Dr Alex Bond
@thelabandfield.bsky.social
7.6K followers 560 following 3.5K posts
🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🐧 Conservation, curator in charge of birbs, island hopper, climber, connoisseur of fine teas, biscuit fiend, v left, queer af, Erdős–Bacon = 8, he/him. 📍 Tring & Milton Keynes, UK https://linktr.ee/albnd
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Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
ecologygrant.bsky.social
The shrew’s extinction increases the tally of Australian mammals extinct since 1788 to 39 species. This is far more than for any other country. These losses represent about 10% of all Australia’s land mammal species before colonisation 🧪

theconversation.com/and-then-the...
And then there were none: Australia’s only shrew declared extinct
Australia’s only known shrew has been declared extinct. Its loss emphasises the need for national protection of Australia’s rare and unique wildlife.
theconversation.com
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
jlalibs.com
What an absolute treasure Diane Keaton was. Her wit never tired, nor did her style.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
thelabandfield.bsky.social
don't get me wrong, it's a useful tool in some situations, but the fat that it can be used to generate a number means there's lots of data out there and conclusions based on ignoring assumptions or just plain old chemistry.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
don't get me wrong, it's a useful tool in some situations, but the fat that it can be used to generate a number means there's lots of data out there and conclusions based on ignoring assumptions or just plain old chemistry.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
free project idea #47: what have stable isotopes actually "revealed" rather than "suggested" and how many of those "stable isotopes reveal" papers have significant interpretation errors that alter conclusions. I'd wager it's >50% which is pretty damning.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
meanwhile, the field has largely stagnated, methodologically, and everyone treats references from >25 years ago as the most current knowledge because it's easier and doesn't make things too messy. Sigh.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
meanwhile, the field has largely stagnated, methodologically, and everyone treats references from >25 years ago as the most current knowledge because it's easier and doesn't make things too messy. Sigh.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
I spent years reviewing papers because I thought it would make a difference.

Authors ignored my comments and editors went with the authors' justifications.

So I have declined to review any stable isotope paper for the last 7 years as it clearly made little difference.
thelabandfield.bsky.social
Folks, this is why I refuse to engage in seabirds / stable isotope analysis even after spending 8 years deeply in the field.

It's all* rubbish and facts about how it works are treated as opinions by journal editors

*98.6% or more
thelabandfield.bsky.social
"The relationship we observed could be because of <confounding ecological explanation> or it could be because <actually the most parsimonious explanation grounded in metabolic theory>"
thelabandfield.bsky.social
two were getting them sent off to others (coauthors, journal) and the other two were sort of related
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
jackshoulder.bsky.social
#TodayInQueerHistory
October 11 (1988)
Coming Out Day is launched #OTD by Jean O'Leary and Robert Eichberg. They aimed to tackle homophobia. Eichberg said:

"It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes."
A bright Keith Haring work showing a person coming out
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
wadertales.bsky.social
Yesterday, IUCN declared the Slender-billed Curlew to be extinct.
How did we let this happen?
What lessons are there for the future?
WaderTales blog based on paper by Graeme Buchanan et al
wadertales.wordpress.com/2024/12/12/l...
#extinction #ornithology
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
tkingfisher.com
This is true and they are super endangered by poachers who shovel them up by the hundreds and sell them at flea markets and shit. You should not buy the plants and if you happen to kick the poacher in the shins on accident, no one will hear about it from me.
mossworm.bsky.social
still amazing to me the number of movies, games, etc. which have Venus Flytrap-based creatures in some form compared to the actual native range of Venus Flytrap, which is like, the great untamed jungles of a few wet pine savannas in North Carolina
map illustrating the native range of Venus Flytrap plants, just a little half circle around coastal North and South Carolina in USA
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
waderstudy.bsky.social
Today IUCN has officially declared the Slender-billed Curlew extinct, marking the first known global extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species whose range included mainland Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.

Read more here ⬇️
www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
thelabandfield.bsky.social
four notable exceptions...
thelabandfield.bsky.social
Worked on four collections-based manuscripts today that I doubt many people will actually read or cite, but they are fun so
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
birdlifeglobal.bsky.social
🚨2025 #RedList Update🚨

We have reassessed 1,360 bird species. Out of the 11,185 species assessed worldwide: 

⚠️11.5% are globally threatened.

📉61% have declining populations.

But restoring habitats will help put these species on a path to recovery.🌱

Read more👉 www.birdlife.org/red-list-upd...
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
joshlukedavis.com
with the official IUCN listing for the slender-billed curlew now being Extinct here is the rather sad piece I wrote about what went into this decision

I tried to include everything we know about their behaviour and biology, which is tragically little 🪶🧪
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
A picture of two slender-billed curlews in the Natural History Museum's collections.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
jobium.bsky.social
I really want to make a custom biscuit roller/stamp that has the Ea-nāṣir cuneiform on it. That way I could make biscuit tablets complaining about the quality of 3700 year old copper.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
theseabirdgroup.bsky.social
Newsletter/ Social Media Support position on our ExComm! Description ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/files/Newsle...

Apply by sending max. 200 words to [email protected] explaining why you're interested 🤩

[White tern image: Hayley McLennan]

#seabirds #teamtern #AssistantEditor
A White tern flying across the sea with a backdrop of bright blue sky.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
theseabirdgroup.bsky.social
Website Manager position on our ExComm! Description ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/files/Websit...

Apply by sending max. 200 words to [email protected] explaining why you're interested 🤩

[Common tern image: Debs Allbrook]

#seabirds #teamtern #WebManager
A Common tern sitting on a red Fire Point box.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
tweetisaurus.bsky.social
After we published the new specimen of #Spicomellus a few weeks ago, we were contacted by George Blasing, who said he'd bought some on the commercial market, and wanted to return it to Morocco. It arrived last week. Thanks George for doing the right thing in the name of science!
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
theseabirdgroup.bsky.social
Assistant Journal Editor position on our ExComm! Description ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/files/Assist...

Apply by sending max. 200 words to [email protected] explaining why you're interested 🤩

[Arctic skua egg image: Danni Thompson]

#seabirds #SEABIRDJournal #science
A hand holding an Arctic skua egg.
Reposted by Dr Alex Bond
theseabirdgroup.bsky.social
Social Media Manager position on our ExComm! Description ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/files/Social...

Apply by sending max. 200 words to [email protected] explaining why you're interested 🤩

[Humboldt penguin image: Ahmet Yüksek]

#seabirds #penguins #SocialMedia
A Humboldt penguin standing on a rock.