J. Sebastian Tello
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sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello
@sebastello.bsky.social
520 followers 350 following 13 posts

Director of the Latin America Program at the Missouri Botanical Garden 🌿 - Describing and Protecting Plant Bioiversity | Passionate about research and conservation 🌎 | Views are my own.

Videos
Environmental science 60%
Geography 15%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Malcolm Rutherford, J. Sebastián Tello

amiberger.bsky.social
Ami Berger @amiberger.bsky.social · Feb 4
The cognitive dissonance of getting up every morning and making coffee and walking the dog and going to meetings and answering emails and wondering what to make for dinner while there is a real live actual coup d’etat happening is BONKERS

Reposted by J. Sebastián Tello

prosanta.bsky.social
Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · Jan 29
Such a nice job by @tropicalbotany.bsky.social presenting this month’s #LSUsciencecafe it was a packed house and besides lots of cool facts about botanizing in the Andes, Laura made a compelling argument to #savetheNSF and reaching out to your representatives to stop this grant freeze
Laura showing what happens to tonic water under a black light - more magic from the fever tree Use the QR code to learn more

Reposted by Encarni Montoya, J. Sebastián Tello

tobypennington.bsky.social
Toby Pennington @tobypennington.bsky.social · Jan 15
New review: the role of rivers in the origin and future of Amazonian biodiversity www.nature.com/articles/s44...
The role of rivers in the origin and future of Amazonian biodiversity - Nature Reviews Biodiversity
Amazonia features a highly biodiverse range of organisms and habitats. This Review explores the geological history and characteristics of Amazonian rivers and their role in shaping the biodiversity of...
www.nature.com

Reposted by J. Sebastián Tello

mongabay.com
Mongabay @mongabay.com · Jan 4
In 2024, Latin America continued facing chronic issues of deforestation, ecosystem contamination, violence, habitat loss and political turmoil.

Read more on how the year has been for Latin America:
Latin America in 2024: politics, turmoil and hope
Throughout a year in which Latin America saw elections in six countries and prepared for the biodiversity COP16 in Colombia, the region continued its struggle with extreme weather events, criminal act...
news.mongabay.com

Reposted by Bernd Lenzner, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, J. Sebastián Tello

jcsvenning.bsky.social
Jens-Christian Svenning @jcsvenning.bsky.social · Dec 22
Interesting read:
💰The high costs of peer review & grant writing
📊Bibliometrics as a partial alternative to peer review
🚀Exploring better ways to evaluate impact & fairness
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#grantwriting #funding #science #peerreview #bibliometrics
The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds | PNAS
Research funding systems fundamentally influence how science operates. This paper aims to analyze the allocation of competitive research funding fr...
www.pnas.org

Reposted by J. Sebastián Tello

mongabay.com
Mongabay @mongabay.com · Dec 22
Scientists studying Peru’s Boiling River found 11% fewer tree species for every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in temperature - hotter areas not only had fewer species overall but were dominated by heat-tolerant trees that typically grow in the warmest parts of South America.

Read more:
Amazon’s Boiling River gives scientists a window into the rainforest’s future
“You’re engulfed in waves of steam and sweating buckets and there’s no cool water anywhere,” Kenneth Feeley, a professor at the University of Miami, tells Mongabay. He’s describing the Boiling River i...
news.mongabay.com

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 12
This role offers an exciting opportunity to build on MBG's strengths and develop new initiatives to advance scientific knowledge and conservation in Latin America.

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 12
We’re looking for a dedicated researcher with expertise in plant biodiversity sciences—particularly plant systematics, conservation, or restoration ecology—to drive impactful research and conservation efforts in the region.

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 10
This is a groundbreaking initiative to expand plant knowledge, drive innovation on biodiversity research, and train the next generation of botanical experts! 🌟

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 10
This also is a major investment in the future of botany by training postdocs and dozens of young botanists in taxonomy and botanical curation. 🌱

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 10
Thousands of tropical tree species will be studied through hyperspectral data collection, unlocking new insights into plant traits and diversity. 🌳

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 10
This project will digitize over 6M herbarium specimens from around the world, creating a global resource for plant biodiversity research and conservation. 🌿

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 10
The Missouri Botanical Garden is launching a major initiative to revolutionize species identification! By combining data from our 8-million-specimen herbarium with AI tools, we aim to advance the study of plant biodiversity and provide unique insights for its conservation. 🌿

shorturl.at/tccro
Revolutionizing Species Identification (RSI)
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 9
We are excited to host Alejandro, Vanina, Yeison, Ana María, Ricardo, Juliene, Melisa, and Derek in 2025 and look forward to supporting many more future fellows in the years to come!

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 9
The International Fellowship Program was established to empower early-career scientists and practitioners. By providing access to MBG’s resources and fostering connections, the program supports fellows in advancing their careers while making meaningful contributions to their fields and communities.

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Dec 9
We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2025 Missouri Botanical Garden International Fellowships! 🌿

This year, we proudly welcome eight exceptional fellows from five countries. Their selection reflects MBG’s ongoing commitment to advancing plant biodiversity and conservation research.

Reposted by J. Sebastián Tello

tlpcouvreur.bsky.social
Thomas L.P. Couvreur @tlpcouvreur.bsky.social · Nov 30
Diversification of #Annonaceae. Unravelling the evolutionary history of this major tropical plant family using a near complete species level phylogeny. With ERC GLOBAL project postdoc Laura Holzmeyer & Fabien Condamine from CNRS.
Fabien Condamine trying to make sense of the results of a large study on the evolution of the tropical plant family Annonaceae

Reposted by Fernando T. Maestre, Paul Kardol, Chris Knight , and 4 more

frantecol.bsky.social
Franciska de Vries 🟥 @frantecol.bsky.social · Nov 27
It’s out!! We subjected soils from 30 different locations across Europe to extreme events and found that soil fungal and bacterial communities showed consistent responses that could be predicted from their origin! With @knightjar.bsky.social and many collaborators!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Soil microbiomes show consistent and predictable responses to extreme events - Nature
Soils from 30 grasslands across Europe were subjected to 4 contrasting extreme climatic events under drought, flood, freezing and heat conditions, with the results suggesting that soil microbiomes fro...
www.nature.com

sebastello.bsky.social
J. Sebastian Tello @sebastello.bsky.social · Nov 26
Felicidades!! 🥳

Reposted by J. Sebastián Tello

jcsvenning.bsky.social
Jens-Christian Svenning @jcsvenning.bsky.social · Nov 25
Identifying Major Factors for Success & Failure of #Conservation Programs: #Natura2000, #WaterFrameworkDirective & #RewildingEurope 🌿 Challenges: #biodiversity damaging subsidies & conflicting policies; facilitators: outreach & stakeholder involvement -see our study
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Identifying Major Factors for Success and Failure of Conservation Programs in Europe - Environmental Management
In Europe, various conservation programs adopted to maintain or restore biodiversity have experienced differing levels of success. However, a synthesis about major factors for success of biodiversity-...
link.springer.com