No species is an island, they exist within ecosystems. We urgently need more research that builds knowledge of the ecological networks that underpin a species' persistence: pollination, seed dispersal, predation, parasitism, herbivory, response to disturbance 🌏🧪 theconversation.com/wildlife-rec...

Analysis of one journal, but one of the perceived 'highest impact'. It would be interesting to explore this pattern further, in particular how does this writing strategy influence individual career trajectories and drive misinformation in popular media #AcademicSky link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv by @graydongillies.bsky.social, @rishonavemulapalli.bsky.social & C.G.Eckert reports that Common #milkweed gardens increase occupancy by #MonarchButterflies & other specialist herbivores towards an urban centre doi.org/10.1111/icad.70033

‘We thank the Attorney-General for this crucial decision and commitment to stand behind the creative industries and protect the rights of authors and illustrators. This represents a clear message from government that creators should be paid for their work.' www.asauthors.org.au/news/austral...

Great win for working parents generally, especially women who disproportionately have primary care responsibilities, even when they are not formally recognised as the primary carer. Enforced office attendance is inequitable. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

People who aren’t writers think writer’s block is at least as big and real a problem as I thought quicksand would be, as a child.

Yes, it’s a large, yet poorly recognised issue in Australia too. 2/ www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06...

“When you have a disability people can’t see, you don’t get the same level of empathy. It feels like the world has moved on.” It’s shameful how society is gaslighting people who are experiencing chronic illness and ignoring an ongoing public health crisis.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards – in pictures

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv reports on the establishment and rapid spread of #SocialWasps (#Hymenoptera: #Vespinae) in #Greenland doi.org/10.1111/icad.70023 #InsectMonitoring #SpeciesIntroductions @manusaunders.bsky.social @wiley.com

Such a needed paper! This focuses on the EU, but I've had to talk many teachers out of exotic stick insects, which are regulated species here in the US as potential pests. (and we have one escaped stick species that has established itself!) #education

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

Rearing insects in class is an excellent science education tool, but using non-native insects can lead to ethical and environmental issues. Native insects should be prioritised! Great paper exploring this overlooked issue #RESInsectConsDiv 🌏🧪 resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

One of the constant strands in the history of the university, dating back to its medieval origins, is the attempt of authorities - especially religious authorities but not exclusively - to control what can and cannot be taught.

Another platform going with opt-out, for something that should be opt-in www.vice.com/en/article/l...

#RESMedVetEnt are delighted to welcome on board three new Editors-in-Chief: Maureen Laroche, Marion England and Philip Barton. 🎉 Learn more about our new team members here ⬇️ www.royensoc.co.uk/news/welcome... @royentsoc.bsky.social

The new issue of #RESInsectConsDiv is now available! 📢 It includes the "Restoration & rescue in an age of extinction: advances in #arthropod #translocation & #reintroduction" #SpecialIssue! 🎉 Learn more about this important area of #Conservation in this Q&A with the guest Editors⬇️ buff.ly/FUJMFoR

Excellent. www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...

New research in #RESInsectConsDiv #Grazing-induced changes in the #abundance and diversity of #grasshoppers is mediated through changes in plant functional groups doi.org/10.1111/icad.70020 #Biodiversity #Orthoptera @manusaunders.bsky.social @wiley.com

Henley residents advised to keep windows, doors closed amid algal bloom crisis. Strong winds are expected to whip up more foam and blow aerosols into residential areas. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Why even have a brain, any ideas, any ability to express them, any kind of communication with other people, any desire to solve problems or invent anything, any reason to learn, any use for your eyes or your heart, or any reason to teach or create

Here's the link to their "stakeholder survey on the use of AI in grant assessment": www.surveymonkey.com/r/X7PY5GL

I like the analogy of digital asbestos. Treated like a miracle product now, but it's going to be a huge pain to remove all the embedded AI slop in the future.

THIS 👇

Is it ethical for academic institutions to actively try and discourage students from using genAI to do their assessments while also encouraging academic staff to use genAI to write assessments and content? #AcademicSky

THIS. The techwashing narrative that our future is inevitably AI-driven is ingrained, but so wrong.

Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n

Glorious spring day in the New England gorge country near Armidale. Local endemic Ingram's wattle having a glow up #wildoz #ozplants

One thing that's fundamental to increasing public trust in science is the fact that for-profit industries do not have any right or mandate to 'approve' scientific evidence before it's published www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

There are many more effective ways to teach, learn, and connect beyond the traditional lecture...especially when most of your lectures are delivered to an empty room! #AcademicSky theconversation.com/some-unis-ar...

"What’s happening in Antarctica right now will affect the world for generations to come, from rising sea levels to extreme changes in the climate system." theconversation.com/from-sea-ice...

"Reducing cultures to clichés may well be a feature rather than a bug for generative AI systems" theconversation.com/australiana-...

But tell me again how I should delete old emails to save water. BBC News - Data centres to be expanded across UK as concerns mount www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Expansion and #urbanisation pose a significant threat to #biodiversity. A recent #OpenAccess #review published in #RESInsectConsDiv, Drukker et al. challenge current views of #GreenRoofs ⬇️ www.royensoc.co.uk/news/insect-... #UrbanInsects #Ecosystems @manusaunders.bsky.social @wiley.com

Stop buying and supporting plastic. But also, "no international agreements exist on how to package and transport nurdles safely, or even to classify them as hazardous." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This is a shocking executive order that undermines the very idea of open inquiry. It turns federal grants into dispensations, subject to arbitrary and capricious withdrawal should the recipient say or believe the wrong things. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

We've failed so much at general science education that denialists and conspiracy hawkers can easily masquerade as 'fact checkers' or 'independent journos' and mislead huge numbers of people that science is just about opinions, not a rigorous method of inquiry theconversation.com/friday-essay...

The Trump administration has deleted all previous National #Climate Assessments from government websites and fired the scientists working on the next report. Now they say they're going to rewrite the previous ones. This is scientific sabotage and a rewriting of history. www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/c...

AI isn't some magic elixir. It's just a faster-acting version of the same poison we've long been fed.

Yet another helpful explainer to counter the ignorant disinformation spouted by the unqualified extremist who is currently destroying the HHS

If anyone is curious about the current list of search terms being used by right wing activist organizations to harass university professors, here's a public records request I received today from Mike Howell of the Heritage Foundation. Not intimidating or meant to curtail by my speech at all, right?

It's unethical how AI is being forced into our lives without real understanding or informed consent. Last year I saw a specialist who used a similar tool. He just asked if he could record our appointment, I didn't know it was via an AI tool when I said yes. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

“Authors and illustrators sit at the heart of an industry that contributes over $2 billion to the Australian economy. Instead of considering ways to legitimise the theft of their work, we should be exploring how to protect their rights." @asauthors.bsky.social www.asauthors.org.au/news/asa-opp...

So many uni execs are already so excited about trying to normalise this higher ed future, and so many academics don't endorse this but have very little power to stop it happening #AcademicSky

Biggest snow fall in decades here in Armidale NSW. We usually get an occasional flurry that doesn't settle. Heavy snow fell all day, around 40cm+ in drifts around our yard. Lots of fun, but also lots of trees cracking and falling, not used to the weight. Some birds struggling to fly!

Scared to be Promoted! “We’re hearing from members all the time that they’re holding back from putting through promotions applications because they think that moving from a lecturer to an associate professor...would put them at more risk of redundancy in the future.” #AcademicSky #UKHE

"The amplification of conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID has promoted a dangerously flawed understanding of pandemic risk." 🧪 theconversation.com/how-conspira...

24 July is #EarthOvershootDay. That means humanity has used up Earth’s yearly natural resources budget in just 7 months. In 2024, the date was 1 August. The date keeps creeping earlier—but the trend can be reversed: www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/up...