Zoe Xirocostas
@zoexiro.bsky.social
Chancellor’s Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney | Board member @ecolsocaus.bsky.social | plant ecology, climate change, biological invasions, interactions, scicomm | invert-lover 🪲 and beach fiend 🏝️ | she/her | zoexiro.com
Currently listening to: the snap, crackle and pop of ballistic seed dispersal 🎶 💥
November 8, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Currently listening to: the snap, crackle and pop of ballistic seed dispersal 🎶 💥
Look at this monstrous beauty!!! Double headed hawk moth caterpillar 🐛 .. good luck with the metamorphosis buddy
October 20, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Look at this monstrous beauty!!! Double headed hawk moth caterpillar 🐛 .. good luck with the metamorphosis buddy
Some snaps from the field today in Heathcote National Park on Dharawal land 🌱
September 30, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Some snaps from the field today in Heathcote National Park on Dharawal land 🌱
Saw a red beardie yesterday (YES that's really one of its common names!!!) - or for the scientifically inclined, Calochilus paludosus🧔♂️❗
September 24, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Saw a red beardie yesterday (YES that's really one of its common names!!!) - or for the scientifically inclined, Calochilus paludosus🧔♂️❗
Spotted this big fella while teaching in the Blue Mountains with @ecologybrad.bsky.social
September 14, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Spotted this big fella while teaching in the Blue Mountains with @ecologybrad.bsky.social
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
🐝🌸 With climate change, many organisms are shifting their ranges, but some are shifting in the opposite direction to what we expect.
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
September 11, 2025 at 5:15 AM
🐝🌸 With climate change, many organisms are shifting their ranges, but some are shifting in the opposite direction to what we expect.
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
It was such an honour to present my research at UTS! Thank you to @zoexiro.bsky.social and @ecologybrad.bsky.social for the invitation and to everyone who came to listen to my talk 🌿
🐝🌸 With climate change, many organisms are shifting their ranges, but some are shifting in the opposite direction to what we expect.
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
Insightful and entertaining seminar by Inna Osmolovsky @innaosmol.bsky.social on "Climate Change and Shifting Interactions: Where Do Species Go from Here?"
September 11, 2025 at 11:25 PM
It was such an honour to present my research at UTS! Thank you to @zoexiro.bsky.social and @ecologybrad.bsky.social for the invitation and to everyone who came to listen to my talk 🌿
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
🌱 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
Read more 🔗 buff.ly/b4pbbgv
September 10, 2025 at 6:01 AM
🌱 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
Read more 🔗 buff.ly/b4pbbgv
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
The "living fossil" Wollemi pine🌲can self-fertilise! New research from #CharlesSturtUni shows this critically endangered conifer produces viable seeds without cross-pollination - which helps explain their low genetic diversity in natural systems 🧬
Open access paper 🔗 buff.ly/l3yG5Rt
Open access paper 🔗 buff.ly/l3yG5Rt
August 27, 2025 at 4:19 AM
The "living fossil" Wollemi pine🌲can self-fertilise! New research from #CharlesSturtUni shows this critically endangered conifer produces viable seeds without cross-pollination - which helps explain their low genetic diversity in natural systems 🧬
Open access paper 🔗 buff.ly/l3yG5Rt
Open access paper 🔗 buff.ly/l3yG5Rt
Spent the past month in Greece 🇬🇷 on holiday and visiting family. But surprised to see so many reminders of Aus (Eucalypts) planted on so many islands! (could they be contributing to the wildfires Greece is being ravaged by? So many questions!)
August 19, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Spent the past month in Greece 🇬🇷 on holiday and visiting family. But surprised to see so many reminders of Aus (Eucalypts) planted on so many islands! (could they be contributing to the wildfires Greece is being ravaged by? So many questions!)
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
📖Published📖
Arnold et al. propose a design that will allow ecologists to simulate more realistic heat events in the field by combining a controllable convection heater system with a semi-enclosed chamber with adjustable vents 🌍 🧪
buff.ly/k2GJSA2
Arnold et al. propose a design that will allow ecologists to simulate more realistic heat events in the field by combining a controllable convection heater system with a semi-enclosed chamber with adjustable vents 🌍 🧪
buff.ly/k2GJSA2
August 9, 2025 at 11:01 AM
📖Published📖
Arnold et al. propose a design that will allow ecologists to simulate more realistic heat events in the field by combining a controllable convection heater system with a semi-enclosed chamber with adjustable vents 🌍 🧪
buff.ly/k2GJSA2
Arnold et al. propose a design that will allow ecologists to simulate more realistic heat events in the field by combining a controllable convection heater system with a semi-enclosed chamber with adjustable vents 🌍 🧪
buff.ly/k2GJSA2
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
A HIDDEN SABOTEUR: Pilostyles hamiltoniorum is a parasitic plant that lives INSIDE its host, only revealing itself through tiny flowers on the stems.
New research shows this endoparasite slashes flower production by 52% in its host plants, despite being almost invisible!
OA paper ➡️ buff.ly/gArS9tO
New research shows this endoparasite slashes flower production by 52% in its host plants, despite being almost invisible!
OA paper ➡️ buff.ly/gArS9tO
July 22, 2025 at 6:21 AM
A HIDDEN SABOTEUR: Pilostyles hamiltoniorum is a parasitic plant that lives INSIDE its host, only revealing itself through tiny flowers on the stems.
New research shows this endoparasite slashes flower production by 52% in its host plants, despite being almost invisible!
OA paper ➡️ buff.ly/gArS9tO
New research shows this endoparasite slashes flower production by 52% in its host plants, despite being almost invisible!
OA paper ➡️ buff.ly/gArS9tO
Hot off the press 🌱🔥
Great fun working with Lyndle Hardstaff, Megan Murray, and @zoexiro.bsky.social on our latest flammability project
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone forests
@botsocamerica.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone forests
@botsocamerica.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
July 14, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Hot off the press 🌱🔥
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
🔥🌱 From the #AJB Special Issue: “Understanding novel #fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches" 🌱🔥
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone #forests
By @ecologybrad.bsky.social, @zoexiro.bsky.social, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone #forests
By @ecologybrad.bsky.social, @zoexiro.bsky.social, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
July 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
🔥🌱 From the #AJB Special Issue: “Understanding novel #fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches" 🌱🔥
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone #forests
By @ecologybrad.bsky.social, @zoexiro.bsky.social, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live-leaf flammability in plant species of fire-prone #forests
By @ecologybrad.bsky.social, @zoexiro.bsky.social, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2...
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
🌎 My first paper is out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social ! We propose the Interaction Opportunists Hypothesis: changes in biotic interactions may drive species downhill, equatorward, or to shallower waters under #ClimateChange. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #RangeShifts #Ecology
Counterintuitive Range Shifts May Be Explained by Climate Induced Changes in Biotic Interactions
Climate change is expected to drive species uphill, poleward or into deeper waters. Yet many are shifting in toward the equator, downhill or to shallower waters, which is opposite to the expected dir...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 8, 2025 at 11:14 PM
🌎 My first paper is out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social ! We propose the Interaction Opportunists Hypothesis: changes in biotic interactions may drive species downhill, equatorward, or to shallower waters under #ClimateChange. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #RangeShifts #Ecology
This title 🤌
June 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM
This title 🤌
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
Our paper on unifying theory around biodiversity–consumer relationships (pathogens & herbivores) is now out in TREE!
I hope it helps those navigating the forest of theories & hypotheses in this space to see more clearly 🤓
Check out @fletcher-h.bsky.social great summary of the paper here 👇
I hope it helps those navigating the forest of theories & hypotheses in this space to see more clearly 🤓
Check out @fletcher-h.bsky.social great summary of the paper here 👇
As a special Earth Day gift, our new paper integrating decades of related, but siloed research on how changing biodiversity drives plant disease and herbivory is out today in TREE www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Towards an integrative mechanistic framework for biodiversity–consumer relationships
Terrestrial plant diversity plays a pivotal role in influencing the abundance, diversity, and impacts of herbivores and pathogens (collectively, plant…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Our paper on unifying theory around biodiversity–consumer relationships (pathogens & herbivores) is now out in TREE!
I hope it helps those navigating the forest of theories & hypotheses in this space to see more clearly 🤓
Check out @fletcher-h.bsky.social great summary of the paper here 👇
I hope it helps those navigating the forest of theories & hypotheses in this space to see more clearly 🤓
Check out @fletcher-h.bsky.social great summary of the paper here 👇
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
Our paper on the integration of biodiversity-disease and biodiversity-herbivore relationships is out now! Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting us through #sDiv working group funding to bring together two typically disparate fields in ecology! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
April 23, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Our paper on the integration of biodiversity-disease and biodiversity-herbivore relationships is out now! Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting us through #sDiv working group funding to bring together two typically disparate fields in ecology! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Zoe Xirocostas
As a special Earth Day gift, our new paper integrating decades of related, but siloed research on how changing biodiversity drives plant disease and herbivory is out today in TREE www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Towards an integrative mechanistic framework for biodiversity–consumer relationships
Terrestrial plant diversity plays a pivotal role in influencing the abundance, diversity, and impacts of herbivores and pathogens (collectively, plant…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 22, 2025 at 9:32 PM
As a special Earth Day gift, our new paper integrating decades of related, but siloed research on how changing biodiversity drives plant disease and herbivory is out today in TREE www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Thanks to @idiv-research.bsky.social for supporting our sConsume working group!
Hey y'all! I have a few ecology honours projects available in Sydney starting either in Spring 2025 or Autumn 2026.
Project details available at: zoexiro.com/research/
Please share widely 🌼
Project details available at: zoexiro.com/research/
Please share widely 🌼
Research
Available Honours Projects Exploring the reproductive ecology and cross-compatibility of two colour variants of Lantana camara Supervisor/s: Dr Zoe Xirocostas & Dr Yvonne Davila Lantana camara,…
zoexiro.com
April 16, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Hey y'all! I have a few ecology honours projects available in Sydney starting either in Spring 2025 or Autumn 2026.
Project details available at: zoexiro.com/research/
Please share widely 🌼
Project details available at: zoexiro.com/research/
Please share widely 🌼
Very surprised to see things still flowering so late in the season but made my walk much brighter 🌸
(1. Crowea saligna, 2. Epacris longiflora, 3. Acacia terminalis, 4. Giant aerial termite mound?)
(1. Crowea saligna, 2. Epacris longiflora, 3. Acacia terminalis, 4. Giant aerial termite mound?)
April 14, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Very surprised to see things still flowering so late in the season but made my walk much brighter 🌸
(1. Crowea saligna, 2. Epacris longiflora, 3. Acacia terminalis, 4. Giant aerial termite mound?)
(1. Crowea saligna, 2. Epacris longiflora, 3. Acacia terminalis, 4. Giant aerial termite mound?)
Just wrapped up our second (very productive!) meeting for the sConsume working group at iDiv in Leipzig 🇩🇪
So glad to have such fantastic group members as collaborators and friends 💚🌿🐛🦠
@fletcher-h.bsky.social
@suzeveringham.bsky.social
@ebelingae.bsky.social
@annekempel.bsky.social
So glad to have such fantastic group members as collaborators and friends 💚🌿🐛🦠
@fletcher-h.bsky.social
@suzeveringham.bsky.social
@ebelingae.bsky.social
@annekempel.bsky.social
March 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Just wrapped up our second (very productive!) meeting for the sConsume working group at iDiv in Leipzig 🇩🇪
So glad to have such fantastic group members as collaborators and friends 💚🌿🐛🦠
@fletcher-h.bsky.social
@suzeveringham.bsky.social
@ebelingae.bsky.social
@annekempel.bsky.social
So glad to have such fantastic group members as collaborators and friends 💚🌿🐛🦠
@fletcher-h.bsky.social
@suzeveringham.bsky.social
@ebelingae.bsky.social
@annekempel.bsky.social
That’s a wrap on Science Meets Parliament 🤝
2 packed days in Canberra with panels featuring Ministers/Senators and R&D leaders, all aiming to infuse more evidence into decision making. Highlights were meeting with my local MP, connecting with non-ecologist ECRs & the fabulous gala dinner! #SMP2025
2 packed days in Canberra with panels featuring Ministers/Senators and R&D leaders, all aiming to infuse more evidence into decision making. Highlights were meeting with my local MP, connecting with non-ecologist ECRs & the fabulous gala dinner! #SMP2025
February 14, 2025 at 2:42 AM
That’s a wrap on Science Meets Parliament 🤝
2 packed days in Canberra with panels featuring Ministers/Senators and R&D leaders, all aiming to infuse more evidence into decision making. Highlights were meeting with my local MP, connecting with non-ecologist ECRs & the fabulous gala dinner! #SMP2025
2 packed days in Canberra with panels featuring Ministers/Senators and R&D leaders, all aiming to infuse more evidence into decision making. Highlights were meeting with my local MP, connecting with non-ecologist ECRs & the fabulous gala dinner! #SMP2025
