Matt Grainger
@drmattg.bsky.social
Interdisciplinary scientist specialising in modelling the complexities of conservation & sustainability, as well as evidence synthesis; with a sideline in pheasants. Researcher at NINA(Norwegian Institute for Nature Research), Trondheim.
This years open, reproducible & transparent science course is underway. There is always one «student» who falls asleep in the back!
November 11, 2025 at 1:17 PM
This years open, reproducible & transparent science course is underway. There is always one «student» who falls asleep in the back!
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Great to be a small part of the joint methods group for AI use in Evidence Synthesis
📢 CEE joins @cochrane.org @campbellreviews.bsky.social & @jbiebhc.bsky.social to set a shared approach for AI use in Evidence Synthesis!
🔗https://environmentalevidencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13750-025-00374-5
#EnvironmentalEvidence @biljana-macura.bsky.social @drmattg.bsky.social
🔗https://environmentalevidencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13750-025-00374-5
#EnvironmentalEvidence @biljana-macura.bsky.social @drmattg.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Great to be a small part of the joint methods group for AI use in Evidence Synthesis
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Which one is more English?
November 6, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Which one is more English?
Dynamic meta-analysis tools promise transparency by letting users explore evidence by species, region or outcome — but each filter is a new test. My new post argues that without safeguards, transparency can become multiplicity.
🔗 drmattg.github.io/Uncertain_Ec...
🔗 drmattg.github.io/Uncertain_Ec...
Dynamic Meta-analysis: When Transparency Meets Multiplicity
drmattg.github.io
November 3, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Dynamic meta-analysis tools promise transparency by letting users explore evidence by species, region or outcome — but each filter is a new test. My new post argues that without safeguards, transparency can become multiplicity.
🔗 drmattg.github.io/Uncertain_Ec...
🔗 drmattg.github.io/Uncertain_Ec...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
We've got loads of resources here for people to get started and be convinced to try it: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Why Preprints? – ASAPbio
Discover how preprints accelerate scientific discovery, increase visibility of research, and enable rapid feedback while maintaining research quality standards.
asapbio.org
October 25, 2025 at 6:40 PM
We've got loads of resources here for people to get started and be convinced to try it: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
New research led by @scanavan.bsky.social analysing >500 000 tweets from 2006-2021 reveals how public discourse around invasive species is dominated not by plants, but by charismatic mammals and aquatic habitats. Just 1% of users generate 60% of retweeted content.
From habitats to hashtags: examining online discussions about invasive species – new paper by @scanavan.bsky.social et al. now published in #EcologyandSociety doi.org/10.5751/ES-1... #alienspecies #invasivespecies #digitaldata #socialmedia #conservationculturomics
October 24, 2025 at 7:11 PM
New research led by @scanavan.bsky.social analysing >500 000 tweets from 2006-2021 reveals how public discourse around invasive species is dominated not by plants, but by charismatic mammals and aquatic habitats. Just 1% of users generate 60% of retweeted content.
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Bats eat the birds they pluck from the sky while on the wing arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Bats eat the birds they pluck from the sky while on the wing
A handful of bat species hunt birds, and new sensor data tells us how.
arstechnica.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Bats eat the birds they pluck from the sky while on the wing arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
It's important to work with people who have integrity and rigorous scientific standards. It does not necessarily follow that these important requirements automatically come with prestige. Prestigious institutions don't care about you. Make sure that the lab you're going to has high ethical
6) If you are offered the opportunity to do a PhD or a master at Oxbridge, Harvard or Yale don’t thing twice. Go!
7) Smart work exists in academia as well. Just look for it.
8) Paradoxically the pace of innovation at work can be slower in academia than other
businesses.
7) Smart work exists in academia as well. Just look for it.
8) Paradoxically the pace of innovation at work can be slower in academia than other
businesses.
October 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
It's important to work with people who have integrity and rigorous scientific standards. It does not necessarily follow that these important requirements automatically come with prestige. Prestigious institutions don't care about you. Make sure that the lab you're going to has high ethical
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Camera-traps work best for surveying wildlife when site-level covariates are considered. Owain Barton led our study showing more cameras reduce error, longer deployments help only if occupancy varies, & ignoring key covariates can skews results
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
October 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Camera-traps work best for surveying wildlife when site-level covariates are considered. Owain Barton led our study showing more cameras reduce error, longer deployments help only if occupancy varies, & ignoring key covariates can skews results
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
I've received an 'exclusive' invite to try Nature's new 'research assistant', which will burn down a forest to provide a 'summary of the paper' I'm reading and I have SUCH exciting news for them, that's called an 'abstract' and the actual authors already wrote it for me, no forest-burning required.
October 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I've received an 'exclusive' invite to try Nature's new 'research assistant', which will burn down a forest to provide a 'summary of the paper' I'm reading and I have SUCH exciting news for them, that's called an 'abstract' and the actual authors already wrote it for me, no forest-burning required.
Reposted by Matt Grainger
It’s exhausting to see so much ignorance about what’s happening in Argentina.
The U.S. bailout isn’t helping us Argentinians, just like the recent IMF loan didn’t. These moves aren’t about rescuing Argentina, they’re about protecting U.S. investors and financial elites (& maybe ideological allies)
The U.S. bailout isn’t helping us Argentinians, just like the recent IMF loan didn’t. These moves aren’t about rescuing Argentina, they’re about protecting U.S. investors and financial elites (& maybe ideological allies)
October 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
It’s exhausting to see so much ignorance about what’s happening in Argentina.
The U.S. bailout isn’t helping us Argentinians, just like the recent IMF loan didn’t. These moves aren’t about rescuing Argentina, they’re about protecting U.S. investors and financial elites (& maybe ideological allies)
The U.S. bailout isn’t helping us Argentinians, just like the recent IMF loan didn’t. These moves aren’t about rescuing Argentina, they’re about protecting U.S. investors and financial elites (& maybe ideological allies)
We said goodbye to summer last night and hello to winter this morning. This is our last winter in our “cabin in the woods” - it is going to be hard to say goodbye
October 17, 2025 at 6:43 AM
We said goodbye to summer last night and hello to winter this morning. This is our last winter in our “cabin in the woods” - it is going to be hard to say goodbye
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Open science rhetoric to justify jamming agi into predatory journals and convert rando data to “papers”
"Tasks that once took months of manual work — from curating datasets and checking compliance to creating metadata and publishable outputs — are now completed in minutes by the AI Data Steward"
Another case of commercial publishers looking to replace library labour with their junk AI.
Another case of commercial publishers looking to replace library labour with their junk AI.
90% of Science Is Lost: Frontiers’ revolutionary AI-powered service transforms data sharing to deliver breakthroughs faster
Frontiers, the open-science publisher, is tackling this problem with the launch of Frontiers FAIR² Data Management, the world’s first all-in-one, AI-powered ser
www.frontiersin.org
October 14, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Open science rhetoric to justify jamming agi into predatory journals and convert rando data to “papers”
I’m at the stage of the holiday when my mind turns back to research. Does anyone know of a high quality systematic review on the effectiveness of bird scaring devices? These ones don’t seem to work well. (If you have pictures of them failing that would be interesting too!)
October 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I’m at the stage of the holiday when my mind turns back to research. Does anyone know of a high quality systematic review on the effectiveness of bird scaring devices? These ones don’t seem to work well. (If you have pictures of them failing that would be interesting too!)
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europe’s plant life
Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europe’s plant life
Plant inventories dating back to 1884 and nearly thrown away enable unique time-lapse study of biodiversity in Swiss meadows
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europe’s plant life
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Can we please take climate breakdown seriously now....?
"Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave"- BBC
"for the 14th day in a row a temp of 30C was measured somewhere in Finland - 1st time since records began"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave"- BBC
"for the 14th day in a row a temp of 30C was measured somewhere in Finland - 1st time since records began"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave
After an unusually cold early summer, Finland has seen two weeks of temperatures topping 30C.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Can we please take climate breakdown seriously now....?
"Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave"- BBC
"for the 14th day in a row a temp of 30C was measured somewhere in Finland - 1st time since records began"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave"- BBC
"for the 14th day in a row a temp of 30C was measured somewhere in Finland - 1st time since records began"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
please think about this deeply & consult with experts who do NOT have Conflicts of Interest! See:
Guest, O., Suarez, M., Müller, B., et al. (2025). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Guest, O., Suarez, M., Müller, B., et al. (2025). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
October 9, 2025 at 8:53 AM
please think about this deeply & consult with experts who do NOT have Conflicts of Interest! See:
Guest, O., Suarez, M., Müller, B., et al. (2025). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Guest, O., Suarez, M., Müller, B., et al. (2025). Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia. Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Now watch humanity embed the minimum levels in policy… rather than maximising this important habitat. 🤡
A new study in Science evaluating published data from 19 countries has pinpointed the minimum habitat levels needed to sustain pollinators in agricultural landscapes. https://scim.ag/3VIq4Cg
October 8, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Now watch humanity embed the minimum levels in policy… rather than maximising this important habitat. 🤡
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Forget environmental implications (altho most national parks are already trashed by overgrazing, etc) the sheer idiocy of choosing the most expensive option to deliver housing is breathtaking. Build new homes where there is no infrastructure to support them. No jobs. Poor connectivity. It’s moronic.
October 8, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Forget environmental implications (altho most national parks are already trashed by overgrazing, etc) the sheer idiocy of choosing the most expensive option to deliver housing is breathtaking. Build new homes where there is no infrastructure to support them. No jobs. Poor connectivity. It’s moronic.
Reposted by Matt Grainger
Two of the most common climate misconceptions I see, even among knowledgeable folks, are that (1) most people aren't worried about climate change, and (2) if they were, they'd act.
Not true! Data show (1) most people are worried, but (2) they won’t act if they don’t know what to do-and most don’t.
Not true! Data show (1) most people are worried, but (2) they won’t act if they don’t know what to do-and most don’t.
October 6, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Two of the most common climate misconceptions I see, even among knowledgeable folks, are that (1) most people aren't worried about climate change, and (2) if they were, they'd act.
Not true! Data show (1) most people are worried, but (2) they won’t act if they don’t know what to do-and most don’t.
Not true! Data show (1) most people are worried, but (2) they won’t act if they don’t know what to do-and most don’t.
"Nature in Europe is being lost piece by piece. No complete overview has existed on how much is disappearing – until now". www.nina.no/english/Abou... @ninanatureresearch.bsky.social
How We Helped Journalists Uncover Nature Loss in Europe
XX, YY reports The Guardian. Using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI), we have, together with 40 journalists and researchers from eleven countries, uncovered large-scale loss of nature...
www.nina.no
October 1, 2025 at 5:50 AM
"Nature in Europe is being lost piece by piece. No complete overview has existed on how much is disappearing – until now". www.nina.no/english/Abou... @ninanatureresearch.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Grainger
UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
ecoevojobs.net 2025-26
docs.google.com
September 19, 2025 at 9:47 PM
UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Matt Grainger
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
September 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...