John Powers
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jellyturtle.bsky.social
John Powers
@jellyturtle.bsky.social
Sniffing out floral scent evolution across Hawai'i and the Rockies. Environmental education is good for everyone. Find me looking for rain beetles and other critters.
Reposted by John Powers
Changes to a leaf trait due to adaptive evolution and plasticity can rescue subalpine populations from the detrimental effects of climate change
doi.org/10.1093/evle...

Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Diane R Campbell, @jellyturtle.bsky.social, and Justin Kipness

Illustration by J. Francis
September 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Take a Hawaiian plant, evolve it over millions of years of volcanoes erupting/diving under the waves...and the species that pop out attract the same moth? With different smells? That change at night? But, why don't they hybridize? And if they did, how would the hybrids smell? doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
Floral scent of artificial #hybrids between two #Schiedea species that share a #moth #pollinator

New #AJB research by John Powers, Stephen Weller, Ann Sakai & Diane Campbell

doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...

@jellyturtle.bsky.social @ucibiosci.bsky.social
July 1, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by John Powers
Check out this cool video about my rock start plant scientist colleagues and friends, Ann Sakai and Steve Weller! @UCIrvine @UCIBioSci @UCIEEBvia @YouTube

youtu.be/Y1zNfODhM4o
Team Schiedea (How to save a species from going EXTINCT) | Plants are Cool, Too
Highlighting one of the coolest and most ambitious projects in the history of rare species conservation, this episode ("Team Schiedea") takes us to Kaua'i, Hawai'i, where a group of passionate plant people are working to save some of the rarest plants on the archipelago -- and tell us why we need a new generation of biodiversity lovers to help battle the extinction crisis. Selected for inclusion in the 2022 Cinema Verde International Environmental Film and Arts Festival. [Episode shot in 2019.] @PlantsAreCoolToo Teaching topics: extinction, biodiversity conservation, rare species, conservation jobs, invasive species, island evolution, Hawaiian biodiversity Host/Producer/Writer: Chris Martine @MartineBotany Producer/Videographer/Editor/Graphics: Paul Frederick Field Producer: Tim Kramer Drone footage: Tobias Koehler Scientists featured: Ann Sakai, Stephen Weller, Steve Perlman, Lauren Weisenberger, Alex Loomis, John Powers, Warren Wagner, Mike Moore, Krissa Skogen, Norm Wickett, Ava Adler With photos by: Ken Wood, Alex Loomis, Stephen Weller, Ann Sakai Institutional affiliations: University of California, Irvine; Plant Extinction Prevention Program; National Tropical Botanical Garden; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Duke University; Chicago Botanic Garden; Oberlin College; Bucknell University; Smithsonian Institute Funding: National Science Foundation More on Ann Sakai and Stephen Weller's research: https://sakaiweller.bio.uci.edu/ More on Steve Perlman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Perlman Plant Extinction Prevention Program: http://www.pepphi.org/
youtu.be
April 2, 2025 at 2:59 AM
See you in Salem at noon! Fund weird spit!
March 7, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Sign sketch for tomorrow's science rally ... FUND WEIRD SPIT! You never know what you're going to get.
March 7, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by John Powers
📢 Only 2 days until the Stand Up For Science rally in Salem, OR! RSVP on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/myevent?eid=.... Join your fellow nerds to uphold the integrity of science, protect its accessibility, and ensure its benefits serve all people. #standupforscience @standupforscience.bsky.social
March 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Thanks ti everyone who leaned into this project and into the warming chambers!
🌼🌡️Exciting news! The newly published paper ‘Effects of experimental warming on floral scent, display, and rewards in two subalpine herbs’ in @annbot.bsky.social by Carrie Wu and co-authors is now #free for a limited time. (1/8) 
👉  botany.fyi/7O5I9O #AoBpapers
March 3, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by John Powers
Newly-described species!! 📒

Schiedea waiahuluensis (Caryophyllaceae)

Perhaps the first new species to be located, then collected by drone.

Our plant collecting drone has been a game changer for documentation and conservation of cliff flora in Hawaii.

Bonus: maybe a new insect too! 🪲
November 25, 2024 at 2:11 AM
Reposted by John Powers
In light of publication of schiedea waiahuluensis, I present Schiedea adamantis photographed with UVIVF

https://www.allforgardening.com/1067703/in-light-of-publication-of-schiedea-waiahuluensis-i-present-schiedea-adamantis-photographed-with-uvivf/

In light of publication of schiedea …
In light of publication of schiedea waiahuluensis, I present Schiedea adamantis photographed with UVIVF
In light of publication of schiedea waiahuluensis, I present Schiedea adamantis photographed with UVIVFby CPBurrowsPhoto
www.allforgardening.com
October 12, 2024 at 6:42 AM
Reposted by John Powers
My colleague Steve sent me more Schiedea seeds; and they are germinating! It’s the best news of this week, tbh.
January 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
We had the privilege of scent sampling this baddie next to the rodeo grounds! Very cute indeed.
Is it field season yet?

Pictured is a count plot for Ipomopsis polyantha, Pagosa Skyrocket. This endemic plant is restricted to mancos shale soils in Pagosa Springs, CO and is federally listed as endangered, but also?
March 3, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by John Powers
I've occasionally seen the pt elsewhere too - such as @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social - but I agree w/Celeste Davis: more understanding is needed of the performative, patriarchal masculinity that's key today: open.substack.com/pub/celestem... And to why & how masculinity could & should be different.
Why aren't we talking about the engine running our world?
It's more important than ever that we understand the drive behind the world's most powerful men.
open.substack.com
March 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by John Powers
And, my @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social-inspired op-ed is online at LNP/Lancaster Online — in print, it's alongside a piece from two geoscientists with local roots on the front page of the Sunday Perspectives section

lancasteronline.com/opinion/colu...
March 2, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by John Powers
🌸👃 #PlantReproductionWeek

Effects of experimental warming on floral scent, display, and rewards in two subalpine herbs by Carrie Wu et al. in @annbot.bsky.social

#openaccess article
👉 doi.org/n5p7

#PlantScience
February 12, 2025 at 2:22 PM