Lars Willighagen
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larswillighagen.bsky.social
Lars Willighagen
@larswillighagen.bsky.social
31 followers 36 following 51 posts
PhD candidate in Ecology at Radboud University, software developer for CDLI, Open Source programmer (Citation.js). Mainly on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@larsgw
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larswillighagen.bsky.social
One of my first open sources projects, Citation.js (citation.js.org), turns 10 years old today!

larsgw.blogspot.com/2025/09/10-y...
10 years of Citation.js
10 years ago, on September 28th, 2015, I pushed the first commit of “C [1] ”, which would later form the basis of Citation.js . Back then, ...
larsgw.blogspot.com
September 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
bdj.pensoft.net
A FAIR overview of identification resources, complete with an interface and a search engine: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....

#FAIRdata #taxonomy #biodiversity @larswillighagen.bsky.social
September 9, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ecology-radboud.bsky.social
There have been some busy bees 🍯in the department!

Judith van der Knaap and colleagues published a paper in Ecosystems about the contribution of drainage ditches to greenhouse gas emissions in drained peatlands here in the Netherlands.

Read here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Disproportionately High Contribution of Ditches to Landscape Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Drained Peatlands - Ecosystems
Drained peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; however, research has predominantly focused on terrestrial areas, with much less attention given to drainage ditches. Desp...
link.springer.com
September 5, 2025 at 12:37 PM
larswillighagen.bsky.social
Our paper on the Library of Identification Resources is out! In it, we describe how and why to record publications for the taxonomic identification of organisms in a FAIR database, and how to query that data to find applicable resources for an insect or a plant in NW Europe.

doi.org/10.3897/BDJ....
Library of Identification Resources: a FAIR overview of taxonomic keys
Biodiversity is declining globally, and ecological research is key to monitor and counteract this decline. Such research requires the taxonomic identification of organisms by both professional and cit...
doi.org
August 26, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ribesresearch.bsky.social
A large census conducted on 157 dikes along rivers in the Netherlands revealed that more and rarer bee species live on dikes than previously thought. According to ecologist Constant Swinkels, many more dikes can be made bee-friendly. #bees #science #ecology #dikes www.ru.nl/en/research/...
Flower-filled dikes attract bees: ‘Dikes are insect highways’ | Radboud University
A large census conducted on 157 dikes along rivers in the Netherlands revealed that more and rarer bee species live on dikes than previously thought.
www.ru.nl
August 13, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ecology-radboud.bsky.social
Paper alert!

PhD student Yvet Telgenkamp and colleagues measured Sphagnum carpet subsidence in a long-term vascular plant removal experiment at Store Mosse National Park in Sweden. They found that vascular plants provide scaffolding for Sphagnum moss.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Standing tall together: Peatland vascular plants facilitate Sphagnum moss microtopography
To preserve the heterogenic and diverse nature of peatland ecosystems, a well-functioning plant community is imperative. In intact peat bogs, such com…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
A useful deep dive on the forecasts here. theeyewall.substack.com/p/making-sen...
Did budget cuts play a role? No. In this particular case, we have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that current staffing or budget issues within NOAA and the NWS played any role at all in this event. Anyone using this event to claim that is being dishonest. There are many places you can go with expressing thoughts on the current and proposed cuts. We've been very vocal about them here. But this is not the right event for those takes. In fact, weather balloon launches played a vital role in forecast messaging on Thursday night as the event was beginning to unfold. If you want to go that route, use this event as a symbol of the value NOAA and NWS bring to society, understanding that as horrific as this is, yes, it could always have been even worse.
July 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
trevorabranch.bsky.social
In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.
trevorabranch.bsky.social Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2
Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research.
about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...
Call for Support: – About BHL
about.biodiversitylibrary.org
July 2, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
lancefly.bsky.social
Absolutely superb! I have a roost of Lasioglossum cf calceatum males in my garden. Maximum count so far 18. It's warm so thet are skittish and photographing them is hard. They have been building in numbers since about 16:30 hrs. This is just the best! Will give regular updates as it happens.
5 male Lasioglossum male mining bees roosting on buttercup seed heads. 7 male Lassioglossum males roosting on stems of and seedheads on buttercup plants. A patch of unmown lawn in a garden in Shrewsbury, UK. A roost of up to 18 males has built up here today - 29 June 2025.
June 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
larswillighagen.bsky.social
Found a species of shield bug I hadn't seen before, Neottiglossa pusilla! Related to Aelia and also found on grasses.
Closeup of a small brown bug with lighter dots and a central line, and a wide, flat face. On a white net. Closeup of a small brown bug with lighter dots and a central line, and a wide, flat face. On a white net.
June 18, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
epp.cdli.network
In Amsterdam for #dhbenelux2025 and got the privilege.to catch up in person with #cdli lead dev @larswillighagen.bsky.social 😁
June 4, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
snmrrw.bsky.social
Wow: after 15 years, YouTube has taken down the original 'Rick Roll' video due to a "licensing issue," likely due to the acquisition of Astley's record lable.

The metadata remains, but if you click through it goes to 'video not found':

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4...
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Rick Astley
www.youtube.com
May 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
siobhanleachman.bsky.social
A press release is out about the Biodiversity Heritage Library. From 1 January 2026 the Smithsonian will no longer host the administrative functions of BHL. BHL is looking for a new home. For further information see blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2025/04/new-...
#ILoveBHL #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary
A New Future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. A global consortium of over 660 contributors, BHL has made more …
blog.biodiversitylibrary.org
April 22, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
jamellebouie.net
really brutal chotinering right here www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Biden Official Who Doesn’t Oppose Trump’s Student Deportations
Why the Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt blames universities for “opening the door” to the Trump Administration’s professed campaign to tackle antisemitism.
www.newyorker.com
April 22, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
saranadosfiction.com
6,486 signatures to go. Let's get it done.
April 22, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ecology-radboud.bsky.social
Our colleague Bjorn Robroek co-authored a recently published study in Nature Climate Change discussing the role of photosynthetic microbes in peatland carbon dynamics. 🦠

Check it out: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbial photosynthesis mitigates carbon loss from northern peatlands under warming - Nature Climate Change
The authors use experimental and modelling approaches to understand the response of microbial photosynthesis to peatland warming. They show that warming amplifies microbial photosynthesis, which could...
www.nature.com
March 25, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
jamellebouie.net
holy shit www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
larswillighagen.bsky.social
me looking for that one snakefly on my bedroom window as if that's its natural habitat
sarahmackattack.bsky.social Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · Mar 23
I saw a raccoon down an alley ONE time and now I always look down that alley expectantly in the hopes that they’ll be there.
March 23, 2025 at 10:32 PM
larswillighagen.bsky.social
New paper! Comparative morphology of the larval stages of Cholevinae (Coleoptera: Leiodidae), with special reference to those in the Netherlands (doi.org/10.1163/2211...)

larsgw.blogspot.com/2025/03/new-...
Illustration of a larva with four red outlines linked to detailed drawings of respectively urogomphomere I, a tergite, an antenna, and a maxilla.
March 20, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
schilthuizen.bsky.social
As a teenager-entomologist in the 80s, I corresponded with nestor of my favorite family, Cholevidae, Peter Zwick. Tirelessly he answered my questions in typewritten letters. Such a pleasure to now coauthor a paper with him, first-authored by @larswillighagen.bsky.social:
brill.com/.../article-...
March 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ecology-radboud.bsky.social
Paper Alert!

PhD candidate Rosa Boone and colleagues recently published work in Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry.

They explored the potential of microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (mVOCs) as biomarkers along a land use extensification gradient.

Read more: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Microbial scents: Soil microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (mVOCs) as biomarkers for grasslands across a land use gradient
Extensifying land use practices – i.e. decreasing management intensity – is pivotal to facilitate the transition towards sustainable agriculture in pr…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
q.pheevr.ca
Books designed to be read only by human eyes are different from books designed to be read by machines, which is why Google will tell you that the phrase “shake my booty” can be found in an 1863 English translation of Don Quixote.
Screenshot from a scan of page 289 of an 1863 English translation of Don Quixote. The text is set in two columns. In the left column, we read in part “thou hast hit the point, Sancho, which can alone shake my resolution”, and on the right “thy share of the booty would would have been at least the emperor’s crown of gold”; by coincidence, these align so that the phrase “shake my booty” can be read across the columns.
March 24, 2024 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
ecology-radboud.bsky.social
New paper out in Applied Soil Ecology!

Joren Bruggink, Marie-Charlott Petersdorf, Wilco Verberk, and Henk Siepel investigated the effects of soil age and phosphate content on the microarthopod community composition in 32 Dutch forests.

Read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Soil age and soil phosphate content shape microarthropod communities of Dutch forest ecosystems
Soil microarthropods, particularly mites, are key contributors to the decomposition of plant litter and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, where t…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 20, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Lars Willighagen
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
This is quite a thing to find 18 paragraphs down in a story. wapo.st/4hW2xGI
During his short-lived presidential campaign, Kennedy proposed creating wellness farms where young people could "get off" SSRIs and Adderall, a stimulant widely used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Those comments were first reported by Mother Jones. A Washington Post review of Kennedy's public appearances found he also promoted these centers as particularly beneficial for Black youth. "Every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, on SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented, to live in a community where there'll be no cellphones, no screens. You'll actually have to talk to people," Kennedy said in a June episode of the 19Keys online show.
February 18, 2025 at 3:29 AM