Matt Kerr
@mattkerr.bsky.social
Postdoc in @econovoau.bsky.social - diversity dynamics in novel ecosystems. Palaeo/macro-ecology.
Also chatting craft beer, tabletop gaming, and open/ethical science.
Views mine. He/him. 🐚🐟🌍
Also chatting craft beer, tabletop gaming, and open/ethical science.
Views mine. He/him. 🐚🐟🌍
Pinned
The making of novel ecosystems: A process‐based framework for measurement, analysis and application
Ecological novelty is emerging rapidly due to global change drivers such as climate shifts, species introductions, defaunation, and land-use transformation. These changes challenge how we assess, ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our new paper presents a framework for analysing the processes that generate novel ecosystems, discussing different conceptual and practical approaches across ecological disciplines. You can read it, open access, in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
New study: “Investigating Collaboration Needs in Ecological restoration.” Led by @timalamenciak.bsky.social with several @uvicenvi.bsky.social co-authors, we report on the importance of bridging the science-practice gap in restoration. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Identifying practitioner and researcher collaboration needs to improve ecosystem restoration in Canada - Socio-Ecological Practice Research
Ecological restoration practitioners should have access to relevant science on which to base their plans, and restoration researchers should ground their science in real-world needs — but the gap betw...
link.springer.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:49 PM
New study: “Investigating Collaboration Needs in Ecological restoration.” Led by @timalamenciak.bsky.social with several @uvicenvi.bsky.social co-authors, we report on the importance of bridging the science-practice gap in restoration. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
From our Chinese New Year celebration at @econovoau.bsky.social today (a little early)
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 PM
From our Chinese New Year celebration at @econovoau.bsky.social today (a little early)
Our new paper presents a framework for analysing the processes that generate novel ecosystems, discussing different conceptual and practical approaches across ecological disciplines. You can read it, open access, in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The making of novel ecosystems: A process‐based framework for measurement, analysis and application
Ecological novelty is emerging rapidly due to global change drivers such as climate shifts, species introductions, defaunation, and land-use transformation. These changes challenge how we assess, ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Our new paper presents a framework for analysing the processes that generate novel ecosystems, discussing different conceptual and practical approaches across ecological disciplines. You can read it, open access, in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
What do we want?
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The billion-dollar case for sustaining palaeontology’s digital databases - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors survey community palaeontological databases, documenting their contributions to science as well as their vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for the future of open science databas...
www.nature.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:47 AM
What do we want?
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
🚨 For those with access to collections of bird specimens: we are looking for collaborators who can quickly measure bulbuls/greenbuls (Pycnonotidae) for a project on intraspecific trait variation. We need 100s specimens measured from common species in return for co-authorship. Anyone up for it? 🧪🌐🪶
February 6, 2026 at 11:38 AM
🚨 For those with access to collections of bird specimens: we are looking for collaborators who can quickly measure bulbuls/greenbuls (Pycnonotidae) for a project on intraspecific trait variation. We need 100s specimens measured from common species in return for co-authorship. Anyone up for it? 🧪🌐🪶
Reposted by Matt Kerr
dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
dplyr 1.2.0
dplyr 1.2.0 fills in some important gaps in dplyr's API: we've added a new complement to `filter()` focused on dropping rows, and we've expanded the `case_when()` family with three new recoding and re...
tidyverse.org
February 4, 2026 at 11:39 AM
dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
For #FossilFriday I’m pleased to announce our new paper on investigating the cranial performance and evolution of feeding behavior in tyrannosauroids and other theropods. Here’s a thread on some of our major findings. #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Tyrannosaurus #Theropods
January 30, 2026 at 7:29 AM
For #FossilFriday I’m pleased to announce our new paper on investigating the cranial performance and evolution of feeding behavior in tyrannosauroids and other theropods. Here’s a thread on some of our major findings. #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Tyrannosaurus #Theropods
Reposted by Matt Kerr
The Global Ecology feed is growing fast, now >30 posts/week on large-scale biodiversity, ecosystems & conservation science 🌍🧪🦤🦑🪴🍁
Join the convo, DM @global-ecology.bsky.social to join and be added to the list of contributors !
Let’s build a community together ✨🌈💚
👉 bsky.app/profile/nmou...
Join the convo, DM @global-ecology.bsky.social to join and be added to the list of contributors !
Let’s build a community together ✨🌈💚
👉 bsky.app/profile/nmou...
January 28, 2026 at 2:11 PM
The Global Ecology feed is growing fast, now >30 posts/week on large-scale biodiversity, ecosystems & conservation science 🌍🧪🦤🦑🪴🍁
Join the convo, DM @global-ecology.bsky.social to join and be added to the list of contributors !
Let’s build a community together ✨🌈💚
👉 bsky.app/profile/nmou...
Join the convo, DM @global-ecology.bsky.social to join and be added to the list of contributors !
Let’s build a community together ✨🌈💚
👉 bsky.app/profile/nmou...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Are narratives of total biosphere collapse helpful?
Is ecological 'novelty' necessarily bad?
What can the past tell us about the human capacity to mould and adapt to future conditions?
Red more in our new paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
🌏🧪🌐
Is ecological 'novelty' necessarily bad?
What can the past tell us about the human capacity to mould and adapt to future conditions?
Red more in our new paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
🌏🧪🌐
Life on New Earth: biodiversity change and humanity in a novel future
Abstract. Accounting for ecological novelty, gains and past human experiences through social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) can help society navig
doi.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Are narratives of total biosphere collapse helpful?
Is ecological 'novelty' necessarily bad?
What can the past tell us about the human capacity to mould and adapt to future conditions?
Red more in our new paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
🌏🧪🌐
Is ecological 'novelty' necessarily bad?
What can the past tell us about the human capacity to mould and adapt to future conditions?
Red more in our new paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
🌏🧪🌐
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Our new paper is online! We found that 1) today's shark & ray diversity was already reached ~100Ma; 2) that the K/Pg extinction was not catastrophic; 3) that the max diversity was reached ~50Ma; and 4) that today's diversity is depleted compared to the past.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Revealing the hidden patterns of shark and ray diversity over the past 145 million years
Gardiner et al. reconstruct the diversity of sharks and rays across the past 145 million
years using deep learning and an extensive dataset. Their results unveil previously
hidden patterns, including ...
www.cell.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Our new paper is online! We found that 1) today's shark & ray diversity was already reached ~100Ma; 2) that the K/Pg extinction was not catastrophic; 3) that the max diversity was reached ~50Ma; and 4) that today's diversity is depleted compared to the past.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Reposted by Matt Kerr
We are recruiting a Postdoc in computational biology, together with @mariasecrier.bsky.social
4yr, fully funded by @cancerresearchuk.org, ideal for Postdocs wanting to develop their independence
Applications open now: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
4yr, fully funded by @cancerresearchuk.org, ideal for Postdocs wanting to develop their independence
Applications open now: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Description
Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...
www.imperial.ac.uk
January 21, 2026 at 12:58 PM
We are recruiting a Postdoc in computational biology, together with @mariasecrier.bsky.social
4yr, fully funded by @cancerresearchuk.org, ideal for Postdocs wanting to develop their independence
Applications open now: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
4yr, fully funded by @cancerresearchuk.org, ideal for Postdocs wanting to develop their independence
Applications open now: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
My collaborator at University of Copenhagen, Anders Garm, is looking for a 3 year postdoc to work on bioluminescence, neurobiology and ecology of ctenophores. More information here:
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
January 21, 2026 at 10:45 AM
My collaborator at University of Copenhagen, Anders Garm, is looking for a 3 year postdoc to work on bioluminescence, neurobiology and ecology of ctenophores. More information here:
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Check your class enrollment lists to see if there are any penguins taking Intro to GIS this semester.
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
January 21, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Check your class enrollment lists to see if there are any penguins taking Intro to GIS this semester.
Reposted by Matt Kerr
We knew that trees produced lots of pollen, which always biased our interpretation of the past towards truly forested landscapes. This manuscript led by @kijumil.bsky.social challenges that view!
Some exciting news! Our PhD candidate @kijumil.bsky.social just submitted his paper about the first relative pollen productivity estimates (RPPs) in the Iberian Peninsula. 🥬🌿
But, what exactly are RPPs and why are they important in palaeoecology ?
Follow through the post to find out! ⬇️
But, what exactly are RPPs and why are they important in palaeoecology ?
Follow through the post to find out! ⬇️
January 20, 2026 at 10:16 AM
We knew that trees produced lots of pollen, which always biased our interpretation of the past towards truly forested landscapes. This manuscript led by @kijumil.bsky.social challenges that view!
Just a reminder to follow and share our ECR Biogeography starter pack - and if you've already followed, double check you haven't missed any recent additions!
It was great to meet so many other Early Career Researchers at our #TIBS2026 mixer last night - both catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
January 19, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Just a reminder to follow and share our ECR Biogeography starter pack - and if you've already followed, double check you haven't missed any recent additions!
Reposted by Matt Kerr
If you’re interested in extinction risk, please check out our new paper in @science.org led by my former PhD student Cooper: www.science.org/doi/full/10....
January 16, 2026 at 9:39 AM
If you’re interested in extinction risk, please check out our new paper in @science.org led by my former PhD student Cooper: www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Matt Kerr
"Ecological Forecasting" - the new Master of Science study program at the University of Bayreuth www.uni-bayreuth.de/en/master/ec...
Ecological Forecasting, Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Ob Bachelor-, Master-, Lehramt- oder Jura-Studium: An der Uni Bayreuth findest du sicher den passenden Studiengang.
www.uni-bayreuth.de
January 13, 2026 at 8:02 AM
"Ecological Forecasting" - the new Master of Science study program at the University of Bayreuth www.uni-bayreuth.de/en/master/ec...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
It was great to meet so many other Early Career Researchers at our #TIBS2026 mixer last night - both catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
January 8, 2026 at 1:02 PM
It was great to meet so many other Early Career Researchers at our #TIBS2026 mixer last night - both catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
To celebrate all the ECR Biogeographers, we have created a starter pack so you can follow all the exciting work being done:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
Reposted by Matt Kerr
🚨 New paper!🚨
Our postdoc @atengstedt.bsky.social and colleagues just published a PNAS study presenting a genomics‑informed framework for deciding when genetic rescue is likely to work🌱
Even moderate genomic data can give conservation teams the confidence they need to act faster and smarter!💡
Our postdoc @atengstedt.bsky.social and colleagues just published a PNAS study presenting a genomics‑informed framework for deciding when genetic rescue is likely to work🌱
Even moderate genomic data can give conservation teams the confidence they need to act faster and smarter!💡
January 12, 2026 at 11:59 AM
🚨 New paper!🚨
Our postdoc @atengstedt.bsky.social and colleagues just published a PNAS study presenting a genomics‑informed framework for deciding when genetic rescue is likely to work🌱
Even moderate genomic data can give conservation teams the confidence they need to act faster and smarter!💡
Our postdoc @atengstedt.bsky.social and colleagues just published a PNAS study presenting a genomics‑informed framework for deciding when genetic rescue is likely to work🌱
Even moderate genomic data can give conservation teams the confidence they need to act faster and smarter!💡
Reposted by Matt Kerr
As we get into the final parts of the amazing meeting that #TIBS2026 was, a reminder to follow and share the starter pack for ECRs in Biogeography:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
January 9, 2026 at 2:07 PM
As we get into the final parts of the amazing meeting that #TIBS2026 was, a reminder to follow and share the starter pack for ECRs in Biogeography:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Heja #tibs2026 @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social , if you need good Indie music for your hopefully successful but surely long trip home, I recommend (my band):
WAL (German for whale) - atmospheric,epic & powerful IndieRock
We're on all platforms:
Http://wal.band
open.spotify.com/artist/6HFBs...
WAL (German for whale) - atmospheric,epic & powerful IndieRock
We're on all platforms:
Http://wal.band
open.spotify.com/artist/6HFBs...
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
January 10, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Heja #tibs2026 @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social , if you need good Indie music for your hopefully successful but surely long trip home, I recommend (my band):
WAL (German for whale) - atmospheric,epic & powerful IndieRock
We're on all platforms:
Http://wal.band
open.spotify.com/artist/6HFBs...
WAL (German for whale) - atmospheric,epic & powerful IndieRock
We're on all platforms:
Http://wal.band
open.spotify.com/artist/6HFBs...
Reposted by Matt Kerr
⏩️❓️‼️ If you have your biogeography research to be published, there is the perfect journal with an impact factor of 2.5 & being led & driven by a great society @biogeography.bsky.social🎉‼️⏪️
❤️FRONTIERS OF BIOGEOGRAPHY❤️
biogeography.pensoft.net
#tibs2026 #macroecology @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social
❤️FRONTIERS OF BIOGEOGRAPHY❤️
biogeography.pensoft.net
#tibs2026 #macroecology @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social
Frontiers of Biogeography
Launched to support biogeographic researchFrontiers of Biogeography (FoB) is the scientific journal of The International Biogeography Society (TIBS, biogeography.org), a not-for-profit orga...
biogeography.pensoft.net
January 9, 2026 at 3:52 PM
⏩️❓️‼️ If you have your biogeography research to be published, there is the perfect journal with an impact factor of 2.5 & being led & driven by a great society @biogeography.bsky.social🎉‼️⏪️
❤️FRONTIERS OF BIOGEOGRAPHY❤️
biogeography.pensoft.net
#tibs2026 #macroecology @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social
❤️FRONTIERS OF BIOGEOGRAPHY❤️
biogeography.pensoft.net
#tibs2026 #macroecology @tibsaarhus2026.bsky.social
As we get into the final parts of the amazing meeting that #TIBS2026 was, a reminder to follow and share the starter pack for ECRs in Biogeography:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
January 9, 2026 at 2:07 PM
As we get into the final parts of the amazing meeting that #TIBS2026 was, a reminder to follow and share the starter pack for ECRs in Biogeography:
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
go.bsky.app/KvnmdnK
And a reminder to check it again, as we've had many new additions over the conference.
See you all at the dinner!
Reposted by Matt Kerr
Had some great discussion at my poster at #TIBS2026 on our recent paper on climate change impacts on malaria vector mosquitoes. Thanks everyone who dropped by!
It'll still be up for a couple of hours at poster number 2026 (I know - what are the odds?)
It'll still be up for a couple of hours at poster number 2026 (I know - what are the odds?)
January 9, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Had some great discussion at my poster at #TIBS2026 on our recent paper on climate change impacts on malaria vector mosquitoes. Thanks everyone who dropped by!
It'll still be up for a couple of hours at poster number 2026 (I know - what are the odds?)
It'll still be up for a couple of hours at poster number 2026 (I know - what are the odds?)