Anthony Ricciardi | Lightnews

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 15h

Quote: "Muntjac deer were imported into Britain by Herbrand Russell, the 11th Duke of Bedford, during the late Victorian period for his private collection.

The 11th Duke also helped to introduce grey squirrels, which have devastated the red squirrel population."
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

Turtle doves threatened with extinction as invading deer destroy hedgerows

Rise in number of 20-inch tall animal is fuelling decline of bird species, report warns

www.telegraph.co.uk

Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · 2d

Island land snails have experienced dramatic extinction rates, particularly in the Pacific, with habitat loss and invasive species driving declines; conservation efforts are underway to protect remaining diversity. doi.org/hbmw8n

The devastation of island land snails: Pacific leads global wave of extinctions, researchers find

A comprehensive new review paper reveals the staggering loss of biodiversity among island land snails globally. Lead author Robert Cowie of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and co-authors note that "devastation" is not a hyperbolic term, pointing out that extinction rates on high volcanic islands commonly range from 30% to as high as 80%.

phys.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 3d

Support for both the diversity-resistance and diversity-productivity hypotheses.

Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · 3d

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant performance and the suppression of antagonists 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production - Nature Ecology & Evolution

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant ...

www.nature.com

Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · 3d

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant performance and the suppression of antagonists 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production - Nature Ecology & Evolution

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant ...

www.nature.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

nunatsiaq.com/stories/arti...

Disappearing walrus, new invasive species: Inuit discuss impacts of Arctic shipping

Updated Jan. 15 at 11:50 a.m. ET Some Inuit are calling for the collection of baseline data to get a better sense of how Arctic shipping affects marine mammals.

nunatsiaq.com

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 4d

There is a cost to science denial.

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

From the UK govt: national security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse & national security, showing how "environmental degradation can disrupt food, water, health and supply chains, and trigger wider geopolitical instability." assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0e...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

Quote: “Ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse."

Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 5d

Writing with @rupertread.bsky.social about just how devastating the Government- suppressed security report is, particularly its conclusions about our food insecurity. Ministers should be helping to build our resilience to these threats, not burying the report that contains them 👇

It's ecological breakdown that should put us on a war-footing: official

Admissions of extreme, eco-caused national security threats foreground importance of climate adaptation to bring much needed urgency and agency.

www.resilience.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

Very glad to have a copy of Dan Simberloff's latest book - his magnum opus.

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 4d

thedebrief.org/global-study...

Global Study Finds Invasive Species Are Helping Drive Sharp Insect Losses

A recent global analysis shows that invasive alien species are linked to significant declines in insect populations and diversity worldwide.

thedebrief.org

Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 5d

Writing with @rupertread.bsky.social about just how devastating the Government- suppressed security report is, particularly its conclusions about our food insecurity. Ministers should be helping to build our resilience to these threats, not burying the report that contains them 👇

It's ecological breakdown that should put us on a war-footing: official

Admissions of extreme, eco-caused national security threats foreground importance of climate adaptation to bring much needed urgency and agency.

www.resilience.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 5d

Batesian mimicry.

DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 6d

Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production | Nature Ecology & Evolution share.google/cvA7CqS1EB1z...

Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production - Nature Ecology & Evolution

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant ...

share.google

Ng Ting Hui @siputairtawar.bsky.social · 6d

David Dudgeon & Jia Huan Liew (2026) Welcome to the Homogenocene? Trajectories of change in global #freshwater #fish biodiversity during the Anthropocene: evidence from tropical East Asia
🔓 via Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci @royalsocietypublishing.org doi.org/10.1098/rstb... #BioInvasions 🧪🌏🐟

Welcome to the Homogenocene? Trajectories of change in global freshwater fish biodiversity during the Anthropocene: evidence from tropical East Asia

Abstract. Interactions between climate change and anthropogenic stressors such as poor water quality and habitat degradation have had deleterious consequen

doi.org

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 6d

Same here. I strongly discourage any student/early career scientist from publishing in journals like MDPI and FrontiersIn. It will only taint their CV.

Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 6d

True, very true. That is why I will have nothing to do with MDPI, Frontiers and Hindawi. Quote: "Now, even the most mediocre researchers receive a flood of invitations to edit one of these countless special issues, which have become a multi-million dollar business" 🧪

Elisabeth Bik @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 6d

Thousands of scientists inflate their CVs with self-published studies that cost millions of dollars of public money
1 in 8 'special issues' is filled with articles written by the editor, particularly at the publisher MDPI
@manuelansede.bsky.social
english.elpais.com/science-tech...

Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 6d

True, very true. That is why I will have nothing to do with MDPI, Frontiers and Hindawi. Quote: "Now, even the most mediocre researchers receive a flood of invitations to edit one of these countless special issues, which have become a multi-million dollar business" 🧪

Elisabeth Bik @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 6d

Thousands of scientists inflate their CVs with self-published studies that cost millions of dollars of public money
1 in 8 'special issues' is filled with articles written by the editor, particularly at the publisher MDPI
@manuelansede.bsky.social
english.elpais.com/science-tech...

Thousands of scientists inflate their CVs with self-published studies that cost millions of dollars of public money

An analysis of 100,000 special issues of academic journals reveals that one in eight is filled with articles written by the editor, particularly at the publisher MDPI

english.elpais.com

Elisabeth Bik @elisabethbik.bsky.social · 6d

Thousands of scientists inflate their CVs with self-published studies that cost millions of dollars of public money
1 in 8 'special issues' is filled with articles written by the editor, particularly at the publisher MDPI
@manuelansede.bsky.social
english.elpais.com/science-tech...

Thousands of scientists inflate their CVs with self-published studies that cost millions of dollars of public money

An analysis of 100,000 special issues of academic journals reveals that one in eight is filled with articles written by the editor, particularly at the publisher MDPI

english.elpais.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 6d

The question is whether marketing invasive species as a food delicacy will ultimately suppress/control them - or will it create perverse incentives to cultivate & distribute them.

How do you convince the public that a species should be removed after giving it value?
www.popsci.com/environment/...

Should you eat invasive species? We asked an ecologist.

Tuck into some kudzu dip or feral hog sausage—they're delicious and good for the planet.

www.popsci.com

Orion Magazine @orionmagazine.bsky.social · 7d

From our Winter issue CRYPTIDS, @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's takedown of Bigfoot and love letter to bears, birds, and other (real) wonders of the natural world.
orionmagazine.org/article/bigf...

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 8d

Quote: "Some have argued the impact of introduced species has been overstated, and that introduced species should be seen as a legitimate part of Australia’s ecosystems. Scientific evidence and conservation outcomes do not support this."
theconversation.com/yes-feral-ca...

Yes, feral cats and foxes really have driven many Australian mammals to extinction

Decades of evidence link foxes and feral cats with extinctions of Australian mammals. Claims these introduced predators aren’t responsible don’t stack up.

theconversation.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 8d

Most/all of these are quagga mussels.

Skittles @skittlesmom.bsky.social · 12d

January 2025, shells on Lake Michigan shore.

Tim Blackburn @mothyblackburn.bsky.social · 8d

On the subject of penguins and madness, did you know that 9 King Penguins were released in 1936 in Arctic Norway by the Norwegian Nature Protection Society? At least a couple possibly survived until 1944. So for a brief period Polar Bears and penguins could in theory have met. #biologicalinvasions

Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 8d

One of the things we need to restore as a society is a sense of responsibility to each other. You don't get to act on your own feelings and preferences if doing so is irresponsible and causes harm to someone else. You need to get vaxxed. You need to vote for the non-MAGA candidate. And so on.

Rejecting Decades of Science, Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional

www.nytimes.com

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 8d

The color drained from Scott Fisher's face when a member of the Maui Invasive Species Committee told him a little red fire ant had been found at Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on the island's north shore.

Little fire ant invasion has reached a tipping point on Maui

The color drained from Scott Fisher’s face when a member of the Maui Invasive Species Committee told him a little red fire ant had been found at Waihe‘e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on the island’s north shore.

bit.ly

Michael Le Page @mjflepage.bsky.social · 9d

Two very problematic crop pests have interbred in Brazil to create hybrids that could be even more problematic 🧪

If soya farmers in Brazil fall behind in this arms race, there could be knock-on effect on food prices worldwide

www.newscientist.com/article/2512...

Hybrid megapests evolving in Brazil are a threat to crops worldwide

Two extremely damaging crop pests have interbred to create hybrids resistant to more than one pesticide that could cause serious problems in many countries

www.newscientist.com

Alberto Pastor 🦔 @titoalpastor.bsky.social · 9d

"The Fiji iguanas stand apart, marooned in the Pacific. Four species live on Fiji and Tonga, all listed as endangered because of habitat destruction, invasive rats, and illegal exploitation for the pet trade."
🏝️🦎🌏 #FijiIguanas #Evolution #Travel #Biology #Wildlife #Nature #AmazingCritters

Iguanas traveled 5,000 miles from North America to Fiji

At some point after approximately 34 million years ago, the ancestors of the Fiji iguanas arrived on the South Pacific islands.

www.earth.com

Dan Quintana @dsquintana.bsky.social · 9d

AI slop is everywhere in scientific publishing, we’re only catching the easy-to-detect stuff (like when you happen to peer review a manuscript with a AI-hallucinated reference of a paper you apparently wrote)

www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...

Science Is Drowning in AI Slop

Peer review has met its match.

www.theatlantic.com

au-nb.bsky.social @au-nb.bsky.social · 9d

Cats and foxes did it. Leading Scientists refute “Invasive Species Denialism,” reaffirming introduced predators as a major cause of mammal extinctions

https://www.newsbeep.com/au/431553/

It follows a scientific uproar over a widely publicised and controversial 2025 paper in BioScience by Dr …

Cats and foxes did it. Leading Scientists refute “Invasive Species Denialism,” reaffirming introduced predators as a major cause of mammal extinctions - Australia News Beep

It follows a scientific uproar over a widely publicised and controversial 2025 paper in BioScience by Dr Arian Wallach (QUT) and Dr Erick Lundgren (University

www.newsbeep.com

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 9d

Greenland, a fragile ecosystem...

"A new invasive species in sight!"

"Which one?"

"A big orange pig!"

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 9d

Quote: "The real choice is between directly killing a nonnative predator and sentencing many more native animals to die because the nonnative predators are left alive."

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 9d

Science denialism called out. "We refute a recent article (Wallach and Lundgren 2025) that discounted the role of introduced predators (domestic cat & red fox) in the extinctions of Australian mammal fauna, finding fault in its premises, analyses, data & conclusions" academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

Investigating the Causes of an Extinction Catastrophe: Controlling Introduced Predators Remains Essential for Conserving Australia’s Mammals

Abstract. At least 40 Australian mammal spcies have been driven to extinction since European colonization in 1788. For conservation management to be effect

academic.oup.com

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