James Bullock
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jmbecologist.bsky.social
James Bullock
@jmbecologist.bsky.social

Applied ecologist working on the ecological emergency

Studying ecosystem restoration, rewilding, dispersal, spatial ecology, ecosystem services, agro-ecology, global change. Views are my own & personal/unofficial

Environmental science 56%
Agriculture 16%
Pinned
PhD opportunity!

Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change

But how do we measure & conserve these processes?

This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com

“There’s no evidence that Maduro heads a drug trafficking empire

Not least because the US’s own Drug Enforcement Agency shows that zero fentanyl arrives to the US via Venezuela

But it doesn’t matter - even the pretence of legality in this new era is no longer necessary”
newint.org/war-and-peac...
Is Venezuela a glimpse of the future?
Donald Trump’s military aggression in South America and the Caribbean is another chapter in a new age of impunity.
newint.org
Spray paint a plane and they'll detain you without trial and call you a terrorist.

Kidnap a foreign head of state - and Keir Starmer will make it clear we've played no part in it but will wait for the scheduled press conference in a few hours before potentially condemning it
Whatever you might think of Maduro, the seizure and kidnapping of a head of state takes us to a very dark place. Vast, arbitrary, extra-legal power, which could be exercised almost anywhere, regardless of the character of the target government.
Trump just kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela

Reposted by Ingolf Kühn

I wonder how many of us quietly deplore the massive use of fireworks, eg, on New Year’s Eve?

Not only terrifying pets - they cause huge disturbance to wild animals

This paper found 1000 times more birds in flight on NYE than on other nights
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Fireworks disturbance across bird communities
Fireworks are important elements of celebrations globally, but little is known about their effects on wildlife. The synchronized and extraordinary use of fireworks on New Year's Eve triggers strong f...
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Strangely, tech bros & private finance will not solve the ecological crisis

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Message this page or email xrwimborne@gmail.com

Everyone is welcome. You don’t need to stand out in front wearing a pink hazmat, many roles are available

#extinctionrebellion
#wimborne #XRWimborne

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Governments don’t act because they suddenly “see the light”. They act when the national conversation shifts and public pressure becomes impossible to ignore.

That’s why we need more people to step up, speak out, act together.

👉 Join us. Be part of changing the story and forcing real action.

Reposted by James M. Bullock

This moment matters and YOU can be part of changing the story.

The climate and nature crises aren’t distant problems but existential threats to our health, food, communities and future generations.

There can be a tendency to argue non-natives are invasive & causing harm just because they are somewhat common

We need to think about non- natives in a nuanced way

For example, the sycamore, once denounced as an invasive, now suggested as a potential stand in for the declining ash

“De-extinction can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation”

You know de-extinction is a terrible idea when the Trump administration backs it
(quote is from his interior secretary)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com

“Animal sentience is more widespread than once believed

All vertebrates & invertebrates such as cephalopods & crustaceans are recognised as experiencing feelings like pain & distress”

An issue for conservation, which usually focuses on populations & not individuals
wildlife.org.au/why-sentienc...
More than instinct: Why sentience matters in wildlife conservation | Wildlife Queensland
wildlife.org.au

Fair points both, but neither justify such simplistic reporting in the media

That is often said, but also I see lots of complacency out there, partly fed by the message not being harsh enough

It’s never too late, but we need a massive effort. There is a fine line between positive messaging & complacency

Hoping 2026 will see an end to journals doing desk rejects

followed by an offer to transfer to sister journals that have just been launched

Cynical?

But the real issue, as in this piece, of confusing the public about how bad things are

(Add to this the good news stories we get about conservation ‘successes’ with little context about the larger downward trends that dominate)

I never see the point of reporting annual fluctuations in birds, butterflies, etc

driven, especially, by weather patterns

These are largely irrelevant in considering long term trends

Yet NGOs keep reporting them , and the media keeps on publishing the stories
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK’s warmest spring on record led to rise in songbirds breeding, data shows
Dry and warm 2025 spring gave glimmer of hope for threatened wild birds but many remain in long-term decline
www.theguardian.com
New Year, new book project.
@martamaziarz.bsky.social & I are writing a new Poyser monograph for @chiffchat.bsky.social on everyone's favourite forest songster: the Wood Warbler.
Decades of long-term studies from across Europe, including our own in Białowieża Forest.
#NatureWriting #Ornithology

Reposted by James M. Bullock

✨LOCAL GROUPS ROUND UP

Time to close the door on 2025 & celebrate everything we achieved this year

2026 will bring new opportunities to get together, build communities & spread our love for our beautiful planet and all living beings 💚

WE HAVE THREE DEMANDS: Tell The Truth|Act Now|Decide Together
This year has been brutal for the #climate movement.

Rollbacks, repression, & outright denial, especially in the US, have made progress feel fragile & uneven.

Which is exactly why it matters to pause & look back at what did move forward in 2025.

Here are 12 real wins 🏆, one for each month 🧵⬇️

And academics can be at the forefront of reducing flying

Do you really need to go to that conference, meeting, etc? If so, do you really need to fly?
#flightfree2026
Here's hoping 2026 brings a cultural shift. De-prioritise airports, speed, convenience --> prioritise health, joy and nature. Help us get there by signing the #flightfree2026 pledge on our website 💙

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Here's hoping 2026 brings a cultural shift. De-prioritise airports, speed, convenience --> prioritise health, joy and nature. Help us get there by signing the #flightfree2026 pledge on our website 💙

Changed from the Torygraph to the Tommygraph?

The Telegraph was accidentally delivered today instead of The Guardian

Quite remarkable how the The Telegraph pursues its portrayal of Labour as lefties hellbent on radical change

If only…
Hard hitting piece by @rupertread.bsky.social on the dangers of “climate optimism” - at least 30 years of failure to take the threat seriously has led to multiplying risks and locked-in harm and suffering @climatemajority.bsky.social
The end of 2025 must be the end of the inane rule of climate ‘optimism’
We should admit that widely-mandated climate optimism has been actively harmful to the needful acknowledgement of reality - and to the active collective self-protection that we now desperately need to...
www.resilience.org

Absolutely appalling

“Use dictation in a text-editing tool to capture thoughts as you read

Feed your dictated notes into a LLM to clarify and organize your feedback. [Use] a simple prompt such as ‘Write a critical reviewer letter based on the following notes’”

Write the review yourself FFS!

Reposted by James M. Bullock

You know I suppose there's an outside chance that those people who think you have to be born in Britain to be British have not thought it through ... because they're too busy being racist to think

“A more serious abuse of scholarship, in my view, is the repeated use of the term ‘ecosystem’ for something we used to simply understand as a ‘system’

An ecosystem is defined as a biological community of interacting organisms & their physical environment”

Yes! The ‘eco’ part is there for a reason
Opinion: What kind of experience isn’t lived? Are all systems really ecosystems? Why do we keep inventing pointless new jargon, asks Ron Iphofen #academicsky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/lets-resolve-ditch-redundant-neologisms