Lecturer position in soil science opportunity (equivalent to Assistant Prof. Looking forward to seeing some great applicants. elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

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

Emerging Scientist Prize goes to Luke Harrington of University of Waikato. His work includes calculating contribution of climate change to extreme weather events 👏 #NZPMSciPrizes

Note to journals and editors: automatic "no" to review requests that give time lines of 2 weeks or less. I usually get them done in this time frame but I dont except anyone to get through my papers that quickly - in fact - take your time. 😁

We're pleased to announce applications are now open for NZ Association of Science's 2026 Medals. The closing date for all applications is 5pm Monday 3rd August 2026. The medals are ... scientists.org.nz/Awards (1/7)

1/n We just published a global assessment of GHG emissions from global rice cultivation. Led by Jingting Zhang & Hanqin Tian, this is part of the Global Carbon Project's efforts to constrain the Global Methane Budget & provide relevant data for GHG mitigation. theconversation.com/rice-feeds-b...

Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing

There are ways to reduce emissions without sacrificing yield. A new study shows how, and looks at a technique billed as ‘climate-friendly’ that makes emissions worse.

theconversation.com

And also see excellent article by @kategevans.bsky.social www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-... Fortresses in the wetlands

The pā builders

Five hundred years ago, people starting building pā all over northern New Zealand—fortifying their settlements with rows of pointed palisades, cut from the surrounding forests. Why? What were pā defen...

nzgeo.com

Bernard Hickey@bernardchickey.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Restoring peat bogs! National security in a couple of ways.

This makes me happy www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

LEGO Raises Age Limit to 100+ for David Attenborough’s Birthday

LEGO celebrated Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday by raising the maximum age limit of its products from 99 years old to 100+. The post LEGO Raises Age Limit to 100+ for David Attenborough’s Birt...

yahoo.com

It is always a happy day when a student's work is published. A neat study that quantifies the importance of dung input on soil C stokcs in grazed pastures! authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Good morning! The Climate Change Commission has just released the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment in six years – and I've read the key document. In short: Climate change is here, we're not ready, but there's lots we can do to prepare. For more: newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/07/l...

Landmark report finds climate harming NZ now, will worsen with inaction

A major new report on the risks climate change poses to New Zealand has found targeted action now could avert the worst impacts, Marc Daalder reports

newsroom.co.nz

Looking forward to this event. Young people ask the most impressive questions that make you think hard. www.sciencealive.co.nz/events/ask-a...

A new peat paper in @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social enaccess.bsky.social Problem is, it's chock-full of AI generated references, including several papers with my name on that don't exist. How did the reviewers not spot this? www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/16...

20 years ago I started teaching a Masters course on Soil and greenhouse gases with a mitigation focus. Naturally I show a graph of global temperatures each year in the first lecture. Depressingly looks like the temperature has increased by more than 0.5 C since I started teaching. #weneedtodobetter

There is a grand piano at the front the lecture theatre where I am going lecture on soil management. For some reason, this makes me happy. Note: I have no skills with music other than an eclectic taste. I am hoping one of the students can play to warm up the crowd.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... We are having problems renewing home coverage. Forced to add home security & water turnoff meter (> $2k) just to renew. Alternative coverage would be $12k The atmosphere should not be a free sewer. Time to internalize these externalities.

These US states want polluters to pay for the rising insurance costs of climate disasters

Proposals by California, Hawaii and New York lawmakers aim to hold fossil fuel industry accountable for soaring rates

theguardian.com

Landing in Dunedin Aotearoa in about 90 minutes for the start of a trip that represents the culmination of a dream I’ve had since I was ten years old.

Visiting academic to address spread of misinformation

For Carl Bergstrom, misinformation is like a living organism — it can travel across networks and spread through populations like pathogens. The...

odt.co.nz

A new soil lecturer position available at the University of Waikato (equivalent to Assistant Professor in US terms). elhs.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Ngā mihi nui to our treasured Kaumātua Professor Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato, Ngāti Apakura), who has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit 🧵

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing: a 🧵 1/n Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

Another way NZ resembles Ireland

Caroline O'Doherty@codohertynews.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Ireland second highest in EU for greenhouse gas emissions per person www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...

I thought of the gold clam invasion in the Waikato mostly as a threat to ecosystems, but the clams' need for calcium to build their shells impairs arsenic removal during treatment, threatening drinking water for millions theconversation.com/gold-clam-in...

Gold clam invasion in NZ threatens drinking water for millions of people

The invasion threatens more than water. Clams could foul dam intakes and reduce hydroelectric efficiency in a river that generates 13% of New Zealand’s power.

theconversation.com

Excited to have this paper out, soil microbial growth Topt (and other metrics) increases by 0.22°C–0.27°C per 1°C warming along a longstanding geothermal gradient. Global Change Biology | Environmental Change Journal | Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Thermal Adaptation of Bacterial and Fungal Growth in a Geothermally Influenced Soil Transect

We examined how soil microbes adapt to long-term warming along a natural geothermal gradient in Aotearoa New Zealand (17°C–42°C). Laboratory incubations of these soils across multiple temperatures re...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Also excited to be chatting about this tonight on www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro... - around 8.05/8.10pm if you're keen to tune in 🕸️🕸️🕸️

Nights

Tune in to Nights with Emile Donovan every weekday from 8pm to midnight for a delectable buffet of creative ideas, open-minded conversations, music, musings and daily stimulation.

rnz.co.nz

Ang (Angela) McGaughran @angmcgaughran.bsky.social · 9mo ago

A Conversation piece on our (@manpreetkdhami.bsky.social @sbirdy.bsky.social) quirky fake spiderweb research for eDNA biomonitoring, just out in time for Halloween. Paper forthcoming! theconversation.com/spiders-insp...

A Conversation piece on our (@manpreetkdhami.bsky.social @sbirdy.bsky.social) quirky fake spiderweb research for eDNA biomonitoring, just out in time for Halloween. Paper forthcoming! theconversation.com/spiders-insp...

Spiders inspired biologists to create artificial webs to capture airborne DNA for biodiversity monitoring

Natural spiderwebs are good at capturing DNA from the environment, but artificial webs are cheap and provide better control – without harm to spiders.

theconversation.com

I had to read this twice, what?

James Renwick@cubaraglanguy.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Good Lord!

Good Lord!

New Zealand accused of ‘full-blown climate denial’ over cuts to methane reduction targets #Climate

New Zealand accused of ‘full-blown climate denial’ over cuts to methane reduction targets

Farmers praised the move, but scientists and opposition parties criticised it as ‘weak’ and ‘unambitious’

theguardian.com

"Agriculture and Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said the government had worked closely with industry and accepted a range of advice to determine a "practical target"." Imagine a business setting a "practical target" rather than success and being ambitious www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Scientists fear weaker methane target signals wider retreat from climate action

After cutting methane targets, New Zealand has a choice: shoulder the burden at huge cost - or cause more warming to the planet.

rnz.co.nz

I thought I’d have a go at answering the question: what’s the flow on effect on emissions budgets from the methane cuts? The answer was worse than I had anticipated www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Scientists fear weaker methane target signals wider retreat from climate action

After cutting methane targets, New Zealand has a choice: shoulder the burden at huge cost - or cause more warming to the planet.

rnz.co.nz