Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Morgan

@jwmorganecology.bsky.social

300 followers 14 following 0 posts

I am a plant ecologist interested in long-term dynamics, patterns of diversity, conservation management, botany, landscape change, native grasslands, neat experiments

Videos

Environmental science 50%

Business 13%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Sep 10

🌱 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

4 8

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Sep 3

Riverbank erosion in SW Australia exposed previously undocumented root clusters in Kingia australis. Research by Lamont et al. suggests these novel 'kingioid roots' enhance water and nutrient uptake rather than storage, linking with seasonal root-cluster types🫚

Paper here 🔗 buff.ly/Hi3BxLE

A dense, intricate cluster of golden-brown roots and rootlets from the grasstree Kingia australis, displayed against a white background. The cluster shows a complex branching structure with a main parent root extending horizontally, from which hundreds of fine secondary roots and rootlets emerge in all directions, creating a dense, bushy appearance. Photo credit: Byron Lamont.

The text on the image reads: "An eroding riverbank exposed the hidden root systems of the grasstree, Kingia australis."

6 19

Reposted by John W. Morgan, Julian Schrader

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Aug 21

A new journal category: Reflections. We're inviting reviews authored by research field leaders to reflect on a topic of their choosing, exploring the history of and provide context for the current state of our discipline. Our first guest is Prof. Mark Westoby #openaccess

Trajectories of ecology past and future

Ecosystems have many different processes going on. Researchers need to select and simplify, and so development of ecology as a discipline has involved finding different possible ways to select and…

doi.org

7 8

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Aug 21

African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is a fast growing, aggressive invasive species in Australia & North America. Early trials to control this agressive invader in the biodiversity hotspot of SW Australia are promising, writes Carl R. Gosper & colleagues #openaccess OA 🔗➡️

Control of African lovegrass by flupropanate in a flora conservation context

Context Managing widespread invasive plants to support biodiversity conservation is a significant challenge that requires weed control methods that have lesser impacts on co-occurring native species…

doi.org

2 4

Reposted by John W. Morgan, Elena Litchman

PopBio on the Dark Side @pop-bio.bsky.social · Aug 21

Shaopeng Wang will present the next PopBio seminar:

"Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability Across Spatial and Temporal Scales"

Join us online, Thursday August 28 1pm AEST. These seminars are open to all!

Sign up to our mailing list to receive the zoom link: forms.gle/uRJwbK1ZacZH...

8 9

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · Aug 12

Fire in focus: Clarifying metrics & terminology for better ecological insight 🔥🧪

This framework can help researchers & practitioners to
👉select fire metrics for research & management 📊
👉interpret previous studies 💭
👉form a growing body of knowledge 🌏

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

doi.org

5 9

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Lucas Eckert @lucaseckert.bsky.social · Aug 11

What can #herbarium collections tell us about genetic responses to global change? A lot!! 🌿

Check out our viewpoint, out now in @newphyt.bsky.social - genetic monitoring, extinctions, adaptation, GEAs, and more! ⬇️

doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Using herbarium collections to study genetic responses to global change

Earth's c. 406 million herbarium specimens represent a largely untapped resource of genetic data that could transform our understanding of global plant populations. Advances in DNA sequencing have ma...

doi.org

1 10 22

Reposted by Belinda E. Medlyn, John W. Morgan

Iris Hickman @iris-hickman.bsky.social · Jan 13

Excited to share that our paper on alpine vegetation dynamics on Australian mountain summits is out now! 🏔️ Huge thanks to coauthors @jwmorganecology.bsky.social, @susannavenn.bsky.social, and @jcamac.bsky.social

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research @aaarjournal.bsky.social · Jan 10

#Newarticle Hickman et al.’s long-term study finds that alpine summit vegetation responds multi-directionally to different, co-occurring drivers, with outcomes contingent on life history characteristics: doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2024.2429864

Long-term alpine summit vegetation cover change: Divergent trajectories driven by climate warming and fire

Alpine summit vegetation, the highest point of species geographical distributions, is vulnerable to climate change (thermal niche contraction), and there is evidence of change in Northern Hemispher...

doi.org

4 12

Reposted by Matthias C. Rillig, John W. Morgan

New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · Jul 18

Increasing the number of anthropogenic stressors reduces the effects of plant diversity.

A study by Yanjie Zhu, et al. represents a first attempt to address the effect of plant diversity under multiple stressors.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@mrillig.bsky.social #LatestIssue

3 8

Reposted by John W. Morgan

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · Jul 2

Nature-friendly farming boosts both biodiversity and crop yields — but scaling it up may need more government subsidies to become as profitable as intensive agriculture, a new study led by UKCEH and @rothamsted.bsky.social has found

www.ceh.ac.uk/press/nature...

🧵🧪 1/

Wildflowers in an in-field strip in an arable field

2 27 64

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Jul 2

In New Caledonia’s rainforests, the rare monocarpic tree Cerberiopsis candelabra may owe its success to fast seasonal growth and high juvenile survival. Salmon et al. tracked 134 individuals for 18 months, revealing traits that may help them thrive after disturbance 🌱
🔗Read more: buff.ly/CUN2V5V

4 5

Reposted by Wayne Dawson, John W. Morgan, Christian Schöb

Peter Dietrich @drpeterdietrich.bsky.social · Dec 7

Preprint alert!🚨 You want biomass data without clipping the vegetation? Use your smartphone for a 3D scan! In our manuscript you get instructions & a complete Jupyter notebook for immediate use! doi.org/10.32942/X2T... 🪴+📱=💚 #biodiversity #ecology #globalchange #photogrammetry

3 20 67

Reposted by Juli G. Pausas, Anurag A. Agrawal, John W. Morgan

Andrew Hipp @andrewlhipp.bsky.social · Jun 16

Long-term flowering-time data on Japanese mountain cherry (recorded since the 9th century!) shows a shift in full-flowering date beginning in the late 19th century.

Fascinating new @newphyt.bsky.social paper by @jgpausas.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

2 44 100

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Jun 13

We're delighted to announce the reappointment of @jwmorganecology.bsky.social and @markooiecol.bsky.social as Co-Editors-in-Chief of Australian Journal of Botany!
Their continued leadership ensures the journal remains at the forefront of botanical research in Australia and beyond 🌱 📖

8 29

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Natalie Ahlstrand @natalieahlstrand.bsky.social · Jun 10

Herbarium specimens reveal drivers of Arctic shrub growth @newphyt.bsky.social

Shrub specimens can be used to recreate annual growth chronologies and help understand plant responses to global change.

With @annebeejay.bsky.social, ZA Panchen, JDM Speed

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

1 13 36

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Jun 6

The germination success of tussock grass #Themeda triandra, a keystone species of many #grassland #ecosystems is hampered by variable seed quality and a lack of standardised germination protocols, according to Marne Durnin and colleagues from University of Adelaide 🌱 doi.org/10.1071/BT24...

Variable seed quality hampers the use of Themeda triandra (Poaceae) for seed production, agriculture, research and restoration: a review

Themeda triandra (Forssk.) is a tussock grass of international importance for its keystone role in grassy ecosystems and, hence, is often a focus for seed production, research and ecological…

doi.org

4 5

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Pacific Conservation Biology @pacificconsbio.bsky.social · Jun 5

Here's a hot tip!

Long term studies and monitoring of #threatenedspecies is a must to support decision making on adaptive #fire management strategies

Something to remember this #WorldEnvironmentDay

Read more here buff.ly/PfrEzQX

@PacificConsBio.bsky.social

A review of 60 years of fire management for threatened fauna and flora at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Western Australia

Context Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in Western Australia has a long history of ecological studies and adaptive fire management. This provides an excellent opportunity to assess the effects of fire…

www.publish.csiro.au

5 5

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Adam Frew @frewecologist.bsky.social · Jun 4

It’s alive! Our Mycorrhizal Networks special issue is out in Functional Ecology.
Packed with spore-tacular science.

A collection that highlights advances, identifies unresolved questions & the future research directions.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Mycorrhizal networks: Understanding hidden complexity

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 23 50

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · May 30

Soil-born fungi infects seeds and reduces germination success of Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock), an invasive species in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Bárbara Angeletti and colleagues. doi.org/10.1071/BT24....

Fungi associated with seeds of the invasive grass Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock) in its native range as prospective biological control agents

Context The South American grass Nassella trichotoma (serrated tussock) is widely distributed in central Argentina and one of the most damaging invasive species in Australia, New Zealand, and South…

doi.org

2 3

Reposted by John W. Morgan

PopBio on the Dark Side @pop-bio.bsky.social · May 27

Join us online this Thursday 1pm AEST.

Hye Jin Park @hyejinpark.bsky.social (Inha University) will present:

"Artificial selection for collective composition"

Sign up to receive the zoom link forms.gle/53hkcdcKPGfa...

NB. This seminar won't be recorded.

An image advertising the seminar as described in the main text but with the following abstract: Microbial communities can perform complex functions that individual microbes cannot achieve alone, but enhancing these collective functions through artificial selection is challenging. Here, we examine a simple microbial system to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the conditions necessary for successful artificial selection on collectives. By analyzing whether artificial selection can effectively drive the community toward a target composition, we predict its likelihood of success under different experimental setups and identify the key parameters that influence successful selection.

1 6 6

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · May 23

Quantifying the life history (fire tolerance) of six shrub and tree species reveals the historical, highly variable fire history of #banksia #woodlands in south-western #westernaustralia, according to Russel Miller and colleagues from @murdoch.edu.au doi.org/10.1071/BT23...

Plant life-history data as evidence of an historical mixed-severity fire regime in Banksia Woodlands

Context The concept of the fire regime is central to understanding and managing fire-prone ecosystems globally, and information on past regimes can provide useful insights into species disturbance…

doi.org

3 8

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Functional Ecology @funecology.bsky.social · May 21

📰Published📰 Flower early, flower fast: Flowering time is conditioned by plant traits under climate change in the Mediterranean🌼

buff.ly/Z3JVVBi

🧪🌍

Flower early, flower fast: Fowering time is conditioned by plant traits under climate change in the Mediterranean.

Daniel Pareja-Bonilla, Pedro Luis Ortiz, Leonor Patrícia Cerdeira Morellato, Montserrat Arista This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Cli…

buff.ly

1 7 11

Reposted by John W. Morgan

International Journal of Wildland Fire @ijwildlandfire.bsky.social · May 16

🌩️ New Research Alert! 🌱
How does lightning impact wildfire dynamics in Tasmania? This study identifies key drivers of lightning-ignited wildfires, Explore how treeless landscapes and dry fuels amplify fire risk in the Tasmanian World Heritage Area.

📖 doi.org/10.1071/WF24...
#IJWildlandFire

6 9

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, John W. Morgan

CSIRO Publishing @csiropublishing.bsky.social · May 16

We're excited to welcome Pacific Conservation Biology to Bluesky 🦋

Follow @pacificconsbio.bsky.social for research into the region's conservation issues, and the priorities and mechanisms for conservation oriented biological research.

#PacificConsBio @scboceania.org

4 9

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Journal of Ecology @journalofecology.bsky.social · May 15

🔥Climate change is reshaping Arctic tundra ecosystems, with increasing fire frequency being one factor. New research highlights potential transitions and alternative ecosystem states and their implications 🧪🌍
🔍 Article: buff.ly/DsVgOiH
🗞️ Blog: buff.ly/nK6qVOX

Arctic tundra ecosystems under fire—Alternative ecosystem states in a changing climate?

buff.ly

5 4

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Professor Euan Ritchie @euanritchie.bsky.social · May 1

New paper, led by @dadriscoll.bsky.social.

• High fire severity caused precipitous declines of two threatened species.

• Protecting or creating refuges is critical to counter increasingly frequent fires.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Megafire severity, fire frequency and their interactions with habitat affect post-fire responses of small mammal and reptile species

Climate change is driving extreme fires in many ecosystems around the world. There is an urgent need to understand how co-occurring and interacting th…

www.sciencedirect.com

1 8 13

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · Apr 17

Not all of Australia's flora can tolerate fire - and vegetation communities can take decades, if not centuries to recover. Ellen-Rose Sorensen and Jamie Kirkpatrick explore the complexities of post-fire recovery in Tasmanian alpine heathland 75 years after fire doi.org/10.1071/BT23...

Seventy-five years of vegetation change after fire in Tasmanian alpine heathland

Context Alpine ecosystems are threatened by warming and an associated increase in fire frequency. There is a gap in our knowledge of succession in Tasmanian alpine heath more than 50years after fire.…

doi.org

6 15

Reposted by John W. Morgan

The Keeling Curve @keelingcurve.bsky.social · Mar 30

426.62 parts per million (ppm) CO2 in air 29-Mar-2025 keelingcurve.ucsd.edu

The Keeling Curve

The Keeling Curve is a daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration maintained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

keelingcurve.ucsd.edu

1 13 24

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Matt Kmiecik @mattkmiecik.bsky.social · Mar 30

11 years ago, I thought R was unnecessary. Now, I can’t imagine life without it. The switch wasn’t easy, but it made me a better scientist.

You can read my journey here: mattkmiecik.substack.com/p/my-start-w...

#rstats #DataScience #OpenScience

My start with R

The programming language that made me a better scientist

mattkmiecik.substack.com

4 20 100

Reposted by John W. Morgan

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Mar 28

Quote: "Our findings show that all five factors [habitat alteration, overexploitation, climate change, invasive species, pollution] have a strong impact on biodiversity worldwide, in all groups of organisms and in all ecosystems."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Biodiversity loss in all species and every ecosystem linked to humans – report

Sweeping synthesis of 2,000 global studies leaves no doubt about scale of problem and role of humans, say experts

www.theguardian.com

6 25