Ian Thompson
@iantho.bsky.social
Once practiced natural resources management and conservation, in government. Now largely an interested observer in Australia
Reposted by Ian Thompson
This is good news because America's smallest falcon has been on the decline for years. Our findings support that these cute fluff balls can be a powerful, affordable, and effective tool for farmers to use to co-manage their farms for multiple goals.
November 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM
This is good news because America's smallest falcon has been on the decline for years. Our findings support that these cute fluff balls can be a powerful, affordable, and effective tool for farmers to use to co-manage their farms for multiple goals.
If you can access this article by James Bradley on the Sth Aust algal bloom it’s worth a read. The problems of lack of data, limited expertise, delays, limited coordination, need for no regrets long & short term action & R&D could apply to any environmental issue
themonthly-admin/december-202...
themonthly-admin/december-202...
coordination.no
December 1, 2025 at 4:45 AM
If you can access this article by James Bradley on the Sth Aust algal bloom it’s worth a read. The problems of lack of data, limited expertise, delays, limited coordination, need for no regrets long & short term action & R&D could apply to any environmental issue
themonthly-admin/december-202...
themonthly-admin/december-202...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
🚨 Excited to share our new research! 🚨
We tackle a big question in conservation: how can we make smarter use of existing surveys to learn about places and species we haven’t yet been able to survey? 🏔️
🔗 Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/2041...
We tackle a big question in conservation: how can we make smarter use of existing surveys to learn about places and species we haven’t yet been able to survey? 🏔️
🔗 Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/2041...
October 21, 2025 at 12:19 AM
🚨 Excited to share our new research! 🚨
We tackle a big question in conservation: how can we make smarter use of existing surveys to learn about places and species we haven’t yet been able to survey? 🏔️
🔗 Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/2041...
We tackle a big question in conservation: how can we make smarter use of existing surveys to learn about places and species we haven’t yet been able to survey? 🏔️
🔗 Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/2041...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
“INSTEAD, the random mixes of plants from similar climates but different locations were absolutely kick-ass at keeping out cheatgrass (figure 2d), while the same-site mixes let it run rampant.”
November 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“INSTEAD, the random mixes of plants from similar climates but different locations were absolutely kick-ass at keeping out cheatgrass (figure 2d), while the same-site mixes let it run rampant.”
Reposted by Ian Thompson
“Bunya dieback has been an issue over the past decade, but its spread is being worsened by a porcine threat. Feral pigs are “running quite wild”, Bauwens says; “trotting around in dieback areas … spreading it through the mountain by digging it up””
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Rainforests, rivers and sacred sites ‘ripped to shreds’ by feral pigs, Queensland traditional owners warn
Destruction wrought by pig-borne disease is thining the canopy of sacred bunya pine forests and the problem is getting worse, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:52 AM
“Bunya dieback has been an issue over the past decade, but its spread is being worsened by a porcine threat. Feral pigs are “running quite wild”, Bauwens says; “trotting around in dieback areas … spreading it through the mountain by digging it up””
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Was the Channel Country a super highway between the Lake Eyre and Murray Darling Basins? In a wet year water is everywhere in SW QLD and Far West NSW. Fascinating find of a trade cache.
theconversation.com/we-found-a-c...
theconversation.com/we-found-a-c...
We found a cache of rare Aboriginal artefacts, telling a story of trade and ingenuity
The tools reveal how Aboriginal ancestors survived and thrived in the continent’s interior more than 100 years ago.
theconversation.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Was the Channel Country a super highway between the Lake Eyre and Murray Darling Basins? In a wet year water is everywhere in SW QLD and Far West NSW. Fascinating find of a trade cache.
theconversation.com/we-found-a-c...
theconversation.com/we-found-a-c...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Well well well. I did not expect this.
New passenger train named 'The Mainlander' to link Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill in NZ'.
Very experimental just yet, limited travel dates and priced as an 'experience' rather than transport.
But, better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.
New passenger train named 'The Mainlander' to link Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill in NZ'.
Very experimental just yet, limited travel dates and priced as an 'experience' rather than transport.
But, better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Well well well. I did not expect this.
New passenger train named 'The Mainlander' to link Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill in NZ'.
Very experimental just yet, limited travel dates and priced as an 'experience' rather than transport.
But, better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.
New passenger train named 'The Mainlander' to link Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill in NZ'.
Very experimental just yet, limited travel dates and priced as an 'experience' rather than transport.
But, better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Frustrating that actions needed to help restore heath to the Baaka Darling River have been known for decades and yet still aren't put in to practice. Summer temps reguarly >40 oC and the river of too poor quaity to even take a swim.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
The river is life for these remote communities, but no-one will swim in it
For months, people in remote Indigenous communities have been reporting skin rashes after going in the water, and a report confirms something is wrong with the river.
www.abc.net.au
November 26, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Frustrating that actions needed to help restore heath to the Baaka Darling River have been known for decades and yet still aren't put in to practice. Summer temps reguarly >40 oC and the river of too poor quaity to even take a swim.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
For the first time this Spring, NOAA adopted eDNA into a formal stock assessment of Pacific Hake and this was supported by the Scientific Review Group for the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2025-03/2...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2025-03/2...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov
September 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
For the first time this Spring, NOAA adopted eDNA into a formal stock assessment of Pacific Hake and this was supported by the Scientific Review Group for the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2025-03/2...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2025-03/2...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
#auspol why is commonsense like this so uncommon in politics?
Get major image generation cos to introduce autotagging of image source and have to disclose any manipulations and this all gets a lot easier to enforce at scale too.
Love to see it @davidpocock.bsky.social
Get major image generation cos to introduce autotagging of image source and have to disclose any manipulations and this all gets a lot easier to enforce at scale too.
Love to see it @davidpocock.bsky.social
Australians who share AI deepfakes of another person without consent could be sued for it or face steep fines under a new bill.
'You should own your own face': Pocock launches AI deepfake bill
Australians who share AI deepfakes of another person without consent could be sued for it or face steep fines under a new bill.
www.abc.net.au
November 24, 2025 at 3:37 AM
#auspol why is commonsense like this so uncommon in politics?
Get major image generation cos to introduce autotagging of image source and have to disclose any manipulations and this all gets a lot easier to enforce at scale too.
Love to see it @davidpocock.bsky.social
Get major image generation cos to introduce autotagging of image source and have to disclose any manipulations and this all gets a lot easier to enforce at scale too.
Love to see it @davidpocock.bsky.social
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Andrew Leigh on the case for randomised trials. Unfortunately, he is one of the few in this government with the courage to think about any kind of change www.themonthly.com.a...?
The courage to learn
How randomised trials, typically employed in science and medicine, could help governments make better policy and rebuild public trust
www.themonthly.com.au
November 24, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Andrew Leigh on the case for randomised trials. Unfortunately, he is one of the few in this government with the courage to think about any kind of change www.themonthly.com.a...?
Reposted by Ian Thompson
I just bookmarked the Cheetah Cub Cam, this is the fucking cutest
Cheetah Cub Cam
The Cheetah Cub Cam streams live from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
nationalzoo.si.edu
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 AM
I just bookmarked the Cheetah Cub Cam, this is the fucking cutest
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Exploring the power of volunteering in conservation and what motivates volunteers, such as the amazing Breckland Flora Group. youtu.be/qh_BBXCm4vc?...
Volunteering for conservation: motivations and results
YouTube video by Bill Sutherland's Conservation Concepts
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Exploring the power of volunteering in conservation and what motivates volunteers, such as the amazing Breckland Flora Group. youtu.be/qh_BBXCm4vc?...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
A very good boy! 🐾🐕😍
An amazing c. 3,400 year-old ancient Egyptian dog carved from ivory. This leaping dog opens and closes its mouth as if barking by using a lever below its chest.
The Met 📷 by me
#Archaeology
An amazing c. 3,400 year-old ancient Egyptian dog carved from ivory. This leaping dog opens and closes its mouth as if barking by using a lever below its chest.
The Met 📷 by me
#Archaeology
November 22, 2025 at 9:37 AM
A very good boy! 🐾🐕😍
An amazing c. 3,400 year-old ancient Egyptian dog carved from ivory. This leaping dog opens and closes its mouth as if barking by using a lever below its chest.
The Met 📷 by me
#Archaeology
An amazing c. 3,400 year-old ancient Egyptian dog carved from ivory. This leaping dog opens and closes its mouth as if barking by using a lever below its chest.
The Met 📷 by me
#Archaeology
Reposted by Ian Thompson
A reminder, from the 2023 IPBES assessment of invasive alien species. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Invasive species cost humans $423bn each year and threaten world’s diversity
At least 3,500 harmful invasive species recorded in every region on Earth spread by human activity, says UN report
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 AM
A reminder, from the 2023 IPBES assessment of invasive alien species. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Marine wildlife fleeing to poles due to global heating as Australian oceans face ‘uncharted’ future. The rules that we’ve been relying on for ocean protection and conservation… they’re going to have to evolve.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Marine wildlife fleeing to poles due to global heating as Australian oceans face ‘uncharted’ future
From 2040 onwards the average year for marine ecosystems is likely to be more extreme than the worst years experienced up until 2015, researchers say
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Marine wildlife fleeing to poles due to global heating as Australian oceans face ‘uncharted’ future. The rules that we’ve been relying on for ocean protection and conservation… they’re going to have to evolve.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
"And here’s the sick joke of it all: the more you linger on a video to discern if it’s AI-generated, the more of its kind you’ll see."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Becoming an AI-detective is a job I never wanted and wish I could quit | Samantha Floreani
My social media feed is now a hellish stream of puerile AI slop. Am I stubborn to want to hang on to reality?
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:43 AM
"And here’s the sick joke of it all: the more you linger on a video to discern if it’s AI-generated, the more of its kind you’ll see."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Retreat is not just about sea-level rise.
There are also places that face “Day Zero Droughts.”
The age of global environmental instability and disruption is now upon us.
Place after place is going to face massive challenges.
What most don’t get - yet - it that adaptation *has* limits.
There are also places that face “Day Zero Droughts.”
The age of global environmental instability and disruption is now upon us.
Place after place is going to face massive challenges.
What most don’t get - yet - it that adaptation *has* limits.
Prolonged water cuts across Tehran have created widespread panic among the Iranian capital’s 10 million residents.
Tehran’s Residents Are Panicking as Taps Run Dry
Years of drought and neglect have left the city nearly unsustainable.
foreignpolicy.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Retreat is not just about sea-level rise.
There are also places that face “Day Zero Droughts.”
The age of global environmental instability and disruption is now upon us.
Place after place is going to face massive challenges.
What most don’t get - yet - it that adaptation *has* limits.
There are also places that face “Day Zero Droughts.”
The age of global environmental instability and disruption is now upon us.
Place after place is going to face massive challenges.
What most don’t get - yet - it that adaptation *has* limits.
Reposted by Ian Thompson
🚨Check out the first blog of our GSB4 ECR series!🚨
Dr. Sabrina Sadiq discusses the path to discovering a vast diversity of viruses in Australian soils, and why we must know more!
📢Be sure to check out the talk at the #GSB4 conference in April!
www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/blog-beneath...
Dr. Sabrina Sadiq discusses the path to discovering a vast diversity of viruses in Australian soils, and why we must know more!
📢Be sure to check out the talk at the #GSB4 conference in April!
www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/blog-beneath...
Australian soils are rapidly expanding the known RNA virosphere — Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
by sabrina sadiq, the university of sydney (australia) Soils and sediments harbour extraordinary biodiversity, with up to 10¹⁰ microbes per gram of soil. As RNA viruses likely infect all forms of lif...
www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 AM
🚨Check out the first blog of our GSB4 ECR series!🚨
Dr. Sabrina Sadiq discusses the path to discovering a vast diversity of viruses in Australian soils, and why we must know more!
📢Be sure to check out the talk at the #GSB4 conference in April!
www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/blog-beneath...
Dr. Sabrina Sadiq discusses the path to discovering a vast diversity of viruses in Australian soils, and why we must know more!
📢Be sure to check out the talk at the #GSB4 conference in April!
www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/blog-beneath...
More than one person on here keen on mistletoe @ecosystemunraveller.com promoting the positives of mistletoe.
Is there anyone good with tree parasites here? This American Sycamore on Ohio State’s Columbus campus appears to a have one growing from the trunk. I’m used to mistletoes growing in branches more than on the main trunk, and we’re northwest of the mistletoe core range by quite a bit.
November 17, 2025 at 11:47 PM
More than one person on here keen on mistletoe @ecosystemunraveller.com promoting the positives of mistletoe.
Reposted by Ian Thompson
Icelandic is in danger of dying out because of AI and English-language media, says former PM
Icelandic is in danger of dying out because of AI and English-language media, says former PM
Katrín Jakobsdóttir and her co-author want the 350,000 people who speak the language to fight for its future
Iceland’s former prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, has said that the Icelandic language could be wiped out in as little as a generation due to the sweeping rise of AI and encroaching English language dominance.
Katrín, who stood down as prime minister last year to run for president after seven years in office, said Iceland was undergoing “radical” change when it came to language use. More people are reading and speaking English, and fewer are reading in Icelandic, a trend she says is being exacerbated by the way language models are trained. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Icelandic is in danger of dying out because of AI and English-language media, says former PM
Now here’s a use where AI could complement human eyes and be useful. Shark recognition can, probably not perfect but neither are humans. When spotted, they simply chase them away with a boat if they look threatening. A Grey Nurse on a reef is not a threat, but a Great White on a bait ball might be.
Twice as effective as nets: shark-spotting drones to become ‘permanent fixture’ on Queensland beaches
Twice as effective as nets: shark-spotting drones to become ‘permanent fixture’ on Queensland beaches
State government says expanded use of shark nets and drum lines will continue despite evidence of deadly impact on other marine life
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Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets.
But while drones would become a “permanent fixture” of the state’s shark-control operations, the Department of Primary Industries said Queensland would continue to rely on “traditional measures like nets and drum lines”, despite evidence of their deadly impact on dolphins, whales, turtles and dugongs. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Now here’s a use where AI could complement human eyes and be useful. Shark recognition can, probably not perfect but neither are humans. When spotted, they simply chase them away with a boat if they look threatening. A Grey Nurse on a reef is not a threat, but a Great White on a bait ball might be.
Reposted by Ian Thompson
International Day of People With Disability is coming up, and as a rural non-binary person with disability who works in disability support I would like to suggest your organisation please invite me to speak (or at least invite me to the brunch)
November 6, 2025 at 9:08 AM
International Day of People With Disability is coming up, and as a rural non-binary person with disability who works in disability support I would like to suggest your organisation please invite me to speak (or at least invite me to the brunch)
Reposted by Ian Thompson
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Antarctic scientists have documented the fastest retreat of a glacier in modern history, after it lost eight kilometres of ice in just two months.
Antarctic scientists have documented the fastest retreat of a glacier in modern history, after it lost eight kilometres of ice in just two months.
Antarctic glacier shrinks at fastest pace in modern history
Antarctic scientists have documented the fastest retreat of a glacier in modern history, after it lost eight kilometres of ice in just two months, according to a new report.
www.abc.net.au
November 4, 2025 at 7:47 AM
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Antarctic scientists have documented the fastest retreat of a glacier in modern history, after it lost eight kilometres of ice in just two months.
Antarctic scientists have documented the fastest retreat of a glacier in modern history, after it lost eight kilometres of ice in just two months.