Kali Middleby
@kalimiddleby.bsky.social
Postdoc at AMAPlab, Montpellier. Interested in forest ecology, plant physiology, heat stress, and rainforest conservation 🌿
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Local Adaptation Drives Leaf Thermoregulation in Tropical Rainforest Trees
We tested whether tropical rainforest trees adjust their leaf traits and resulting leaf temperatures across their distributions within the Australian Wet Tropics. Using field measurements from across...
doi.org
Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
Reposted by Kali Middleby
We found that when temps hit 30°C+, C3 plants start struggling - their carbon metabolism gets disrupted, they burn through sugar stores faster, and even their isotope signatures change.
Meanwhile C4 plants? They're basically chilling like "this is fine" 😎
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Meanwhile C4 plants? They're basically chilling like "this is fine" 😎
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Hot and Hungry - High temperatures induce changes in leaf carbon dynamics and sugar isotope fingerprints - npj Science of Plants
npj Science of Plants - Hot and Hungry - High temperatures induce changes in leaf carbon dynamics and sugar isotope fingerprints
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
We found that when temps hit 30°C+, C3 plants start struggling - their carbon metabolism gets disrupted, they burn through sugar stores faster, and even their isotope signatures change.
Meanwhile C4 plants? They're basically chilling like "this is fine" 😎
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Meanwhile C4 plants? They're basically chilling like "this is fine" 😎
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Where we collect seed for restoration matters. In a new paper led by Jayden Engert, we examined where nurseries source seed for rainforest plantings and discuss what that means for restoration success.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 27, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Where we collect seed for restoration matters. In a new paper led by Jayden Engert, we examined where nurseries source seed for rainforest plantings and discuss what that means for restoration success.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Kali Middleby
Submit an abstract to our #EGU2026 session "Microclimate Variation and Heat Impacts on Vegetation: From Molecules to the Biosphere"(meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...) @kalimiddleby.bsky.social @santiagotrueba.bsky.social @sonyageange.bsky.social @egu.eu @egubg.bsky.social @hs.egu.eu
November 3, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Submit an abstract to our #EGU2026 session "Microclimate Variation and Heat Impacts on Vegetation: From Molecules to the Biosphere"(meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...) @kalimiddleby.bsky.social @santiagotrueba.bsky.social @sonyageange.bsky.social @egu.eu @egubg.bsky.social @hs.egu.eu
Reposted by Kali Middleby
In full sun, tropical leaves can become much hotter than the surrounding air. Their ability to cope can be a matter of life or death.
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/some-tr...
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/some-tr...
September 5, 2025 at 5:54 PM
In full sun, tropical leaves can become much hotter than the surrounding air. Their ability to cope can be a matter of life or death.
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/some-tr...
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/some-tr...
Reposted by Kali Middleby
New research reveals some rainforest tree species use self-cooling strategies to withstand rising temperatures, but others are more at risk.
Full story: shorturl.at/piQ5B
Full story: shorturl.at/piQ5B
Some Rainforest Trees Can Beat the Heat
New research reveals some rainforest tree species use self-cooling strategies to withstand rising temperatures, but others are more at risk.
shorturl.at
September 4, 2025 at 11:31 PM
New research reveals some rainforest tree species use self-cooling strategies to withstand rising temperatures, but others are more at risk.
Full story: shorturl.at/piQ5B
Full story: shorturl.at/piQ5B
Featured on the cover of @globalchangebio.bsky.social is a thermal image of Elaeocarpus Grandis taken at @jcuofficial.bsky.social Daintree Rainforest Observatory. In this species we find that populations originating from warmer climates have narrower leaves with higher rates of water loss.
September 4, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Featured on the cover of @globalchangebio.bsky.social is a thermal image of Elaeocarpus Grandis taken at @jcuofficial.bsky.social Daintree Rainforest Observatory. In this species we find that populations originating from warmer climates have narrower leaves with higher rates of water loss.
Check out our piece in @theconversation.com explaining how intraspecific trait coordination across climatic gradients helps to avoid heat stress in some (but not all) tropical tree species
theconversation.com/some-tropica...
theconversation.com/some-tropica...
Some tropical trees cool their leaves to survive the heat — but not all species have ways to cope
In full sun, tropical leaves can become much hotter than the surrounding air. Their ability to cope can be a matter of life or death.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Check out our piece in @theconversation.com explaining how intraspecific trait coordination across climatic gradients helps to avoid heat stress in some (but not all) tropical tree species
theconversation.com/some-tropica...
theconversation.com/some-tropica...
Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
Local Adaptation Drives Leaf Thermoregulation in Tropical Rainforest Trees
We tested whether tropical rainforest trees adjust their leaf traits and resulting leaf temperatures across their distributions within the Australian Wet Tropics. Using field measurements from across...
doi.org
September 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
What a wonderful time sharing ideas with fellow plant nerds 💚
Thank you to our brilliant delegates, mentors, speakers, the organising committee and our hosts at the University of Birmingham for making New Phytologist next generation scientists 2025 a great success!
August 14, 2025 at 9:53 AM
What a wonderful time sharing ideas with fellow plant nerds 💚
Heading to Oaxaca for #ATBC2025 ? Make sure you stop by our symposium for all things leaf temperature, heat tolerance, and tradeoffs across climate gradients 🌿💧🌡️
June 26, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Heading to Oaxaca for #ATBC2025 ? Make sure you stop by our symposium for all things leaf temperature, heat tolerance, and tradeoffs across climate gradients 🌿💧🌡️
Reposted by Kali Middleby
I have an opportunity for a new PhD student in tropical tree ecophysiology in my lab. Some more details at the link below. Please pass along!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Responses of tropical forest trees to rising carbon dioxide - conifers versus angiosperms at James Cook University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Responses of tropical forest trees to rising carbon dioxide - conifers versus angiosperms at James Cook University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
June 17, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I have an opportunity for a new PhD student in tropical tree ecophysiology in my lab. Some more details at the link below. Please pass along!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Proud to have my thermal image on the cover of this fantastic issue - now time to check out the research inside!
As the world warms, plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings find ways to respond to the heat.
In a new special issue of Science, researchers examine how heat affects plants at multiple scales, from the molecular level to the biosphere. scim.ag/44cSw3Z
In a new special issue of Science, researchers examine how heat affects plants at multiple scales, from the molecular level to the biosphere. scim.ag/44cSw3Z
June 13, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Proud to have my thermal image on the cover of this fantastic issue - now time to check out the research inside!
Reposted by Kali Middleby
#AMAPwebinar april 29th, 11:00 (CET)
Kali Middeby, post-doc, AMAPlab, Montpellier
"Patterns and drivers of leaf thermoregulation in rainforest trees of the Australian Wet Tropics"
amap.cirad.fr/fr/edit-even...
Kali Middeby, post-doc, AMAPlab, Montpellier
"Patterns and drivers of leaf thermoregulation in rainforest trees of the Australian Wet Tropics"
amap.cirad.fr/fr/edit-even...
UMR AMAP - botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations
amap.cirad.fr
April 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
#AMAPwebinar april 29th, 11:00 (CET)
Kali Middeby, post-doc, AMAPlab, Montpellier
"Patterns and drivers of leaf thermoregulation in rainforest trees of the Australian Wet Tropics"
amap.cirad.fr/fr/edit-even...
Kali Middeby, post-doc, AMAPlab, Montpellier
"Patterns and drivers of leaf thermoregulation in rainforest trees of the Australian Wet Tropics"
amap.cirad.fr/fr/edit-even...
Reposted by Kali Middleby
🔥Can heatwaves leave a thermal leaky legacy?🔥
Check out our latest paper on gmin dynamics during and after thermal stress🍃📄
Extremely proud of my student Viviane!
Special thanks to @hcochard.bsky.social @torresruizjm.bsky.social @martijnslot.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/plph...
Check out our latest paper on gmin dynamics during and after thermal stress🍃📄
Extremely proud of my student Viviane!
Special thanks to @hcochard.bsky.social @torresruizjm.bsky.social @martijnslot.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/plph...
Leaf minimum conductance dynamics during and after heat stress: Implications for plant survival under hotter droughts
Temperatures above a critical threshold can increase leaf minimum conductance after cooling, evidencing a “thermal leaky legacy effect” that can reduce pla
doi.org
February 11, 2025 at 5:57 AM
🔥Can heatwaves leave a thermal leaky legacy?🔥
Check out our latest paper on gmin dynamics during and after thermal stress🍃📄
Extremely proud of my student Viviane!
Special thanks to @hcochard.bsky.social @torresruizjm.bsky.social @martijnslot.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/plph...
Check out our latest paper on gmin dynamics during and after thermal stress🍃📄
Extremely proud of my student Viviane!
Special thanks to @hcochard.bsky.social @torresruizjm.bsky.social @martijnslot.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/plph...
Reposted by Kali Middleby
Happy to share a new paper, "Effects of Hot Versus Dry Vapor Pressure Deficit on Ecosystem Carbon and Water Fluxes," led by the amazing Miriam Johnston w/ @mallorybarnes.bsky.social and others agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
January 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Happy to share a new paper, "Effects of Hot Versus Dry Vapor Pressure Deficit on Ecosystem Carbon and Water Fluxes," led by the amazing Miriam Johnston w/ @mallorybarnes.bsky.social and others agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Check out our new article just out in The Conversation highlighting the effects of warming leaves +4°C in tropical trees. 🌿🌡️ theconversation.com/study-shows-...
Study shows hot leaves can’t catch carbon from the air. It’s bad news for rainforests – and Earth
An experiment in the Daintree rainforest found the rate of photosynthesis in leaves warmed by 4°C dropped by an average of 35% compared to non-warmed controls.
theconversation.com
January 15, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Check out our new article just out in The Conversation highlighting the effects of warming leaves +4°C in tropical trees. 🌿🌡️ theconversation.com/study-shows-...
How do tropical rainforest trees respond to warming? 🌡️🌿We experimentally warmed canopy leaves by 4°C for 8 months and found significant declines in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, with no shift in Topt. Read the new paper, led by Kristine Crous here: shorturl.at/AVTOk
December 8, 2024 at 2:17 AM
How do tropical rainforest trees respond to warming? 🌡️🌿We experimentally warmed canopy leaves by 4°C for 8 months and found significant declines in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, with no shift in Topt. Read the new paper, led by Kristine Crous here: shorturl.at/AVTOk
Time to introduce myself! Recently, I defended my thesis titled "Patterns and Drivers of Leaf Thermoregulation in Rainforest Trees of the Australian Wet Tropics" where I focused on the role of within-species acclimation and adaptation on leaf temperature. Here’s a little summary of what went on…
December 6, 2024 at 1:01 AM
Time to introduce myself! Recently, I defended my thesis titled "Patterns and Drivers of Leaf Thermoregulation in Rainforest Trees of the Australian Wet Tropics" where I focused on the role of within-species acclimation and adaptation on leaf temperature. Here’s a little summary of what went on…
Why am I a plant ecophysiologist?
7 years ago, I sat above the trees in a mature tropical rainforest and enter an entirely new world. Thanks to the Daintree Rainforest Observatory's canopy access crane.
Now our much loved research station is under financial threat
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...
7 years ago, I sat above the trees in a mature tropical rainforest and enter an entirely new world. Thanks to the Daintree Rainforest Observatory's canopy access crane.
Now our much loved research station is under financial threat
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...
Rainforest research station and rare 47m-high canopy crane face closure
James Cook Univeristy says its Daintree Rainforest research station is "severely under-utilised", even though the canopy crane is one of only six in the tropics worldwide.
www.abc.net.au
November 12, 2024 at 11:22 PM
Why am I a plant ecophysiologist?
7 years ago, I sat above the trees in a mature tropical rainforest and enter an entirely new world. Thanks to the Daintree Rainforest Observatory's canopy access crane.
Now our much loved research station is under financial threat
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...
7 years ago, I sat above the trees in a mature tropical rainforest and enter an entirely new world. Thanks to the Daintree Rainforest Observatory's canopy access crane.
Now our much loved research station is under financial threat
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...