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marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦
@marcofesta.bsky.social
1.4K followers 260 following 780 posts

🇨🇦🇨🇦 Retired ecology prof in Sherbrooke, Canada. Evidence-based wildlife conservation, mountain ungulates, kangaroos, ice fishing. 🇨🇦 elbows up!

Videos
Environmental science 41%
Biology 27%
Posts Replies Media Videos

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 6h
Snow turkeys

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

carrietait.bsky.social
Carrie Tait @carrietait.bsky.social · 1d
2022's use of the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and not legally justified. Ottawa loses in court, again:

www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... By @ebner.bsky.social
Trudeau’s use of Emergencies Act to clear convoy protests unjustified, appeal court rules
The federal government invoked the powers in response to the weeks-long gridlock in Ottawa mounted over COVID-19 pandemic measures
www.theglobeandmail.com

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 1d
Territorial aggression in ice fisher types leads to charges www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Man, 72, charged with assault after someone was ice fishing too close to him: OPP | CBC News
Ontario Provincial Police say a 72-year-old man has been charged with assault after he allegedly attacked someone for ice fishing too close to him.
www.cbc.ca

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 1d
de Gabriel Hernando: negative public reactions to B-bears in Greece mostly where bear population is expanding and 'new'. Compensation claims suggest coexistence measures are effective. People get upset when large carnivores first show up. 🧪 zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 1d
Just accepted to review a ms for Proks of the Sock and was informed that

Please note that it is not permitted to use generative AI in the writing of your review. Manuscripts must not be uploaded to AI systems or any other website or software.

Good on ya, RS!

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Paul Caplat

arjundevamar.bsky.social
Arjun Amar @arjundevamar.bsky.social · 1d
Good news - I suspect many other respectable organisations will follow soon....
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
RSPB 'shuts down' X account in 'foreseeable future' update
The charity felt it had no choice but to protect its supporters and volunteers
www.mirror.co.uk

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 2d
The times, they are a-changing. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Hansraj Gautam

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 2d
Renaud: green-up at Ram Mtn earlier by about 18 days over 22 yrs. Early green-up associated with longer spring. Weak or no effects of timing or duration of green-up on summer mass gain of bighorn ewes and lambs #LongTerm 🧪 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Euan G. Ritchie

drlozwhite.bsky.social
Dr Lauren C White @drlozwhite.bsky.social · 2d
New paper out in Biological Invasions! We show that “genetic rescue” can unintentionally boost invasive fallow deer in Australia. Genomic data & simulations reveal how escaped genotypes from farms may increase pop growth & spread → key implications for management. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Alan Richardson

thebeaverton.com
The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 2d
Legault resigns to spend more time privately hounding minorities
Legault resigns to spend more time privately hounding minorities
QUEBEC CITY - Quebec Premier François Legault announced his resignation today, explaining that he plans to bring his famed enthusiasm for attacking basic human rights to the private sector.
www.thebeaverton.com

Reposted by Brian J. Enquist

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 3d
I suspect much of this has to do with reduced grad student publication rate during and after the pandemic.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Joan Dudney

bjenquist.bsky.social
Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 3d
Really interesting and confounding trend reported in Dynamic Ecology - ecology citations peaked in 2021 and have been declining since. Continued impact from the pandemic? 🧪🌐🌾 dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2026/01/14/s...
Science (all of it) peaked in 2021
An ecologist friend* noticed that the annual number of times he’s been cited grew throughout his career up until 2021, when it peaked. It then declined for a couple of years straight. Then it…
dynamicecology.wordpress.com

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, A. E. Dessler, Diarmid Campbell‐Lendrum , and 19 more

windjunky.bsky.social
Andrew B. Watkins @windjunky.bsky.social · 3d
Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average.
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 3d
This pisses me off. Why does Air Canada let people board with bags this big?

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

gribblelab.org
Paul Gribble 🇨🇦 @gribblelab.org · 5d
For Canadian scholars, the reality is bleak .
Ottawa is dangling money for American researchers, but what about our own? #academicsky #neuroskyence #psychscisky

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 5d
I am very skeptical of contraception to control wild populations. This one may work if it is effective, widely distributed, the program is long-term and greys readily take the bait 🧪https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/01/10/a-weapon-that-could-help-red-squirrels-in-their-battle-of-britain
A weapon that could help red squirrels in their Battle of Britain
Their allies think the key to victory is strategic deployment of hazelnut butter
www.economist.com

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 7d
Hot in Sydney

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Michael H. Whitworth , and 3 more

brislen.nz
Paul Brislen @brislen.nz · 7d
I don’t think we should have ceded control quite so quickly and without so much as a fight.
A giant yellow sign on the side of the road announces “YOU ARE ENTERING A FRUIT FLY CONTROLLED AREA” and below that in smaller letters “Make sure you know the rules.”

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
Nothing to see here, just another normal day where many parks in the Oz stare of Victoria will be closed to ensure campers are not burned to death. Climate change kills.

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 8d
Carney cares not for suckers.
alexandreshields.bsky.social Alexandre Shields @alexandreshields.bsky.social · 8d
Le gouvernement Carney vient d’autoriser l’Administration portuaire de Montréal à détruire en partie l’«habitat essentiel» légalement protégé du chevalier cuivré, une espèce de poisson au seuil de l’extinction et qui existe uniquement au Québec. www.ledevoir.com/actualites/e...
Ottawa autorise la destruction de l’habitat du chevalier cuivré, un poisson menacé unique au Québec
La construction du port industriel de Contrecœur implique une opération majeure de dragage du fleuve Saint-Laurent.
www.ledevoir.com

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

alexandreshields.bsky.social
Alexandre Shields @alexandreshields.bsky.social · 8d
Le gouvernement Carney vient d’autoriser l’Administration portuaire de Montréal à détruire en partie l’«habitat essentiel» légalement protégé du chevalier cuivré, une espèce de poisson au seuil de l’extinction et qui existe uniquement au Québec. www.ledevoir.com/actualites/e...
Ottawa autorise la destruction de l’habitat du chevalier cuivré, un poisson menacé unique au Québec
La construction du port industriel de Contrecœur implique une opération majeure de dragage du fleuve Saint-Laurent.
www.ledevoir.com

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

jessepopp.bsky.social
Jesse Popp @jessepopp.bsky.social · 9d
Come work with us!

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

amydickman.bsky.social
Amy Dickman @amydickman.bsky.social · 9d
This seems like a spectacularly bad move in terms of international cooperation around key (real) threats such as climate breakdown & biodiversity loss, amongst others, but does anyone know what it actually means in practice if US withdraws from say IUCN?
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
www.whitehouse.gov

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 9d
I guess this is the equivalent of a visitor to 🇨🇦 posting a pic of a squirrel, but I still find goannas very exotic.

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

thenarwhal.ca
The Narwhal @thenarwhal.ca · 10d
Rumours and conspiracy theories are undermining Canada’s emergency response efforts, Sadaf Mehrabi writes. As wildfires, floods and droughts become more frequent, we need to tackle misinformation and improve public trust. Via @ca.theconversation.com: thenarwhal.ca/climate-misi...
Climate misinformation threatens Canada’s national security | The Narwhal
With Canada's wildfire season only months away, the time to combat climate misinformation is now, before the next crisis exposes the weaknesses in our systems
thenarwhal.ca

marcofesta.bsky.social
Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦 @marcofesta.bsky.social · 10d
So DFO was right in predicting a recovery when the moratorium was finally brought in in 1997. Except it took 3 decades instead of 2 years. A huge loss to the economy, culture and ecology, directly caused by poor management and ignoring scientific advice.
trevorabranch.bsky.social Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 12d
So everyone knows that northern cod collapsed completely in the 1980s and never recovered. Well... it's actually kind of recovering now. Spawning biomass is at pretty good levels, while catches remain at a tiny fraction of the heyday levels.
publications.gc.ca/collections/...

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social
Jorge Liboreiro @jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 11d
Joint statement on Greenland signed by the leaders of 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹🇵🇱🇪🇸🇬🇧🇩🇰

"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

moffettpeter.bsky.social
Peter Moffett @moffettpeter.bsky.social · 11d
Ten days left to apply for the Faculty position in #plantscience in the area of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the department of biology #usherbrooke.

www.usherbrooke.ca/emplois/offr...
Professeure ou professeur en biologie moléculaire végétale
Offre d'emploi : Professeure ou professeur en biologie moléculaire végétale, Sherbrooke, Campus principal, Université de Sherbrooke
www.usherbrooke.ca

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet

alexandreshields.bsky.social
Alexandre Shields @alexandreshields.bsky.social · 11d
Un nouveau pipeline pour réduire notre dépendance envers les États-Unis de Trump? Dans les faits, ce sont des intérêts américains qui vont profiter le plus du projet. www.ledevoir.com/politique/ca...
Vendu comme souverain, un pipeline canadien est célébré par Washington
Les investissements américains sont les bienvenus pour le pipeline devant nous «protéger» des États-Unis.
www.ledevoir.com

Reposted by Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Graeme S. Cumming

trevorabranch.bsky.social
Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 12d
So everyone knows that northern cod collapsed completely in the 1980s and never recovered. Well... it's actually kind of recovering now. Spawning biomass is at pretty good levels, while catches remain at a tiny fraction of the heyday levels.
publications.gc.ca/collections/...