James M. Bullock | Lightnews

James Bullock

@jmbecologist.bsky.social

4.3K followers 400 following 1.1K posts

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

Videos

Environmental science 56%

Agriculture 16%

Posts Replies Media Videos

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 7h

Worrying study by my UKCEH colleagues about human disease spread facilitated by climate change
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Excruciating tropical disease can now be transmitted in most of Europe, study finds

‘Shocking’ data shows the climate crisis and invasive mosquitos mean chikungunya could spread in 29 countries

www.theguardian.com

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 7h

Yes! You arrive & they make you teach AI classification of EO imagery instead

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Dr Steven White @drstevenmwhite.bsky.social · 7h

Our new paper is now out on "Temperature-sensitive incubation, transmissibility and risk of Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya virus in Europe". Chikungunya has a lower thermal threshold for transmission than previously thought, carrying a higher risk of outbreaks across Europe.

lnkd.in/g79PzgqJ

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 8h

Field ecology? Plants? There must be some mistake!

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 21h

What do I need to know about the natural environment to launch a green startup business?

Very little, it seems…

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Extinction Rebellion Wimborne @xrwimborne.bsky.social · 22h

We are not facing a future climate crisis. We are living in it now. Forests burning, heat rising, nature collapsing. Yet Governments still delay. Every year of inaction locks in more loss. This is the moment to act or explain to the next generation why we didn’t.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Daunting but doable’: Europe urged to prepare for 3C of global heating

Advisory board member says adapting is ‘not rocket science’ but Europe already paying price for lack of preparation

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by James M. Bullock, Martin Ehbrecht

Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · 22h

From the upcoming #AppsPlantSci #PlantDispersal issue 🌱

Animal-mediated seed dispersal: A review of study methods (by @noellebeckman.bsky.social, @jmbecologist.bsky.social, et al)

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #botany #zoochory #PlantEcology #SeedDispersal

Illustration of the interdisciplinary frameworks to study seed dispersal, integrating general spatial patterns and processes from the generalized gravity framework, movement ecology paradigm, and seed dispersal effectiveness framework. The text at the top left reads Generalized Gravity Framework; the text at the top right reads Seed Dispersal Effectiveness Framework. From the tree at the center, the text moving to the left reads: "Source Processes," "Relocation Processes," and "Destination Processes"; the text moving rightward from the tree reads: "Quantity," "Vector Quality," and "Seedscape Quality." The text moving downward from the tree reads "Predispersal & Departure," "Drivers of Movement," "Movement Ecology Paradigm," and "Deposition & Postdispersal." The illustration shows various animals carrying diaspores away from the source tree.

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 1d

Theres a quiet myth that #climate adaptation is less contentious than mitigation. It isn’t

Who's protected? Who pays? Who decides?

If we can’t transform society to decarbonize justly, why think adaptation will be easier? Both hinge on fairness, equality &democracy

Reminded of key Qs by @volts.wtf

Who decides which properties will be allowed to rebuild?
Who will pay for rebuilding and subsequent insurance?
Who decides which cities or areas will be defended — by sea walls, dredging projects, canals — and which will be abandoned?
If people must relocate, who decides when, and which people?
Who pays for relocation?
Which communities take in the relocated?
Who decides on compensation for the relocated?
What are the legal rights of the relocated? Who is legally liable for foreseeable damage to coastal property?
What is the value of nonmonetary attachment to a home or place? Is sentiment counted? Who decides on its value?
Should these decisions be made by lawmakers and technocrats or popular votes and referenda? Ad hoc or planned in advance? Determined by market forces or by some collective judgment of fairness?
If, as seems inevitable, the poor suffer first and worst from the impacts of extreme weather, what role should equity play in decisions about relocation?

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/8/16272538/what-is-worth-saving

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 1d

While there is a lot of antipathy in academia to using LLMs

Given English remains the dominant language in academia globally, don’t LLMs help academics who are not fluent in English to write papers?

Reposted by Unai Pascual, Stephen D. Murphy

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 1d

There is a tendency to act as if climate change adaptation is a ‘get out of jail free’ card

Adapting to ongoing climate change will involve huge disruption to our systems

It would be so much simpler to act to stop further climate change

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 1d

AI greenwash

“Tech companies are conflating traditional AI [machine learning] with generative AI [energy-hungry chatbots and image generation tools] when claiming the technology could help avert climate breakdown”

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing

Industry using ‘diversionary’ tactics, says analyst, as energy-hungry complex functions such as video generation and deep research proliferate

www.theguardian.com

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 1d

Have a look at the paper I posted + this one which traces development of the 2 different concepts in theory & practice

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The argument in the paper you cite is not compelling

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 1d

Just hanging around waiting for NERC to decide whether our grant will be funded

Reposted by James M. Bullock, Marcus Grant, Dana R. Fisher

Health for XR @healthxr.bsky.social · 2d

🚨BREAKING NEWS!

Medics that broke windows at JP Morgan HQ to expose fossil fuel financing links to climate devastation found NOT GUILTY today by jurors.

The climate crisis is a health crisis and health professionals have a duty to act when lives are at risk.

Read more here:
healthforxr.com

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

…reparations to peoples & countries harmed by British imperialism.

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

In defence maybe not, but as long as arms are manufactured for profiteering we’ll have a system that is not fit for the supposed purpose

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

Fair enough. But it is hard to imagine an arms industry that works for the common good

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Extinction Rebellion Wimborne @xrwimborne.bsky.social · 2d

Scientists warn we’re nearing a climate point of no return

Politicians & corporations won’t act unless the pressure changes

Hope is in protest & collective action. Together we must change the national conversation before tipping points lock in a hothouse Earth

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say

Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware

www.theguardian.com

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

So, about £20 billion in arms exports in 2025 was the UK being altruistic?

I know that’s not your point, but we have a corrupt, self-serving & profiteering arms trade that needs to be reformed

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

Not to supply them with weapons, or we are in the slippery territory of making weapons for profit

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

How many extra (extraneous?) analyses have been done to appease reviewers, that now sit mouldering in the Supplementary Information of the published paper?

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

I see no problem in UK arms manufacturing being made to be a national good rather than the profiteering from human suffering that it currently is

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

Maybe - but only if we never again launch attacks against other countries (cf Iraq, Afghanistan) and the UK arms industry is curtailed so weapons are only manufactured for the UK military

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s hoping that the apparent Gen Z prioritisation of work-life boundaries

Will shift academia from the normalisation of working long hours and at the weekend

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Jens-Christian Svenning @jcsvenning.bsky.social · 2d

Nice feature on our recent work on neandertals (led by @nikulinaav.bsky.social) and their effects on their environment👣 deephistory.substack.com/p/the-neande... #neandertal #neanderthal #archaeology #anthropology #wilderness

The Neanderthal Garden: Landscape Engineering and the End of the "Pristine Wilderness" Myth

By Seth Chagi World of Paleoanthropology

deephistory.substack.com

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 3d

On a National Trust property

the cattle have obviously heard about rewilding plans & are looking out for large predators, in multiple directions

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 3d

Definitely m. If the argument is reintroductions to support ecosystem processes, then a focus on charismatic species seems odd

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 3d

Not sure what your point is. It is not a dichotomy

Also my post does not oppose reintroductions. It asks for good research & accuracy in reporting

James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 3d

I agree that reintroductions are worthwhile, but I’d make 2 points about this article

1) Eurasian beavers are not ‘at risk’; they are doing very well within their range

2) The Large Blue butterfly reintroduction was accompanied by a large amount of scientific research
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Moral imperative' to reintroduce at-risk species

Conservationisists explain the benefits to humans, land and wildlife that reintroductions can bring.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by James M. Bullock

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 3d

Pretending the rise of the far right and the focus on issues such as immigration or trans people comes from the "legitimate concerns" of "the people" is not just factually wrong, it's a deeply political point

Refusing to see this as primarily top down processes is to protect the status quo

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