Jim Dalling
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dallingjim.bsky.social
Jim Dalling
@dallingjim.bsky.social
Professor of tropical forest ecology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
Tropical soils, seeds and fungal interactions. Mostly Panama, mostly montane.
Reposted by Jim Dalling
If you are a student whose NSF GRFP application was returned without review for vague 'eligibility' reasons:
1) Let your department chair & Graduate School know. Encourage them to contact NSF & congress
2) Write to your congressional reps.
3) Write to grfp@nsf.gov to request re-consideration;
January 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
Dear colleagues, we are searching for candidates to fill a Full W3 Professorship for Plant #Ecology at the University of Regensburg, Germany. For details, see www.nature.com/naturecareer... 🌐 🌎 #AcademicJobs
Professorship W3 for Plant Ecology - Regensburg (Stadt), Bayern (DE) job with Universität Regensburg | 12851147
UNIVERSITÄT REGENSBURG   The Faculty of Biology and Pre-Clinical Medicine invites applications for a   Full Professorship W3 for Plant Ecology   Th...
www.nature.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
environment.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news...

Our new paper uses the Power of Plots to reveal how tropical forests are changing: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Forty years of tracking trees reveals changes in Amazon and Andean Forest diversity
New research reveals significant recent shifts in tree diversity among the tropical forests of the Andes and Amazon, driven by global change.
environment.leeds.ac.uk
January 27, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
📣 Ecologists and evolutionary biologists! Have you ever wanted to be a journal editor? BES journals are having an open call for editors. Details: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/appl... Happy to answer any Qs! Open to all nationalities. Applications from postdocs welcome :)
Apply to be a BES Associate Editor - British Ecological Society
Help advance outstanding ecological research by joining our Editorial Boards! Applications are now open across all seven BES journals.
www.britishecologicalsociety.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
"Uncle Bob, the only reason you got your ozempic is because a scientist was curious about Gila monster venom." 🧪🩺🌱🐀🐙💅
... And more found here.
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.

Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!

🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:21 PM
We are coming up on the closing date for an Assistant Professor of Mycology/Plant-fungal Interactions in the Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois - apply before November 1st!
See the link below for more details:
www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/deta...
Assistant Professor- Department of Plant Biology - HigherEdJobs
Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.
www.higheredjobs.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
The New Phytologist Foundation offers its condolences to family, friends, and colleagues of Prof. Steve Long.

Steve was a regular contributor to New Phytologist. His contribution to plant biology and publishing was enormous and he will be sadly missed.

portal.lancaster.ac.uk/intranet/new...
September 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
The situation is dire for coral reefs worldwide. We need to stop Carbon emissions NOW! 🧪🪸🌎🌐🌊 www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/c...
Corals Won’t Survive a Warmer Planet, a New Study Finds
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
We mourn the passing of our Editor-in-Chief Steve Long.

His vision to establish one of the first journals dedicated to Global Change over 30 years ago was truly ahead of its time. Through GCB, researchers have demonstrated that biology and ecosystems are not simply victims of global change..
September 18, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
Ever sampled frozen soil before? 🧊

SPUN's Michael Van Nuland and Jinsu Elhance, with local collaborator @mmuscarella.bsky.social explored the coastal tundra plain before traveling to higher elevations in the Arctic foothill tundra finding new flowers, fungi & wildlife with the changing terrain.
September 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
My department is hiring a Plant-Fungal Assist Prof!! As the newest #NewPI here, don't get me started on how wonderful my colleagues, how smooth my onboarding has been, how supportive the school and the department are, how nice my brand new lab is, and how convenient living in Champaign Urbana is!
We are hiring! The #PlantBio department at UIUC is looking to recruit an Assistant Professor in Plant-Fungal interactions. Application deadline is October 31st @dallingjim.bsky.social see the link below for more details:
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Assistant Professor- Department of Plant Biology
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
September 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
There was a mass flowering last year on BCI - seeds take a year to develop and disperse. This year there is one tree flowering - a 'late bloomer'. I am curious to see if it will set seed. There are a lot of South American Tachigali species. Only a small number of species appear to be monocarpic.
July 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
Thunderstorms are a major — and growing — threat to tropical trees, reports a new analysis in Ecology Letters led by Cary’s @evangora.bsky.social. Insights are critical to guiding decisions about forest restoration and conservation www.caryinstitute.org/news-insight...
Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests
Trees in tropical forests are dying at an increased rate, with consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the global climate. While deforestation is the primary cause of forest loss, intact fo...
www.caryinstitute.org
July 1, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
Please read and share this statement from Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
June 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
Reposted by Jim Dalling
We are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join an exciting project investigating the effects of bat seed dispersal on plant microbiomes and pathogen dynamics in tropical ecosystems. With @morceglo.bsky.social. More info: jobs.apsnet.org/job/postdoct...
June 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
This would be the largest public lands sell-off in modern U.S. history and it's happening with no hearings, no debate, and no public input.

See what public lands would be available for sale:
www.wilderness.org/articles/med...
120 million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR budget reconciliation package
The bill mandates disposal of over 2 million acres of BLM and National Forest lands; public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 120 million acres, including local recreation areas, wild...
www.wilderness.org
June 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
As the world warms, plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings find ways to respond to the heat.

In a new special issue of Science, researchers examine how heat affects plants at multiple scales, from the molecular level to the biosphere. scim.ag/44cSw3Z
June 12, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
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...
www.cell.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
🚨🚨 Friday night news drop from National Science Foundation!! 🧪

NSF just released its detailed budget request for next year: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

We knew it was going to be bad...and it lives up. Guts direct NSF support for a **quarter million people**

🧵 on some highlights...
May 30, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
JFC
May 30, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
see link for public comment in the article on the proposed policy open until 23 May…“the purpose of Schedule F is to permanently instill the degree of political control over science fueling the sense of fear that pervades those agencies now” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Institutionalizing politicized science
The opening months of the Trump administration represent a historic disruption to America’s scientific agencies. Staff have been fired or reassigned in the name of efficiency, resulting in chaos. Gran...
www.science.org
May 12, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Jim Dalling
FYI: The Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have collaborated to offer $25K rapid response grants.

"This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program
In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...
www.spencer.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:16 PM
The 15% IDC for new NSF grants might be moot. With a 50% budget cut, and existing funding obligations, there may not be any money for new grants anyway.
May 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM