Simon Evans
@sevans.bsky.social
Evolutionary ecologist at Exeter Uni. Loves Dartmoor, Sweden, XC skiing, fell running, sunsets, knitwear, teaching & cream teas.
Reposted by Simon Evans
Bird place-name of the day 116: ULEHAMS FARM (Essex). OE ule + ham. ‘Owl-haunted farm/estate’. #birdsandplace #placenames #naturewriting
November 24, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Bird place-name of the day 116: ULEHAMS FARM (Essex). OE ule + ham. ‘Owl-haunted farm/estate’. #birdsandplace #placenames #naturewriting
Reposted by Simon Evans
"A voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels."
Have you ever read such an absurd sentence?
Have you ever read such an absurd sentence?
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:49 PM
"A voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels."
Have you ever read such an absurd sentence?
Have you ever read such an absurd sentence?
Reposted by Simon Evans
A lot has happened since our first announcement of #ExE2026, an evolutionary ecology conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in #Cornwall from June 29 to July 3 2026.
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
A lot has happened since our first announcement of #ExE2026, an evolutionary ecology conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in #Cornwall from June 29 to July 3 2026.
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.
👉 evoxeco.uk 👈
Reposted by Simon Evans
They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)
And again today. That’s the third time in succession at the same site.
November 21, 2025 at 8:49 AM
And again today. That’s the third time in succession at the same site.
Today's speaker on ectoparasite biology: "Attachment is a big commitment for a tick."
November 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Today's speaker on ectoparasite biology: "Attachment is a big commitment for a tick."
Do people find Merlin tends to confuse the chatter of goldcrests with firecrests? Could the two co-occur?
November 20, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Do people find Merlin tends to confuse the chatter of goldcrests with firecrests? Could the two co-occur?
Why doesn't the "reply all" button have a virtual safety cap fitted? It would free up so much academic time.
November 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Why doesn't the "reply all" button have a virtual safety cap fitted? It would free up so much academic time.
An epilogue.
November 18, 2025 at 12:26 PM
An epilogue.
It takes an exceptionally gifted bird to maintain such a pleasing clutch arrangement.
"Nesthetics" would be a great topic for a coffee table book.
"Nesthetics" would be a great topic for a coffee table book.
November 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM
It takes an exceptionally gifted bird to maintain such a pleasing clutch arrangement.
"Nesthetics" would be a great topic for a coffee table book.
"Nesthetics" would be a great topic for a coffee table book.
Reposted by Simon Evans
I was under the false impression the good people of Britain had backed a government that was to be lead by a human rights lawyer.
I must have mistranslated “human rights” from the original English.
I must have mistranslated “human rights” from the original English.
Asked if Keir Starmer believes British people want to "see refugee children pulled out of school and deported after 10 years in this country”, his spokesman says that “what the British public wants and what this government was elected on a mandate to deliver was to secure our borders"
November 17, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I was under the false impression the good people of Britain had backed a government that was to be lead by a human rights lawyer.
I must have mistranslated “human rights” from the original English.
I must have mistranslated “human rights” from the original English.
Reposted by Simon Evans
We're now starting to get reports of dead Whooper Swans with rings. If you find a dead bird & feel comfortable doing so - check for rings using the below @btobirds.bsky.social advice 👇🏻 Collecting information on ringed birds helps better understand the impact on different age groups.
November 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
We're now starting to get reports of dead Whooper Swans with rings. If you find a dead bird & feel comfortable doing so - check for rings using the below @btobirds.bsky.social advice 👇🏻 Collecting information on ringed birds helps better understand the impact on different age groups.
Reposted by Simon Evans
periodic reminder of the existence of Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free font available from the Braille Institute designed to improve readability for people with low vision
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
Atkinson Hyperlegible Font - Braille Institute
Read easier with Atkinson Hyperlegible Font, crafted for low-vision readers. Download for free and enjoy clear letters and numbers on your computer!
www.brailleinstitute.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:19 AM
periodic reminder of the existence of Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free font available from the Braille Institute designed to improve readability for people with low vision
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
Reposted by Simon Evans
Recently visited the Glass Flowers at Harvard, a collection of 4,300 extraordinarily realistic glass models of plants crafted by the Blaschkas, a father and son team of sculptors
That’s right, these are all made primarily of GLASS — a fact difficult to accept given how accurate & lifelike they are
That’s right, these are all made primarily of GLASS — a fact difficult to accept given how accurate & lifelike they are
November 14, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Recently visited the Glass Flowers at Harvard, a collection of 4,300 extraordinarily realistic glass models of plants crafted by the Blaschkas, a father and son team of sculptors
That’s right, these are all made primarily of GLASS — a fact difficult to accept given how accurate & lifelike they are
That’s right, these are all made primarily of GLASS — a fact difficult to accept given how accurate & lifelike they are
I'm appalled to discover that the French refer to dachsunds as “Texels” and not “chien saucisse”.
November 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM
I'm appalled to discover that the French refer to dachsunds as “Texels” and not “chien saucisse”.
Reposted by Simon Evans
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
Reposted by Simon Evans
How much carbon budget do we have left if we want to stay below 1.5˚C?
Just 2 more years at current rates. It is essentially impossible to avoid global temperature rise exceeding 1.5˚C.
climatelabbook.substack.com/p/the-shrink...
Just 2 more years at current rates. It is essentially impossible to avoid global temperature rise exceeding 1.5˚C.
climatelabbook.substack.com/p/the-shrink...
November 13, 2025 at 1:19 PM
How much carbon budget do we have left if we want to stay below 1.5˚C?
Just 2 more years at current rates. It is essentially impossible to avoid global temperature rise exceeding 1.5˚C.
climatelabbook.substack.com/p/the-shrink...
Just 2 more years at current rates. It is essentially impossible to avoid global temperature rise exceeding 1.5˚C.
climatelabbook.substack.com/p/the-shrink...
If I could just have a firecrest pop by, we'd unarguably have moved beyond day-my-eldest-child-was-born territory.
Watching goldcrests through my office window! A new candidate for best day of my life.
November 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM
If I could just have a firecrest pop by, we'd unarguably have moved beyond day-my-eldest-child-was-born territory.
Watching goldcrests through my office window! A new candidate for best day of my life.
November 12, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Watching goldcrests through my office window! A new candidate for best day of my life.
Reposted by Simon Evans
NO WAYYYY! 🤯🤯🤯
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
November 11, 2025 at 10:19 AM
NO WAYYYY! 🤯🤯🤯
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
Is this the COOLEST stick insect ever?? 💚
This mossy girl (Taraxippus sp.) from Peru was the most incredible phasmid I have ever seen, I could not get over how perfectly camouflaged it was on the mossy trees! 🌳
So in awe of our natural world! 🌿
Reposted by Simon Evans
November 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Simon Evans
This came up as a memory on my phone just now. 👌
If we get a real cold snap this winter, and i get roadkill. I'm gonna try again.
#goldeneagles
If we get a real cold snap this winter, and i get roadkill. I'm gonna try again.
#goldeneagles
November 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
This came up as a memory on my phone just now. 👌
If we get a real cold snap this winter, and i get roadkill. I'm gonna try again.
#goldeneagles
If we get a real cold snap this winter, and i get roadkill. I'm gonna try again.
#goldeneagles
Reposted by Simon Evans
oh yeah ok this is super cool
not only did they find a gynandromorph spider, it also turned out to be a new species! 🤯🧪🕷️
not only did they find a gynandromorph spider, it also turned out to be a new species! 🤯🧪🕷️
#Science #Entomology #Arachnids #Spiders
Scientists Found a Half-Male, Half-Female Spider in Thailand and It’s Fascinating www.zmescience.com/science/news...
Scientists Found a Half-Male, Half-Female Spider in Thailand and It’s Fascinating www.zmescience.com/science/news...
Scientists Found a Half-Male, Half-Female Spider in Thailand and It’s Fascinating
Scientists named the half-male, half-female spider after an One Piece anime character who can change sex at will.
www.zmescience.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:42 PM
oh yeah ok this is super cool
not only did they find a gynandromorph spider, it also turned out to be a new species! 🤯🧪🕷️
not only did they find a gynandromorph spider, it also turned out to be a new species! 🤯🧪🕷️
Reposted by Simon Evans
Griffon Vultures crossing The #Straits yesterday- pure migratory magic! ….or youth dispersal magic 😉 1,687 Griffon Vultures crossed over our heads!
November 8, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Griffon Vultures crossing The #Straits yesterday- pure migratory magic! ….or youth dispersal magic 😉 1,687 Griffon Vultures crossed over our heads!
"An ecologist who shot to fame after discovering that spiders have human-like personalities"
Umm...think it was a little while later that we all heard of Pruitt. And "infamy" is probably a more appropriate noun.
Umm...think it was a little while later that we all heard of Pruitt. And "infamy" is probably a more appropriate noun.
I hadnt seen this particular take on this story till now. A minimalist apology. Not impressed.
nationalnews.co.uk/news/shamed-...
nationalnews.co.uk/news/shamed-...
Shamed Scientist Apologises For The First Time About The Academic Scandal That Destroyed His Career And Shocked The World
An ecologist who shot to fame after discovering that spiders have human-like personalities has made an emotional apology after being
nationalnews.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 10:19 AM
"An ecologist who shot to fame after discovering that spiders have human-like personalities"
Umm...think it was a little while later that we all heard of Pruitt. And "infamy" is probably a more appropriate noun.
Umm...think it was a little while later that we all heard of Pruitt. And "infamy" is probably a more appropriate noun.