Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ
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matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ
@matthholden.bsky.social
2.3K followers 860 following 84 posts

Mathematician working in Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Fisheries, Natural Resource Management, Wildlife Trade, and Sustainability. Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. President of the Resource Modeling Association #LGBTQSTEM he/they .. more

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Matthew Holden Jr. was an American political scientist.

Source: Wikipedia
Environmental science 52%
Geography 13%
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matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Nov 18
When do you need to collect more data? ... surprisingly, more data often has little value for decisions. Our new paper unravels why "Value of Information Analyses" can yield surprising results in #ecology doi.org/10.1111/2041... w @katehelmstedt.bsky.social in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social 🌍
3D plots showing how the value of information is often low and only high when an analytic condition is met. See the paper in link for a full description Plots showing how the value of information depends on the number of actions and states, with more actions and states often leading to higher value of information. See the paper in the link for a full description

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· 13h
It's baffling why the Go8 (a group of 8 leading universities in Australia) endorsed a position to weaken environmental laws. Not only do we, the researchers at these universities, disagree, but our research shows it is a bad idea. In just one day, 90 Go8 researchers documented our opposition.
yungenchee.bsky.social Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social Β· 19h
We have no answers from our institutions as to why Go8 universities endorsed BCA's regressive EPBC recommendations

But 90 of us have signed an 'Independent statement on the Group of Eight’s position on EPBC Act reforms'

πŸ™ Prof Justine Bell-James for writing & coordinating the independent statement

Reposted by Euan G. Ritchie, Matthew Holden, Catherine J. Frieman

yungenchee.bsky.social
Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social Β· 19h
We have no answers from our institutions as to why Go8 universities endorsed BCA's regressive EPBC recommendations

But 90 of us have signed an 'Independent statement on the Group of Eight’s position on EPBC Act reforms'

πŸ™ Prof Justine Bell-James for writing & coordinating the independent statement
Independent statement on the Group of Eight’s position on EPBC Act reforms The federal Parliament is currently considering amendments to the flagship federal environmental legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (β€˜EPBC Act’). This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen environmental protections to reverse Australia’s current trajectory of extinctions and biodiversity loss. We are academics at the institutions in the Group of Eight (Go8), with expertise in biodiversity conservation science, climate science, policy, economics and law. We support amendments to the EPBC Act to strengthen protections for biodiversity and remove ministerial discretion and legal loopholes, in order to create a level playing field for businesses, and make environmental protection and recovery central to all decision-making processes under the Act. We note that the Go8 has signed a statement by the Business Council of Australia endorsing amendments that will weaken the Act’s protection for the environment. This statement does not reflect the world leading conservation research being carried out at our institutions. It also does not reflect the extensive evidence-based advice provided by experts based at Go8 institutions during the review and consultation processes over the past five years. We disagree with this statement, and the Go8’s endorsement of it. Signatories (in alphabetical order of family name) Professor Justine Bell-James The University of Queensland Emeritus Professor S Don Bradshaw The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Josephine Brown The University of Melbourne Honorary Associate Professor Peter Burnett Australian National University Professor Danielle Celermajer The University of Sydney Professor Iadine Chades Monash University Dr Yung En Chee The University of Melbourne Dr Shawan Chowdhury Monash University Dr Paul Close The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Carly Cook Monash University Professor Graeme Cumming The University of Western Australia Professor Saul Cunningham Australian National University Dr Christopher Cvitanovic UNSW Canberra Dr Nicholas Deal Monash University Associate Professor Angela Dean The University of Queensland Professor Emeritus Christopher Dickman The University of Sydney Professor Kingsley Dixon The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Daniel Dunn The University of Queensland Dr Megan Evans UNSW Canberra Signatories (in alphabetical order of family name) Dr JosΓ© R. Ferrer-Paris UNSW Sydney Associate Professor Anita Foerster Monash University Adjunct Professor Rob Fowler The University of Adelaide Emeritus Professor Alex Gardner The University of Western Australia Professor Christophe Gaudin The University of Western Australia Professor Andrea Gaynor The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Hedley Grantham University of New South Wales Professor Pauline Grierson The University of Western Australia Dr Liz Hicks The University of Melbourne Professor Dieter Hochuli The University of Sydney Professor Andy Hogg The Australian National University Dr Matthew Holden The University of Queensland Professor Stephen D. Hopper AC The University of Western Australia Dr Brad Jessup The University of Melbourne Laureate Professor David Keith UNSW Professor Richard Kingsford UNSW Sydney A/Professor Carissa Klein The University of Queensland Associate Professor Joanna Kyriakakis Monash University Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Nina Lansbury The University of Queensland Dr Natasha LeBas The University of Western Australia Professor Sarah Legge The Australian National University Distinguished Professor David Lindenmayer The Australian National University Professor Catherine Lovelock The University of Queensland Professor Kristen Lyons The University of Queensland Professor Rosemary Lyster The University of Sydney Professor Andrew Macintosh Australian National University Dr Ray Maher The University of Queensland Professor Martine Maron The University of Queensland Professor Sharon Mascher The University of Western Australia Dr Helen Mayfield The University of Queensland Professor Michael McCarthy The University of Melbourne Associate Professor Phillipa McCormack The University of Adelaide Professor Matt McDonald The University of Queensland Signatories (in alphabetical order of family name) Professor Karen McNamara The University of Queensland Professor Jessica Meeuwig The University of Western Australia Professor Malte Meinshausen The University of Melbourne Professor Nicki Mitchell The University of Western Australia Dr Rachel Morgain University of Melbourne Professor Craig Moritz Australian National University Professor Emily Nicholson The University of Melbourne Professor David Pannell The University of Western Australia Dr Tina Parkhurst The University of Melbourne Professor Kirsten Parris The University of Melbourne Associate Professor Natasha Pauli The University of Western Australia Dr Alexandra Pavlova Monash University Professor Jacqueline Peel The University of Melbourne Professor Jamie Pittock Australian National University Dr Pieter Poot The University of Western Australia Professor Hugh Possingham The University of Queensland Professor John Quiggin The University of Queensland Dr Cristina Ramalho The University of Western Australia Professor Amanda Ridley The University of Western Australia Professor Cynthia Riginos The University of Queensland Professor David Schlosberg The University of Sydney Associate Professor Robyn Schofield The University of Melbourne Professor Leigh Simmons The University of Western Australia Professor Paul Sunnucks Monash University Professor Stephen Swearer The University of Western Australia Professor Erika Techera The University of Western Australia Associate Professor Joseph Tomkins The University of Western Australia Professor Erik Veneklaas The University of Western Australia Professor Peter Vesk The University of Melbourne Dr Ella Vines Monash University Dr Jessica Walsh Monash University Professor Glenda Wardle The University of Sydney Professor James Watson The University of Queensland Associate Professor Alexandra Wawryk The University of Adelaide Professor Brendan Wintle The University of Melbourne Dr Nerida Wilson The University of Western Australia

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· 1d
Cute little spikey echidnas have massive poos! The size of a go card! The πŸ’© can also be detected by dogs. Let's turn πŸ’© into conservation solutions. Great talk by Kate Dutton-Regester at @uq-cbcs.bsky.social @brisbanetimes.bsky.social @qld.greens.org.au @hugepossum.bsky.social

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· 6d
Don't post your preprint on SSRN (option at many journals). Google scholar often delists papers that have an SSRN preprint. Arxiv preprints are more prominent in scholar. @elsevierconnect.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social @academic-chatter.bsky.social eg. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Expand or better manage protected areas: A framework for minimizing extinction risk when threats are concentrated near edges
Several international agreements have called for the rapid expansion of protected areas to halt biodiversity declines. However, recent research has sh…
www.sciencedirect.com

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· 7d
Love this Nesbit lecture by prof Ben Andrews on using the diffusion equation as a tool to understand geometry.

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Oct 23
Our new paper: If you get a bit more conservation $ should you expand a protected area or improve management? Past work suggests management is often more cost effective but we show when threats are concentrated near edges we find expanding may be optimal doi.org/10.1016/j.bi... 🌍
Redirecting
doi.org

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Lesley A. Hall, Matthew Holden

oldenoughtosay.com
madeline odent @oldenoughtosay.com Β· Oct 8
the answer to the trolley problem is not to pick who to sacrifice, it’s to dismantle the system that led to an unsafe trolley crossing.

if any part of your morality strategy involves picking a group to let die on a hill, throw the entire strategy out. it’s wrong.

Reposted by Hugh P. Possingham

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Sep 25
New blog: As a grant peer reviewer I consider Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) even if the scheme doesn't list EDI criteria. Key is to tie the selection criteria to EDI. This is how I do it mathemagicalconservation.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/a... @katehelmstedt.bsky.social @hugepossum.bsky.social
As a grant reviewer, how do you request Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, even if it isn’t an explicit selection criterion
Many funding schemes now include equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) as an explicit selection criterion. But what happens when it isn’t written into the rubric? Should applicants still consider …
mathemagicalconservation.wordpress.com

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Sep 16
Happy 4^ / 3^2 / 5^2 day!!! (3^2/ 4^2 / 5^2 for us weird Americans) Not too many days satisfy the Pythagorean thm. @amermathsoc.bsky.social @austms.bsky.social @stevenstrogatz.com @monsoon0.bsky.social ht Peter Baxter for noticing. Looking forward to coming back to the US for joint maths in Jan.

Reposted by Matthew Holden, Kate J. Helmstedt

matthras.bsky.social
Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social Β· Aug 12
Ooh arXiv paper from @matthholden.bsky.social @katehelmstedt.bsky.social about embedding sustainability in undergraduate maths with case studies πŸ‘€ Looks very actionable!

arxiv.org/abs/2508.07594
Embedding Sustainability in Undergraduate Mathematics with Actionable Case Studies
There is a growing need to integrate sustainability into tertiary mathematics education given the urgency of addressing global environmental challenges. This paper presents four case studies from Aust...
arxiv.org

Reposted by Hugh P. Possingham, Julie L. Lockwood, Elena Litchman , and 1 more

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jul 17
Excited for our annual conference on modeling for ecology, biodiversity, sustainability, environment, water, energy, climate, fisheries, forestry, & ag. Love all the cool #math & stats used to save the world. Join us in Stellenbosch 2026. 🌍#MathSky @hugepossum.bsky.social @katehelmstedt.bsky.social
resourcemodeling.bsky.social Resource Modeling Association (RMA) @resourcemodeling.bsky.social Β· Jul 16
Announcement: The World Conference on Natural Resource Modeling 2026 will be in Stellenbosch, South Africa, set in the heart of Africa’s Cape Winelands (30 min uber from Cape Town Int. Airport) June 30 – July 3. Propose a special session & bring your friends here resourcemodeling.org/wcnrm2026-st...
WCNRM#2026 Stellenbosch, South Africa - Resource Modeling Association
resourcemodeling.org

Reposted by Hugh P. Possingham, Julie L. Lockwood, Elena Litchman

resourcemodeling.bsky.social
Resource Modeling Association (RMA) @resourcemodeling.bsky.social Β· Jul 16
Announcement: The World Conference on Natural Resource Modeling 2026 will be in Stellenbosch, South Africa, set in the heart of Africa’s Cape Winelands (30 min uber from Cape Town Int. Airport) June 30 – July 3. Propose a special session & bring your friends here resourcemodeling.org/wcnrm2026-st...
WCNRM#2026 Stellenbosch, South Africa - Resource Modeling Association
resourcemodeling.org

Reposted by Benjamin Jones, Matthew Holden

benjaminpope.bsky.social
Benjamin Pope @benjaminpope.bsky.social Β· Jul 7
getting in an arms race with LLMs over em-dashes by using dashes so long β€”β€”β€” so very long β€”β€”β€” that they have never appeared in training data

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jul 1
Great work classifying ecosystems around the world to create an IUCN red list of ecosystems presented by Prof Emily Nicholson. Shows a small global decline in ecosystems but with extreme variation with some declining rapidly. 🌍
@aciucn.bsky.social @uq-cbcs.bsky.social

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 29
Just saw this amazing science article - Beetle grows replica β€˜termite’ on back to steal food www.science.org/content/arti.... Despite it being in Australia it wasn't one of the 1,168 species in our Brisbane home but we did find 6 species of rove beetle doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
Beetle grows β€˜termite’ on back to steal food
Puppet helps insect trick real termites into feeding it
www.science.org

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 21
Yes, where nuclear plants exist they should continue and be maximised to produce relatively clean energy. Of course, in Australia, and other sunny locations building new nuclear plants is extremely costly compared to solar, even accounting for storage and would be wildly irresponsible.

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 16
The latter (sorry character limits created the ambiguity). Agree with you, given that accounting for species protection only adds 2-3%cost, it would be interesting to see what the cost contribution of the renewables are alone. Would help to put that 2-3% in context.

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 16
He accounted for infrastructure to go the longer distance from the network when avoiding threatened species. Don't think there would be a difference in storage requirements with the increased distance. Storage is mostly about the baseline cost of renewables the % increase is on top of that.

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 16
Bycatch reduction interventions are effective for improving marine species populations but very few studies report the impacts on fisher safety, and other fisher objectives. This is a major barrier to adoption. Great talk by Cindy Vargas @arizonastateuni.bsky.social at #iccb2025.

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Jun 16
We can achieve 100% renewable energy in Australia & also protect threatened species impacted by wind and solar developments with only 2-3% increase in electricity bills compared to if we didn't consider threatened species. #iccb2025 great talk by A Rogers

Reposted by Matthew Holden

cfiesler.bsky.social
Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social Β· Jun 2
I really dislike this sentiment re: AI impacts on education: If an assignment can be completed by AI then it is clearly just busy work; educators need to create better assignments.

Absolutely not true. Just because AI can do something too doesn't mean that doing it doesn't have pedagogical value.

Reposted by Matthew Holden

lcsnz.bsky.social
Dr Lucy Stewart @lcsnz.bsky.social Β· May 22
The push for AI makes this even worse because we could very quickly end up in a situation where there are few or no early-career roles. Having computers do the easy stuff is all well and good until you realise *people* have to do the easy stuff to learn how to do the complex stuff.

Reposted by Matthew Holden

lordreptar.bsky.social
aaron @lordreptar.bsky.social Β· Apr 17
hi guys ik i don’t get political often, but this is super important and incredibly messed up. please like, repost, and fill out a comment

www.regulations.gov/commenton/FW...

#wildlife #ecology #conservation #biology #usa #habitatdisruption #preservation #development #earthday #government
On April 16th 2025, the federal government proposed to change the interpretation of the Endangered Species Act so that it no longer protects habitat Scan to submit a public comment April 17th – May 18th

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· May 7
My top tips for conferences 1) have fun, Skip some talks 2) go to the poster session 3) focus your talk/poster around one main message w email address on last slide 4) see who's attending in the program before you arrive and schedule meetings. @iccb2025.bsky.social
www.instagram.com/reel/DJQd0_h...
Login β€’ Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· May 6
Amazing talk by Dr Helen Mayfield on building models to manage ecosystems by consulting experts in a systematic way (expert elicitation) ... and most importantly an evaluation of whether it worked. @uq-cbcs.bsky.social @martinemaron.bsky.social

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Apr 8
Great talk by @alicetwomey.bsky.social on solving the barriers for transdisciplinary research in conservation at the @uq-cbcs.bsky.social seminar. The methods exist we just need to use them. doi.org/10.1016/j.pe...

Reposted by Matthew Holden, Kate J. Helmstedt

grogsgamut.bsky.social
Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social Β· Mar 19
Always remember - budgets are about choices
www.theguardian.com/business/gro...
Charts showing cost of increasing Jobseeker to 90% of age pension base - $3.5bn; raising it to 90% of total age pension - $5.2bn. Cost of super concessions for the richest 10% - $9.9bn + $10.4bn, cost of capital gains discount for the richest 10% - $18.6bn, cost of fuel tax credit for mining companies - $4.8bn

Reposted by Kate J. Helmstedt

matthholden.bsky.social
Matthew Holden πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @matthholden.bsky.social Β· Mar 18
Job alert: 3 Aotearoa New Zealand Postdoctoral fellowships in complex systems www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/2025/03/07/p...
Postdoctoral fellowships in complex systems
We're looking for three postdoctoral fellows to join our newly created Modelling for Impact Hub.
www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz

Reposted by Matthew Holden

katehelmstedt.bsky.social
Kate Helmstedt @katehelmstedt.bsky.social Β· Mar 6
We introduce a method to quantify how extreme events affect ecosystem function and services. Paper out today in @natureecoevo.bsky.social - very fitting on a day that Cyclone Alfred is looming off the coast of my city!
lauradee.bsky.social Laura Dee @lauradee.bsky.social Β· Mar 5
Thanks to @natureecoevo.bsky.social & the reviewers for the great process and highlighting this work in a News & Views: Effects of extreme events on nature’s benefits to people www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Reposted by Matthew Holden, Kate J. Helmstedt

lauradee.bsky.social
Laura Dee @lauradee.bsky.social Β· Mar 5
Thanks to @natureecoevo.bsky.social & the reviewers for the great process and highlighting this work in a News & Views: Effects of extreme events on nature’s benefits to people www.nature.com/articles/s41...