‘They car-bombed my house – there’s not much more they can do’: the astonishing podcast taking on illegal bloodsports

‘They car-bombed my house – there’s not much more they can do’: the astonishing podcast taking on illegal bloodsports

After 20 mutilated animal corpses were left outside a rural primary school, the creators of award-winning podcast Buried began investigating – with a little help from Chris Packham. It plunged them into organised crime, the dark web and Line of Duty-esque rumours of police corruption

theguardian.com

The Big Butterfly Count 2026 is here and butterflies need our help! 🦋 From now until 9 August, spend just 15 minutes outside counting the butterflies you see and help us take nature's pulse. The best part? Anyone, anywhere can take part. Count yourself in 👉 https://butrfli.es/3SVFepj

On Tuesday research staff and students came together for a full day of talks, discussion and networking. Around 170 colleagues attended enjoying a varied and engaging programme. An impressive snapshot of the breadth of research activity and the remarkable achievements across our community!

Impressions from the annual SBOHVM Research Away Day... @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk

❗Upcoming application deadline: 6th March 🎓 Leverhulme Programme for Doctoral Training in Ecological Data Science 🏦5 fully funded 4-year PhDs, and a 5-year MSc + PhD option ❓Machine learning, statistical modelling, spatial analysis 🌏University of Glasgow ➡️ ecological-data-science.github.io

We're hiring a Research Technician to join our project on fish welfare & sustainability in the Amazon ornamental fish trade. Fieldwork in Brazil & lab, physiology & behaviour, contribute to conservation, sustainability & livelihoods in the Amazon. Apply here: www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/technici...

RSPB #BigGardenBirdwatch done for another year! Wet and mild weather wasn't promising and the hour got off to a slow start, but once a Jay had made an appearance, the Great Spotted Woodpeckers (male & female) and a family of Long-tailed Tits provided plenty entertainment. @rspb.bsky.social #BGBW

Amazing sob story: "ChatGPT deleted all the work I hadn't done" www.nature.com/articles/d41...

When two years of academic work vanished with a single click

After turning off ChatGPT’s ‘data consent’ option, Marcel Bucher lost the work behind grant applications, teaching materials and publication drafts. Here’s what happened next.

nature.com

The Leverhulme DTP in Ecological Data Science is currently recruiting the next cohort of PhD candidates for enrolment in October 2026, with an application deadline of 6th March. Read about the programme and available projects here: ecological-data-science.github.io @uofgecodatasci.bsky.social

Autumnal view north across the Clyde Valley from Gleniffer Braes.

We have held a lovely two-day conference & induction event at @sceneuog.bsky.social on beautiful Loch Lomond to welcome the new cohort of @leverhulme.ac.uk scholars to the @uofgecodatasci.bsky.social DTP. Lots of PhD info, research discussions, and campfire with guitar! @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk

Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared

Google Scholar Is Doomed

Academia built entire careers on a free Google service with zero guarantees. What could go wrong?

hannahshelley.neocities.org

We will never get gender equality and pay equity in academia until this issue of under acknowledged and under recognised service and pastoral support is addressed.

Amy Diehl, Ph.D.@amydiehl.bsky.social · last yr.

In a study of professors, women got 378 new work requests over 4 weeks vs 118 for men. Women spent more time on service, advising & teaching; men on research. Orgs should track who is taking extra duties & ensure they are rewarded and distributed fairly. www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...

Interesting new addition to the spatial ecology toolset...

Methods in Ecology and Evolution@methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · last yr.

📖Published📖 Authors present the adm R package, developed to support the construction of abundance-based species distribution models , including data preparation, model fitting, prediction and model exploration 🌍 🧪 Read the article here 👇 buff.ly/sXjdv8o

Scottish Grand National: 23 starters. 8 finishers. 2 horse fatalities. How long can horse racing retain its social licence to operate while these sort of results happen in the highest profile races. Preventable risks on race day that are not being minimised. Risk management is a welfare priority.

Fatalities in Scottish Grand National 'carnage' include last year's winner

Last year’s winner Macdermott was one of two fatalities in the Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday

thenational.scot

Precocious Strathclyde bluebell will not wait for May; suspects beech trees will spring early this year.

Any day now, ducklings will begin to appear, and we need your help to monitor them. We are asking for records of mallard broods anywhere in the UK this year to help us understand how many ducklings make it to adulthood. Submit your sightings here: citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch Please share!

Applications are now open for the October 2025 intake of the Leverhulme DTP in Ecological Data Science. Five fully funded PhDs and a "Masters plus PhD" option for eligible students. Apply by 07 March. Read about this year's projects here: ecological-data-science.github.io

Guest speaker Håvard Rue talking about Variational Bayes at @uofglasgow.bsky.social School of Maths & Stats today.

A song about nature and a winter full moon... Seeking an instinctual, wild solitude in the dark nights of the season.

Christine Duffield - Wolf's Moon

YouTube video by Chris Duffield

youtu.be

This made me a bit nostalgic for the days of rummaging around in Oracle databases. Sharing for any DBAs and SQL nerds out there: He's making a database, He's sorting it twice, SELECT * FROM contacts WHERE behaviour = "nice" SQL Clause is coming to town

Another sensational @uofgsbohvm.bsky.social Christmas party with fun, food and dancing! Our hosts Pat and Neil looked spectacular in their Indian wedding attire.

As a former software tester now turned dabbler in #rstats data modelling, I have yet to meet someone who has never given me code I couldn't break simply by putting this at the top: rm(list = ls()) Consider clearing your workspace and rerunning the code your first line of defence against bugs.