Simon Heyes
@simondheyes.bsky.social
Rare plants | drought and climate change | soil specialist plants | grassy ecosystems
PhD student @ La Trobe, Australia
He/Him
Fedi: https://ecoevo.social/@SimonDHeyes
Blog: https://sdheyes.wixsite.com/ecologyblog
PhD student @ La Trobe, Australia
He/Him
Fedi: https://ecoevo.social/@SimonDHeyes
Blog: https://sdheyes.wixsite.com/ecologyblog
In the last 10 years this grassland has started to experience an explosion of shrub encroachment from hedge wattle (Acacia paradoxa) and Wirilda (Acacia provincialis)
November 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
In the last 10 years this grassland has started to experience an explosion of shrub encroachment from hedge wattle (Acacia paradoxa) and Wirilda (Acacia provincialis)
Not all of it is glamorous work. Here's one of my poo plots where we're removing kangaroo poo to estimate roo density.
November 9, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Not all of it is glamorous work. Here's one of my poo plots where we're removing kangaroo poo to estimate roo density.
I've spent the last few weekends at an incredibly diverse grassland here in central Victoria looking at species richness in the long absence of fire (probably 20 yrs in some cases). It's a cracking grassland with a wonderful diversity of annuals we don't usually see anymore 🌱🌏
November 9, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I've spent the last few weekends at an incredibly diverse grassland here in central Victoria looking at species richness in the long absence of fire (probably 20 yrs in some cases). It's a cracking grassland with a wonderful diversity of annuals we don't usually see anymore 🌱🌏
The range of habitats this species grows in is just fantastic. Here it is in a grassland in south-west Victoria.
September 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
The range of habitats this species grows in is just fantastic. Here it is in a grassland in south-west Victoria.
I spent last week demonstrating in Natimuk with over 80 second year botany students. Inch flora galore and a new one for me was Centrolepis cephaloformis (new favourite? Maybe). By far the highlight was watching the green veil come down for the students and watching them become budding botanists 🌏
September 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I spent last week demonstrating in Natimuk with over 80 second year botany students. Inch flora galore and a new one for me was Centrolepis cephaloformis (new favourite? Maybe). By far the highlight was watching the green veil come down for the students and watching them become budding botanists 🌏
Back in Australia and on the hunt for cool galls (my new hobby). First two are Uromycladium paradoxae, a gall forming rust fungi in Acacia paradoxa. The second two are rather special. They're Mesostoa kerri, a species of Braconid gall wasp and a major range extension for this species 🧪 #ecology
August 16, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Back in Australia and on the hunt for cool galls (my new hobby). First two are Uromycladium paradoxae, a gall forming rust fungi in Acacia paradoxa. The second two are rather special. They're Mesostoa kerri, a species of Braconid gall wasp and a major range extension for this species 🧪 #ecology
The number of different gall forming wasp species on Oak trees blows my mind. They're absolute super hosts for a some wonderful different galls. These are just a few I've run into near my parents place in Wigan, Lancashire.
July 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The number of different gall forming wasp species on Oak trees blows my mind. They're absolute super hosts for a some wonderful different galls. These are just a few I've run into near my parents place in Wigan, Lancashire.
2/ But 20 years later the restored offset has become dominated by short-lived Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle) that are now at the point of senescence. A few Eucalypts persist but a lowland forest it is not.
June 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
2/ But 20 years later the restored offset has become dominated by short-lived Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle) that are now at the point of senescence. A few Eucalypts persist but a lowland forest it is not.
1/ A few years ago I called in on an old offset project I worked on early in my career where I helped collect seed and plant trees. The idea was to restore local lowland forest (see image on this post) to offset that cleared for a large development elsewhere.
June 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
1/ A few years ago I called in on an old offset project I worked on early in my career where I helped collect seed and plant trees. The idea was to restore local lowland forest (see image on this post) to offset that cleared for a large development elsewhere.
Pomaderris have beautiful leaves with a mass of stellate hairs underneath.
June 13, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Pomaderris have beautiful leaves with a mass of stellate hairs underneath.
Been a lot of challenges in my personal life that's pushed me under a rock over the last year and I'm finally starting to feel like I can start crawling back out. So here's a few picks of another bunch of wonderful plants I'm working on.
June 13, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Been a lot of challenges in my personal life that's pushed me under a rock over the last year and I'm finally starting to feel like I can start crawling back out. So here's a few picks of another bunch of wonderful plants I'm working on.
In rain shadow country checking out a potential Silver Banksia reintroduction sites west of Melbourne. Some beautiful old Buloke and Callitris that I usually see in semi-arid areas and we found a possible grindstone that may have been used for grinding ochre!
May 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
In rain shadow country checking out a potential Silver Banksia reintroduction sites west of Melbourne. Some beautiful old Buloke and Callitris that I usually see in semi-arid areas and we found a possible grindstone that may have been used for grinding ochre!
Shocking to see extensive mortality amongst the remnant populations of Silver Banksia at my old study sites. It's been an exceptionally dry summer but I've never seen it this bad before. #drought #climatechange
March 24, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Shocking to see extensive mortality amongst the remnant populations of Silver Banksia at my old study sites. It's been an exceptionally dry summer but I've never seen it this bad before. #drought #climatechange
Is it a seed or a shadow? No, it's a mystery phytophagous wasp. Someone suggested it's Bruchophagus but we've not tried the keys yet so we'll see but any suggestions are most welcome. #SeedEcology #SeedPredation #entemology #ecology
February 25, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Is it a seed or a shadow? No, it's a mystery phytophagous wasp. Someone suggested it's Bruchophagus but we've not tried the keys yet so we'll see but any suggestions are most welcome. #SeedEcology #SeedPredation #entemology #ecology
Ptilotus macrocephalus is notorious for setting poor seed and yet it is an icon of the basalt plains grasslands.
January 22, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Ptilotus macrocephalus is notorious for setting poor seed and yet it is an icon of the basalt plains grasslands.
Crikey, looks like a good chunk of the Serra range and Mt William (Duwul) range in the Gariwerd NP is impacted and the fire front is now bearing down on the little town of Glenthompson. I just spoke to a mate who lives in Dunkeld and he evacuated but he's back now helping the CFA.
December 26, 2024 at 11:14 AM
Crikey, looks like a good chunk of the Serra range and Mt William (Duwul) range in the Gariwerd NP is impacted and the fire front is now bearing down on the little town of Glenthompson. I just spoke to a mate who lives in Dunkeld and he evacuated but he's back now helping the CFA.
A recent trip to the Grampians in Western Victoria where I got to explore some of the more westerly bits of the Grampians. Found what is probably one of the more southerly occurrences of Triodia scariosa. I wanted a voucher specimen but it was prickly as hell.
December 5, 2024 at 8:27 PM
A recent trip to the Grampians in Western Victoria where I got to explore some of the more westerly bits of the Grampians. Found what is probably one of the more southerly occurrences of Triodia scariosa. I wanted a voucher specimen but it was prickly as hell.
5. Grasses also become super abundant on these limestone soils compared to adjacent (rhyolite and tuff) soils. One of my favourites here is an Australian relative to lemongrass, Cymbopogon refractus and boy, does it smell like lemongrass. So, why do we see such dramatic changes on these soils?
November 25, 2024 at 10:46 PM
5. Grasses also become super abundant on these limestone soils compared to adjacent (rhyolite and tuff) soils. One of my favourites here is an Australian relative to lemongrass, Cymbopogon refractus and boy, does it smell like lemongrass. So, why do we see such dramatic changes on these soils?
4. One such plant is the winged Daisy-bush (Ozothamnus adnatus), an almost leafless shrub mostly found in NSW and a couple of occurrence in Victoria. Others include the rice flower, Pimelea flava ssp. dichotoma and pea, Pultenaea densifolia that are typically found in more semi-arid Mallee country.
November 25, 2024 at 10:46 PM
4. One such plant is the winged Daisy-bush (Ozothamnus adnatus), an almost leafless shrub mostly found in NSW and a couple of occurrence in Victoria. Others include the rice flower, Pimelea flava ssp. dichotoma and pea, Pultenaea densifolia that are typically found in more semi-arid Mallee country.
3. The habitat is quite open and grass dominated with some patches of dropping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) a widespread small tree of grassy and coastal ecosystems. The other thing that makes this site so special are many plants here are either quite rare or have very odd distributions.
November 25, 2024 at 10:46 PM
3. The habitat is quite open and grass dominated with some patches of dropping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) a widespread small tree of grassy and coastal ecosystems. The other thing that makes this site so special are many plants here are either quite rare or have very odd distributions.
2. Found on a single outcrop of limestone in eastern Victoria (East Gippsland), Australia. The outcrop is north facing and hot but the role of soil here is undeniable. The community is distinct and dominated by Limestone Pomaderris (Pomaderris oraria ssp calcicola) another rare endemic.
November 25, 2024 at 10:46 PM
2. Found on a single outcrop of limestone in eastern Victoria (East Gippsland), Australia. The outcrop is north facing and hot but the role of soil here is undeniable. The community is distinct and dominated by Limestone Pomaderris (Pomaderris oraria ssp calcicola) another rare endemic.
1. One species I've been working with over the last couple of years is the incredibly rare endemic shrub Olearia astroloba.
November 25, 2024 at 10:46 PM
1. One species I've been working with over the last couple of years is the incredibly rare endemic shrub Olearia astroloba.
Great few days surveying grassland and restored grassland plots under the shadow of the Southern Grampians with John Morgan (La Trobe) and Ben Zeeman (GHCMA). Currently working to get Morgs off X and on here.
November 11, 2024 at 11:35 AM
Great few days surveying grassland and restored grassland plots under the shadow of the Southern Grampians with John Morgan (La Trobe) and Ben Zeeman (GHCMA). Currently working to get Morgs off X and on here.
A distraction from all the doom and gloom.
A little while ago I managed to get some time on the Melbourne RBG desktop x-ray to look at seed viability. Check out the wasp in rare Buchan blue-wattle seed and here it is once we imbibed and open up the seed. A seed predator or seed predator parasite?
A little while ago I managed to get some time on the Melbourne RBG desktop x-ray to look at seed viability. Check out the wasp in rare Buchan blue-wattle seed and here it is once we imbibed and open up the seed. A seed predator or seed predator parasite?
November 7, 2024 at 1:54 AM
A distraction from all the doom and gloom.
A little while ago I managed to get some time on the Melbourne RBG desktop x-ray to look at seed viability. Check out the wasp in rare Buchan blue-wattle seed and here it is once we imbibed and open up the seed. A seed predator or seed predator parasite?
A little while ago I managed to get some time on the Melbourne RBG desktop x-ray to look at seed viability. Check out the wasp in rare Buchan blue-wattle seed and here it is once we imbibed and open up the seed. A seed predator or seed predator parasite?
Haha I know it never happened without a photo. I was more interested in the really rare endemic we went to look at (Acacia sporadica) so I only took photos of that and my colleague made the comment on the number of Acacia species on the same outcrop. Here's a photo of A. sporadica though 🙂
October 22, 2024 at 10:10 PM
Haha I know it never happened without a photo. I was more interested in the really rare endemic we went to look at (Acacia sporadica) so I only took photos of that and my colleague made the comment on the number of Acacia species on the same outcrop. Here's a photo of A. sporadica though 🙂