being cheaper and similarly cited" doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... Thank you for choosing JEB - we encourage the support of #societyjournals

Me: do I really got the 'tism? Mum: when you were 7 you'd collect spiders and make temporary homes for them in jam jars to study their behaviour and you’d regularly read the dictionary... That little kid turned into an ecologist and wrote a PhD thesis chapter on definitions in trait-based ecology.

#Oxford people, #birdflu has been confirmed on Port Meadow. Take care everyone. www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2567322...

I have so many questions....