Happy 60 years of #StarTrek! In honor of Gene Roddenberry's show, I figured I'd dust off my blog post about the time he filmed the pilot of another (slightly less famous) show at UC Riverside: groverlab.org/hnbfpr/2019-...
Marko Spasojevic
@m-j-spasojevic.bsky.social
Associate prof. at UC-Riverside studying biodiversity, plant traits, biogeography, global change. Niwot LTER. Dad, Army Veteran, He/Him.
Are you going to be at #ESA2026 in #SaltLakeCity this week? Are you interested in grassland fire? Come join a Special Session on Grassland Wildfire at the WUI (and beyond!), co-organized by @hennhouse.bsky.social and I! Session is Thursday, July 30 at 11:45 AM (events.rdmobile.com/Sessions/Det...).
Interested in joining a growing lab in LA? We’re hiring a postdoc!! Please spread the word to folks in your network and feel free to get in touch with any questions recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11142
if you see me at SDCC and ask for one of these i will give you one
Latest camera trap highlights - bobcats and coyote pups! youtu.be/-ChQdB2AqPY
What's Wild in Sycamore Canyon June - Coyote pups and bobcats!
YouTube video by Spasojevic Ecology Lab
youtu.be
New paper from the lab by Erin McCann!! Facilitation influences when trees grow, but not growth rate in a dry temperate forest besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Facilitation influences when trees grow, but not growth rate in a dry temperate forest
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
What a surprise ….. “Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in — and they’re not good Reliance on artificial-intelligence tools degrades the abilities of physicians and software engineers, studies show.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in — and they’re not good
Reliance on artificial-intelligence tools degrades the abilities of physicians and software engineers, studies show.
nature.com
For decades, cheatgrass has remained one of the most notorious invasive plants in the American West. But here in the foothills of Colorado's Front Range, the story may be more complicated. New research suggests native species can slowly reclaim territory without intervention.
Herbicide spraying for cheatgrass not always necessary, new research shows (CU Boulder Today)
A new study from INSTAAR suggests that native species may be able to outcompete cheatgrass in Colorado's Front Range. The findings could inform future efforts
colorado.edu
Check out our new paper on integrating experimental and observational approaches to facilitate the scaling of species interactions to biodiversity patterns @funecology.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Integrating experimental and observational approaches facilitates scaling species interactions to biodiversity patterns
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Support science in California!! Now's the time to contact your state reps and voice your support! You can learn more and easily send an email here: www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/investi...
Investing in the future of California science
UC is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 895, a critical effort to sustain world-changing research that fuels the fourth-largest economy in the world and supports the quality of life for all Californians.
universityofcalifornia.edu
Nancy Emery kicked off the Mountain Research Station summer seminar series last night with a talk on the Niwot Ridge LTER and plant community ecology. Join us at the station every Wednesday from now through August 26. Or sign up for a guided walk on mycology, natural history, orchids and more!
Highlights from our camera traps in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park in Riverside CA. youtu.be/vOB2_bimE0U
What's wild in Sycamore Canyon (early 2026 highlights)
YouTube video by Spasojevic Ecology Lab
youtu.be
NCAR just won in court! A US district judge in Colorado has prohibited NSF from taking #NCAR apart, specifically in spalling off its supercomputing center in Wyoming. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... Our earlier story on this and why it matters: www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪
World-leading climate centre takes Trump administration to court
Universities that run the National Center for Atmospheric Research want to keep it from being dismantled.
nature.com
Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...
What We Need to do NEXT: OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule (OMB 2026-10817)
What OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule Means in Practice
elizabethginexi.substack.com
Honored to have one of my photos on the cover of @nature.com And thrilled to be part of this #ForestGEO study led by Yuanzhi Li and Chengjin Chu 🌴 🌳 🌐 doi.org/10.1038/s415... Photo caption: Sunrise over a tropical forest near Danum Valley Field Centre, Sabah, Malaysia
Such a devasting loss 💔 If you are able to, consider donating to support Adriana's family 👇🏽 www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Donate to Support for Jovani Catalan & Family, organized by Ivette Guzman
Dearest friends and family, We have set up this page to support Jovani Catalan and h… Ivette Guzman needs your support for Support for Jovani Catalan & Family
gofundme.com
Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe@aaberhe.com · 5mo agoProf. Adriana Romero-Olivares, UC Riverside, was doing incredible work on how fungi and ecosystems respond to global change. A rising voice, a dynamic scientist and educator, a young mother, wife and daughter gone far too soon. A huge loss. Her family, students and community are in my thoughts.
We are hiring an Associate Director of UC Riverside Natural Reserve System. Come join us! aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF02257
Academic Coordinator II/Associate Director of UC Riverside Natural Reserve System
University of California, Riverside is hiring. Apply now!
aprecruit.ucr.edu
Dear Colleagues, It is with immense sadness and shock that I share the passing of Dr. Adriana Romero Olivares, a brand-new Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at UC Riverside. www.mealtrain.com/trains/l3kg64
Meal Train for Jovani Catalan (Spouse of Adriana Romero Olivares)
Hi all, Please help out the family of Adriana Romero Olivares. Her husband, Jovani, and kids can be helped with meals over the next weeks as Adriana recovers.
mealtrain.com
Prof. Adriana Romero-Olivares, UC Riverside, was doing incredible work on how fungi and ecosystems respond to global change. A rising voice, a dynamic scientist and educator, a young mother, wife and daughter gone far too soon. A huge loss. Her family, students and community are in my thoughts.
Hey y'all. Love all the love for the program (we're pretty proud of it too). But the fact that the solicitation is archived does NOT mean that the program is shutting down. We're hanging in there, struggling through the uncertainty with everyone else.
Do you love long term biodiversity monitoring? If so please donate to our long term wildlife monitoring project. The Inland Empire of Southern California has been underserved by NSF and we'd appreciate any thing you can do to help (even just sharing this post) www.givecampus.com/schools/Univ...
What's Wild in Riverside
Join me and make a gift to 2026 UCR Give Day!
givecampus.com
LTER has been archived for about a year now. It’s normal between solicitations. LTER is still here.
youtu.be/r3wsnirQOXQ?... Check out our highlights and subscribe to see what is wild in Riverside in 2026. We have partnered with city parks to add cameras to Sycamore Canyon and will be working with the county to start monitoring donkey populations across Riverside.
Wild Riverside's best clips of 2025
YouTube video by Spasojevic Ecology Lab
youtu.be
🙏🏽 A big thank you to Andrew Mayock, @colorado.edu's VC for Sustainability. He recently toured the Mountain Research Station & the Tundra Lab at Niwot Ridge, meeting with INSTAAR faculty & discussing future collaborations. Read our story about his visit: www.colorado.edu/instaar/2025...
Vice chancellor for sustainability visits the Mountain Research Station and Niwot Ridge
CU Boulder’s Andrew Mayock recently toured the Mountain Research Station, a high-altitude climate station and the Tundra Lab at Niwot Ridge. INSTAAR faculty
colorado.edu
In new work by Sharon, we studied whether changes in #soil N in response to shifts in precipitation may favor tradeoffs between AOA and AOB nitrifiers and the emission of NO and #N2O 🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Nitrogen Availability and Changes in Precipitation Alter Microbially Mediated NO and N2O Emissions From a Pinyon–Juniper Dryland
Climate change is altering precipitation regimes that control nitrogen (N) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. In ecosystems exposed to frequent drought, N can accumulate in soils as they dry, stimula...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Hell yeah. Hold the line. This is what we need people to do. Slow things down, don’t comply in advance so the courts have time to stop them. It’s starting to work.
Ellen L. Weintraub@ellenlweintraub.bsky.social · 2y agoReceived a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner and Chair of the FEC. There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.
I've been seen lots of feckless despair and detachedness among scientists in the US at the moment. How we might live up to this critical moment when things seem the worst. scienceforeveryone.science/p/how-ive-be... 🧪
How I've been thinking about all of the rapid horrible changes in the United States
I'm not telling you how to think or feel, but maybe letting you know where I'm at might be useful.
scienceforeveryone.science