Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · 22d

Very happy to see this!

"The Isles of Scilly is a semi or near pristine environment which can be an example of how our waters could look if we give them space and time to recover"

@uniexecec.bsky.social @owenexeter.bsky.social

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Underwater cameras reveal 'pristine sea-life' off Isles of Scilly

Experts say the footage shows

www.bbc.co.uk

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · 24d

Nuts... Is this really the best way to maximise the use of & impact from scientific resources, constantly spending huge amounts of time on applications with such low rates of success? Or just more 💰 needed?!

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The grant lottery: award rates at UK national funding agency fall below 20%

Application volume is outpacing available funding, intensifying competition and worsening pressure on the peer-review system. But those who win grants are now getting more.

www.nature.com

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · 25d

Good! Because of their wet nature, regular #fire is not a natural occurrence on #peat anywhere, so this English ban should be great news for people, wildlife and climate (albeit still with some weaknesses that need to be addressed).

Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · Mar 31

Government to extend ban on moorland burning - closing loopholes in existing rules

Great news for nature, carbon, & people who’ll be spared from acrid smoke & flooding

Bad news for dukes & billionaires who own grouse moors 🎻

Here's my quote running on PA newswire: 1/

www.gov.uk/government/n...

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Reposted by Mark Harrison

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 28d

Around 354 million people in North America and Europe are likely to have been affected by fine particulate matter pollution from the 2023 Canadian wildfire season, a paper published in Nature suggests. go.nature.com/42iffKC ⚒️ 🧪

This is figure 1, which shows global and regional PM2.5 pollution from the 2023 Canadian wildfires.

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Reposted by Mark Harrison

Sarah Primate @langurlover.bsky.social · Aug 28

#Primates 🦧

Be it feast or famine, orangutans adapt with flexible diets

Humans could learn a thing or two from orangutans when it comes to maintaining a balanced, protein-filled diet. Great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are marvels o...

phys.org

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Aug 23

Potentially devastating reversal of a highly successful policy:

"One of the key agreements for Amazon rainforest protection – the soy moratorium – has been suspended by Brazilian authorities, potentially opening up an area the size of Portugal to destruction"

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Brazil authorities suspend key Amazon rainforest protection measure

Suspension of Soy moratorium could open up area of rainforest the size of Portugal to destruction

www.theguardian.com

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Aug 14

Brilliantly led by Namrata Anirudh, with @wendyerb.bsky.social @dave-s.bsky.social @nicolasjdeere.bsky.social @mattstruebig.bsky.social and many others not on here.

Link to the OA paper:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Lowland heath forests of Indonesian Borneo: ecological value and conservation challenges | Journal of Tropical Ecology | Cambridge Core

Lowland heath forests of Indonesian Borneo: ecological value and conservation challenges - Volume 41

www.cambridge.org

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Aug 14

1/ Nice article just published summarising our recent paper exploring the distribution, ecology and #conservation of #kerangas #forest in Kalimantan 🌳. Under-appreciated but incredible forests, with important conservation potential and much still to learn! Paper OA and linked 👇

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Aug 13

A new study has mapped lowland heath forests (kerangas) in Indonesian Borneo, revealing major changes in their extent and limited formal protection.

The study calls for urgent action to better understand, protect and sustainably manage these rare ecosystems.

Study maps rare Borneo forests with unique habitats & urgent need for protection

In their latest study, a group of researchers from Indonesia, the U.K., and the U.S. find that heath forests (locally known as kerangas) span 16,586 square kilometers (6,400 square miles) — almost…

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by Mark Harrison

Matt Struebig @mattstruebig.bsky.social · Aug 5

Southeast Asia covers multiple global biodiversity hotspots — but is experiencing a biodiversity crisis.

Our new article in Nature Reviews Biodiversity asks: What’s really driving the losses, and what can we do about it?
👉 rdcu.be/expy6 1/7

Drivers and solutions to Southeast Asia’s biodiversity crisis

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - The terrestrial ecosystems of Southeast Asia are both globally important reservoirs of biodiversity, and a provider of resources and livelihoods for millions of people...

rdcu.be

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Aug 4

Shocking.

"Plastics are a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger” to human and planetary health... which is causing disease and death from infancy to old age and is responsible for at least $1.5tn (£1.1tn) a year in health-related damages."

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World in $1.5tn ‘plastics crisis’ hitting health from infancy to old age, report warns

Plastic production has increased more than 200 times since 1950 and hits health at every stage from extraction to disposal, says review in the Lancet

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Mark Harrison

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · Aug 2

For thousands of years, we have been parasitised, exploited and destroyed by elites. Our survival depends on overthrowing them.
Fascinating article by @dpcarrington.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse

An epic analysis of 5,000 years of civilisation argues that a global collapse is coming unless inequality is vanquished

www.theguardian.com

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Jul 31

Thanks for this, super useful! I'm new to the platform and would be keen to be added as well, if that's possible 🙂

Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Jul 30

Scholar profile of what I've been working on: scholar.google.com/citations?hl...

scholar.google.com

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Mark Harrison @drmarkharrison.bsky.social · Jul 30

G'day folks!👋 I'm new here, so please be kind and feel free to connect if you're also intrigued by all things (tropical) ecology, wildlife, conservation, restoration, forests and peat 🙂

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