Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

nicole lussier

@biologybynicole.bsky.social

580 followers 650 following 26 posts

Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow @ Michigan State - PhD in Ecology at UTennessee 🐒🦜🌱 studying species interactions, seed dispersal, and ecosystem recovery @ FCAT in the Chocó Rainforest, NW Ecuador. Primarily focused on birds and mammals :)

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Jan 29

I'm moving over from X so figured I'd reintroduce myself! I'm Nicole, a PhD Candidate in the EEB department at UTK (go Vols!) & I study tropical forest restoration & ecosystem functions - specifically seed dispersal recovery via mammals and birds. Pls enjoy these fun bird pics from my fieldwork! :)

18 49 360

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Jun 9

Does anyone know of any good field work/research grants for postdoc fellows in ecology/conservation/ornithology? I've found the Kessel from AOS and some NatGeo, but most of my list is for grad students (if anyone wants a list for grad student field work grants hmu!)

3 3

Reposted by nicole lussier

Evan Fricke @efricke.bsky.social · May 19

Pollinator decline has captured global attention, but another plant-animal mutualism is quietly unraveling.

Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity article synthesizes global evidence on seed disperser decline and what it means for plant biodiversity, ecosystem recovery, and climate adaptation. 🧵

Drivers and impacts of global seed disperser decline

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of...

rdcu.be

4 100 190

Reposted by nicole lussier

Jens-Christian Svenning @jcsvenning.bsky.social · Apr 14

🌿 Our new study in @natplants.nature.com: Most European temperate forest plants are associated with semi-open, herbivore-shaped habitats—not closed-canopy #forests 🐎🌳🔆🌸 Highlights the need for trophic #rewilding in #conservation & need to avoid uniform dense #reforestation🌿
📄 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Temperate forest plants are associated with heterogeneous semi-open canopy conditions shaped by large herbivores - Nature Plants

Temperate forest plants favour heterogeneous semi-open woodlands associated with high herbivore densities, rather than uniform closed-canopy forests. Herbivore loss is therefore a probable driver of e...

doi.org

6 54 130

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Apr 14

quizlet.com/1031470924/b... dropped the quizlet link incase anyone else forgot the songs like I did :)

Bird Eastern US (migrants mostly) SONGS Flashcards

Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Ovenbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler and more.

quizlet.com

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Apr 14

when you finished your PhD work and now you get to focus on what actually matters - memorizing the migratory bird songs in your area so you can school your birder friends

1 7

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Apr 1

Officially passed my dissertation defense yesterday! Feeling surreal to have Dr. by my name, my 12 year old self would be kicking and screaming with excitement 🥹

6 52

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Mar 27

Shoutout to my awesome advisor Charlie Kwit for being so supportive and to everyone else that’s helped make this happen!

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Mar 27

Officially accepted the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship position in EEB at Michigan State University with @lars-brudvig.bsky.social and @oliviamsmith.bsky.social! I’ll be continuing work on restoration and seed dispersal interactions back at FCAT in the Chocó and I couldn’t be more excited! 🥳

4 1 24

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Mar 26

If that FCAT in the back has to do with the field station in Ecuador, 10/10 recommend 🤩🤩🤩

1 2

Reposted by nicole lussier

ForestPlots @forestplots.bsky.social · Mar 24

The botanist Al Gentry changed tropical ecology and helped create the global science of today.

This new article celebrates Gentry's unique innovations, achievements and lasting influence, more than 30 years after his untimely death.
rainfor.org/wp-content/u...
annals.mobot.org/index.php/an...

2 24 52

Reposted by nicole lussier

Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · Mar 7

At @standupforscience.bsky.social and the signs are statistically significantly excellent

A person in a mask holding a painting that says “hands off my transgenic mice”

260 3.8K 28K

Reposted by nicole lussier

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · Feb 11

I am done being sad about anti-DEI measures & am solidly back in the succeeding-by-spite mode.

It got me through undergrad, & grad school, & my postdoc & my first asst prof position. Want me to jump through hoops for funding? Fine. I'll jump over the hoops & teach the next gen how to do it too.

22 75 820

Reposted by nicole lussier

Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · Feb 9

This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen.

Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !”

globalnews.ca/news/9793403...

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca

In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.

globalnews.ca

1.1K 13K 49K

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Jan 24

Bringing my most viral twitter post over to the Bluesky world. You’re welcome. 🪰🐦 #nicecatch

4 65

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Dec 31

Is there somewhere in the world I can see a moose, quetzal, flamingo, AND puffin?! Bc I wanna go there

RjGray_Ecology/EcologyinR @rjgrayecology.bsky.social · Dec 17

2 4

Reposted by nicole lussier

RjGray_Ecology/EcologyinR @rjgrayecology.bsky.social · Dec 17

1 4 8

nicole lussier @biologybynicole.bsky.social · Dec 14

Overwhelmed is an understatement

2 3 36

Reposted by nicole lussier

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · Dec 10

In 1987, orcas started putting salmon on their foreheads, & we're not entirely sure why. But then the behavior mostly disappeared for decades.

Now, another member of the southern resident killer whales has been spotted with a so-called "salmon hat". 🧪

www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Why these orcas are wearing salmon as hats (again)

First observed in the 1980s, the fad of orcas swimming around with dead salmon on their foreheads off Washington State seemed to have faded—until now.

www.nationalgeographic.com

62 92 740

Reposted by nicole lussier

Build Soil, Collect Water, Emerge from the Ashes. @buildsoil.bsky.social · Dec 7

Guess what the structure of networks changes a different points during the adaptive cycle and during succession. Critical points look much more like power laws and distribution happens with a lot less friction. Follows the same rules as normalization patterns in material magnetics

$How to describe fractals but these are fractals with patterns that resemble the mantle brought set that rise looking at the mathematics of whether or not a material is going to be magnetic under different conditions. Black fractal Buddha like shape representing stable states a yellow foam like matrix with self similar fractal qualities represents The ridges of critical points and it’s over a field of much less stable purple and blue$ $Similar fractal Self similar with horizontal symmetry in this case more shaded coloring gray background blue representing middle values then cream colored to highlight the edges of the set, and then black representing the fractal itself$