📣 📣 📣 UPDATE: The 2026-2027 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resource! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
ecoevojobs.net 2026-27
docs.google.com
Ryan Stephens
@ryanbstephens.bsky.social
Wildlife ecologist, trophic ecologist, museum lover, truffle admirer, biological illustrator, and assistant professor at ETSU.
Save the date! 🗓️ Thu 30 July 10am (AEST) / 12pm (NZST) Our next AMS virtual seminar will feature Prof. Ryan Stephens @ryanbstephens.bsky.social from East Tennessee State University on animal-mediated dispersal of fungi @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
July 2026 AMS virtual seminar: Ryan Stephens, on animal-mediated dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi!
We invite you to attend our upcoming AMS virtual seminar. This month, we're delighted to feature Ryan Stephens, an assistant professor at East Tennessee State University.Multi-trophic interactions sha...
australasianmycologicalsociety.com
Hit a milestone day - 1000 citations for my research articles!
Have you ever wondered why there's such a lack of ectomycorrhizal-affiliated tree seedlings under mountain laurel thickets? Read all about it! This is also my first first-author publication 🥳 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Plant-soil feedbacks affect hardwood regeneration in mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) thickets
Ericaceous thickets inhibit hardwood regeneration, particularly of ectomycorrhizal tree species, yet mechanisms underlying effects of the ericaceous s…
authors.elsevier.com
New paper out today in the ISME | International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal and the first product from our ESIIL (Environmental Data Science Innovation and Impact Lab) working group on Fungal Dispersal. Check it out! academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi
Abstract. Fungi comprise millions of species that play numerous varied roles in Earth’s natural and managed ecosystems, engaging in a multitude of positive
academic.oup.com
Over 20 years of scat analyses reveal how truffle-like fungi respond to climate change. First paper of PHD student Emily McIntyre from @unimelb.edu.au 🦘🍄🟫🌱 @ausmycsoc.bsky.social @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
The Conversation AUNZ@aunz.theconversation.com · 7mo agoLong-footed potoroos dig up and eat many truffle-like fungi, spreading spores and keeping vital fungi-forest relationships healthy.\
Truffles and carnivores made the news. Our Ecology Letters paper was picked up by the @economist.com last week: www.economist.com/science-and-...
To disperse their spores, truffles rely on animals eating other animals
It is a gruesome business
economist.com
Research shows that carnivores play an important role in ecosystem function by providing a largely overlooked mechanism for long-distance dispersal of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi. twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...
From prey to predator: how carnivores spread beneficial fungi
Research shows that carnivores play an important role in ecosystem function by providing a largely overlooked mechanism for long-distance dispersal of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.
twin-cities.umn.edu
Out in Ecology Letters! We assessed the effectiveness of #carnivores as secondary dispersers of mycorrhizal #fungi. Larger carnivores deposited fewer spores but moved them farther, creating a continuum between the quantity & quality of dispersal effectiveness. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
An interesting study from Japan observes how animal-dispersed truffle-like fungi are more prone to genetic isolation due to forest fragmentation. Not a surprising finding, but interesting to consider from a conservation standpoint! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🦅🌱Secondary seed dispersal by migrant harriers in India 📷 © Sankar Subramanian vist.ly/4cfkr #Diploendozoochory #Grasslands #OpenNaturalEcosystems #Raptor
Excited to share our most recent work in collaboration with @liedcarneiro.bsky.social . We link network properties with estimates of pollination success. Check it out!
New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 10mo agoNetwork specialization increases plant reproductive success Arceo-Gómez and Carneiro @arceo-gomezg.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Saturday site visit today at Abram's Falls with @ryanbstephens.bsky.social, beautiful fall weather, and the onset of fall colors in southern Appalachia 🍁🍂
🚨 Please repost widely!🚨 I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions
You know your Google Scholar alerts are keyed in when it suggests your own papers and your student's theses!
I'm hiring! Please share! Join me this winter as a #wildlife #ecology technician. 6 months at $18/hr and subsidized housing available. Maintain a #cameratrap array, #bobcat and #fisher live trapping transects, and telemetry. More: blackrockforest.org/work_with_us
I'm giving a talk on Tuesday about carnivores as dispersers of mycorrhizal fungal spores as part of a special session on fungal spore dispersal. Come check it out if you are here in Baltimore and like fungi, carnivores, or trophic interactions. #ESA2025
“…when organisms interact can largely determine how they interact.” #Viewpoint: Is it all about timing? Identifying the symbiosis critical points that govern interactions among #bacteria, ectomycorrhizal #fungi, and land #trees By Louis Berrios 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Our new global study led by @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social is now out in @pnas.org. TLDR: Certain spore traits were linked to climate AND species range sizes! YES we can use traits to gain insight into env adaptations for microbes. #mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
How climate shapes soil fungal traits
Many soil microbes play a vital role in ecosystems, as they help plants access nutrients and water and assist in stress tolerance such as during drought and to defend against pathogens. One such group...
eurekalert.org
Our review led by S. Savazza "Measuring Personality in Wild Small Mammals: A Review of Methods and Proposal for a Standardised Approach" is out, free open access, in mammal review onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Measuring Personality in Wild Small Mammals: A Review of Methods and Proposal for a Standardised Approach
We provide a systematic review of methodologies used to study personality in small mammals. We propose adopting ‘Standardised Experimental Design’ and ‘Behavioural Measurements’ to effectively compar...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
New from Rebekah Persad and the Kawartha Flying Squirrel Project: Home range size, habitat selection, and mycophagy of sympatric North American flying squirrels esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Big day in the lab. Noah, successfully defended his thesis (my first student) and knocked it out of the park! I also submitted a manuscript from a project that we have been working on for about 6 years.
New paper out! 🏙️ We found that urbanisation simplifies and homogenises seed dispersal networks. 🪴🐦⬛ Non-native plants dominate in cities, accounting for 61% 😔 of interactions in the urban network vs just 15% in forests! 🪻🌿🌴 Check it out: doi.org/10.1111/cobi... 🌐🧪🌍🍁
Forestry trials set up decades ago are key to understanding long term outcomes of management. This study looks at recovery of EcM fungi nearly 30 years (!) post harvest. Nice work👍from a great team. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Ectomycorrhizal fungal community succession and fragmentation across forest edges nearly three decades postharvest
Forest management for wood products involves the conversion of primary forests to younger plantations. This has an immediate impact on biota such as ectomycorrhizal fungi, a diverse symbiotic fungal ...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our paper shows that most ectomycorrhizal fungal species (83% of OTUs) are "dark taxa": species we detect in DNA, but can't match to known species names. We map global "darkspots" - the parts of the world most in need of more research. @spun.earth @ethz.ch www.cell.com/current-biol...
The biogeography and conservation of Earth’s ‘dark’ ectomycorrhizal fungi
In this review, van Galen et al. use global soil metabarcoding databases to evaluate current estimates of the total number of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal species on Earth, outline the current state o...
cell.com
Histograms are incredibly useful, interpretable, and common in BI. But building histograms that work well out of the box — no matter the data — is trickier than it sounds. We share some of the challenges faced, and decisions made, when designing histograms for Observable Canvases:
Designing better out-of-the-box histograms
Given how common histograms are in BI tools, you might think they’re easy to design. Think again. We share challenges we encountered, and how we handled them, while designing better out-of-the-box…
buff.ly
Last day of Animal Ecology today and my students surprised me with bear hats. I’ve been complaining about all the damage they do to our field sites and it’s been a running joke all semester. Of course every student presentation today also had bears.
Ahhhhhh Spring. A time to replenish, revive, and…. REGROW YOUR BONES?!? a🧵on a new paper
