Bruce Webber
LightNews LightNews
banner
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Bruce Webber
@drbrucewebber.bsky.social
4K followers 840 following 220 posts
Global change ecologist: conservation, bioinvasions & climate change 🌳🐜🐈🐊 | adventurer | coffee enthusiast | photographer (views my own)
https://linktr.ee/drbrucewebber
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Bruce Webber @drbrucewebber.bsky.social · Nov 11
I'm in! A #globalchange #ecologist focusing on #conservation solutions at the nexus of landscape change, species #invasions and native species resilience - 🌱🐜🐈🐊. Mostly in 🇦🇺 and a thing for the tropics.
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Bush Heritage Australia are purchasing Avocet Nature Refuge in Queensland! This is one of only two sites where Bridled Nailtail Wallabies still live wild. We're raising $1.4M to help us manage this remnant Brigalow reserve. Can you help us with a donation?

secure.bushheritage.org.au/donations
Bridled Nailtail Wallaby. Photo: Grassland Films. Bush Heritage Australia are purchasing the 1,207-hectare Avocet Nature Refuge! We're raising $1.4 million to help us manage this reserve and others just like it around the country. Donate NOW and your gift will be doubled! Avocet Nature Refuge is one of only two sites where Bridled Nailtail Wallabies still live wild in Queensland. Once thought extinct, the species was rediscovered in central Queensland decades after vanishing from sight. Today, only some 1,500 of these beautiful wallabies remain in the wild. Buying Avocet Nature Refuge also gives us a real chance to learn more and strengthen Koala populations in the region. Koala in a tree. Photo: Grassland Films. Bush Heritage Australia are purchasing the 1,207-hectare Avocet Nature Refuge! We're raising $1.4 million to help us manage this reserve and others just like it around the country. Donate NOW and your gift will be doubled! Avocet Nature Refuge is one of only two sites where Bridled Nailtail Wallabies still live wild in Queensland. Once thought extinct, the species was rediscovered in central Queensland decades after vanishing from sight. Today, only some 1,500 of these beautiful wallabies remain in the wild. Buying Avocet Nature Refuge also gives us a real chance to learn more and strengthen Koala populations in the region.
November 20, 2025 at 9:58 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
The aurora australis dances over the peaks of the Freycinet National Park peninsula and Schouten Island.
...
...
#auroraaustralis #aurora #freycinetnationalpark #freycinet
The aurora australis dances over the peaks of the Freycinet National Park peninsula and Schouten Island.
November 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Brad Bowden and I caught up on Ep 5 of the RTRFM podcast This Changes Everything. We discuss tree diversity in WA, the benefits they provide, and the myriad threats they face. We also cover what we can be doing to be good custodians of trees for future generations. 🌐🌏

rtrfm.com.au/podcasts/thi...
In Episode 5 of the This Changes Everything Podcast, Brad Bowden talks with Bruce Webber and Keith Bradbury about the wonders of trees in Western Australia and what we can be doing to ensure we are responsible custodians to manage the conservation threats they face.
November 4, 2025 at 12:57 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Today is world numbat day. The numbat is our state animal emblem in WA, yet it is threatened with extinction by predation from introduced cats and foxes. It is now restricted to only a few small unfenced areas in WA, after being once found across southern Australia.
A numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) pauses its morning foraging for ants on a log in the sun.
November 1, 2025 at 9:17 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
"...we have to do everything in our power to make the world a better place for the children alive today, and for those that will follow. You have it in your power to make a difference. Don’t give up." - Jane Goodall on Famous Last Words for @netflix.com

www.netflix.com/tudum/articl...
In an Exclusive Interview, Dr. Jane Goodall Leaves Behind Her Last Words
“In the place where I am now, I look back over my life. What message do I want to leave?”
www.netflix.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
"The greatest danger to our future is apathy. ... What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." - Vale Jane Goodall (1934-2025).
Jane Goodall in a tall rainforest looking up into the canopy with binoculars in her hands.
October 1, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
joshlukedavis.com
Only known from a single plant growing in the botanic gardens in Sri Lanka, the endemic Pini-Beraliya was declared Extinct in the Wild.

But a post on social media about the tree has now led to the discovery of three wild populations and a recovery programme! 🌱🧪🙌🏻
news.mongabay.com/2025/08/soci...
Social media post sparks rediscovery of endemic Sri Lanka rainforest plant
COLOMBO — In 2012, Sri Lanka’s National Red List delivered a grim verdict on endemic Pini- Beraliya, the towering dipterocarp Doona ovalifolia (syn. Shorea ovalifolia) tree by categorizing it as “exti...
news.mongabay.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:10 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
The Building Private Land Conservation Symposium, held in Fremantle, was an outstanding opportunity to hear updates and share Bush Heritage Australia's latest on covenanting, stewardship and co-investment opportunities to secure the future of Western Australia's unique landscapes.
🌏 #scicomm
Bruce Webber from Bush Heritage Australia, speaking at the Building Private Land Conservation Symposium in Fremantle, Western Australia. Photo: Miles Noel Studio Minister Matthew Swinbourn attending the Building Private Land Conservation Symposium in Fremantle, Western Australia. Photo: Miles Noel Studio Bruce Webber from Bush Heritage Australia, speaking on a panel at the Building Private Land Conservation Symposium in Fremantle, Western Australia. Photo: Miles Noel Studio Bruce Webber from Bush Heritage Australia, speaking on a panel at the Building Private Land Conservation Symposium in Fremantle, Western Australia. Photo: Miles Noel Studio
September 23, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
gbif.org
🚨Have your say on the new conceptual model and Data Package Guide for #DarwinCore

The @tdwg.org Darwin Core Maintenance Group has opened a 90-day public review and comment period for the new conceptual model and Data Package Guide.

🗓️ 17 September – 16 December 2025
🔗 www.tdwg.org/news/20...
Cream coloured background with a rainbow colour wheel and various biological drawings surrounding it
September 18, 2025 at 7:35 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Australia's 2035 climate targets are difficult to achieve, and even if they are, we won't be fine. A sobering assessment from @alankohler.bsky.social via ABC News.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Can the Albanese government's new climate targets lower the risk of a catastrophic fire season like 2019/20 happening in the future? (ABCMyPhoto: Martin Von Stoll)
September 22, 2025 at 1:46 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Addressing the connection between animal biodiversity declines and the carbon stored in our ecosystems can help to make smarter decisions about aligning responses to the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis.
🌐🌏 via @mongabay.com
news.mongabay.com/2025/09/anim...
Animals that spread seeds are critical for climate solutions
When a toucan plucks fruit from a tree in the Amazon Rainforest, it’s doing more than just finding lunch. Moving to a new location and depositing seeds via its droppings could be crucial in addressing...
news.mongabay.com
September 21, 2025 at 11:46 PM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
It's not all about PFAS: metal(loid)s are associated with physiological and metabolic changes in motorbike frogs (Ranoidea moorei) from conservation significant wetlands in Perth WA. Great to see this paper out, a big effort led by @lettsgetsnakes.bsky.social.
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
🌐🌏
Urban wetlands provide essential habitats for wildlife but face increasing contamination from anthropogenic sources, including but not limited to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metal(loid)s. Accumulation of these contaminants are known to impair organism biological functions. This study quantified PFAS and metal(loid) concentrations in liver tissue of motorbike frogs (Ranoidea moorei) along a contamination gradient of conservation significant urban wetlands in Perth, Western Australia, and assessed relationships of liver concentrations with whole-organism health metrics and metabolomic profiles in four tissues to evaluate biological effects.
September 20, 2025 at 5:43 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
This week we saw solutions announced in Western Australia to improve responsible pet cat ownership. Hannah Beazley MLA announced (1) an amendment to the Cat Act that will allow for local governments to prevent pet cats from roaming, & (2) a broader review of the Cat Act.
A🧵
#wildoz
The Cook Labor Government has announced that it intends to amend the Cat Act to prevent pet cats from roaming.
September 18, 2025 at 5:55 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Can Australia really be a responsible climate actor if it keeps developing major new gas projects as global emissions continue to rise?
🌐
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
What Woodside's gas project extension means for Australia's climate record
Seven years after it was first mooted, the extension of Australia's biggest gas project could not have landed at a more critical juncture for the nation's climate credentials.
www.abc.net.au
September 13, 2025 at 12:19 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
There are so many aspects of the shot-hole borer #eradication campaign that are worth reflecting on to inform how to do better with future #biosecurity threats. We really need to rethink the entire framework that deploys ineffective biosecurity in #Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Australia on alert as shot-hole borer wipes out thousands of trees
It's barely the size of a sesame seed, but the shot-hole borer has quickly devastated Western Australia's tree canopy. Experts are warning other states and territories to take action now to avoid a si...
www.abc.net.au
September 12, 2025 at 4:40 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
A sold out screening of Wilding this week shared the benefits of helping nature recover with almost 500 people. These events energise me and give me hope that while we have an enormous challenge ahead of us, we have plenty of people wanting to make a difference to biodiversity conservation outcomes.
Bush Heritage Australia hosted a sold out screening of the film Wilding at the Luna Palace Cinemas in Leederville, Western Australia. As the sun sets in the west, the exterior lights of the cinema announced that the screening, with an exclusive Q&A session, was sold out.
September 6, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
sotm2026.bsky.social
Abstracts call closes Nov 10, 2025 ⏰ We hope you’ll join us at SOTM 2026 !!! www.speciesonthemove.com #SOTM2026 #speciesonthemove
August 31, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
markuseichhorn.bsky.social
The achievable carbon uptake from planting trees is much lower than previous estimates, and even lower than many nations have committed to. New paper by Wang et al. in Science. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧪🌏🌳🌲🌐
Fig. 3. Estimated mitigation potential from forestation varies with land availability assumptions. (A) Global and regional ecosystem carbon sequestration. BA19 (10), GR17 (8), and Qin24 (24) refer to respective assumptions of land potentially available for forestation. The “committed” assumption considers only national commitments, and “achievable” shows currently achievable land limited by availability defined in Qin24 (see materials and methods section M3). (B) The currently achievable mitigation potential varies among countries and income groups. Country-specific data are available in data S3 (24). Country codes and corresponding income groups can be found in table S6.
September 3, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
morganrobertson.bsky.social
Important reading as you prepare for your semester
August 31, 2025 at 12:10 AM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Join us for a special event screening of Wilding, presented by Bush Heritage Australia at Luna Cinemas. The film, based on Isabella Tree's best-selling book, will be followed by an exclusive panel discussion.
Wed 3 Sep from 6pm | Tickets: www.lunapalace.com.au/events/wildi...
🌐🌏 #scicomm
Bush Heritage Australia presents a special event Wilding film screening with a Q&A panel featuring Dr Bruce Webber, Steve McCabe, Dr Holly Kirk and Dr Jane Chambers. On at Luna Leederville on Wed 3 Sept 2025. This special event Wilding film screening will feature a Q&A panel featuring Dr Bruce Webber, Steve McCabe, Dr Holly Kirk and Dr Jane Chambers. On at Luna Leederville on Wed 3 Sept 2025.
August 31, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
franckcourchamp.bsky.social
Read our latest paper on the trends and statuses of #biologicalinvasions worldwide.
Led by @hannoseebens.bsky.social , L Meyerson, P Pyšek and D Richardson and ~60 other coauthors, and based on Chap2 of the #IAS #IPBES Report, it has all the basic info you need!
A MUST READ!
doi.org/10.1111/brv....
Biological invasions: a global assessment of geographic distributions, long‐term trends, and data gaps
Biological invasions are one of the major drivers of biodiversity decline and have been shown to have far-reaching consequences for society and the economy. Preventing the introduction and spread of ...
doi.org
August 13, 2025 at 1:08 PM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
I'm looking forward to reading this one, just out in @newphyt.bsky.social 👀 👇
August 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
ecoinvasions.bsky.social
Invasive species can radically alter community dynamics: In Kenya, an invasive ant replaced native ants that keep elephants from destroying acacia trees, whose cover allows lions to ambush zebra. Lions shifted their hunting strategy to stalk buffalo. #bioinvasions www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Lions making fewer zebra kills due to ‘chain reaction’ involving invasive ants
Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover
www.theguardian.com
August 3, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Reposted by Bruce Webber
nature.com
This surprisingly relaxing footage is from SIX MILES under the ocean – and it’s the deepest ecosystem yet discovered
July 31, 2025 at 3:38 PM
drbrucewebber.bsky.social
Here's a #podcast to bring nature to your ears and hope to your hearts. Bush Heritage Australia's latest season of Big Sky Country has dropped! Hope-filled stories from the frontlines of the #climate and #biodiversity crisis are here to share:

🎧: www.bushheritage.org.au/news/podcasts

🌏 🌐 #SciComm
Tiahni Adamson, a wildlife conservation biologist and proud descendant of the Kaurareg Nations, next to a large trunk of a Nothofagus tree in lutruwita/Tasmania's Liffey Valley. In Episode 1 of Big Sky Country Season 3, Tiahni sits down with the legendary Dr Bob Brown in lutruwita/Tasmania’s Liffey Valley. In Episode 1 of Big Sky Country Season 3, Tiahni sits down with the legendary Dr Bob Brown in lutruwita/Tasmania’s Liffey Valley.
July 29, 2025 at 5:13 AM