John Morgan
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jwmorganecology.bsky.social
John Morgan
@jwmorganecology.bsky.social
I am a plant ecologist interested in long-term dynamics, patterns of diversity, conservation management, botany, landscape change, native grasslands, neat experiments
Reposted by John Morgan
🌱 New research from The Australian PlantBank reveals how 4 threatened Australian Grevillea species respond to temperature changes. Good news, 3 species show resilience to future warming, but G. iaspicula prefers cooler conditions & may struggle with climate change.

Read more 🔗 buff.ly/b4pbbgv
September 10, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Riverbank erosion in SW Australia exposed previously undocumented root clusters in Kingia australis. Research by Lamont et al. suggests these novel 'kingioid roots' enhance water and nutrient uptake rather than storage, linking with seasonal root-cluster types🫚

Paper here 🔗 buff.ly/Hi3BxLE
September 3, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Shaopeng Wang will present the next PopBio seminar:

"Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability Across Spatial and Temporal Scales"

Join us online, Thursday August 28 1pm AEST. These seminars are open to all!

Sign up to our mailing list to receive the zoom link: forms.gle/uRJwbK1ZacZH...
August 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is a fast growing, aggressive invasive species in Australia & North America. Early trials to control this agressive invader in the biodiversity hotspot of SW Australia are promising, writes Carl R. Gosper & colleagues #openaccess OA 🔗➡️
Control of African lovegrass by flupropanate in a flora conservation context
Context Managing widespread invasive plants to support biodiversity conservation is a significant challenge that requires weed control methods that have lesser impacts on co-occurring native species…
doi.org
August 21, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
A new journal category: Reflections. We're inviting reviews authored by research field leaders to reflect on a topic of their choosing, exploring the history of and provide context for the current state of our discipline. Our first guest is Prof. Mark Westoby #openaccess
Trajectories of ecology past and future
Ecosystems have many different processes going on. Researchers need to select and simplify, and so development of ecology as a discipline has involved finding different possible ways to select and…
doi.org
August 21, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
What can #herbarium collections tell us about genetic responses to global change? A lot!! 🌿

Check out our viewpoint, out now in @newphyt.bsky.social - genetic monitoring, extinctions, adaptation, GEAs, and more! ⬇️

doi.org/10.1111/nph....
Using herbarium collections to study genetic responses to global change
Earth's c. 406 million herbarium specimens represent a largely untapped resource of genetic data that could transform our understanding of global plant populations. Advances in DNA sequencing have ma...
doi.org
August 11, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
Fire in focus: Clarifying metrics & terminology for better ecological insight 🔥🧪

This framework can help researchers & practitioners to
👉select fire metrics for research & management 📊
👉interpret previous studies 💭
👉form a growing body of knowledge 🌏

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...
doi.org
August 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
Increasing the number of anthropogenic stressors reduces the effects of plant diversity.

A study by Yanjie Zhu, et al. represents a first attempt to address the effect of plant diversity under multiple stressors.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@mrillig.bsky.social #LatestIssue
July 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Herbarium specimens reveal drivers of Arctic shrub growth @newphyt.bsky.social

Shrub specimens can be used to recreate annual growth chronologies and help understand plant responses to global change.

With @annebeejay.bsky.social, ZA Panchen, JDM Speed

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
June 10, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
Long-term flowering-time data on Japanese mountain cherry (recorded since the 9th century!) shows a shift in full-flowering date beginning in the late 19th century.

Fascinating new @newphyt.bsky.social paper by @jgpausas.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
June 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
Nature-friendly farming boosts both biodiversity and crop yields — but scaling it up may need more government subsidies to become as profitable as intensive agriculture, a new study led by UKCEH and @rothamsted.bsky.social has found

www.ceh.ac.uk/press/nature...

🧵🧪 1/
July 2, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
In New Caledonia’s rainforests, the rare monocarpic tree Cerberiopsis candelabra may owe its success to fast seasonal growth and high juvenile survival. Salmon et al. tracked 134 individuals for 18 months, revealing traits that may help them thrive after disturbance 🌱
🔗Read more: buff.ly/CUN2V5V
July 2, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Excited to see our paper now published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social ! 🎉
doi.org/10.1111/2041...
Preprint alert!🚨 You want biomass data without clipping the vegetation? Use your smartphone for a 3D scan! In our manuscript you get instructions & a complete Jupyter notebook for immediate use! doi.org/10.32942/X2T... 🪴+📱=💚 #biodiversity #ecology #globalchange #photogrammetry
June 19, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
We're delighted to announce the reappointment of @jwmorganecology.bsky.social and @markooiecol.bsky.social as Co-Editors-in-Chief of Australian Journal of Botany!
Their continued leadership ensures the journal remains at the forefront of botanical research in Australia and beyond 🌱 📖
June 13, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Here's a hot tip!

Long term studies and monitoring of #threatenedspecies is a must to support decision making on adaptive #fire management strategies

Something to remember this #WorldEnvironmentDay

Read more here buff.ly/PfrEzQX

@PacificConsBio.bsky.social
A review of 60 years of fire management for threatened fauna and flora at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Western Australia
Context Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in Western Australia has a long history of ecological studies and adaptive fire management. This provides an excellent opportunity to assess the effects of fire…
www.publish.csiro.au
June 5, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
The germination success of tussock grass #Themeda triandra, a keystone species of many #grassland #ecosystems is hampered by variable seed quality and a lack of standardised germination protocols, according to Marne Durnin and colleagues from University of Adelaide 🌱 doi.org/10.1071/BT24...
Variable seed quality hampers the use of Themeda triandra (Poaceae) for seed production, agriculture, research and restoration: a review
Themeda triandra (Forssk.) is a tussock grass of international importance for its keystone role in grassy ecosystems and, hence, is often a focus for seed production, research and ecological…
doi.org
June 6, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Soil-born fungi infects seeds and reduces germination success of Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock), an invasive species in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Bárbara Angeletti and colleagues. doi.org/10.1071/BT24....
Fungi associated with seeds of the invasive grass Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock) in its native range as prospective biological control agents
Context The South American grass Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock) is widely distributed in central Argentina and one of the most damaging invasive species in Australia, New Zealand, and South…
doi.org
May 30, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
It’s alive! Our Mycorrhizal Networks special issue is out in Functional Ecology.
Packed with spore-tacular science.

A collection that highlights advances, identifies unresolved questions & the future research directions.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Mycorrhizal networks: Understanding hidden complexity
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
Join us online this Thursday 1pm AEST.

Hye Jin Park @hyejinpark.bsky.social (Inha University) will present:

"Artificial selection for collective composition"

Sign up to receive the zoom link forms.gle/53hkcdcKPGfa...

NB. This seminar won't be recorded.
May 27, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
📰Published📰 Flower early, flower fast: Flowering time is conditioned by plant traits under climate change in the Mediterranean🌼

buff.ly/Z3JVVBi

🧪🌍
Flower early, flower fast: Fowering time is conditioned by plant traits under climate change in the Mediterranean.
Daniel Pareja-Bonilla, Pedro Luis Ortiz, Leonor Patrícia Cerdeira Morellato, Montserrat Arista This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Cli…
buff.ly
May 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
Quantifying the life history (fire tolerance) of six shrub and tree species reveals the historical, highly variable fire history of #banksia #woodlands in south-western #westernaustralia, according to Russel Miller and colleagues from @murdoch.edu.au doi.org/10.1071/BT23...
Plant life-history data as evidence of an historical mixed-severity fire regime in Banksia Woodlands
Context The concept of the fire regime is central to understanding and managing fire-prone ecosystems globally, and information on past regimes can provide useful insights into species disturbance…
doi.org
May 23, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
🔥Climate change is reshaping Arctic tundra ecosystems, with increasing fire frequency being one factor. New research highlights potential transitions and alternative ecosystem states and their implications 🧪🌍
🔍 Article: buff.ly/DsVgOiH
🗞️ Blog: buff.ly/nK6qVOX
Arctic tundra ecosystems under fire—Alternative ecosystem states in a changing climate?
buff.ly
May 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by John Morgan
We're excited to welcome Pacific Conservation Biology to Bluesky 🦋

Follow @pacificconsbio.bsky.social for research into the region's conservation issues, and the priorities and mechanisms for conservation oriented biological research.

#PacificConsBio @scboceania.org
May 16, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
🌩️ New Research Alert! 🌱
How does lightning impact wildfire dynamics in Tasmania? This study identifies key drivers of lightning-ignited wildfires, Explore how treeless landscapes and dry fuels amplify fire risk in the Tasmanian World Heritage Area.

📖 doi.org/10.1071/WF24...
#IJWildlandFire
May 16, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Reposted by John Morgan
New paper out on the impacts of fire on 5 small vertebrates across SE Australia.

High severity fire has a substantial impact on threatened broad-toothed rats and glossy grass skinks.

We also highlight the importance of habitat refuges for ameliorating impacts of recurrent fires.
May 1, 2025 at 3:48 AM