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csiropublishing.bsky.social
CSIRO Publishing
@csiropublishing.bsky.social
990 followers 150 following 610 posts
Australia's leading publisher of science news, journals and books.

Not-for-profit, editorially independent and proudly part of the research community.

About us + print books: publishing.csiro.au
Digital content (news, journals and eBooks): connectsci.au
Posts Replies Media Videos
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Care for future scientists runs through all of @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social's work.

As author of the picture books The Voyage of Whale and Calf & Oceans at Night, she knows that wonder begins early & encouragement can shape a lifetime.

Learn more about her books: www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8029
A professional headshot of Vanessa Pirotta holding her children's picture book, The Voyage of Whale and Calf. Vanessa wears a black blazer, and her shoulder-length dark hair is wavy as she smiles gently at us.
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
The full transcript of @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social's address is published in #AusZoologist, the journal of @rzsnsw.bsky.social: connectsci.au/az/article/4...

We hope it inspires curiosity, confidence, and possibility; especially for the young researchers still finding their way.
Opinion Piece: Australia's Scientific Future: Built on Education, Connection, and Investment
Vanessa Pirotta, Opinion Piece: Australia's Scientific Future: Built on Education, Connection, and Investment, Australian Zoologist, Volume 44, Issue 4, 1
connectsci.au
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
… Science looks different to us all. It is about merging new ideas with different people's skill sets. There will be highs and lows, but keep going because when you look back, you will realise you have done so much."
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
"If I could travel back to tell a young Vanessa something it would be: be patient and trust in your journey. Your path will be like no other and every experience will help build the scientist you become, one with many transferable skills...
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Thinking back to the little girl she was, watching Ranger Stacy on 'Totally Wild' and dreaming of becoming a dolphin trainer, @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social – now a wildlife scientist and author – offered this reflection:
Vanessa Pirotta, with long, dark brown hair and a wide smile on her face, is wearing a navy blue life vest and holds a yellow drone. Her photo is superimposed over a backdrop of the sea at sunset. Above her head, a quote by her reads: "If I could travel back to tell a young Vanessa something, it would be: be patient and trust in your journey. Your path will be like no other and every experience will help build the scientist you become.” A small arrow encourages the viewer to swipe right. The sea at sunset with a silhouette of a woman and a small girl holding hands. The photo is credited as being by Vladimir Srajber, Pexels. A quote from Vanessa Pirotta, wildlife scientist and author, reads; "There will be highs and lows. keep going because when you look back, you will realise you have done so much."
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Today, on International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re sharing one scientist’s message to her younger self.

@drvanessapirotta.bsky.social delivered an address at National Press Club last year on Australia’s scientific future, speaking to the importance of nurturing the next generation.
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
You occupy our every thought, libraries.

With #LibraryLoversDay this Sat 14 Feb, we're reaffirming our romance with libraries, which provide access to information & entertainment, often with free services & events.

Show your library some love this weekend!
#WeLoveLibraries #BookLoversForBridgerton
A still from the series Bridgerton, showing the character Penelope Featherington from an over-the-shoulder perspective as she gazes into the eyes of Colin Bridgerton. Her facial expression is tender and her eyes filled with attraction, as Colin lightly takes her chin in one hand, her thick red hair cascading over one shoulder. If there was a photo to illustrate 'in love' in the dictionary, this could be it. Colin is labelled "A notification from my library that my request is ready for pickup" and Penelope is labelled "Me". A still from the series Bridgerton, showing the character Penelope Featherington from an over-the-shoulder perspective as she gazes into the eyes of Colin Bridgerton. Her facial expression is tender and her eyes filled with attraction, as Colin lightly takes her chin in one hand, her thick red hair cascading over one shoulder. If there was a photo to illustrate 'in love' in the dictionary, this could be it. Colin is labelled "My library" and Penelope is labelled "Me". Colin says: "Free access to audiobooks, magazines and journal articles". A still from the series Bridgerton, showing the character Penelope Featherington from an over-the-shoulder perspective as she gazes into the eyes of Colin Bridgerton. Her facial expression is tender and her eyes filled with attraction, as Colin lightly takes her chin in one hand, her thick red hair cascading over one shoulder. If there was a photo to illustrate 'in love' in the dictionary, this could be it. Colin is labelled "My library hosting my favourite author for a talk about their new book" and Penelope is labelled "Me". A still from the series Bridgerton, showing the character Penelope Featherington from an over-the-shoulder perspective as she gazes into the eyes of Colin Bridgerton. Her facial expression is tender and her eyes filled with attraction, as Colin lightly takes her chin in one hand, her thick red hair cascading over one shoulder. If there was a photo to illustrate 'in love' in the dictionary, this could be it. Colin is labelled "My library" and Penelope is labelled "Me". Colin says: "Come to a maker event and learn a new skill while meeting like-minded people".
February 9, 2026 at 11:46 PM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
A new #OpenAccess article in @pacificconsbio.bsky.social quantifies the impact of entanglement on wildlife in terms of entanglement materials and impacts on particular species, especially species that are threatened with extinction.

connectsci.au/pc/article/3...

#PacificConsBio
Three grey-headed flying foxes hang upside down in a tree, while a fourth flies overhead, its black leathery wings gleaming in the sunshine. A caption invites us to read an open access article in Pacific Conservation Biology titled 'Untangling wildlife entanglements: patterns represented in rescue data from New South Wales, Australia'. The photo is credited as being by Mark Thomas, Pexels.
February 9, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
jhaue.bsky.social
Pesticides are getting more harmful, threatening global biodiversity goals
A study using a new analytic method suggests trends in worldwide pesticide toxicity fall far short of global goals, requiring immediate and coordinated action across countries.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Pesticides are getting more harmful, threatening global biodiversity goals
A study using a new analytic method suggests trends in worldwide pesticide toxicity fall far short of global goals, requiring immediate and coordinated action across countries. National representative...
connectsci.au
February 8, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Trophic ecology and stable isotope niche space of tunas, billfishes, and sharks in New Zealand waters connectsci.au/mf/article/d...
Trophic ecology and stable isotope niche space of tunas, billfishes, and sharks in New Zealand waters
Context. Highly migratory species (HMS), such as tunas, billfishes and sharks are a major component of the top predator guild in oceanic ecosystems, but th
connectsci.au
February 7, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Utilisation of the Gulf of Mexico by western North Atlantic white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) as an overwintering area connectsci.au/wr/article/d...
Utilisation of the Gulf of Mexico by western North Atlantic white sharks (<italic>Carcharodon carcharias</italic>) as an overwintering area
<b>Context</b> The white shark (<italic> Carcharodon carcharias </italic>) is a large, highly migratory, apex predator typically fo
connectsci.au
February 7, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
inaturalist.bsky.social
Ptilotus senarius hadn’t been seen since the 1960s. People thought it was extinct — until nature-enthusiast and horticulturist Aaron Bean came across it and shared an observation to iNaturalist. There, community members helped confirm what once seemed impossible: this species had survived.
Close-up of delicate pink and white fuzzy flower held in hand. Text reads "FOR 60 YEARS, PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS PLANT WAS EXTINCT" Field of silvery-pink feathery flowers growing among grasses. Text explains Ptilotus senarius hadn't been seen since the 1960s until someone shared it on iNaturalist. Ground view of flowering plant growing in rocky soil. Text reads "On iNaturalist, community members helped confirm this species had survived, unnoticed, for decades." Flowering plants in Australian bushland with eucalyptus trees. Text reads "SOMETHING THAT LOOKS ORDINARY MIGHT SURPRISE YOU — AND EVERYONE."
February 6, 2026 at 3:01 PM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
New #EditorChoice article 📢

'Scientific attaché in Moscow. The 1944 appointment of Professor Eric Ashby to the Australian Legation in Soviet Russia' by James Cotton.

Published #FreeToRead in #HistoricalRecordsAS: doi.org/10.1071/HR25...
The cover of Historical Records of Australian Science against a background photo of the Shine Dome in Canberra, with the caption: "The history of science, pure and applied, in Australia, New Zealand and the southwest Pacific. ConnectSci.au/HR"
February 9, 2026 at 12:06 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
A happy day for herpetology and Harold Heatwole! 🦎

Harold was pleased to received his author copy of Biology of Skinks of the Genus Lampropholis, co-authored with Shelley Burgin.

Newly released in January, ask for it at your library or order online: www.publishing.csiro.au/book/8194
Harold Heatwole smiles at the camera. He is seated in a loungechair, holding open a copy of his book 'Biology of Skinks of the Genus Lampropholis'.
February 8, 2026 at 10:35 PM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
A horticulturalist putting bands on birds in a remote part of QLD saw an interesting plant.

He uploaded photos to a #CitizenScience app, where a Queensland Herbarium botanist saw them and recognised a plant thought to be extinct:

connectsci.au/news/news-pa...

@ausjbotany.bsky.social #AusJBotany
Citizen scientist re-discovers Australian plant thought extinct for nearly 60 years
A plant which was last collected 58 years ago has been rediscovered thanks to photographs presented on the citizen science platform iNaturalist. Ptilotus senarius is a small shrub found in the north of Australian state Queensland. The species was only named in 2014 after analysis of herbarium specimens from 1925...
connectsci.au
February 6, 2026 at 3:29 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
New #EditorChoice article 📢

'Fragmentary evidence: a review of the landscape-scale ecology of the extinct south-eastern pig-footed bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus ecaudatus)' by Peter Menkhorst.

Published #OpenAccess in #ProceedingsRSV: doi.org/10.1071/RS25...
The cover of Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria against a background photo of Grampians National Park, with the caption: "Open access journal publishing content relevant to Victoria and south-eastern Australia. ConnectSci.au/EN"
February 5, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
bioone.bsky.social
E is for Echidna — studying the short-beaked #echidna population is challenging because of their secretive behavior. A paper in Australian Journal of Zoology @csiropublishing.bsky.social used tracking data to understand population dynamics: bio-one.co/4ag2SD9

#BioOneCompleteAtoZ #Zoology #scisky
Population demography of the Tasmanian short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). Open Access. Tamika J. Lunn, Stewart C. Nicol, Jessie C. Buettel, Barry W. Brook. Australian Journal of Zoology.
February 5, 2026 at 9:11 PM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
New Editor's Choice article 📢

'Jurisdictional movement among people with hepatitis B and C in Australia: implications for national data' by Jennifer H. MacLachlan, et al.

Published #OpenAccess in #PHRP, the journal of @saxinstitute.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1071/PU25...
The cover of Public Health Research and Practice, the peer-reviewed and open access journal of the Sax Institute; publish.csiro.au/pu.
February 5, 2026 at 12:06 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Bird fossils in Naracoorte Caves, South Australia, are helping scientists trace how Australia's climate, habitats and ecology have shifted over tens of thousands of years.

Read more: connectsci.au/news/news-pa...

For more science stories like this, head to ConnectSci News and keep exploring.
Screenshot of an article from the ConnectSci News website, titled 'Ancient bird fossils reveal changing climate along Australia's southern coast' and featuring a large photograph of a plains-wandered bird in the wild.
February 4, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Reposted by CSIRO Publishing
timcurran.bsky.social
Wiminyji in the Western Desert: Martu knowledge reveals historical declines of northern quolls in arid Australia

by Muuki Taylor @harryymoore.bsky.social @judydunlop.bsky.social et al.

connectsci.au/wr/article/5...
Wiminyji in the Western Desert: Martu knowledge reveals historical declines of northern quolls in arid Australia
This study documents Martu Traditional Owners’ knowledge of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) or wiminyji, in the Western Desert of Western Australi
connectsci.au
February 3, 2026 at 1:33 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Redescription of the type material of Clavularia de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) w/ descript. of new taxa + family

Stefano Borghi, Catherine McFadden, Tom Bridge, Andrew Baird, Merrick Ekins, Michela Mitchell, James Reimer & Peter Cowman

doi.org/10.1071/IS25...

#InvertebrateSys
4/4
(218.88 KB) An underwater photograph of the pale soft coral C. koellikeri from 30m, Iriomote island, Japan, its feathery flower-like tentacles bending with the current. The photo is credited as being by Stefano Borghi. A caption invites us to read the open access article in Invertebrate Systematics titled 'Redescription of the type material of Clavularia de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa: Octocorallia), with descriptions of new taxa and a new family'.
February 3, 2026 at 2:57 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
“We found that species we thought were widespread are actually quite unique,” said @jcuofficial.bsky.social's Stefano Borghi.

"With the description of new species, a new genus, and a new family, we now realize how much diversity we’ve been overlooking."

#InvertebrateSys

3/4
Stefano Borghi poses for a selfie while holding a specimen jar in the Natural History Museum in Paris. "'With the description of new species, a new genus, and a new family, we now realize how much diversity we’ve been overlooking,' said lead researcher Stefano Borghi of the find."
February 3, 2026 at 2:57 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
This research has led to a major rethink of #CoralClassification across the Indo-Pacific.

The team also identified a new genus and species from Japan (Bairdium iriomotejimaensis), as well as an entirely new coral family (Hicksoniidae).

More:
www.scimex.org/newsfeed/his...

#CoralResearch
2/4
An underwater photo of Bairdium iriomotejiaensis, a new genus and species of soft coral described from Iriomote Island, Japan. The coral looks a little like tiny, white laced blossoms. A caption explains: "In a rare breakthrough for coral research, the team also identified a new genus and species from Japan (Bairdium iriomotejimaensis) ..." The photo is credited as being by Stefano Borghi. An underwater photo of the soft coral Hicksonia tohrui from Iriomote Island, Japan. The coral looks a little like tiny, white laced blossoms. A caption explains: "... as well as an entirely new coral family (Hicksoniidae), which includes a new species found in Western Australia and Japan." The photo is credited as being by Andrew Baird.
February 3, 2026 at 2:57 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
Combining ancient DNA with the study of 19th century specimens, researchers finally resolved the identity of the Clavularia genus, a group of #SoftCorals, which had been misclassified for nearly 2 centuries.

Published in Invertebrate Systematics:

connectsci.au/is/article/4...

#InvertebrateSys
1/4
A hand holds up a specimen jar with shelves of other specimens visible in the background. The location is Natural History Museum in Paris and the jar is labeled 'Clavularia viridis'. A caption explains: "The 200-year-old mystery of a group of soft corals has been resolved, leading to the description of a new species, a new genus, and even a completely new coral family." The photo is credited as being by Stefano Borghi.
February 3, 2026 at 2:57 AM
csiropublishing.bsky.social
If you enjoyed these samples of work from @marinefreshwater.bsky.social, consider signing up to the journals email alert to get the latest content sent straight to your inbox: connectsci.au/my-account/a...

Find out more about the journal on our website: connectsci.au/mf

#MarineFreshwaterRes

7/7
The cover of Marine and Freshwater Research over a photo of mangroves taken underwater, with the caption "an international journal publishing advances in aquatic sciences; connectsci.au/mf".
February 2, 2026 at 4:50 AM