Michael Pirie
@piriemike.bsky.social
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Systematic botanist, curator at the Bergen University Gardens.
#EricaGCC
pinned post!
Come join us in beautiful Western Norway! Ping co-supervisor team:
@janhackel.bsky.social
@vorontsovams.bsky.social
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
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PhD position in systematics and evolution of Malagasy heathers (Erica; Ericaceae) (289897) | University of Bergen
Job title: PhD position in systematics and evolution of Malagasy heathers (Erica; Ericaceae) (289897), Employer: University of Bergen, Deadline: Sunday, January 4, 2026
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/289897/phd-position-in-systematics-and-evolution-of-malagasy-heathers-erica-ericaceae
13 days ago
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Michael Pirie
13 days ago
As the world faces a biodiversity crisis, precise knowledge about specific species is more important than ever. World Flora Online’s Taxonomic Expert Networks, or TENs, are collaborations of taxonomic experts who work together to agree upon a consensus classification for their plant groups.
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Come join us in beautiful Western Norway! Ping co-supervisor team:
@janhackel.bsky.social
@vorontsovams.bsky.social
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
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PhD position in systematics and evolution of Malagasy heathers (Erica; Ericaceae) (289897) | University of Bergen
Job title: PhD position in systematics and evolution of Malagasy heathers (Erica; Ericaceae) (289897), Employer: University of Bergen, Deadline: Sunday, January 4, 2026
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/289897/phd-position-in-systematics-and-evolution-of-malagasy-heathers-erica-ericaceae
13 days ago
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Chunk of work fed into this - grateful for feedback/interest/collaboration in the next steps: Conservation gap analysis for Erica (Ericaceae)
preprints.arphahub.com/articles.php...
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Conservation gap analysis for Erica (Ericaceae)
The flowering plant genus Erica (Ericaceae) includes well over 800 species and numerous formally described subspecies and varieties. Many of these are threatened in the wild. The Global Conservation C...
https://preprints.arphahub.com/articles.php?id=176100
26 days ago
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Michael Pirie
Systematics Association
about 2 months ago
Our friends at the World Flora Online need your help! They are asking all (potential) users to help them shape a useful plant identification feature to be added to WFO by answering a survey. Please use the QR codes in the image below to access the survey.
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Michael Pirie
iaptglobal
3 months ago
Madrid Code online!! 🎉🪸🍄🌿
www.iaptglobal.org/_functions/code/madrid
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More new annons! Congrats
@tlpcouvreur.bsky.social
! Passion and combat on a floral stage: a new species of Uvariopsis (Annonaceae) from Monts de Cristal, Gabon, with notes on its unique pollination ecology
plecevo.eu/articles.php...
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Passion and combat on a floral stage: a new species of Uvariopsis (Annonaceae) from Monts de Cristal, Gabon, with notes on its unique pollination ecology
Background and aims – Gabon is a major centre of biodiversity. We describe a new species from the tropical plant family Annonaceae: Uvariopsis niangadoumae sp. nov., known from a single population in ...
https://plecevo.eu/articles.php?id=152843
3 months ago
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New Annonaceae klaxon! Bravo
@larschatrou.bsky.social
@phytokeys.pensoft.net
Two new rarely collected species of Annonaceae from the Peruvian Amazon
phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php...
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Two new rarely collected species of Annonaceae from the Peruvian Amazon
While preparing a taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Klarobelia Chatrou (Annonaceae), two species new to science – Klarobelia icoja S.Lara & Chatrou, sp. nov., and Malmea abscondita Chatr...
https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=158372
3 months ago
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Michael Pirie
Andrew Hipp
4 months ago
Am. Soc. of Plant Taxonomists
@amsocplanttaxon.bsky.social
is on Bsky! Follow for news, and join our community of naturalists working together to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy."
@iaptglobal.bsky.social
@botsocamerica.bsky.social
www.aspt.net
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American Society of Plant Taxonomists
The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a community of scientists that promotes research and education in the taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of all plants.
https://www.aspt.net/
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Michael Pirie
GBIF Morpho 🦋
4 months ago
An integrative approach to alpha taxonomy in Erica L. (Ericaceae) with three new species from the Western Cape, South Afri…... by @piriemike.bsky.social published in @phytokeys.pensoft.net sharing data in @gbif.org:
#CiteTheDOI
: ✅
#OpenAccess
: ⭐️
https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.257.139457
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An integrative approach to alpha taxonomy in Erica L. (Ericaceae) with three new species from the Western Cape, South Africa
The megagenus Erica L. (Ericaceae) comprises 851 species across its global distribution, with an extraordinary focus of diversity in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa where almost 700 sp...
https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/139457/
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Michael Pirie
GBIF Morpho 🦋
4 months ago
New paper by @piriemike.bsky.social in @phytokeys.pensoft.net using @gbif.org mediated data: Heathers (Erica, Ericaceae) of Madagascar: taxonomy, evolution, ecology and uses 🇲🇬
#CiteTheDOI
: ✅
#OpenAccess
: ⭐️
https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.256.141375
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Heathers (Erica, Ericaceae) of Madagascar: taxonomy, evolution, ecology and uses
The plant genus Erica L. (heathers; anjavidy in Malagasy) has 35 recognised species in Madagascar, but there has not been a taxonomic revision since 1927 and there are few identification resources. We...
https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/141375/
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Michael Pirie
FrontRangeWildflowers
6 months ago
inaturalist•org Update on June 11, 2025 9:15pm EDT “We are not giving Google special access to your iNat data, and we have no obligation to use Google's infrastructure…If the demo… is not helpful, compromises data quality, has outsized environmental impacts, or is … too flawed, we will not keep it.”
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Michael Pirie
PhytoKeys
6 months ago
This editorial introduces our latest topical collection: Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae).
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
@piriemike.bsky.social
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Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae)
Worldwide, many tens of thousands of plant species are threatened with extinction in the wild. Those that are naturally rare or have narrow distributions are particularly vulnerable. The flowering pla...
https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.257.159429
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Michael Pirie
PhytoKeys
6 months ago
A taxonomic study of the Erica genus identified three new species from South Africa’s Western Cape using morphology, DNA data, and a custom ID tool, while clarifying the status of two other taxa, including one natural hybrid. 🔗
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
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Michael Pirie
Wayne Maddison
6 months ago
Mesquite 4 beta released! Many new features, esp. phylogenomic. Check out the trailer and longer video on the home page:
www.mesquiteproject.org
, and use the download link there to get a copy. Feedback welcome! Ask and discuss on our new Google Group (
groups.google.com/g/mesquite-p...
).
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Michael Pirie
Lee Hsiang Liow (廖珕庠)
6 months ago
Come postdoc in Oslo! 3 years. You design the project! Get in touch with me or others at our museum! Deadline 23 june
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
share and repost !
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Postdoctoral Fellow: Self-Developed Project (280531) | University of Oslo
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow: Self-Developed Project (280531), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, June 23, 2025
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/280531/postdoctoral-fellow-self-developed-project
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Michael Pirie
PhytoKeys
6 months ago
The plant genus Erica has 35 recognised species in Madagascar. Their taxonomy, evolution, ecology, and local uses are reviewed in this paper to highlight research and conservation priorities.
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
@janhackel.bsky.social
@piriemike.bsky.social
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Michael Pirie
Chris Thorogood
8 months ago
The titan arum is a wonder of the natural world, with flowering structures that can reach three metres in height. My friends in Sumatra just sent me these photos of one in the wild - in bud - located today ✨
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Michael Pirie
Thomas Mesaglio
8 months ago
New paper open access in
@plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social
:
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Cit sci data quality is a hot topic, and assumptions about ID accuracy are often made without evidence. We decided to test identification accuracy for a WA plants
@inaturalist.bsky.social
dataset
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Expert identification blitz: A rapid high value approach for assessing and improving iNaturalist identification accuracy and data precision and confidence
Citizen science data are increasingly used in research and conservation, so assessing and improving data accuracy is important. We recruited 50 experts to review a dataset of Western Australian plant....
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppp3.70005
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Michael Pirie
PhytoKeys
8 months ago
Part of: Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae)
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
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Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae)
Worldwide, a sobering proportion of plant species are threatened with extinction in the wild, and those that are naturally rare or have narrow distributions are particularly vulnerable. The flowering ...
https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.coll.216
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Michael Pirie
PhytoKeys
8 months ago
Erica sicula, a disjunct Mediterranean heather, faces severe local threats despite a broad range and requires urgent conservation. Researchers provide an overview of the distribution, ecology, and conservation status of both subspecies.
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
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📢 Chunky new article on Erica sicula just out from Salvatore Pasta and colleagues, an important contribution to our topical collection at
@phytokeys.pensoft.net
:
phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php...
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Broad-ranged, highly disjunct, locally rare and severely endangered: the challenging risk assessment and a global conservation strategy for Erica sicula Guss. sensu lato (Ericaceae)
The distribution range of Erica sicula Guss. sensu lato spans the central and eastern Mediterranean Basin, but shows a significantly fragmented pattern, and its populations are locally subject to mult...
https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=121945
8 months ago
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Michael Pirie
Rhododendron Research
9 months ago
Are you looking for academic papers on Rhododendron? Check out our rhododendron group on Zotero We’ve gathered thousands of rhododendron articles, some as old as the 1600’s and many of which you won’t find in academic search engines FREE TO JOIN!
www.zotero.org/groups/47355...
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Zotero | Groups > Rhodo-research.net
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research.
https://www.zotero.org/groups/4735534/rhodo-research.net
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Michael Pirie
Rhododendron Research
9 months ago
Rhododendron Research Network Rockin’ Around the Clock May 29-30, 2025 A FREE virtual convention highlighting a global community of researchers, conservationists and members of the public working in genus Rhododendron 🪴🧪🌺 Convention schedule and registration:
medeiroslab.com/2025-virtual...
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Michael Pirie
99% Invisible
9 months ago
A tiny, unremarkable beetle hiding in the caves of Slovenia has an infamously unfortunate name—one that has sparked heated debates in the scientific world.
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A Beetle By Any Other Name
In a limestone cave deep in Central Slovenia, an unremarkable insect lives in complete darkness. This tiny beetle, barely visible to the naked eye, has no eyes and a brownish-yellow coloration—adaptations to a life spent entirely underground. The beetle has survived for approximately two million years in this harsh environment, yet in the past century, it gained notoriety for reasons completely beyond its control: it was named after Adolf Hitler.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/618-a-beetle-by-any-other-name/
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Michael Pirie
10 months ago
World Flora Online is now on Bluesky! Follow us for more updates and news from WFO.
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Michael Pirie
Thibault (Tibo) Leroy
10 months ago
🌹 🧬 Proud to announce that our preprint on the history of rose breeding is now recommended by
@peercommunityin.bsky.social
Evolutionary Biology ! Manuscript:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Recommendation:
evolbiol.peercommunityin.org/articles/rec...
Dedication:
www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
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Michael Pirie
Samuel Brockington
10 months ago
We’re delighted that our latest paper on the world’s living plant collections has now been published. You can find it here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@roinnanluisigh.bsky.social
@natureecoevo.bsky.social
Grateful for the exclusive by
@donnalferguson.bsky.social
, here:
shorturl.at/GnYIQ
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‘The risk of extinction is accelerating’: world’s botanic gardens raise alarm with space to protect endangered plants running out
University of Cambridge research suggests living collections have collectively reached peak capacity
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/25/the-risk-of-extinction-is-accelerating-worlds-botanic-gardens-raise-alarm-with-space-to-protect-endangered-plants-running-out?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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If you see this, quote with flowers from your gallery. (Erica transparens)
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
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Michael Pirie
a grassland chase 🌾🌾🌾🌾
10 months ago
The world has been through anti-science cycles before, to disastrous results On a detour on my lit review, a mosey through the history of our familiar friend, the standard onion (Allium cepa) brought me right to one of botany's greatest cautionary tales of what happens when ideology overrides data
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Michael Pirie
Jeremy B. Yoder 🧬📊🌿🏳️🌈🖖🏻
10 months ago
If you live in the Mojave or have Spring Break plans in Death Valley or Vegas, you can help study Joshua trees! Yoder Lab grad student Pryce Millikin has a new
@inaturalist.bsky.social
project for Joshua tree flowering and fruiting, to study the trees' specialized pollinators 🌿
buff.ly/3PLUL6e
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Help us map and study the activity of Joshua trees’ specialized pollinators, yucca moths!
Yucca moths interacting with Joshua tree flowers. Left, a female Tegeticula antithetica lays eggs in the pistil of an eastern Joshua tree flower before pollinating the flower with the yellow ball o…
https://buff.ly/3PLUL6e
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Michael Pirie
Rod Page
10 months ago
Every so often I fire up "Material Examined" to find specimens in
@gbif.org
from their specimen codes, e.g. RMNH 502078
material-examined.herokuapp.com/?q=RMNH%2050...
Often get duplicates, in this case
@naturalis.bsky.social
@ebi.embl.org
and
@boldsystems.bsky.social
Same data three times!
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Michael Pirie
Jeffrey Townsend
10 months ago
It makes so much sense to select your target capture loci for phylogenetics by their power to resolve the nodes you're interested in. Why doesn't everybody do this? 🧪 Maximising informativeness for target capture-based phylogenomics in Erica (Ericaceae)
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
via @Phytokeys
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Maximising informativeness for target capture-based phylogenomics in Erica (Ericaceae)
Plant phylogenetics has been revolutionised in the genomic era, with target capture acting as the primary workhorse of most recent research in the new field of phylogenomics. Target capture (aka Hyb-S...
https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.251.136373
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Michael Pirie
Hervé Sauquet
10 months ago
New phylogenomic study of
#Magnoliidae
: so excited to see this out at last!
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
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Michael Pirie
10 months ago
The follow up on the previous post that we looked at based on some of the comments received about the imminent demise of plant taxonomy. There are more plant taxonomists today than there have ever been.
stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39789
#worldfloraonline
#botany
#taxonomy
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There are more plant taxonomists today than there have ever been
In a previous post I proposed that the rate of plant species discovery had not significantly changed in the last fifty years despite enormous changes in technology. A comment was made that this might ...
https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39789
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Michael Pirie
10 months ago
Molecular biology and the internet have had no effect on the rate of plant species discovery. The title is somewhat clickbaity but probably correct.
stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39768
My colleague Roger doing some investigating of World Flora Online data we manage.
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Molecular biology and the internet have had no effect on the rate of plant species discovery
The title is somewhat clickbaity but probably correct. Working on the World Flora Online Plant List means we are continuously processing and reprocessing a list of all known vascular plant and bryo...
https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39768
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Excellent article på norsk on NRK on the biodiversity you can find if you actually look before building yet another holiday home
www.nrk.no/dokumentar/x...
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NRKs biolog-stunt: Her er naturen vi mister
https://www.nrk.no/dokumentar/xl/nrk-sendte-biologer-ut-i-hyttefelt_-fant-flere-trua-arter-og-verdifull-natur-1.17136521
11 months ago
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Cluster of relevant tenure track positions opening in Stockholm:
www.su.se/english/news...
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Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Stockholm University
Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Stockholm University
https://www.su.se/english/news/faculty-of-science-is-recruiting-assistant-professors-in-biodiversity-1.777616
12 months ago
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Tasty job advert for new director at the botanic garden in Leiden:
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/vacancies...
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Wetenschappelijk directeur (prefect)/hoogleraar (0,8 - 1,0 fte)
The Hortus botanicus of Leiden University is looking for aScientific Director (Prefect)/Professor (0.8 - 1.0 FTE)Vacancy number15348Would you like to work in the oldest botanical garden in Western Eur...
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/vacancies/2024/q4/15348-wetenschappelijk-directeur-prefect-hoogleraar-08---10-fte
12 months ago
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Michael Pirie
Siobhan Leachman
12 months ago
Just did a rapid 15min presentation to the NZ Herbarium Network on just some of the botany related work that I & my co-presenter Heidi Meudt have been doing on
#Wikipedia
#Wikidata
and
#WikimediaCommons
. Slides can be seen here
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
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Botany Wiki Work
A presentation on botany related work being done in Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons by Te Papa staff Heid Meudt as well as independant researcher Siobhan Leachman to the New Zealand Herbariu...
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14279221
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Michael Pirie
Colton the fish squeezer🐟🪴📚🏕️🐝
over 1 year ago
You guys...have I got a personal health, science, AND gardening SAGA for you! This one is amazing, buckle up. A couple years ago I looked in the mirror and saw this. I had to suppress my panic because I'm first aid trained and having unevenly dilated pupils is like...pretty bad. 1/n 🌱🧪
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Michael Pirie
iaptglobal
12 months ago
www.iaptglobal.org/grants
🌿
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Michael Pirie
Samuel Brockington
12 months ago
We are advertising two fabulous jobs at the Cambridge University Herbarium. Collection Manager:
jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49404/
Collections & Digitisation Assistant:
jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49378/
Incredible collection of 1.1 million specimens including most of Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle material.
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Michael Pirie
Richard Fox
about 1 year ago
📢 NEW PhD opportunity: Peatlands, plants, and pollinators. This exciting project will use population genetics & landscape info to inform conservation management strategies for the endangered Large Heath butterfly across Scotland's peatlands. 👇🏼
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
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Michael Pirie
Tim Utteridge
12 months ago
New Diamond OA journal Natural History Collections and Museomics launches on ARPHA Platform
blog.arphahub.com/2024/08/30/n...
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New Diamond OA journal Natural History Collections and Museomics launches on ARPHA Platform
Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM), a brand-new Diamond Open Access journal, has launched on ARPHA platform. The journal aims to serve as a leading platform for scholarly research, discu...
https://blog.arphahub.com/2024/08/30/new-diamond-oa-journal-natural-history-collections-and-museomics-launch/
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Michael Pirie
Thomas L.P. Couvreur
12 months ago
🌳 Uvariodendron fuscum (#Annonaceae) – a hidden marvel of African rainforests in
#Cameroon
and
#Gabon
with large flowers and leaves! Pollinated by large beetles! Learn more about this genus with 18 species from tropical Africa
#openaccess
):
doi.org/10.3897/phyt...
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The Erica gang are meeting up again, and if you happen to be a heather freak in the Cape - or online - you can join us
www.inaturalist.org/projects/eri...
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Ericas of Southern Africa's Journal · iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ericas-of-southern-africa/journal
12 months ago
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Surely all the iNaturalists on here will put me in the shade, but this was a lot of fun
www.inaturalist.org/stats/2024/m...
@inaturalist.bsky.social
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mikepirie's 2024 iNaturalist Year in Review
Michael D. Pirie's highlights and stats from 2024 on iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/stats/2024/mikepirie
12 months ago
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Michael Pirie
Jon Norberg
about 1 year ago
The Faculty of Science at Stockholm University is recruiting up to three Assistant Professors in Biodiversity to tackle the critical global issue of biodiversity loss caused by human-driven factors such as climate change, habitat alteration and pollution.
www.su.se/department-o...
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Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences
Faculty of Science is recruiting Assistant Professors in Biodiversity - Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences
https://www.su.se/department-of-ecology-environment-and-plant-sciences/news/faculty-of-science-is-recruiting-assistant-professors-in-biodiversity-1.781070
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Michael Pirie
Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET)
about 1 year ago
Breakfast meeting on degradation of nature with Bergen chamber of commerce, University of Bergen museum and our ECOBUDGETS project partners CeSam
@vvandvik.bsky.social
and Fremtenkt. A great warm up with academia, politicians and business before the ECOBUDGETS kicks off in 2025.
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Michael Pirie
Darren Crayn
about 1 year ago
A little starter pack for fans of biological systematics. I’d love to gather more people and organisations- if that’s you please let me know :)
go.bsky.app/GCP9Um
add a skeleton here at some point
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