Dr Marcus Rhodes
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marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes
@marcusrhodes.bsky.social
3.1K followers 820 following 440 posts

Ecologist in pursuit of butterflies. Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter, Cornwall working on nature recovery and species' responses to climate change. He/Him

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Environmental science 38%
Biology 30%
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marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 4h
A Boxing Day walk amongst the veteran Sweet Chestnuts of Felbrigg Hall.
A knarled, veteran Sweet Chestnut backlit by golden winter sunlight.

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social
Butterfly Conservation (Dorset Branch) @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social · 8h
Yikes, a Boxing Day Speckled Wood in Boscombe. The 2025 season will certainly break some records with flight periods! www.dorsetbutterflies.com/2025/12/spec...
Speckled Wood, Boscombe
Paul sent in this photo saying: I was rather surprised to see this fresh-looking Speckled Wood flying around near Boscombe Pier on Christmas Day, 25/12/2025. Yet more evidence of global heating I s…
www.dorsetbutterflies.com

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 1d
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from a bright and blustery Cley Marshes.
Brackish pools and marshes behind the shingle beach at Cley.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 4d
Cley Marshes this afternoon.
Reeds backlit by the setting sun with Cley Windmill and Blakeney Church beyond. The West Bank at Cley and Glaven saltmarshes backlit by the late evening sun. A skein of Pink-footed Geese flying over the boardwalk through the reedbeds at Cley Marshes.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 4d
Pink-footed Geese heading off to the fields from Cley Marshes this afternoon.

Reposted by Pieter Vantieghem, Marcus W. Rhodes

martinswarren.bsky.social
martinswarren.bsky.social @martinswarren.bsky.social · 10d
What does 50 yrs of butterfly monitoring tell you? In this case its a puzzle. The dramatic rise of the Silver-studded Blue, Plebejus argus, over 50 yrs at Studland Heath, UK. @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

www.dispar.org/reference.ph...

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 16d
A Red Admiral on the wing at Penryn Campus this morning. This late in the year, every encounter feels extra special. Will it be my last butterfly of 2025?
A Red Admiral butterfly basking in winter sunshine on a patch of moss.

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

eliaguariento.bsky.social
Elia Guariento @eliaguariento.bsky.social · 17d
Want to work on biodiversity in the Alps? ⛰️

We are offering several internship positions for the upcoming spring and summer in collaboration with the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol 🕷️🦋🦇🐜🌼🦗🪱

biodiversity.eurac.edu/interns-want...
Interns wanted! - Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol
biodiversity.eurac.edu

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

cornwall.exeter.ac.uk
University of Exeter, Cornwall @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk · 18d
A unique partnership between the University of Exeter and the National Trust received a prestigious award. The ‘Shaping Landscapes for People and Nature to Thrive’ partnership was a winner at the Knowledge Exchange UK Awards in the Strategic Partnerships category.

@renewbiodiversity.bsky.social
Exeter and National Trust partnership wins Knowledge Exchange award
A unique partnership between the University of Exeter and the National Trust has received a prestigious award. The 'Shaping Landscapes for People and Nature to Thrive' partnership was a winner at the Knowledge Exchange UK
news.exeter.ac.uk

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 19d
A blustery, but enjoyable afternoon looking around Carn Marth today, offering a bit of advice on habitat management. Flushed a pair of Snipe as we were wandering around the heathland.
The view from the top of Carn Marth, looking south towards the Fal Estuary. A quarry has been excavated into the flank of the Bracken-covered, granite hillside and landscaped into an open-air theatre.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 22d
Starlings pouring into the reedbeds at Ham Wall last Saturday.

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

europebutterfly.bsky.social
Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 22d
The European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is growing fast thanks to some funding from the EU. We now have transects in nearly every European country. This is a powerful dataset to assess the health of our environment and improve biodiversity conservation

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 22d
I was up in Somerset and Gloucestershire last weekend and had a wonderful day at Slimbridge on Sunday. A childhood favourite, it's been many years since I last visited!
A Bewick Swan swimming on a lake. It has pure white feathers and a yellow base to its black beak. A Pintail duck with glossy brown head, white neck and tapering tail, standing reflected in a pool of water. A mixed group of White-fronted Geese and Greylag Geese grazing a field of grass.

Reposted by Nick M. Haddad, Stephen D. Murphy, Marcus W. Rhodes

europebutterfly.bsky.social
Butterfly Conservation Europe @europebutterfly.bsky.social · 29d
The EU has published rules for the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. Butterflies, moths, bees and hoverflies will all be monitored by every Member State. Target to reverse decline in Pollinators by 2030 and increase pops. A big step in conserving biodiversity environment.ec.europa.eu/news/better-...
Better monitoring to support restoration of EU pollinators
The Commission has adopted a new Pollinator Monitoring Scheme to help reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030.
environment.ec.europa.eu

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 26
Yesterday, we were brush cutting heather along the edges of the path, along with removing some scrub and saplings from the heathland. Next winter, we have plans to create a series of scrapes to increase the amount of early successional heathland.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 25
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were at Ale & Cakes Mine today (no ale or cakes evident). This is a new site for our conservation work and one where it is urgently needed. Silver-studded Blue numbers have dwindled to single figures owing to succession of the heathland.
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers cutting Gorse and saplings in an area of heathland. Heathland has been mown one metre either side of a path to create shorter vegetation suitable for Silver-studded Blues. Before: an area of heathland with mature, leggy Gorse bushes and a dense stand of Birch saplings. After: some of the taller Gorse bushes, along with the stand of Birch saplings, have been removed from the heathland.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 23
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were working at Poldice Mine today, removing invasive Buddleia from the heathland. Silver-studded Blues have responded really positively to the management that we have been doing here over the last couple of years. @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers removing Buddleia with loppers from an area of heathland.

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

savebutterflies.bsky.social
Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · Nov 19
Working together for the Marsh Fritillary 💪

As the Wales Marsh Fritillary Recovery Partnership Project comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the amazing achievements and hear from the people who will continue this vital work into the future 👉 buff.ly/rRh1kB9

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

exetergses.bsky.social
Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability @exetergses.bsky.social · Nov 18
What can we learn from a stranded whale? 🐋🧪

This female fin whale stranded in Cornwall and sadly didn't survive. Since then, she has been buried in a @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk research field, until now...

@exetermarine.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social

Learn more: news.exeter.ac.uk/environment-...

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 17
Lots of winter thrushes on the move and I also encountered my first Woodcock of the winter.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 16
A few treasures from the wet, mossy world of Goss Moor.
Wet woodland at Goss Moor: a tangle of twisted, moss-covered Sallows growing above dark, peaty water. The orange, radial "fingers" of Hazel Gloves Fungus enclosed around a Hazel branch. Wood Blewit: a lilac mushroom growing amongst leaf litter. Dog-lichen growing over mossy Sallow tree. The underside of each lobe is covered in spiky protrusions.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 16
Along the Coast Path from Zennor to Gurnard's Head yesterday. Wonderful to encounter a huge flock of more than seventy Choughs - it's amazing to think they were entirely absent from this coast 25 years ago!
The rocky promontory of Gurnard's Head jutting out into the Atlantic. A large flock of Choughs circling above coastal grassland. The rugged cliffs at Treen with the sun setting behind Pendeen Lighthouse in the distance.

Reposted by Tuomas Kankaanpää, Marcus W. Rhodes

samjakeengland.bsky.social
Sam England @samjakeengland.bsky.social · Nov 10
Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...
The sensory ecology of caterpillars - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...
doi.org

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 9
Back on Bodmin Moor this weekend with Cornwall Butterfly Conservation. This time, we were working at Fellover, another site for Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, managing Gorse and Bracken in an area between the two existing colonies. @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers preparing for habitat management. Before: a hillside of Bracken heavily encouraged by Gorse. After: Gorse bushes have been removed (retaining some for shelter) to open up the area of Bracken.

Reposted by Marcus W. Rhodes

collieryspoil.bsky.social
Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative @collieryspoil.bsky.social · Nov 7
🌿 A new chapter begins.

After 10 years of raising awareness of coal spoil biodiversity, the Colliery Spoil Biodiversity Initiative is evolving into Glo i Natur CIC - continuing the same mission with new opportunities ahead.

➡️ Follow @gloinatur.bsky.social - this account will shortly be replaced 💚

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 4
Cley Marshes this evening. Swirling flocks of Golden Plover, ten Marsh Harriers arriving to roost, and an impressive murmuration of Starlings.
The view from the West Bank at Cley across the Glaven saltmarsh towards Cley Windmill and Blakeney Church.

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 3
Simply magical!

Reposted by Aletta Bonn, Patrick A. Jansen, Moreno Di Marco , and 7 more

shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social
Shawan Chowdhury @shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social · Nov 3
Check out our new insect decline paper. By analysing 36 yrs of German ground beetle distribution data, we show:
- ~80% of species have declined, with significant declines for >50%.
- The decline was similar across species traits and threatened status.
doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @consbiog.bsky.social

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 2
But what a sound!

marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Dr Marcus Rhodes @marcusrhodes.bsky.social · Nov 2
Back in the land of Geese #Norfolk