Dr Eva Plaganyi
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drevaplaganyi.bsky.social
Dr Eva Plaganyi
@drevaplaganyi.bsky.social

Research scientist, Marine Fisheries and Ecology, Climate Change, Biomathematics, Modelling, Marine Mammals. CSIRO | Ocean, Bird watching, bush walking | #SuperstarsOfSTEM | Opinions my own

Environmental science 74%
Geography 19%

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Walking in nature reduces activity in the brain region linked to sadness and rumination.

A psychologist on why active rest periods—not couch time—are what actually restore us during the holidays. buff.ly/RxJjMbO
Rest is essential during the holidays, but it may mean getting active, not crashing on the couch
Unwinding can be hard during the holidays for many reasons. Building in time to recharge through active leisure can help.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

This Antarctic penguin sleeps 11 hours a day—a few seconds at a time.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/4qctudt #ScienceMagArchives
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx

Some important reading before we head south for part of the upcoming holidays! When one lives in the tropics it’s always hard to Imagine how quickly the weather can turn down south..

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
'Heels, a mini skirt and tank top': Warning for 'summer' hikers in Tasmania
It has been a busy year for search and rescue operations in the Tasmanian high country. Authorities say a concerning number of visitors to the state's famous national parks are ill-prepared for the fi...
www.abc.net.au

Our new paper led by Steph Brodie @csiro.bsky.social reviews development of #climate reports for fostering climate resilience and facilitating the #adaptation of the Australian #seafood sector to rapidly changing ocean ecosystems.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Building climate-smart fisheries in Australia: insights from climate and ecosystem status reports - Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
Ongoing concerns about the impact of climate change on Australia’s oceans has driven a request from fisheries managers for improved science communication to the seafood sector. Despite these concerns,...
link.springer.com

AI consumption of valuable water resources is one of the modern problems that worries me most - we absolutely need to insist data centres use recycled and closed loop systems, not water needed for drinking and to support ecosystems.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
What we know about water use of the over 250 data centres in Australia
Australia has more than 250 data centres and more in the pipeline, prompting experts to warn against using drinking water to cool servers.
www.abc.net.au
⚒️ Article: Earthquakes influence the amount of hydrothermal iron entering the ocean over the Australian Antarctic Ridge, which can support phytoplankton blooms by relieving surface iron limitation

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Southern Ocean net primary production influenced by seismically modulated hydrothermal iron - Nature Geoscience
Earthquakes influence the amount of hydrothermal iron entering the ocean over the Australian Antarctic Ridge, which can support phytoplankton blooms by relieving surface iron limitation, according to ...
www.nature.com

This is such sad news.. he was a brilliant ecologist and a huge inspiration to many students at UCT, including myself way back as an hons student. He leaves an impressive science legacy. Condolences to his family.

Reposted by Graeme S. Cumming

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Woohoo! Cover photo AND article
The December cover star of "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment"—a young vervet monkey photographed by Graeme Cumming—illustrates Cumming’s study on “spillover effects” when protected species roam beyond park boundaries, bringing benefits and costs

Browse the full issue: tinyurl.com/2stvspyp

New paper alert 🤖🐳💻🐟 led by Scott Spillias with a team of us considering oppportunities and cautions around future use of AI in ecosystem modelling.. #CSIRO can see it here: academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Ecosystem Modeling
Abstract. Developing ecosystem models has traditionally been limited to a small global community of experts because of the complex skills and resources req
academic.oup.com

Photographer Kathrin Swoboda captured amazing images of a red wing blackbird's song, visible via the bird's breath in cold air and early light #WomensArt
Even the the damn twitter card for this Nature Scientific Reports is clearly AI Slop.

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Ancient rock art was meant to be heard as well as seen and now acoustic archaeologists are bringing the sounds of prehistoric rituals to life
We can finally hear the long-hidden music of the Stone Age
Ancient rock art was meant to be heard as well as seen and now acoustic archaeologists are bringing the sounds of prehistoric rituals to life
www.newscientist.com

Still doing great science that is vital to support industries and people as we face future challenges but a sad day for all of us at csiro given impending job cuts due to ongoing declining support for science
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
CSIRO to cut up to 350 research jobs in major overhaul
After 440 positions were slashed last year, the CSIRO has announced more staff cuts across the country in a bid to remain financially viable.
www.abc.net.au

A big dark shape in the ocean causing a bit of panic at first but fortunately was only a beautiful gentle manta ray, world’s largest rays, at #NorthStradbrokeIsland #qld a hotspot for these filter feeders.

Important insights into impacts of tropical cyclone: “The results were striking. Risks of dying from various causes consistently increased after a tropical cyclone. Generally, the risk peaked within the first two weeks of the cyclone, followed by a rapid decline”

theconversation.com/we-studied-2...
We studied 217 tropical cyclones globally to see how people died. Our findings might surprise you
Tropical cyclones can be even more deadly – and for a wider range of reasons – than we ever thought.
theconversation.com
Today the 2025 State of the Cryosphere report was published by over 50 leading cryosphere scientists.
An urgent warning about the global consequences of the meltdown of ice, including the risk of shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean current system #AMOC. 🌊
iccinet.org/statecryo25/

More on the incredible complex behaviour of orcas and how top predator inter-species interactions can complicate conservation efforts #orca #shark

www.cnn.com/2025/11/04/s...
Orcas seen hunting great white sharks to eat their livers in drone footage recorded in Mexico | CNN
Scientists working in Mexico have recorded multiple incidents in which a group of orcas hunt young great white sharks and eat their energy-rich livers.
www.cnn.com

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Off Target: Peak Warming ‘Likely’ to Hit 2.8°C Under Current Policies
(Most Optimistic Pledges Still Fall Short at 1.9°C)

bit.ly/EGR-2025

UNEP. (2025). Emissions Gap Report 2025. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Out now! 📢

Ecology Matters: Conversations with Australian Ecologists

Australia’s ecologists share why nature matters across 30 essays with stunning photos – from ants & Antarctic mosses, to wallabies & waterways, to frogs & fungi. www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8205

@ecolsocaus.bsky.social
Ecology Matters
Australia is known for its spectacular and diverse natural environment, from sweeping landscapes to unique flora and fauna. It is a place that invokes wonder and demands protection in equal measure. Its ecology matters, as do the people who have dedicated their careers to understanding it – ecologists. But what do ecologists do? How do they end up studying strange and obscure species? What is it like to work in remote and unusual environments? What happens when disaster strikes? And what are their hopes and concerns for the future? In Ecology Matters, Australia’s preeminent ecologists explain why nature truly matters across 30 enlightening essays. Learn about crayfish and climate change, seed banks and seagrass restoration, floods and fire ecology, ants and Antarctic mosses, whales, waterways and wallabies, and frogs, feral cats and fungi. Featuring interviews with students, Indigenous rangers, restoration ecologists and leaders in the field, this collection of conversations spans the breadth and diversity of Australian ecology. Accompanied by spectacular images from around Australia, many captured by ecologists in the course of their work, Ecology Matters showcases a unique perspective of Australian nature.
www.publishing.csiro.au

Can you spot the lifer (new bird seen in one’s life) I saw in my neighbourhood this morning tiptoeing through the reeds? It’s a pale-vented bush-hen enjoying the post-storm puddles everywhere .. fortunately my partner recognised its loud call #BirdWatching #wildoz #qld

Important research highlighting the additional ecological role of polar bears in providing leftovers for scavengers in the Arctic - as #PolarBears are threatened by #ClimateChange this points once again to flow-on impacts on food webs

www.sciencenews.org/article/pola...
Polar bears provide millions of kilograms of food for other Arctic species
A new study shows how much food polar bears leave behind — and how their decline threatens scavengers across the Arctic.
www.sciencenews.org

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Did you know that submarine cables on the deep ocean floor literally connect our world?

This map reveals the fragile & mostly unseen infrastructure carrying 99% of Earth's data traffic & providing internet access everywhere.
www.maps.com/submarine-ca...
🧪 🌊 ⚒️ 🌍 🌎 🌏 #gischat @seabed2030.bsky.social
The Underwater Cables That Connect the World
Explore the fragile and mostly unseen infrastructure that carries 99% of international data traffic and provides internet access around the world.
www.maps.com

Reposted by Éva E. Plagányi

Up to 59% of Antarctic ice shelves may be at risk of disappearing under high-emission scenarios by 2300, according to an analysis of the effect of ocean warming in Nature. This could result in up to 10 m of global sea-level rise. go.nature.com/47Ag4k1 🌊 🧪

This is so worrying and highlights global need for action to avoid further tipping points that will accelerate #ClimateChange

“Tree mortality has soared due to human-caused climate change, including rising temperatures, droughts and damaging tropical cyclones..”
Australia’s tropical forests are the first known to have switched from a sink to a source for atmospheric carbon.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/australia-tropical-forests-co2-cop30
Australia’s tropical forests now emit CO₂, clouding the COP30 talks
These tropical forest CO₂ emissions may warn of similar shifts in other regions, a key topic for COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
www.sciencenews.org
NOAA hurricane hunters flying aboard a P-3 Orion aircraft ("Kermit") are monitoring Hurricane Melissa as most aircraft steer clear. The storm poses a catastrophic threat to Jamaica and Haiti.

The crew are among the many federal workers working without pay during the US government shutdown.

A sky full of #termites this morning post-storm.. alates (flying termites looking to mate and settle) emerging in their thousands from just one underground nest. A protein-rich feast for birds but termite guards essential for #qld homes.