Really sad to report that our friend and colleague Richard Fortey passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. We’ll all miss his wit and wisdom. Here he is checking out a dino footprint we found while filming together on the Isle of Wight

OPEN biodiversity DATA ALERT: iNaturalist has released range data for 100k+ taxa: www.inaturalist.org/posts/106918 🌍🧪

Tropical forests are not all the same: they show many shades of geographical variation. Our new paper in Nature led by @jeaggu.bsky.social combines field and satellite data to make a first map the canopy functional traits of the world’s tropical forests: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

So I read this as 'parents'...

I will close the letter for signatures at 17:00 today (UK time). Last chance to voice your support before this evening's meeting of the Royal Society.

🌍 The resumed 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity #COP16Resumed has concluded with a historic agreement to enhance global biodiversity monitoring. Muchas gracias Colombia for your leadership in this crucial meeting! 🇨🇴 #KMGBF #Biodiversity

🔄 How do we turn raw biodiversity data into actionable insights for policy and conservation? Jory Griffith shows how Bon in a Box #BiaB can be used to support the calculation of biodiversity indicators📊 Watch her speak at the @wildlabs.bsky.social series: youtu.be/YXp9xlDvY8I?...

Our 1st Biodiversity Science-Policy 'starter pack' is now full (150 accounts). Access at: go.bsky.app/LjV86zg There's a 2nd starter pack already filling up: go.bsky.app/GzM8eok NB: these are mainly IPBES authors & stakeholders regularly engaged with IPBES work. Please follow & share widely! 🌍🧪

In the meantime, you can still add your voice to the call for the RS to stand up for its values, as over 3300 members of the scientific community have already done. occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2025/...

The line between “Hear no evil” and “Speak evil” can be a very fine one. (H/t @jcsvenning.bsky.social)

A parable about reforming institutions and why it should be approached with a degree of caution.

Now over 2700 signatories and still rising. Please keep sharing.

Come and join us in @nhm-london.bsky.social's Biodiversity Futures Lab! We're looking for a geospatial analyst to join the #PredictsProject team for 12 months (with possibility to extend) to help us further develop the Biodiversity Intactness Index. #job deadline 3 Mar jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...

Is it just me, or have the recent episodes of reality not been as good as in the earlier seasons?

I don’t think it’s good enough for the Royal Society to keep pushing the line that “issues raised about individual fellows are dealt with in confidence”, because Musk’s problematic actions are a matter of public record. So please keep signing & sharing the letter: occamstypewriter.org/scurry/

New review: #Pesticides have negative effects on non-target organisms "we show negative responses of the growth, reproduction, behaviour and other biomarkers within terrestrial and aquatic systems" "results question the sustainability of current pesticide use" www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Come and join us in @nhm-london.bsky.social's Biodiversity Futures Lab! We're looking for a geospatial analyst to join the #PredictsProject team for 12 months (with possibility to extend) to help us further develop the Biodiversity Intactness Index. #job deadline 3 Mar jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...

More than their self-confidence, I envy them for their lack of climate anxiety

Thanks to the more than *1100* members of the scientific community who have signed the letter to insist that the Royal Society remains true to values that we all hold dear but that Musk FRS has ridden roughshod over. Please keep signing & sharing. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

As I move on after more than 23 years working with CBD colleagues, government delegates, indigenous peoples & local communities, women & youth, civil society, business & academia, I am proud of what we have achieved together; immensely grateful for the opportunity to serve multilateralism. #KMGBF

Good for Britain’s neonicotinoid ban, giving bees priority over sugar beet www.theguardian.com/environment/...

good news for the day: amazon deforestation down for the second year in a row

If you're an early-career researcher outside the UK and want to come work with my at the @nhm-london.bsky.social node of @adriftlab.bsky.social, consider applying for the Royal Society's Newton Fellowships! Deadline 17 March. Get in touch! royalsociety.org/grants/newto... #ornithology

Male southern elephant seals are 5.3 times heavier than females but female helmeted water toads are 21 times heavier than males. What is the reason for sexual size dimorphism in evolutionary terms? #NHMScience @nhcooper123.bsky.social & al investigate www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I’m really glad I read this thread: @mishellbaker.bsky.social’s wisdom and perspective are amazing

Hello everyone fleeing Twitter. Have a #platypus. #MammalWatching #Tasmania #WildOz #platypuses

DiSSCo UK - glittering job opportunity! #NHMScience @nhm-london.bsky.social recruiting a Technical Project Lead for this major programme delivering digital collections across the UK to support science, innovation and collaboration. jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Welcome @annelarigauderie.bsky.social - the Executive Secretary of @ipbes.bsky.social to Bluesky!

Biodiversity is in crisis. Land degradation is accelerating, but the world has a bold plan: the Global Biodiversity Framework. How much do you know about biodiversity loss? Take the quiz & test your knowledge: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

Bending the curve of biodiversity loss requires a ‘satnav’ for nature - @andypurvisnhm.bsky.social makes the argument for effective modelling of policy choices, combined with rapid and effective monitoring for course correction royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Did you miss #BES2024 and are you interested in #BiodiversityFutures? check the recording of this great session led by @drnickisaac.bsky.social, featuring talks by Damaris Zurell, Anita Lazurko, Andy Purvis, James Bullock, Greta Bocedi, Jennifer Border and myself. youtu.be/FkbS6Klzbdg?...

Hello world! We are BES Macro, the British Ecological Society Macroecology and Macroevolution Special Interest Group. We're probably going to be pretty quiet on here, but if you tag us in things of interest to our members, we'll gladly re-post!

“Nullius in verba” may be too nihilistic a motto. But it’s clear that we should never take Elon’s word for it.

We've reached our first 10,000 followers!!🥳 Even Darwin looks excited. We look forward to a New Year of sharing more of our collections and work with you. Let's have some great conversations! #ThankYou #NaturalHistory #Science #BlueSkyBooks #Libraries #Archives #Museums #Collections #Art #HisSci

New special issue of Phil Trans @royalsocietypublishing.org builds on Prof Dame Georgina Mace's legacy with an exploration of scientific advances that can help bend the curve of biodiversity loss towards nature recovery and a biodiverse future royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

My colleagues @nhm-london.bsky.social named nearly 200 new species last year, from mantids and bryozoans to dinosaurs and rodents: if you'd like to know more check out this great summary vid on YouTube, hosted by @joshlukedavis.bsky.social: youtu.be/oUirKS694j0

If you're a UK citizen, and you're willing to support rather than demonise one of the most vulnerable sectors of society, *please* sign and share this petition (h/t @joshlukedavis.bsky.social) #TransRightsAreHumanRights

Exciting opportunity - Last minute call for nominations for experts and fellows for the #IPBES methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity Fellows: www.ipbes.net/spatial-plan... Experts: www.ipbes.net/spatial-plan...

#MoreOfThisSortOfThing ❤️

Also for UK residents

The collections at @nhm-london.bsky.social are invaluable for science Anopheles funestus collected from Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania in the 1930's were sequenced for this project on genomic diversity & evolutionary history. 1was even from 1927 Read this clever thread on a hugely collaborative project

I’m mostly able to keep uhtcearu at bay, through a mix of exercise, relaxation and seeking the ‘flow’ state. Oh, I nearly forgot: and anti-anxiety meds… #MirtazapineForTheWin

‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’ - a special issue of Phil Trans R Soc B in honour of a very special biodiversity scientist - is published today by @royalsociety.org. royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

🌱 Looking to fund your next research project, training, or travel? Our grants are now open—your opportunity to fund your ecological ideas.

If you're a UK citizen, and you're willing to support rather than demonise one of the most vulnerable sectors of society, *please* sign and share this petition (h/t @joshlukedavis.bsky.social) #TransRightsAreHumanRights

NEW ANALYSIS: Right-leaning UK newspaper editorials have relentlessly attacked energy secretary Ed Miliband since last year's election, calling him "hysterical", a "madman" & "demented" The papers have also published a record number of editorials opposing climate action… 1/2

Also great summary by @andypurvisnhm.bsky.social on why it is so challenging to model (and project) biodiversity. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Once long ago when I ordered risotto for lunch in a pub, I was asked if I wanted it with rice. I’m not proud to admit that I said “no” just to see what would happen… (The barmaid came over a few minutes later to apologise, saying “I’m afraid it comes with rice.”)

🚨 Call for Nominations! 🚨 @ipbes.bsky.social is inviting nominations for experts in biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity for its upcoming Spatial Planning Assessment. 🗓️ Nominations Submission Deadline: 24 January 2025 Read more: ipbes.net/spatial-plan...