Stephen Heard
@stephenbheard.bsky.social
Evolutionary ecologist & Boggle aficionado. Author: The Scientist's Guide to Writing; Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider. He/him.
Blog and book links: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
Blog and book links: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Jeremy Fox has a new book out, 'The Ecology of Ecologists'. What's that about, and should you read it? (Quick answers: how ecology's chaos of approaches is a feature, not a bug; and YES.) scientistseessquirre... 🌍🧪
‘The Ecology of Ecologists’: what, if anything, is ecology? (book review)
What, if anything, is ecology? You would think I’d know that – I’ve been a practicing (academic) ecologist for about 40 years. But I don’t. Sure, I know some stuff. I know that ecology isn’t the sa…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Jeremy Fox has a new book out, 'The Ecology of Ecologists'. What's that about, and should you read it? (Quick answers: how ecology's chaos of approaches is a feature, not a bug; and YES.) scientistseessquirre... 🌍🧪
Some folks think that if we preprint papers, then double-blind review is pointless. Here @comecology.bsky.social argues that even if double-blind can't be an impermeable shield, it's still worthwhile as a compass: www.oikosjournal.org/blog/view-ed...
View from the editor's desk - Where is double-blind review headed in the age of preprints? | Oikos Journal
www.oikosjournal.org
February 18, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Some folks think that if we preprint papers, then double-blind review is pointless. Here @comecology.bsky.social argues that even if double-blind can't be an impermeable shield, it's still worthwhile as a compass: www.oikosjournal.org/blog/view-ed...
Reposted by Stephen Heard
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
I’m constantly astounded at the sheer level of artistic production coming out of Iceland. Novels, movies, music. Amazing.
February 18, 2026 at 2:23 PM
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
I know my high school home number and the 1980s Toronto Pizza Pizza one (catchy jingle for the latter). I had to ask my son the other day what his cell number is. So I'm right there with you.
February 18, 2026 at 12:12 AM
I know my high school home number and the 1980s Toronto Pizza Pizza one (catchy jingle for the latter). I had to ask my son the other day what his cell number is. So I'm right there with you.
I can help with this, Nautilus. It's the bit in the white circle.
(Seriously: some scorpions are "deadly". Many are not. All scorpions are cool. So: admire, but with respect. And lose the sensationalist headline.)
(Seriously: some scorpions are "deadly". Many are not. All scorpions are cool. So: admire, but with respect. And lose the sensationalist headline.)
February 17, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I can help with this, Nautilus. It's the bit in the white circle.
(Seriously: some scorpions are "deadly". Many are not. All scorpions are cool. So: admire, but with respect. And lose the sensationalist headline.)
(Seriously: some scorpions are "deadly". Many are not. All scorpions are cool. So: admire, but with respect. And lose the sensationalist headline.)
Troll sighting!! 🤣
February 17, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Troll sighting!! 🤣
And the set of people who infer DIFFERENT meanings, that you did not intend, is similar if not bigger....
February 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
And the set of people who infer DIFFERENT meanings, that you did not intend, is similar if not bigger....
Yeah, the problem is that the "implication of a deliberate decision or effort to employ something for a practical purpose" has already been lost. In practice, the set of people who infer that meaning, if you try to use it that way, is small.
February 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Yeah, the problem is that the "implication of a deliberate decision or effort to employ something for a practical purpose" has already been lost. In practice, the set of people who infer that meaning, if you try to use it that way, is small.
Yeah, emphasis on "rare" - most meaning-based arguments for "utilize" don't hold up, because it does not in fact mean the (many distinct) things people seem to think it means! But there are a still a few times I'd hold my fire: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/l...
(Limited) use-cases for “utilize”
Warning: if you had your fill of ‘use’ vs. ‘utilize’ last week, I won’t blame you for clicking away. Here, this post is kind of fun and I promise it’s not about semantics. Last week I let myself ra…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Yeah, emphasis on "rare" - most meaning-based arguments for "utilize" don't hold up, because it does not in fact mean the (many distinct) things people seem to think it means! But there are a still a few times I'd hold my fire: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/l...
If there is one soap box I'd like to endorse with all my writing soul, IT'S THIS ONE.
Don't utilize "utilize". Use "use".
February 17, 2026 at 1:05 PM
If there is one soap box I'd like to endorse with all my writing soul, IT'S THIS ONE.
Jeremy Fox has a new book out, 'The Ecology of Ecologists'. What's that about, and should you read it? (Quick answers: how ecology's chaos of approaches is a feature, not a bug; and YES.) scientistseessquirre... 🌍🧪
‘The Ecology of Ecologists’: what, if anything, is ecology? (book review)
What, if anything, is ecology? You would think I’d know that – I’ve been a practicing (academic) ecologist for about 40 years. But I don’t. Sure, I know some stuff. I know that ecology isn’t the sa…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Jeremy Fox has a new book out, 'The Ecology of Ecologists'. What's that about, and should you read it? (Quick answers: how ecology's chaos of approaches is a feature, not a bug; and YES.) scientistseessquirre... 🌍🧪
Reposted by Stephen Heard
From Chris Borkent: Fellow Dipterists/systematists/ecologists: Agri./Agri-Food Canada plans to eliminate the Diptera Unit at the Canadian National Collection of Insects. Dr. Art Borkent has prepared an open letter to support keeping the unit open. To sign, please read & follow the instructions here.
February 11, 2026 at 4:53 PM
From Chris Borkent: Fellow Dipterists/systematists/ecologists: Agri./Agri-Food Canada plans to eliminate the Diptera Unit at the Canadian National Collection of Insects. Dr. Art Borkent has prepared an open letter to support keeping the unit open. To sign, please read & follow the instructions here.
Today's project: help run the Wostawea X-country ski loppet. Beautiful day, sunny with temps near zero; almost 200 skiers; and tons of fun. Killarney Lake Park, Fredericton, NB.
February 16, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Today's project: help run the Wostawea X-country ski loppet. Beautiful day, sunny with temps near zero; almost 200 skiers; and tons of fun. Killarney Lake Park, Fredericton, NB.
Not one of these "vintage" phones is as old as the black rotary-dial beast I grew up using.
Ouch.
Ouch.
February 15, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Not one of these "vintage" phones is as old as the black rotary-dial beast I grew up using.
Ouch.
Ouch.
I've just learned that the genus name for sandflies (those little ankle-biting bastards so common at the beach) is 'Phlebotomus' and that's just about perfect.
February 15, 2026 at 2:50 PM
I've just learned that the genus name for sandflies (those little ankle-biting bastards so common at the beach) is 'Phlebotomus' and that's just about perfect.
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Amazing story of a moth once thought extinct being recorded in the wild after 150 years!
This story shows the power of platforms like #inaturalist and the value of a #bioblitz, with this moth recorded during the Great Southern BioBlitz 2021 @gsbioblitz.bsky.social
#mothsmatter #inverts #bugsky
This story shows the power of platforms like #inaturalist and the value of a #bioblitz, with this moth recorded during the Great Southern BioBlitz 2021 @gsbioblitz.bsky.social
#mothsmatter #inverts #bugsky
An emerald-green moth missing for nearly 150 years has been rediscovered in South Africa.
Photos posted online confirmed the survival of Drepanogynis insciata, once known only from 1870s specimens — highlighting the power of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist.
Photos posted online confirmed the survival of Drepanogynis insciata, once known only from 1870s specimens — highlighting the power of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist.
Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth
A strikingly handsome emerald-green moth, lost to science for nearly one-and-a-half centuries, has been rediscovered in South Africa by citizen scientists who posted photographs of it online. The…
news.mongabay.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Amazing story of a moth once thought extinct being recorded in the wild after 150 years!
This story shows the power of platforms like #inaturalist and the value of a #bioblitz, with this moth recorded during the Great Southern BioBlitz 2021 @gsbioblitz.bsky.social
#mothsmatter #inverts #bugsky
This story shows the power of platforms like #inaturalist and the value of a #bioblitz, with this moth recorded during the Great Southern BioBlitz 2021 @gsbioblitz.bsky.social
#mothsmatter #inverts #bugsky
Reposted by Stephen Heard
This #paleoart shows 3 views of the Devonian brachiopod fossil Paraspirifer bownockeri; one is reconstructed w/ some epifauna and boreholes. These are fun to find; they're an impressive size (for brachiopods). I had an excellent specimen to use as a reference for this painting.
#FossilFriday #sciart
#FossilFriday #sciart
February 21, 2025 at 7:01 PM
This #paleoart shows 3 views of the Devonian brachiopod fossil Paraspirifer bownockeri; one is reconstructed w/ some epifauna and boreholes. These are fun to find; they're an impressive size (for brachiopods). I had an excellent specimen to use as a reference for this painting.
#FossilFriday #sciart
#FossilFriday #sciart
Reposted by Stephen Heard
A piece of Glossopteris leaf from the late Permian of Antarctica ~260 million years old 🌳⛏️. Broken but showing nice detail of the veination. Glossopterids are seed plants that were found on all of today's southern continents during the Permian. Happy #FossilFriday! #paleobotany #botany
February 13, 2026 at 2:40 PM
A piece of Glossopteris leaf from the late Permian of Antarctica ~260 million years old 🌳⛏️. Broken but showing nice detail of the veination. Glossopterids are seed plants that were found on all of today's southern continents during the Permian. Happy #FossilFriday! #paleobotany #botany
Hope you find it useful!!
February 13, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Hope you find it useful!!
And my favourite
February 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM
And my favourite
Fifth and last day of the latest iteration of my intensive Scientific Writing course! A lot of my title slides have lame visual jokes - I always appreciate it when the students gamely pretend that they're hilarious🤣
scientistseessquirre... 🧪
scientistseessquirre... 🧪
February 13, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Fifth and last day of the latest iteration of my intensive Scientific Writing course! A lot of my title slides have lame visual jokes - I always appreciate it when the students gamely pretend that they're hilarious🤣
scientistseessquirre... 🧪
scientistseessquirre... 🧪
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Is this the shortest ever scientific paper? @stephenbheard.bsky.social manages to extend it into a 1400-word blog post with the story behind it.
On a two-word scientific paper, and a fascinating (heated) exchange
I’ve blogged before about the shortest scientific papers. Very short papers (a handful to a few dozen words) are usually amusing, but they’re often not very effective at communication. But I’ve jus…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Is this the shortest ever scientific paper? @stephenbheard.bsky.social manages to extend it into a 1400-word blog post with the story behind it.
betterposters.blogspot.com, courtesy of @doctorzen.net
Better Posters
A blog to improve poster presentations.
betterposters.blogspot.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:41 PM
betterposters.blogspot.com, courtesy of @doctorzen.net
In honour of idiots with lasers shooting down party balloons: let us enjoy some (relevant) art.
youtu.be/s4KWQWkJeK8
youtu.be/s4KWQWkJeK8
99 Red Balloons + Take On Me Mashup // POMPLAMOOSE
YouTube video by PomplamooseMusic
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM
In honour of idiots with lasers shooting down party balloons: let us enjoy some (relevant) art.
youtu.be/s4KWQWkJeK8
youtu.be/s4KWQWkJeK8