Tom Ezard
LightNews LightNews
banner
tomezard.bsky.social
Tom Ezard
@tomezard.bsky.social
570 followers 430 following 28 posts
Evolutionary Ecology via computer vision, machine learning, geochemistry, maths, stats and systematics in Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton. https://tomezard.github.io/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Tom Ezard
mothyblackburn.bsky.social
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
January 24, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
sabifo4.bsky.social
Applications to join the Computational Approaches to Early Evolution workshop are still accepted! Do not miss your chance to attend this event full of discussions on the computational methods for studying early life! 🦠💻🧬

forms.oist.jp/form/computa...
January 16, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
jboyko.bsky.social
When @omearabrian.bsky.social saw the manuscript, he described it as: ‘What if this figure could be an entire paper?’

I choose to interpret that as high praise.

Now accepted at AmNat: The geometry of macroevolution (with Dan Rabosky). www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
January 17, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
aadineen.bsky.social
Collaborate with me! Myself and @peterroopnarine.bsky.social are looking for a postdoc with expertise in quantitative paleoecology to work on our new NSF grant addressing whether communities after the PTME functioned differently than those beforehand.

job-boards.greenhouse.io/californiaac...
Postdoctoral Researcher, Paleontology
San Francisco, CA
job-boards.greenhouse.io
January 16, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
erictleung.bsky.social
still one of the best explanations of principal component analysis (pca), explained at different levels from layman to the more math inclined stats.stackexchange.com/a/140579/132...
Making sense of principal component analysis, eigenvectors & eigenvalues
In today's pattern recognition class my professor talked about PCA, eigenvectors and eigenvalues. I understood the mathematics of it. If I'm asked to find eigenvalues etc. I'll do it correctly li...
stats.stackexchange.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
besmacro.bsky.social
Are you into macroecology and/or macroevolution? Want to make our field a better place?

Please consider joining the BES Macro SIG Committee! We're currently recruiting for a vice chair and ordinary member(s).

More info and how to apply (deadline Jan 20th!): mcusercontent.com/a9537304d9bd...
a screenshot of a flyer about the BES Macro SIG -- there's a meandering river, pink 'British Ecological Society' branding, and the title 'BES Macro Group Volunteer Opportunities'
January 12, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
unisouthampton.bsky.social
Congratulations to Professor John Marshall on his Polar Medal, recognising his decades of research in the harsh polar regions.

Awarded by His Majesty King Charles III to those who have made outstanding achievements in polar research.

Find out more: www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2026/01...
Professor John Marshall, in outdoor attire, operates a power drill on a rocky, barren mountainside. He wears a dark hat, glasses, and has a gray beard. The terrain is steep with loose dirt and stones. Two people in bright orange survival suits and life jackets are on a small inflatable boat. They are navigating icy waters, with icebergs visible in the background and a cloudy sky overhead. One person is handling the motor, while the other sits facing forward. Red and black tents are pitched on a snowy, rocky slope under an overcast sky. The ground is thinly covered with snow, revealing many stones. The background shows a large, snow-dusted hill. Professor John Marshal with glasses and a hat smiles at the camera while sitting beside a rocky outcrop. He is wearing a beige vest and blue sleeves. In front of him are geological tools including a hammer, measuring tape, and a notepad with notes.
January 6, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
evolodonata.ecoevo.social.ap.brid.gy
Come and join me and my colleagues at the Department of Biology, #LundUniversity in #sweden! We have am open position as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity.

Apply here no later than February 11 2026:

https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:848749/type:job/where:4/apply:1
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity
The Department of Biology was established in 2010 through the merger of the Departments of Ecology, Cell and Organism Biology, Biological Undergraduate Education, and the Biological Museums. The depar
lu.varbi.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
earthscista.bsky.social
📣 We seek to appoint a Chair (with rank of professor) within the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences. The successful candidate will be an outstanding scholar of international standing in the field.

🗓 Closing Date: 23 March 2026

Full details: www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/I/...
Chair in Earth Sciences - AC2672
Chair in Earth Sciences - AC2672, Earth and Environmental Sciences Salary: Grade 9/Negotiable Start Date: September 2026 , <p style="margin-right: 22.7pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: bl...
www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk
December 23, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
lewisajones.bsky.social
🚨 Pre-announcement! 🚨

We’re hiring for 2 x two-year, full-time roles to join me and the wider @palaeoverse.bsky.social team @es-ucl.bsky.social.

- Research Software Engineer (REF: B04-06999): lnkd.in/eNRBiPnP

- Community Engagement Coordinator (REF: B04-06998): lnkd.in/ejUACCzn
December 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
tomezard.bsky.social
"Change propagates unevenly, ricochets off institutional boundaries, and is often refracted by actors whose behaviour is shaped as much by fear and habit as by instruction".
pollymackenzie.bsky.social Polly Mackenzie @pollymackenzie.bsky.social · Dec 19
"Every time I pull a lever" says the Prime Minister.

This dead metaphor is killing his ability to get things done.

There aren't any levers. There's only leadership.

howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/there-aren...
There aren't any levers
A dead metaphor is killing the government's ability to get things done
howtorunacountry.substack.com
December 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
mooseallain.bsky.social
An illustration of the 'commission-based' theory of evolution.

The Pilot Whale

www.worldofmoose.com/products/pil...
Cartoon: drawing of various whales. Caption: The pilot whale was so successful they went ahead and commissioned all the other whales.
December 16, 2025 at 9:11 AM
tomezard.bsky.social
wonkhe.com/blogs/whatev... have we ever really believed in geographical equity in higher education? Excellent and thoughtful.
Whatever happened to the New Universities Challenge?
Seventeen years after its hopeful launch, Southend’s university campus is closing. Jim Dickinson examines what this tells us about the failure of place-based planning in UK higher education
wonkhe.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
evovert.bsky.social
🧪🐠 I am hiring a postdoc! Work will be on patterns of biodiversity across phylogenetic scales using teleost fishes as a model. Apply by end of Jan 2026 for full consideration apply.interfolio.com/179070 I encourage folks to reach out with any questions. Please Share!
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
daveyfwright.bsky.social
Awesome postdoc opportunity with a fantastic PI!
Phylogenetic comparative methods, morphological diversification, and biodiversity of fish: how cool is that?!
evovert.bsky.social Sam Price @evovert.bsky.social · Dec 15
🧪🐠 I am hiring a postdoc! Work will be on patterns of biodiversity across phylogenetic scales using teleost fishes as a model. Apply by end of Jan 2026 for full consideration apply.interfolio.com/179070 I encourage folks to reach out with any questions. Please Share!
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
lewisajones.bsky.social
Interested in Historical Ecology and Conservation Palaeobiology? 🪸🦀

Steve Pates and I are offering a PhD project on Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines @es-ucl.bsky.social
@uclcber.bsky.social

🗓️ Apply by 19th January 2026

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines through AI at University of Reading on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Unlocking Palaeo-Historical Biodiversity Data to Inform Ecological Baselines through AI at University of Reading, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
ethanwhite.weecology.org
Excellent piece by on the ebb and flow of creative work and the inevitability and importance of fallow periods.

“What I failed to notice: that the fallow periods were doing something too. They were composting… The harvest seasons, when they returned, drew on seeds I hadn't remembered planting.”
The Harvest Will Come
I spent most of my twenties believing that purpose was something you found once and then held onto. A winning lottery ticket you kept in your wallet forever. The self-help industry reinforced this: ...
www.joanwestenberg.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
blogmywiki.bsky.social
Found when sorting an old drive. I still, very occasionally, say 'not many badgers in the House of Lords' and this is why:
Letter to the Guardian. The protection of badgers has a long pedigree (Report, 29 August). Arthur Gore, known as "Boofy", the eighth Earl of Arran, was a fanatical defender of them. He was also a tireless campaigner for the rights of homosexuals. In 1967 he managed to push through a law in the Lords that decriminalised homosexuality but failed to pass a bill to outlaw the cruel hunting of badgers. When asked why he had not received enough support for his badger bill, he replied: "Not many badgers in the House of Lords." Tony Lywood Keswick, Cumbria
February 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
beckerhopper.bsky.social
Check it out... 🧪Post Doc opportunity. #stability #biodiversity #ecology
expecocons.bsky.social Dr Chris Clements @expecocons.bsky.social · Nov 26
🌍📢 Postdoc alert | 3-yr starting early 2026

Please 🔁!

Understand how ecosystem stability is changing across space and through time using niche modelling, pinpoint at-risk species/regions, and build tools that drive conservation action🌿🧭📈

👉 tinyurl.com/2mafwru3

#Ecology #Jobs #Biodiversity
December 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
theorecol.bsky.social
Sign up! I've been an Assoc Editor @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social for about a year; it's a way better experience than some other places I've been AE. Really great submissions & fantastic editorial & admin support.
Free admission to the @britishecologicalsociety.org annual meeting is an added bonus!
britishecologicalsociety.org British Ecological Society @britishecologicalsociety.org · Nov 25
💭Are you a researcher or practitioner with an interest in publishing?

We are looking for Associate Editors who can help advance outstanding ecological research by joining the Editorial Board for one of our seven Society-owned journals.
British Ecological Society invites applications for Associate Editor; deadline 23 February. Background shows ants on a green plant.
November 26, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
britishecologicalsociety.org
💭Are you a researcher or practitioner with an interest in publishing?

We are looking for Associate Editors who can help advance outstanding ecological research by joining the Editorial Board for one of our seven Society-owned journals.
British Ecological Society invites applications for Associate Editor; deadline 23 February. Background shows ants on a green plant.
November 25, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
thepalass.bsky.social
ppgm: an R package for integrating neontological, palaeontological & climate data in a phylogenetic comparative framework onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #SVP2025 @alexh-palaeo.bsky.social @datadryad.bsky.social @tamueccb.bsky.social
Flow diagram illustrating the workflow for the ppgm R package. It starts with an extant envelope, fossil data is added, the evolution of climate niche is modelled, and finally climate niche & palaeoclimate are matched to show potential range.
November 15, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
chowleen.bsky.social
The room is
almost all
elephant.
Almost none
of it isn’t.
Pretty much
solid elephant.
So there’s no
room to talk
about it.

-Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room”
#everynightapoem
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Kay Ryan The room is almost all elephant. Almost none of it isn't. Pretty much solid elephant. So there's no room to talk about it.
November 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
emilyhughes.bsky.social
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
brittanytrang.com Brittany Trang @brittanytrang.com · Nov 8
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Tom Ezard
altagliabue.bsky.social
Seeking a three year postdoc in the field of ocean biogeochemistry and productivity using mechanistic models and synthesis of observations. Note the short fuse for applications. Please help distribute. All nationalities welcome to apply! 🌊

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPG117/p...
Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Liverpool
Looking for a new job opportunity in academia? Check out this job opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate on jobs.ac.uk!
www.jobs.ac.uk
October 29, 2025 at 5:38 PM