@westobymark.bsky.social
Reposted
Paper out in Ecology Letters!
We - incl. @westobymark.bsky.social @biogeokreft.bsky.social and others - show that traits are linked to species’ colonisation and extinction probabilities on #islands — with direct implications for species persistence and the Equilibrium Theory of Island #Biogeography
We - incl. @westobymark.bsky.social @biogeokreft.bsky.social and others - show that traits are linked to species’ colonisation and extinction probabilities on #islands — with direct implications for species persistence and the Equilibrium Theory of Island #Biogeography
Resurveyed Island Vegetation Reveals That Species Colonisation and Extinction Probabilities Are Linked to Traits
We show that species richness and community trait composition on 132 Australian islands remained stable over six decades, despite high species turnover. Colonisation and extinction probabilities were....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Paper out in Ecology Letters!
We - incl. @westobymark.bsky.social @biogeokreft.bsky.social and others - show that traits are linked to species’ colonisation and extinction probabilities on #islands — with direct implications for species persistence and the Equilibrium Theory of Island #Biogeography
We - incl. @westobymark.bsky.social @biogeokreft.bsky.social and others - show that traits are linked to species’ colonisation and extinction probabilities on #islands — with direct implications for species persistence and the Equilibrium Theory of Island #Biogeography
Reposted
1/At Macquarie Uni we are losing 50% of our units in my faculty. This is on top of cuts in 2020. We estimate by next year my faculty will be teaching 80% fewer subjects than pre Covid. Disciplines being cut do not have declining enrolments. @jennaprice.bsky.social @michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
September 20, 2025 at 1:10 AM
1/At Macquarie Uni we are losing 50% of our units in my faculty. This is on top of cuts in 2020. We estimate by next year my faculty will be teaching 80% fewer subjects than pre Covid. Disciplines being cut do not have declining enrolments. @jennaprice.bsky.social @michaelwestbiz.bsky.social
www.publish.csiro.au/bt/Fulltext/... Reflection in Aust J Bot "Trajectories of ecology past and future" #ecology
August 12, 2025 at 5:55 AM
www.publish.csiro.au/bt/Fulltext/... Reflection in Aust J Bot "Trajectories of ecology past and future" #ecology
Reposted
Wind and frost have surprisingly strong effects on global patterns in leaf cuticle thickness! Latitude, biome and taxonomy matter too. Other climate variables not so much. #trait research from international team including @lawrensack.bsky.social @westobymark.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1111/nph....
July 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Wind and frost have surprisingly strong effects on global patterns in leaf cuticle thickness! Latitude, biome and taxonomy matter too. Other climate variables not so much. #trait research from international team including @lawrensack.bsky.social @westobymark.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1111/nph....
New lab paper hot off the press in @globalchangebio.bsky.social by David Coleman and @westobymark.bsky.social
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Future Climate Shifts for Vegetation on Australia's Coastal Islands
Climate warming is likely to be mild for the plants on coastal islands. Although average annual temperatures will increase relative to their current ranges, the hottest annual temperatures will remai....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 2, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted
Excited to share our new paper led by Tsinghua Uni ECR Zhang Han: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... New model based on eco-evolutionary optimality explains observed seasonal and spatial trends in stem respiration, implies stem CO2 efflux down by >25% by 2100, reducing land carbon emissions.
Thermal acclimation of stem respiration implies a weaker carbon-climate feedback
The efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) from woody stems, a proxy for stem respiration, is a critical carbon flux from ecosystems to the atmosphere, which increases with temperature on short timescales. Ho...
www.science.org
May 29, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Excited to share our new paper led by Tsinghua Uni ECR Zhang Han: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... New model based on eco-evolutionary optimality explains observed seasonal and spatial trends in stem respiration, implies stem CO2 efflux down by >25% by 2100, reducing land carbon emissions.
Reposted
Going live in 2 hours... @jpodwyer.bsky.social and @sarperotto.bsky.social interview Bob Holt for @smtpb.bsky.social
youtu.be/q8hX3S0xMJc?...
youtu.be/q8hX3S0xMJc?...
Robert D. Holt interview
YouTube video by SMTPB
youtu.be
May 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Going live in 2 hours... @jpodwyer.bsky.social and @sarperotto.bsky.social interview Bob Holt for @smtpb.bsky.social
youtu.be/q8hX3S0xMJc?...
youtu.be/q8hX3S0xMJc?...
Reposted
New lab paper hot off the press in @globalchangebio.bsky.social by David Coleman and @westobymark.bsky.social
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Future Climate Shifts for Vegetation on Australia's Coastal Islands
Climate warming is likely to be mild for the plants on coastal islands. Although average annual temperatures will increase relative to their current ranges, the hottest annual temperatures will remai....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 14, 2025 at 10:57 PM
New lab paper hot off the press in @globalchangebio.bsky.social by David Coleman and @westobymark.bsky.social
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Australia’s #islands may offer climate refuges, but ~40% of #plant populations—especially poorly dispersing species—will face hotter conditions beyond their current limits
#ecology #nature
Reposted
🌿The Value of Biodiversity
Excited to share a new #EcolClip featuring world-renowned ecologist Prof. Peter Reich @umich.edu
I found Peter's insights into the future of #biodiversity especially inspiring
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVLM...
Please boost if you like it
#ecology #science #nature #biology
Excited to share a new #EcolClip featuring world-renowned ecologist Prof. Peter Reich @umich.edu
I found Peter's insights into the future of #biodiversity especially inspiring
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVLM...
Please boost if you like it
#ecology #science #nature #biology
The Value of Biodiversity with Prof. Peter Reich | EcolClips
YouTube video by EcolClips
www.youtube.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:11 AM
🌿The Value of Biodiversity
Excited to share a new #EcolClip featuring world-renowned ecologist Prof. Peter Reich @umich.edu
I found Peter's insights into the future of #biodiversity especially inspiring
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVLM...
Please boost if you like it
#ecology #science #nature #biology
Excited to share a new #EcolClip featuring world-renowned ecologist Prof. Peter Reich @umich.edu
I found Peter's insights into the future of #biodiversity especially inspiring
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVLM...
Please boost if you like it
#ecology #science #nature #biology
Reposted
📢 New publication 'Do trait–growth relationships vary with plant age in fire-prone heathland #shrubs?' by Lily Dun, Elizabeth Wenk, Daniel Falster, Mark Westoby and Ian Wright in Journal of Ecology 🧪
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Do trait–growth relationships vary with plant age in fire‐prone heathland shrubs?
We demonstrate that key functional traits undergo shifts in their relationship with growth as plants mature. Therefore, it will be valuable to shift our understanding of plant strategies away from th...
doi.org
April 28, 2025 at 1:55 AM
📢 New publication 'Do trait–growth relationships vary with plant age in fire-prone heathland #shrubs?' by Lily Dun, Elizabeth Wenk, Daniel Falster, Mark Westoby and Ian Wright in Journal of Ecology 🧪
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Reposted
New paper out in @journalofecology.bsky.social led by Rudi Otto from Universidad de La Laguna (Tenerife)
Primary succession and plant functional traits on an oceanic island
Plant communities shift from fast-growing, wind-dispersed pioneers to slow-growing, animal-dispersed endemics as lava ages.
Primary succession and plant functional traits on an oceanic island
Plant communities shift from fast-growing, wind-dispersed pioneers to slow-growing, animal-dispersed endemics as lava ages.
Primary succession and plant functional traits on an oceanic island
The Canary Islands island system reflects a directional succession governed by the selection of functional traits related to environmental conditions and acquisitive-conservative strategies as well a...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM
New paper out in @journalofecology.bsky.social led by Rudi Otto from Universidad de La Laguna (Tenerife)
Primary succession and plant functional traits on an oceanic island
Plant communities shift from fast-growing, wind-dispersed pioneers to slow-growing, animal-dispersed endemics as lava ages.
Primary succession and plant functional traits on an oceanic island
Plant communities shift from fast-growing, wind-dispersed pioneers to slow-growing, animal-dispersed endemics as lava ages.
Reposted
We're living in a landscape of novel ecosystems, emerging in every part of the world.
The topic has been ably covered in this BBC article on "freakosystems" by Matthew Ponsford @interspecies.agency
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
The topic has been ably covered in this BBC article on "freakosystems" by Matthew Ponsford @interspecies.agency
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
This Hawaiian island's 'freakosystems' are a warning from the future
Ecosystems which have never been seen before are being accidentally created by humans. They offer a stark look into the nature of tomorrow.
www.bbc.com
April 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
We're living in a landscape of novel ecosystems, emerging in every part of the world.
The topic has been ably covered in this BBC article on "freakosystems" by Matthew Ponsford @interspecies.agency
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
The topic has been ably covered in this BBC article on "freakosystems" by Matthew Ponsford @interspecies.agency
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
Reposted
Elizabeth Wenk & colleagues from @unswbees.bsky.social are making it easier for scientists to align databases with the current taxonomic classifications of their study species #R #APCalign #AustralianPlantCensus doi.org/10.1071/BT24...
APCalign: an R package workflow and app for aligning and updating flora names to the Australian Plant Census
Here we present ‘APCalign’, an R package and accompanying browser-sourced application to align and update scientific names for Australian vascular plants to the most likely currently accepted name in ...
doi.org
April 8, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Elizabeth Wenk & colleagues from @unswbees.bsky.social are making it easier for scientists to align databases with the current taxonomic classifications of their study species #R #APCalign #AustralianPlantCensus doi.org/10.1071/BT24...
Reposted
New Research in Ecology Letters led by David Coleman: Island Plant Species Distributions Contracted at the Cooler Edge Compared to Mainland
Why? We're not entirely sure — we'd love to hear additional hypotheses beyond the ones we proposed in the paper.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Why? We're not entirely sure — we'd love to hear additional hypotheses beyond the ones we proposed in the paper.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Island Plant Species Distributions Contracted at the Cooler Edge Compared to Mainland
Continental islands have long been used as ecological models for understanding species assembly dynamics in isolated habitat fragments, with direct applications to biodiversity and conservation. But ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 6, 2025 at 10:55 PM
New Research in Ecology Letters led by David Coleman: Island Plant Species Distributions Contracted at the Cooler Edge Compared to Mainland
Why? We're not entirely sure — we'd love to hear additional hypotheses beyond the ones we proposed in the paper.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Why? We're not entirely sure — we'd love to hear additional hypotheses beyond the ones we proposed in the paper.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted
News article about our recent paper in Nature on global impoverishment of natural vegetation by Conny Sattler (cosattler.com) and myself in @theconversation.com @aunz.theconversation.com
theconversation.com/invisible-lo...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
theconversation.com/invisible-lo...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Invisible losses: thousands of plant species are missing from places they could thrive – and humans are the reason
Many native plants are missing from habitats where they should thrive – even in wilder areas. Why? Human actions such as logging, poaching and setting fires.
theconversation.com
April 2, 2025 at 9:58 PM
News article about our recent paper in Nature on global impoverishment of natural vegetation by Conny Sattler (cosattler.com) and myself in @theconversation.com @aunz.theconversation.com
theconversation.com/invisible-lo...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
theconversation.com/invisible-lo...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted
The next exciting instalment from @jradford-smith.bsky.social on how climate filters rainforest tree strategies in the Australian subtropics. Now available in early view at @ecography.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/ecog...
doi.org/10.1111/ecog...
March 21, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The next exciting instalment from @jradford-smith.bsky.social on how climate filters rainforest tree strategies in the Australian subtropics. Now available in early view at @ecography.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/ecog...
doi.org/10.1111/ecog...
inspiring and useful #functional #ecology tea towel, with much thanks to @ianjwright.bsky.social, Sharyon O'Donnell and Nathan Hart
March 4, 2025 at 12:17 AM
inspiring and useful #functional #ecology tea towel, with much thanks to @ianjwright.bsky.social, Sharyon O'Donnell and Nathan Hart
Reposted
📣 Register for our first #webinar of 2025!
@westobymark.bsky.social is Prof. Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. One strand of his research has defined #ecological strategy variation across plant species by means of quantitative traits.
📝: uqz.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
@westobymark.bsky.social is Prof. Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. One strand of his research has defined #ecological strategy variation across plant species by means of quantitative traits.
📝: uqz.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
March 2, 2025 at 11:50 PM
📣 Register for our first #webinar of 2025!
@westobymark.bsky.social is Prof. Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. One strand of his research has defined #ecological strategy variation across plant species by means of quantitative traits.
📝: uqz.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
@westobymark.bsky.social is Prof. Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. One strand of his research has defined #ecological strategy variation across plant species by means of quantitative traits.
📝: uqz.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
"John Raven, FRS, FRSE: a truly great innovator in plant physiology, photosynthesis and much more" link.springer.com/article/10.1...
John Raven, FRS, FRSE: a truly great innovator in plant physiology, photosynthesis and much more - Photosynthesis Research
This is a tribute to a truly inspirational plant biologist, Prof. John A. Raven, FRS, FRSE (25th June 1941– 23rd May 2024), who died at the age of 82. He was a leader in the field of evolution and phy...
link.springer.com
February 18, 2025 at 4:17 AM
"John Raven, FRS, FRSE: a truly great innovator in plant physiology, photosynthesis and much more" link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Memorial Lecture Feb 26 2025 @ANU Fenner School. David Brand: The Evolution of Forestry into a Natural Capital Asset Class. fennerschool.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Jack Westoby Lecture 2025: The Evolution of Forestry into a Natural Capital Asset Class
The Jack Westoby Lecture recognises the contribution to forestry internationally by Jack Westoby (1912-1988). The Biennial Lecture Series was initiated in 1997 and is made possible by the generosity o...
fennerschool.anu.edu.au
January 14, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Memorial Lecture Feb 26 2025 @ANU Fenner School. David Brand: The Evolution of Forestry into a Natural Capital Asset Class. fennerschool.anu.edu.au/news-events/...