Ecology faces an accumulation of models but not an accumulation of confidence. Our new paper w/ Jonathan Levine www.nature.com/articles/s41... in @natecoevo.nature.com introduces a rigorous test rooted in queueing theory to falsify inadequate models and build confidence in useful ones.

🧪,🌍,#ecoevo

Hi all! I am seeking an ecology or applied math PhD student interested in quantitative ecology, specifically ecological theory, food web modeling, or population dynamics. If you are interested, have a look at our lab website below and reach out to me. resiliencelab.github.io/join/

Job Alert! Looking for a PhD student and a postdoc in quantitative ecology Deets here: resiliencelab.github.io/join/

Only a pre-print for now, but after 4 years of hard work I couldn't resist sharing this! The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems 📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025... Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!

Happy to share our research on traditional farming landscapes in northwest Himalaya is out in Science Advances! Thanks to my advisor Tulja & all the wonderful collaborators- Ale @ornithoale.bsky.social, Katie @kasolari.bsky.social, Akshata, Kullu, Rinchen, Lamaji. 1/7 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Interested in theory and looking for a postdoc or grad school? Come talk to me at #ESA2025! resiliencelab.github.io/join/

A 23% reduction in staff at the EPA and closure of their research program will make it much easier for companies to pollute land, water, and air without being held accountable. This will hurt all of our children and grandchildren. This is very sad to watch. 🧪 www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

a new study found that experienced open source programmers became 19% less efficient when they used AI tools, because they spent more time prompting and reviewing AI generation output than they saved on coding.

www.forbes.com/sites/johndr... "For every dollar spent [on science], the economy eventually produces an additional $1.71 in output. That return exceeds nearly every other form of public or private investment."

Okay I know I've got a bunch of bug needs among my followers, and y'all need to see this one LOOK AT IT

A synthetic paper about fast vs. slow responses of ecological systems to changing climate, explaining how and why those responses can shift (even in sign) over time. Examples across scales and subdiscplines (population genetics, ecosystem ecology). besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Paper: "data available upon request" Upon request: "our data source doesn't want us to share data"

Job in my lab: 3yr postdoc on how and when complexity promotes network stability. Looking for physics, math, or theory folks who use analytical approaches, but there'll be great opportunities for data connections too. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

How bad will it be? Catastrophic. Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come. But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget. Speak up now before it is too late. (inflation adjusted $-s below)

Soybeans and sirloin are not incompatible with science. But a country that only produces soybeans and sirloin is going to run into some recurring, structural problems. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How do ecological communities respond to pulse perturbations (e.g. storms, wildfires)? We have a solid theory for stable fixed points, but what about cycles, transients, or chaos? In this preprint, we introduce a unified framework for these nonequilibrium cases. 1/7 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Done. Please comment, click on public comments on left bar. Suggestions in thread. bsky.app/profile/free...

Dad: what papers are you writing rn? Me: an exam for my course Dad: that's not a paper Me: I KNOW!! 🙃

Favorite word of the month: equifinality. When multiple paths lead to the same end.

First time teaching is fun but so much admin. First time in weeks I can sit in my sunny office and do math. So happy.

ELECTION RESULT: A team of city council members in Rolla, Missouri, have been pushing anti-LGTB policies, including a ban on drag shows and book censorship. Voters just ousted all three of these city councilors who were running for reelection, backing candidates backed by a local LGBT group.

Made a pop dyn lecture for my bio freshmen, and I effectively called discrete-time models "seasonal models". Because discrete vs continuous time dynamics really differ with nonoverlapping generations. And most of the time generations don't overlap because of seasonality.

in case you're wondering, "what's the harm in claiming an extinct species has been brought back from the dead" when it most certainly has not, our interior secretary is already using it to justify taking animals off the endangered species list

Working with an interdisciplinary team, we have developed a website to communicate how the White House's proposed cuts to health research would cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs. Find out how your community may be impacted. Explore more at SCIMaP: scienceimpacts.org a 🧵

It me.

New paper! (arxiv.org/abs/2503.14093) I haven’t been this excited about one in a while, and I think the theory @mhab.bsky.social develops here will be a big step forward for the field. Why? Let me explain 🧵...

Lower survival rate among trainees in labs with highly productive mentors raises important concerns about what we value in academia. Many interesting things to stew over with this paper! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Now _that's_ a dish towel.

Long-form perspective, inspired by today's rallies in the context of ongoing attacks on science and scientists. open.substack.com/pub/joshuasw...

Total shocker www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/u...

Great news: the Merit Systems Protection Board just ordered the reinstatement of 5,000+ federal employees wrongly fired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as the Office of Special Counsel investigates these mass firings. More: www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/p... Keep watching this space.

Portland

An attempt to make sense of things with a conservative relative: Do you agree with cutting science jobs like mine? CR: Oh just weather it out for 4 years But should scientists like me have jobs? CR: I'd need more information What if Trump wants to fire me? CR: Oh - I'd back you

Man is it hard to focus on writing climate change NSF and NOAA proposals right now

My essay on #substack focuses on shifts in HHS priorities to 'root causes' & how budgets are not the only target. Instead, funding is likely to shift towards supplements & ineffective/dangerous 'cures' & re-evaluating vaccines. Trading science for pseudoscience. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Awful and they won't be satisfied with even this. If not stopped, DOGE will dismantle American leadership in science & damage communities and economies throughout the US. joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/cutting-th...

When an international group of empiricists and theorists go to sea, good things happen... New manuscript showing how recurring zones of elevated oxygen that harbor dense populations of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria are connected to viral activity - a 🧵. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Heads up for this and the many wonderful IITE talks at www.youtube.com/@theoretical...

Is ecology becoming too applied? As always comments section is the best. dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2024/08/14/e...

A really cool interview that touches on many parts of quantitative ecology dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2025/01/20/i...

Join me in donating to Wikipedia to protect it from these fascists!

Today, honor a King, not a Felon. #mlkday2025

I appreciate US air travel more with every flight in the EU

A paper 5y in the making: Climate change could amplify weak synchrony in large marine ecosystems t.ly/AkuS0 Across 36 species, population dynamics vary a lot across space. Often this is because populations span environmental gradients; losing gradients could cause large-scale population declines

It is a bit tricky because selecting the right scale/context is - trivially - the key to finding patterns. But doing this in a pre-hoc way is often very tricky. Knowing the literature [ie, before 2000!] can really help though (here and elsewhere).

Researcher: "We let the data speak for itself." Earlier that day:

Hi all, any tips on simple-to-use and interactive online resources to explain concepts like selection, drift, and keystone predation? We've been using this great resource but the funding can be tricky to work out. Thanks loads!! simbio.com/content/keys...

Grateful for the in-depth and thoughtful review. Asymptomatic was released in October 2024 by Johns Hopkins U Press and is available in paperback/ebook: Amazon - bit.ly/asymptomatic... Barnes & Noble - bit.ly/asymptomatic... JHU press - bit.ly/asymptomatic...