Things we're excited about: "Our Aquatic Environment: Conservation and Restoration" Conference on 12 February, Ulster University Belfast Campus Expertise from across the island of Ireland to critically examine ‘our aquatic environment’ and the measures being taken to protect and restore it.

@quantumfreshwaters.bsky.social Welcomed our Stakeholders, Partners & Collaborators on a 1-day NERC QUANTUM conference/workshop. Shared progress and results were followed by interesting questions on the impact of livestock on freshwaters and discussions on mitigations. @pennyjohnes.bsky.social

@quantumfreshwaters.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social We welcomed our Stakeholders and Partners on a day conference/workshop. Shared progress and results were followed by interesting discussions on the impact of livestock on freshwaters and mitigations.

Read the blog by UKCEH molecular ecologists on the Springer Nature Research Communities website:  https://f.mtr.cool/uaqahjasfy https://f.mtr.cool/hlpsglwcqi @amycthorpe.bsky.social @susheelbusi.bsky.social

@AnaCastroCaste presented at #RAMIRAN 2025 Conference WP1 data from QUANTUM freshwaters on work conducted at Universities of bristol (School of Geographical Sciences); Bangor and Bath.

In the forests of Southern Madagascar, three frog species were discovered in 2019 that represent the very lower limit of vertebrate size: < 9 mm long. The genus was named "Mini", and the three species are: Mini mum Mini ature Mini scule (scientists are nerds, okay?)

'This week, Wolfe and collaborators published new work directly linking rising temperatures to bird declines. Their research, published in Science Advances, tracked birds living in the forest understory at the BDFFP against detailed climate data.' 1/2

Thrilled to Lead: “Exhausted lives: The bitter juice of the cane never tasted”. Exploring human and environmental exhaustion in Caribbean Nevis during rum production 17th & 18th centuries. Thanks to @hellobrigstow.bsky.social Projects description: www.bristol.ac.uk/brigstow/res...

We are delighted to announce that we have awarded 5 brilliant projects connections funding around the theme of ‘Postcolonial natural history collections and museum and archive practices’. Find out more: www.bristol.ac.uk/brigstow/new...

Hundreds of monarch butterflies died in a winter 2024 event. Investigation implicated multiple pyrethroid insecticides: tinyurl.com/3h3y7wuf From The Guardian: "Combinations of pesticides can have a synergistic effect that makes them even more toxic. The solution...less pesticides." 🧪🌍🦋

This study evidences the role of allelochemicals and reinforces that Nature-based solutions, such as floating wetlands, could be beneficial for managing blooms. Full article: Hormesis and antagonism in low-dose Phalaris allelochemicals during Microcystis control www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This week I helped setting up the mesocosm experiment for the @ercrefresh.bsky.social programme lead by @pennyjohnes.bsky.social with @jameslmcdonald.bsky.social and Charly Briddon. The landscape was a dream.

Interesting food web interaction across ecosystem boundaries: stream decapods feeding on inputs of terrestrial fruit in neotropical forest catchments

Aquatic-terrestrial food webs are inextricably linked through reciprocal exchanges of subsidies. New synthesis explores their benefits as limiting resources that increase consumer fitness and ecosystem production, but also their dark side by vectoring contaminants, often in human-impacted watersheds

Our @ukri.org QUANTUM national sampling programme is now well underway. Thanks to @acastrocastellon.bsky.social for help with the SW England sites, Sydney Enns and @victoriahussey.bsky.social for prepping the kit, and my husband who helped with the Welsh sites - great cow poo sampling skills! 🧪🐄🐑🐂

When livestock have direct access to watercourses, the risk of ecotoxin, pathogen, organic matter and nutrient pollution increases to 100%. Our @ukri.org QUANTUM programme sampling found some culprits today..... @acastrocastellon.bsky.social @victoriahussey.bsky.social 🧪🐄🐂

A moment of rest at the purest picnic style before last sampling in this field for the QUANTUM freshwater project. @pennyjohnes.bsky.social

An image says it all! Coring the field: the tools, the people, the technique.

We had warm sunny weather when we wanted rain for our experiments and now, when we want dry weather to for soil coring and site decommissioning, we had very heavy rain all day. Even so, 62 coring sites surveyed in and cored for our NERC QUANTUM ecotoxin, pathogen, organic and nutrient analyses! 🧪

New research reveals mountain glaciers across the globe will not recover for centuries – even if human intervention cools the planet back to the 1.5°C limit, having exceeded it. bristol.ac.uk/cabot/news/2...

One for the climate scientist! 🌐 📃 In our latest paper we provide an overview of the climate projections used in the National Communications of the 16 countries in the SADC region. Find the full table in the paper: lnkd.in/e-kT9ngA

The CERES and BACC peatland research team (@bristoluni.bsky.social and @exeter.ac.uk) sampled the stunning Cors Caron in western Wales last week. Fantastic peat coring to the lake clays 8.5 m below us. Records of past climate change and home to fascinating bacteria and archaea!

Cors Caron is one of the UK's best preserved raised peat bogs (although it also has suffered extensive use and is only a remnant of its past glory). Its surface is a beautiful mosaic of plant life that both responds to and engineers the ecosystem.

Late Light is a wonderful book, should be an interesting talk.

Research field work has its perks, one gets to be supervised by livestock! Here marking the plots and core sampling points with @pennyjohnes.bsky.social lead of @QUANTUM freshwater and REFRESH projects. James McDonald assisting today.

There is so much work invested on this experiment that seeing it running is a joy!

Than you Penny, great to be part of your great team!

Great day setting up a pilot stream warming experiment for our upcoming NERC QUANTUM isotope experiment with our newest recruit, Dr James McDonald who has just joined our NERC funded ERC Advanced Grant REFRESH team. Knowledge transfer at its best!🧪

Nearly all our NERC QUANTUM postdocs and techs on site today to finalise our warming experiment design, and set up Chemcatchers and maintain fish and invert populations in our field ecotox exposure experiments. Universities of Bristol, Exeter and Bath #multidisciplinary #collaboration #fun-science

So much work we invest on this experiment, that it is more than satisfactory to see it progressing!

Doing great science requires a great team. Introducing Dr Ana Castro-Castellon, PDRA on the NERC QUANTUM project, freshwater ecology and chemistry specialist with field electronics skills. Pictured after getting all 45 motors working on our stream isotope experiment. Great to work with you, Ana! 🧪🪛🛠️

Fantastic weather, sunny with a light cooling breeze made it the perfect day for sampling.

More knowledge exchange and training on the NERC QUANTUM isotope dosing platform, with researchers working with us from the ERC REFRESH and NERC MICRO-CYCLE teams as we collect our 96 hr gas, biofilm and moss samples, and add snails for the final 96 hr period. Final 192 hr samples next week! 🧪

Educators. I am doing a webinar on Friday April 11 about how to interest students in climate using Trump's interest in Greenland. Free. Register at the link below. ❄️💙📚 #scicomm #climate #UVMresearch #science 🧪 🌎 🔬 ⚒️ #geosky #ClimateHealth #ClimateAction us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Wow! Mitochondria can actually be transferred to other cells if needed through nanotubes, in extracellular bubble-shaped vesicles, or by free floating through the blood. buff.ly/33kcDdS Donating mitochondria to another cell may help to repair damaged cells or support immune function. #medsky 🧪

Phalaris arundinacea at low doses: too weak to kill, too smart to ignore. Is it healing the enemy or poisoning with style? Hormesis, antagonism—call it biochemical sabotage. #MicrocystisControl #PlantScience #AllelopathyInAction #MolecularMindGames

I dedicate my career to protecting freshwater quality, crucial for humans and the environment, by identifying hazardous contaminants and pollution sources that threaten its biota and diversity. #WorldWaterDay2025

The #NERC QUANTUM freshwaters team in the field today, with the second of 3 slurry amendments to land 40m and 10m from the stream, ready for our April field experiment. Precision spreading following official Government guidance gov.uk/guidance/sto.... Will increase to 40m help reduce risks? 🧪

Last week we had this amazing male Rhino skull, 30-40 millions year old (if I got it right), brought in temporarily, to the School of Geographical Sciences, UoB, by Prof. Danielle Shreve.

From Kathleen Carpenter's PhD: "Carpenter's “Food relations” 1925: the first British diagrammatic representation of a #freshwater food web?" @edinburghup.bsky.social @sochistnathist.bsky.social #foodweb #limnology #womeninscience #Wales #ecology #rivers www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/...

Our new paper in @STOTEN_journal presents a method to estimate diet and #biomagnification in trophic #foodweb in aquatic ecosystemR package #escrocR implements the method. @jeremail2011 @Irstea_Bordeaux github.com/Irstea/escroc bit.ly/2UoQhov

Anthropogenic Global Warming, Climate Extremes, Habitat Loss, Zoonotic Diseases, Fossil Fuel Pollution, & Health 🧵 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Born #OnThisDay in 1627 was Robert Boyle FRS, Royal Society founder and regarded as one of the first modern chemists. Boyle also wrote a wish list of what he hoped could be achieved through science, including things like 'Attaining Gigantick Dimensions'. What would you like to see science achieve?

Bluesky’s science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform. “Bluesky is much better for science. There is much less toxicity, misinformation, and distractions" 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

www.jobs.ac.uk/search/?keyw... @pennyjohnes.bsky.social is hiring a Senior Research Associate in Biogeochemistry to work on a ERC Advanced Grant to work on metabolic pathways controlling nutrient and dissolved organic matter uptake in freshwaters (4.5 years) #biogeochemistry #aquatic #freshwater

In addition to the 3 x 4-yr PhD studentships and 4.5-yr Senior Research Associate in Biogeochemistry recently advertised, I am pleased to announce we now have a 3.5 year role now open for a Specialist Technician in Biogeochemistry in the same team. 🧪🌿🐌🐟 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Congratulations Ian Millar 40 years combined service with British Antarctic Survey and British Geological Survey - happy retirement 🥂

#💧sci #WetSci