Great write-up by @pgreenfielduk.bsky.social on our paper in @natecoevo.nature.com www.theguardian.com/environment/... on the impact of generative AI on biological recording #Ornithology #UKBirding 🪶🌍 1/2

AI-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk

Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientists

theguardian.com

Alexander Lees@alexanderlees.bsky.social · 3w ago

Our new commentary rdcu.be/ftx6h in @natecoevo.nature.com written with folks from @inaturalist.bsky.social and @cornellbirds.bsky.social shows that use of AI to manipulate existing or create new wildlife images undermines the huge value of vast citizen science databases. 🌍🪰🪶 #Ornithology 🧵 1/10

Cool new study, surprising findings! 'Increased #nutrient #diversity can induce loss of #microbial diversity through enhanced resource uptake' @natecoevo.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Increased nutrient diversity can induce loss of microbial diversity through enhanced resource uptake - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Increasing nutrient diversity is expected to promote microbial diversity. This study shows that more complex environments can enhance resource uptake, intensify competition and lead to microbial biodi...

nature.com

This looks very interesting! Global synthesis reveals systematic variation in trophic transfer efficiency across and within ecosystems | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Global synthesis reveals systematic variation in trophic transfer efficiency across and within ecosystems

A global synthesis shows that energy transfer efficiency varies across and within ecosystems and is often below the 10% benchmark.

science.org

Nature research paper: Food web complexity underlies biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning go.nature.com/4gQIyfm

Food web complexity underlies biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning - Nature

Analyses of the relationship between taxon richness and multi-trophic ecosystem functioning across marine, lake, stream and soil ecosystems show that food web complexity underlies biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning.

go.nature.com

Important study -> More complex ecosystems, especially those with higher #diversity of #predators, function more effectively! Led by @barnesecodiv.bsky.social. Exciting to see this published in @nature.com. @qmulsbbs.bsky.social

Andrew Barnes @barnesecodiv.bsky.social · last mo.

Published today in @nature.com, our study shows that the #foodweb trophic structure is critical for #ecosystemfunctioning. Read it here: rdcu.be/frxEl This has been an incredibly rewarding collaboration with many amazing scientists! 🌐🧪🦑🍁🌱 @waikatouniversity.bsky.social @idiv-research.bsky.social

Published today in @nature.com, our study shows that the #foodweb trophic structure is critical for #ecosystemfunctioning. Read it here: rdcu.be/frxEl This has been an incredibly rewarding collaboration with many amazing scientists! 🌐🧪🦑🍁🌱 @waikatouniversity.bsky.social @idiv-research.bsky.social

Fortunate to be a part of this exciting study lead by Bingbing Wan in @pnas.org - Aridity drives changes in soil food web energy fluxes that explain variation in soil C storage: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🌏🌐🧪🌿🍄🦠🪱🪳🕷️

Last chance to apply for this fantastic PhD opportunity this week. Please get in touch for the full project details and application process.

Cate Macinnis-Ng@loraxcate.bsky.social · 4mo ago

PhD opportunity- fully funded with stipend, fees and project costs covered. Explore the role of phosphite in treating kauri dieback disease. Applications due 8th May. Please spread the word! newzealandecology.org/phd-explorin...

Urban forest restoration enhances soil microbial functional potential and functional insurance via shifts in β-diversity First paper from Stella Brachmann's PhD! She develops a new metric to assess functional insurance (aka functional redundancy) of microbes 🌍🌿🧪🦠🍄🪱 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Urban forest restoration enhances soil microbial functional potential and functional insurance via shifts in β-diversity - Environmental Microbiome

Background Forest restoration has primarily been evaluated through changes in aboveground communities, while belowground microbial communities—critical drivers of ecosystem functions—remain less under...

link.springer.com

Biodiversity of #rainforest can recover within decades when located in highly connected landscapes because animal mobility drives natural recovery. Our @reassemblynet.bsky.social synthesis paper is out @nature.com: tinyurl.com/4w24a96b @sgn.one @unimarburg.bsky.social @jocotoco.bsky.social 🌐🌎🧪

Breaking news: giant springtail from Aotearoa NZ made the cover of @natecoevo.nature.com! This amazing pic of H. paucispinosa by @frankashwood.bsky.social should lure readers to the global study by @zheng-zhou.bsky.social et al on soil animal trophic diversity 🌍🌿🕷️🪱🪳🧪 www.nature.com/natecolevol/...

#Ecology #Biogeography 🌐🌎

Why Common Species Matter: Rethinking Conservation Through Food Webs

Conservation efforts have traditionally been focused on saving the rarest, most threatened species, and for good reason. But what if our singular focus on endangered species is causing us to overlo…

geekcologist.wordpress.com

Interesting study @nature.com investigating "thermophilization" of forests, grasslands and alpine summits in Europe. Strong ⬆️ in warmth-demanding and ⬇️ in cold-adapted species in response to #warming. rdcu.be/e8VWX 🌐🌍🌿🧪

Contrasting thermophilization among forests, grasslands and alpine summits

Nature - Analyses of large-scale, multitaxa and long-term thermophilization patterns in forests, grasslands and alpine summits across Europe provide insight into shifts in community composition...

rdcu.be

Greater trophic diversity of soil animal communities under agricultural land use and tropical climate. Just out in @natecoevo.nature.com led by Zheng Zhou and @antoncollembola.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌐

Greater trophic diversity of soil animal communities under agricultural land use and tropical climate - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Soil fauna is an important but often neglected component of terrestrial food webs. Here the authors use a large dataset of stable isotope observations to analyse how soil animal trophic diversity vari...

nature.com

It is time all colonial nations, like Aotearoa NZ, recognise an equal role of indigenous governance if we are to tackle the great environmental challenges of our time. "We need all the knowledge and solutions at our fingertips to combat the crises of climate change." e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

Iwi can lead us through the climate crisis | E-Tangata

“It is remarkable that our country has commenced recognising Indigenous ancestors in some significant lands and waters. It’s time to be next-level courageous with general conservation and environmenta...

e-tangata.co.nz

This is death by a thousand cuts (excuse the pun) for NZ #science. How much more can our Science system handle? The long-term impacts for society, environment, and innovation will likely be felt for many years to come! www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Newly formed Bioeconomy Science Institute to cut 134 jobs

The downsizing comes after several agencies earlier cut 152 jobs and were merged to create the Bioeconomy Science Institute.

rnz.co.nz

New paper out examining fish food web degradation in the Anthropocene. We show the structure of aquatic food webs are changing-- even when species richness doesn’t. These signals are strongly associated with decreases in body size within fish communities. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🌐🐠🐡🦈🐟

Degradation of fish food webs in the Anthropocene

The decrease in body size driven by the selective species turnover is widely altering fish food web topology and function.

science.org

Well, unfortunately the hellraiser mite didn't win #BugOfTheYear, but I suppose the Avatar moth is pretty deserving too... www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner

Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered

theguardian.com

The food chains on modern Caribbean coral reefs may have shortened by up to 70% compared with those on their prehistoric counterparts, according to research in Nature. The findings suggest that modern reefs could be increasingly vulnerable to external stressors and ecosystem collapse. 🌍 🧪

Fossil isotope evidence for trophic simplification on modern Caribbean reefs - Nature

Using nitrogen isotopes from ancient and modern fish otoliths and corals, the study shows Caribbean reef food webs are now 60–70% shorter and functionally less diverse, indicating human-driven trophic simplification and increased risk of collapse.

go.nature.com

Entomologists of Aotearoa! Please save the date to join @barnesecodiv.bsky.social & our local committee for the annual conference at @waikatouniversity.bsky.social September 2-4th 2026. We have fantastic plenary speakers inc Ang Mcgaughran, Neil Birelle & Giselle Clarkson. More soon at ento.org.nz

Weak trophic position–body mass relationships undermine simple size-spectrum models for coral reefs 🦑🧪 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

🪲 New BAAE article: Metabarcoding of stored carabid beetles reveals declining prey diversity over the last decade. Temporal diet shifts highlight long-term invertebrate declines and the value of historical collections for monitoring. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Warming Reduces Parasitoid Success and Narrows Their Diet Breadth onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Warming Reduces Parasitoid Success and Narrows Their Diet Breadth

Warming may have a major impact on trophic networks, but few interactions are typically studied. Here we show that experimental warming strongly decreased the success of parasitoid development across...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

We are pleased to announce that 4 special issues will be published as a major scientific output of the upcoming #GSB2026, to be held in Victoria, Canada, on April 12–15, 2026. More information will be posted on our webpages soon globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org @thegsbi.bsky.social #Soil #Biodiversity

Home - Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 2026

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 12 – 15 April, 2026 GSB 2026 Key Dates 15 Dec, 2025 Early-Bird Registration Deadline 30 Jan, 2026 Late Breaking Poster Abstract Submission Deadline February, 2026 Ac...

globalsoilbiodiversity2026.org

Pesticide residues found to be the second strongest driver of soil biodiversity (after soil properties) across European ecosystems! 🌐🌏🪱🦠🍄 rdcu.be/e1cOL

Pesticide residues alter taxonomic and functional biodiversity in soils

Nature - A wide survey of pesticide effects on soil biodiversity across 373 sites in Europe reveals that pesticide residues occur in 70% of sites and have major effects on soil biodiversity and...

rdcu.be

interesting new paper on community effects of invasive species👩‍🔬🧪🌍🪲🌐🐜🌱🐞🌾

Pablo Garcia-Diaz@pablo-ecology.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Meta-analysis reveals negative but highly variable impacts of invasive alien species across terrestrial insect orders 🌎🌐🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New paper out! We review the effects of soil biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: www.nature.com/articles/s44...

First EcoDiv Lab paper of 2026, and first PhD paper by Estela Folch Chaos! 🎉 Contrasting effects of temperature across trophic levels in geothermally warmed soil food webs - @oikosjournal.bsky.social nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Contrasting effects of temperature across trophic levels in geothermally warmed soil food webs

Global warming is altering the structure and dynamics of ecological communities, with significant consequences for soil food webs. Rising temperatures are expected to accelerate metabolic rates in or...

nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

I often get asked about the Miyawaki method of forest restoration, usually by people who have heard extraordinary claims for it. Morales et al. (2025) have reviewed the evidence and found it to be weak or absent. 🌏🧪🌳🌲 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Tiny forests, huge claims: The evidence gap behind the Miyawaki method for forest restoration

To scale up restoration effectively, practitioners and policymakers should prioritize methods supported by robust empirical evidence rather than relying on untested claims. Our findings highlight the...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

❗New paper alert❗ The 2nd publication from Poppy Romera's Masters is just out in @natcomms.nature.com We find that adherence of 180 soil food webs to the energy equivalence rule strongly depends on the measure of energy use, trophic level, and food web structure. www.nature.com/articles/s41...