New research article! 📰 @bambiraptorf.bsky.social, @dieterhochuli.bsky.social (@sydneyuni.bsky.social) et al. showed that bumblebees' foraging choices are influenced more by social cues than by the presence of empty flowers. 🌸 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #InsectesSociaux #SocialInsects #Foraging

Haha a parasitic worm coming out of a huntsman counting as a 'best of December' is my favourite thing google has done

Half an hour of beach combing in Sydney after new years shows we might need to be better at picking up our rubbish

Day for it

I've been thinking a lot about iNat observations lately, and I'm starting to think invertebrates shouldn't be identifiable to *at least* species because it gives everyone way too much confidence in their identification skills

Probs more than I have rn 🤷

Just about to chat about insect welfare on ABC. come have a listen if you're up!

Go on holidays with an entomologist and i can guarantee she will set up a 'light trap' by turning the cabin light on to see what bugs are out

A very crafty Christmas! Add some Aussie nature to your tree this year 🎄😁 theconversation.com/decorating-y... Led by the excellent @bambiraptorf.bsky.social, plus @euanritchie.bsky.social and me! 🎄

Looking for inspiration for your festive season decorations? @bambiraptorf.bsky.social @astrolaura.bsky.social and I have got some crafty ideas! theconversation.com/decorating-y...

Have a merry time creating some Aussie nature inspired Christmas crafts! @astrolaura.bsky.social @euanritchie.bsky.social theconversation.com/decorating-y...

Let’s cast the holly, snowmen and reindeer aside to decorate our homes with Aussie Christmas crafts instead. How about Christmas beetle baubles, paper parrots and ornamental echidnas?

While reflecting on the kids book session at #ESAus2024, i figured I'd show the lifelong influence of kids books showcasing Aussie wildlife on people, with my sister as a perfect example 😀

Absolutely amazing work Patt. He discusses his award winning work on how stinky plants can deter annoying animals from hanging around #ESAus2024

Good to know that Patt Finnerty's work was completely and totally, 100% inspired by insect behaviour, while also being hindered by insects 😃🐘 🐝#ESAus2024

Last day of #ESAus2024 talks! My #EcologicalFashion is a bit more subtle today, but it's a nice throw to a project with @dieterhochuli.bsky.social (and heaps of others) where we run nature workshops in Western Sydney with the goal of getting young people out in nature

Looking for some cool chats on the last day of #ESAus2024? I'll be chatting with some experts in AI in education to work out how we can best educate future ecologists. There will be a couple of talks and a round table discussion about AI in education. Join us tomorrow for a chat! (Pic 4 attention)

@eav.bsky.social'eav.bsky.social's poster rules

The Early Career Ecologist session so far is such a great opportunity to learn about the different career directions of such a wide ranging groups of people #ESAus2024

Clancy Lester's research looked into native bee interactions with native plants in North-East Arnhem Land. Really interesting observations on plant networks, showing heaps of generalist bees here. Amazing to 4 species that hadnt been observed in Western science. #ESAus2024

Quick shout out to Jessica Rebell for my #EcologicalFashion today! #ESAus2024

Catalina Mardones discusses how migrating to Australia can be hard, and lovely, but nature experiences can be a really helpful experience for increasing a sense of belonging, building communities and creating memories. I absolutely love this research #ESAus

Zoe McCarthy shows that we don't actually know if kleptoparasites of carnivorous plants are actually kleptoparasites 🤯 #ESAus2024

@angelamoles.bsky.social just brought me so much joy, being Christmasy and giving me to perfect intro to mistletoe, which I know nothing about. She discussed the importance of going out and testing theories (in this case to work out where mustletoe likely grows in trees) 🎄🌲 #ESAus2024

Really important point! #ESAus2024 @drkyliesoanes.bsky.social

The floating wetlands along a wetland offer cool habitats, but they're also a great way to get people noticing nature that was already there #ESAus2024 @drkyliesoanes.bsky.social

I wanna thank @drkyliesoanes.bsky.social for doing two things in the intro that resonated with me 1. Talking about living in the suburbs and the tyre Swan version of biodiversity 2. Using a a photo that was probably her sister #ESAus2024

Lavinia Chu's talk discussed how different plants can survive coppicing (most of them!), making them appropriate for woody meadows #ESAus2024

Joseph McCormick studies the nutritional landscape for #urban pollinators: the urban nectar supply 🌏 #ESAus2024 How do all the different food sources combine? Especially important for places where pollinators are active all year round. Daily sugar production varied between greenspace types!

Ella Byrne looked at bird diversity and abundance after billabong flooding. Birds varied in their abundance depending on if they're more of a woodland or a waterbird #ESAus2024

The floral nutritional landscape is really important in order to work out how floral visitors and survive and thrive in cities. Joseph McCormick showed how different plants (including weeds) supply food to floral visitors. Collecting nectar is not an easy job and he got a lot😳 #ESAus2024

Woah, Claire Kenefick has shown some really interesting results regarding using construction material, like concrete for doing woody plantings. It's a good start to know this recycled material has so far had great success growing some plants in cities 🪴 🌆 #ESAus2024

Mareshell Wauchope explains the process of urban translocations. It's not easy finding the appropriate species for translocations, because of the remnant nature of city greenspaces and the many, many stakeholders involved. #ESAus2024

Such awesome stuff @genevieveheggarty.bsky.social! Finding a place for a superb fairy wren to live isn't always straightforward, but it looks like noisy miners are a bit of a problem. They're also proving to be a great flagship species for other adorable tiny birds #ESAus2024

Omg Eav did has done some awesome comic work. Here she discusses character design, and how you need to consider hobbits, and pet faces to make loveable animal designs #ESAus2024. Check out her poster - 40, it's amazing

Chris McCormick (mammal guy sneaking into our session to chat plants apparently) gives a great talk on how plant blindness can be reduced by making good documentaries #ESAus2024

Leanda Mason discusses how we need to take pieces from intersectionality when considering education and lesser loved species #ESAus2024

Oli Aylan talks about how bats are under-represented in data repositories, including citizen science. Ecologists are also to blame cause they keep putting them in the too hard basket. Everyone go buy some audio devices and track some bats! 🦇 #ESAus2024

@meg-shaw.bsky.social discusses how Australian native rodents get a really bad wrap, even though they fit the 'charismatic species' bill by being cute, brown and fluffy. We need to make sure people know they exist (and belong in our ecosystems) to make them loved more! 🐀 ❤️ #ESAus2024

Speaking of #forgottenspecies, a feature I wrote on the rediscovery of the little-known long sunskink was published today in @ausgeo.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy Give it a read! #ESAus2024 And thanks to David Chapple and @julesfarquhar.bsky.social 🦎 www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildl...

... Also for those who missed mentoring sessions during #ESAus2024, come chat to me whenever and I'll pretend i know what's going on. I look like this, usually in #EcologicalFashion :

It begins! #ESAus2024 starts with a smoking ceremony. This conference is huge (the biggest one yet) and it's gonna be great

My family not understanding my PhD had nothing to do with my lack of communication skills, and everything to do with academia being an absolutely wildly siloed place that isn't that worth explaining while you're trying to eat sixteen plates of prawn and turkey.

Come check out Gen's awesome fairy wren project! She smashed her honours finding out some really interesting stuff about tiny adorable birds in cities Spoiler alert it will be cute.

Arrived in Melbourne for #ESAus2024 and already good to go on the #EcologicalFashion! Just a quick 📣Panel Klaxon📣 for the taxonomic bias session at 11. Also I've just put together my poster so please come chat to me tomorrow evening about insect collections

Coming to #ESAus2024? If you're working with a species you feel is under-appreciated, or even disliked, we'll be sharing tips and ideas to overcome these challenges. @euanritchie.bsky.social @sciems.bsky.social @scidocmartin.bsky.social @antheabatsakis.bsky.social @bambiraptorf.bsky.social

The road trip to #ESAus2024 begins. Looking forward to chatting to educators, ecologists, and every cool person I'll get to see Let's goooooo

I think you just have to compare the windscreen of your car with the windscreen of a Jimny on a drive down to Canberra to get a sense of how this anecdote shouldn't be the one we use to discuss declines

Every so often, the 'windscreen phenomenon' gets media airtime again, after apparently being discovered anew by yet another longhaul driver. Here's why the windscreen anecdote is not scientific evidence of insect decline ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2021/06/24/w...

📣 Calling all early career ecologists - a unique opportunity at #ESAus2024 is available to receive 'speed-dating' style mentoring from established ecologists across various fields. Book your spot now! tinyurl.com/32zk7rbs #ecology #mentoring