Dr Manu Saunders
@manusaunders.bsky.social
Ecologist. Mum. Writer.
Senior Lecturer Uni New England (Australia).
Editor in Chief: Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Anaiwan Country. My words. She/her.
https://ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
https://saundersecologylab.com/
Senior Lecturer Uni New England (Australia).
Editor in Chief: Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Anaiwan Country. My words. She/her.
https://ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
https://saundersecologylab.com/
Pinned
How my academic life changed after I had my first child
I’ve missed writing. It’s been just over four years since I became a parent and almost two years since I wrote an actual blog. Priorities change, emotions change, life changes. Absolutely normal.…
ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
New post: It's been a while between blogs, but I'm still here ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/22/h...
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
“The idea is to put ChatGPT front and center inside software that scientists use to write up their work in much the same way that chatbots are now embedded into popular programming editors.
It’s vibe coding, but for science.”
It’s vibe coding, but for science.”
OpenAI’s latest product lets you vibe code science
Prism is a ChatGPT-powered text editor that automates much of the work involved in writing scientific papers.
www.technologyreview.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:09 PM
1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
i.e. humans
As deepfakes blur the line between truth and fiction, we’ll need a new class of forensic experts to determine what’s real, what’s fake and what can be proved in court
How digital forensics could prove what’s real in the age of deepfakes
As deepfakes blur the line between truth and fiction, we’ll need a new class of forensic experts to determine what’s real, what’s fake and what can be proved in court
www.scientificamerican.com
January 25, 2026 at 11:03 AM
i.e. humans
Extreme heatwave for most of SE Australia this week. Here in Armidale, previously cool temperate summer rainfall, it is so hot and dry our dirt is cracking while gardens still appear green. Stay safe, put your birdbaths in the shade and keep them full www.weatherzone.com.au/news/intense...
Intense heatwave spreading across Australia, catastrophic fire danger in SA on Saturday
An intense and prolonged heatwave will sweep across Australia from this weekend into next week.
www.weatherzone.com.au
January 24, 2026 at 10:11 AM
Extreme heatwave for most of SE Australia this week. Here in Armidale, previously cool temperate summer rainfall, it is so hot and dry our dirt is cracking while gardens still appear green. Stay safe, put your birdbaths in the shade and keep them full www.weatherzone.com.au/news/intense...
Survey conducted by one for-profit publishing company. Respondents were authors/reviewers/editors of said company and were incentivised to respond... Not actually evidence that 'more than half of researchers' use AI for peer review #AcademicSky www.nature.com/articles/d41...
More than half of researchers now use AI for peer review — often against guidance
A survey of 1,600 academics found that more than 50% have used artificial-intelligence tools while peer reviewing manuscripts.
www.nature.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Survey conducted by one for-profit publishing company. Respondents were authors/reviewers/editors of said company and were incentivised to respond... Not actually evidence that 'more than half of researchers' use AI for peer review #AcademicSky www.nature.com/articles/d41...
New blog, after a hiatus: not groundbreaking stuff, but I muse on how having a child changed my work priorities and made me realise how holes in the equity net can easily drop new parents out of the academic network #AcademicSky ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/22/h...
How my academic life changed after I had my first child
I’ve missed writing. It’s been just over four years since I became a parent and almost two years since I wrote an actual blog. Priorities change, emotions change, life changes. Absolutely normal.…
ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:33 AM
New blog, after a hiatus: not groundbreaking stuff, but I muse on how having a child changed my work priorities and made me realise how holes in the equity net can easily drop new parents out of the academic network #AcademicSky ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/22/h...
New post: It's been a while between blogs, but I'm still here ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/22/h...
How my academic life changed after I had my first child
I’ve missed writing. It’s been just over four years since I became a parent and almost two years since I wrote an actual blog. Priorities change, emotions change, life changes. Absolutely normal.…
ecologyisnotadirtyword.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:39 AM
New post: It's been a while between blogs, but I'm still here ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/22/h...
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that feral cats and red foxes are strongly implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions and in the ongoing imperilment of numerous extant species. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
January 21, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that feral cats and red foxes are strongly implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions and in the ongoing imperilment of numerous extant species. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
A large collaborative effort to rebut Wallach and Lundgren (2025).
One of the main problems with normalising genAI use for undergrad student 'learning' or assessment writing is how it's misleading students about research processes, especially discipline-specific processes and values. Example from Ecology below 🧵🧪 #AcademicSky
January 21, 2026 at 9:24 AM
One of the main problems with normalising genAI use for undergrad student 'learning' or assessment writing is how it's misleading students about research processes, especially discipline-specific processes and values. Example from Ecology below 🧵🧪 #AcademicSky
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv
Seasonal dynamics in terrestrial #insect #communities after the impact of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70052
#Biodiversity #PopulationDynamics
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social
Seasonal dynamics in terrestrial #insect #communities after the impact of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70052
#Biodiversity #PopulationDynamics
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 4:02 PM
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv
Seasonal dynamics in terrestrial #insect #communities after the impact of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70052
#Biodiversity #PopulationDynamics
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social
Seasonal dynamics in terrestrial #insect #communities after the impact of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70052
#Biodiversity #PopulationDynamics
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv reports that #soil sand content is a driving force in structuring #bee #communities
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70051
#Conservation #InsectHabitats #Distribution
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70051
#Conservation #InsectHabitats #Distribution
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv reports that #soil sand content is a driving force in structuring #bee #communities
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70051
#Conservation #InsectHabitats #Distribution
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70051
#Conservation #InsectHabitats #Distribution
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
This is Jo Dyer @instanterudite.bsky.social at her most brilliant best.
Jo is a former Adelaide Writers' Week director, and this article beautifully sums up her fury at the needless destruction of one of Australia's most world famous arts events.
@theshot.net.au
theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Jo is a former Adelaide Writers' Week director, and this article beautifully sums up her fury at the needless destruction of one of Australia's most world famous arts events.
@theshot.net.au
theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Why is a Labor Premier silencing a writer? - The Shot
For many Adelaideans, Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) is the highlight of their year. A glorious six days when the Pioneer...
theshot.net.au
January 13, 2026 at 12:18 PM
This is Jo Dyer @instanterudite.bsky.social at her most brilliant best.
Jo is a former Adelaide Writers' Week director, and this article beautifully sums up her fury at the needless destruction of one of Australia's most world famous arts events.
@theshot.net.au
theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Jo is a former Adelaide Writers' Week director, and this article beautifully sums up her fury at the needless destruction of one of Australia's most world famous arts events.
@theshot.net.au
theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
“We cannot withdraw from the fact that over 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction.”
IPBES remains committed to its mandate to provide the most credible science and evidence about biodiversity to all decision makers and actors.
— @davidobura.bsky.social , @ipbes.net Chair
IPBES remains committed to its mandate to provide the most credible science and evidence about biodiversity to all decision makers and actors.
— @davidobura.bsky.social , @ipbes.net Chair
January 8, 2026 at 6:13 PM
“We cannot withdraw from the fact that over 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction.”
IPBES remains committed to its mandate to provide the most credible science and evidence about biodiversity to all decision makers and actors.
— @davidobura.bsky.social , @ipbes.net Chair
IPBES remains committed to its mandate to provide the most credible science and evidence about biodiversity to all decision makers and actors.
— @davidobura.bsky.social , @ipbes.net Chair
Prioritising profit over quality and integrity of scholarship = enshittification #academicsky theconversation.com/the-5-stages...
The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing
Academic publishing now shows the same decline that has hit social media and online marketplaces.
theconversation.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Prioritising profit over quality and integrity of scholarship = enshittification #academicsky theconversation.com/the-5-stages...
This is one aspect of a modern academic's workload that is often overlooked...the extra time we now need to spend crosschecking manuscripts/assessments for inappropriate genAI use #AcademicSky
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 20, 2025 at 10:05 AM
This is one aspect of a modern academic's workload that is often overlooked...the extra time we now need to spend crosschecking manuscripts/assessments for inappropriate genAI use #AcademicSky
"Generative AI boosts academic productivity...The number of preprints an author produced was a measure of their productivity, while eventual publication in a journal was a measure of an article’s quality." Seems like biased criteria! #AcademicSky theconversation.com/what-the-hyp...
What the hyperproduction of AI slop is doing to science
A new study shows AI writing is turning traditional measures of research quality upside down.
theconversation.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:42 AM
"Generative AI boosts academic productivity...The number of preprints an author produced was a measure of their productivity, while eventual publication in a journal was a measure of an article’s quality." Seems like biased criteria! #AcademicSky theconversation.com/what-the-hyp...
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
New #OpenAccess work by @rocb-ento.bsky.social, @katatrepsis.bsky.social & W. Kunin in #RESInsectConsDiv explored the effect of bulb type on moth trap catch & composition in UK gardens
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70050
#GardenMothScheme #Biodiversity #ALAN
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70050
#GardenMothScheme #Biodiversity #ALAN
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
New #OpenAccess work by @rocb-ento.bsky.social, @katatrepsis.bsky.social & W. Kunin in #RESInsectConsDiv explored the effect of bulb type on moth trap catch & composition in UK gardens
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70050
#GardenMothScheme #Biodiversity #ALAN
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70050
#GardenMothScheme #Biodiversity #ALAN
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
Media release: Unity must guide the Government's response to Bondi attack, not divisive pro-Israel wishlist
Full release available at the link in our bio.
Full release available at the link in our bio.
December 18, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Media release: Unity must guide the Government's response to Bondi attack, not divisive pro-Israel wishlist
Full release available at the link in our bio.
Full release available at the link in our bio.
Amazing how often the Gemini preview contradicts itself if you adjust your search wording from affirmative to negative tense
Yet one more reason we cannot allow LLMs to serve as epistemic grounding is that we cannot triangulate among them the way you can among reasonable independent sources. They bullshit in the same way and end up agreeing with one other about things that are completely false.
December 16, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Amazing how often the Gemini preview contradicts itself if you adjust your search wording from affirmative to negative tense
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
New #OpenAccess research by @fabrizia-ratto.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv
Floral resource strips enhance #parasitoid #abundance & #diversity in apple #orchards and promote agroecological advances in a South African biosphere reserve
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70041
@manusaunders.bsky.social
Floral resource strips enhance #parasitoid #abundance & #diversity in apple #orchards and promote agroecological advances in a South African biosphere reserve
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70041
@manusaunders.bsky.social
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 AM
New #OpenAccess research by @fabrizia-ratto.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv
Floral resource strips enhance #parasitoid #abundance & #diversity in apple #orchards and promote agroecological advances in a South African biosphere reserve
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70041
@manusaunders.bsky.social
Floral resource strips enhance #parasitoid #abundance & #diversity in apple #orchards and promote agroecological advances in a South African biosphere reserve
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70041
@manusaunders.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv
#Bee community and trait-based responses to fire in a Mediterranean landscape
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70043
#Wildfires #SpeciesDiversity #dNBR #FunctionalTraits
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
#Bee community and trait-based responses to fire in a Mediterranean landscape
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70043
#Wildfires #SpeciesDiversity #dNBR #FunctionalTraits
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
December 7, 2025 at 9:05 AM
New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv
#Bee community and trait-based responses to fire in a Mediterranean landscape
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70043
#Wildfires #SpeciesDiversity #dNBR #FunctionalTraits
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
#Bee community and trait-based responses to fire in a Mediterranean landscape
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70043
#Wildfires #SpeciesDiversity #dNBR #FunctionalTraits
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyeco.bsky.social
Kudos to the scientists who contributed the evidence to show that feral horses cause irreparable damage to ecosystems. This bill protected an invasive species in one of Australia's most important alpine national parks; repealing it is a major win for the environment www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Controversial 'Brumby Bill' recognising horses' heritage value dumped
A widely criticised bill recognising the heritage value of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park will be scrapped in a move celebrated by the Invasive Species Council.
www.abc.net.au
November 29, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Kudos to the scientists who contributed the evidence to show that feral horses cause irreparable damage to ecosystems. This bill protected an invasive species in one of Australia's most important alpine national parks; repealing it is a major win for the environment www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Social spiders! Found this huge communal web, shared by five visible adult female orb weavers, strung across a popular walking path at Mooloolaba Beach #ozinverts #wildoz
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Social spiders! Found this huge communal web, shared by five visible adult female orb weavers, strung across a popular walking path at Mooloolaba Beach #ozinverts #wildoz
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Reposted by Dr Manu Saunders
‘Deathly silent’: two out of three corals in world heritage-listed Ningaloo reef have been killed, scientists confirm
‘Deathly silent’: two out of three corals in world heritage-listed Ningaloo reef have been killed, scientists confirm
One expert says he is ‘starting to visualise the point where all we have left of corals and reefs is memories’
*
Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here
Almost two out of three corals across popular tourism spots at the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo reef died after an unprecedented marine heatwave hit the Western Australia region, scientists have said.
The areas in Ningaloo’s northern lagoon had undergone a “profound ecological simplification” with coral species that were keystones to the habitat among those killed. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:25 AM
‘Deathly silent’: two out of three corals in world heritage-listed Ningaloo reef have been killed, scientists confirm