Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Jul 26

HOLD THE PHONE —

The lover that Elizabeth Bishop lost in 'One Art' CAME BACK TO HER after the poem was published.

I always assumed that the 'you' in the last stanza died, but she was just going to marry a man. WOW.

www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

One Art
By Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

New England Botanical Society @nebotanical.bsky.social · Jun 11

Our celebratory issue of Rhodora is available! NEBS members have access through their membership AND we've made most of this issue open-access. We've been publishing since 1899, so there's a lot to celebrate and we want everyone to join in! bioone.org/journals/rho...

1 1 2

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Jul 8

To be fair to that incredible sculpture park, I was obsessed with this uncanny tree sculpture and I started teaching forest ecology methods with Josephine Halvorson's Measure (Tree) and that piece really seems to resonate with students.

vimeo.com/166578932

Outlooks: Josephine Halvorson

This is "Outlooks: Josephine Halvorson" by Storm King Art Center on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

vimeo.com

1

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Jul 8

Reading the new alpine snowbank refugia paper at coffee shop while my kid attends a morning sewing camp reminds me of the years when her sister attended day camp at a sculpture park and I wrote manuscripts in a courtyard adjacent to a giant xylophone that kids whaled on with sticks.

1 2

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · May 28

My students' take on the xkcd 'types of scientific papers'. A very cool, interesting moment of reflection on the semester together.

This exercise was inspired by Cindy Kohtala's blog about the meme www.cindykohtala.fi/2021/10/14/f...

a comic that comprises three rows and three columns of mock-scientific papers where only the titles are legible. The title of the whole comic is: "Types of scientific paper we read in advanced forest ecology & conservation (with lab)".

The titles of the first row of papers are:
"We made a computer model and called it a day"; "It was the past and ecology was easier back then"; "If you ignore the other variables, this finding is shocking!"

The titles of the middle row of papers are: "I hope you like graphs…"; "I found these old documents so now I can do research for free*"; "FIA did the field work so we don’t have to"

The titles of the bottom row of papers are: "Mars Attacks: Forests Invaded by Evil Alien (plants)"; "Oh, god, that’s right, there’s fauna out there"; "Some good news, actually"

1 2

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · May 24

We recently found Emerald Ash Borer on campus.

I'm putting together a Fall 2025 pop-up course/seminar series to celebrate ash trees, mourn the arrival of EAB, and explore the ash's human and non-human relationships in the northern forest.

Please share recommendations for speakers!

2 3

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · May 12

Spent the day in a DIY workshop with co-PIs from an NSF grant that was archived the day we were set to resubmit. Here’s the thing about scientists in a tiny state who work with small natural history collections: we get the science/teaching/conservation/outreach done. Our ROI is off the charts.

4

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · Apr 28

🌿 Stretching your research dollars? You’re not alone!

Join us for the #Botany360 free virtual event, Botany on a Budget — a casual discussion with BSA members who have experience making research happen with limited resources.

Thursday, May 8, 2025, 2–3 p.m. EST

Register here: tinyurl.com/bot360

Graphic promoting "Botany on a Budget," a casual discussion on May 8, 2025, at 2 p.m. EST. The background shows green and blue tube racks filled with labeled microcentrifuge tubes. Text invites participants to join a conversation about strategies for conducting research on a limited budget. The image includes a QR code to register and logos for the Botanical Society of America (BSA) and Botany360. Sponsored by the BSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

18 20

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · Apr 17

🌱 SPECIAL ISSUE CALL FOR PAPERS 🌱

The #AJB announces a call for papers for a special issue, “Plant Resilience and Conservation for a Changing Climate,” led by guest editors J. Rentsch, E. Stacy, C. Mackenzie, J. Boyd & V. Negron-Ortiz.⁣
⁣
Deadline for proposals: May 30, 2025.

bit.ly/3GcyMUG

1 14 25

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · May 6

#WithoutNSF my PhD research on the impacts of climate change on plant communities in Acadia National Park would not have been possible. Managers use our work to protect resources. Park educators & interpretive staff use our work to create signage and talk to the public.

We need to fund NPS and NSF.

a scientist sits on the summit of a mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine. She is wearing a purple jacket and blue baseball cap, writing in an orange notebook. Behind her, the view stretches out across Mount Desert Island forests into the Gulf of Maine and distant islands.

3 9

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · May 5

Thread with an email being sent to @asn-amnat.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social members today calling for a Tri-society week of action for NSF:

Dear members:
The tri-societies (ASN, SSE,SSB) are running a ‘Week of Action for NSF’. Your engagement is crucial.

4 160 180

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Apr 30

Reminder that I'm looking for grad students. Canada just decided for sanity in government, Fredericton elected a musician MP, and UNB is a great place to be. Come join me! Position is fully funded.

Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Apr 17

I'm seeking graduate students interested in studying nectar evolutionary ecology. Masters or PhD. Sep 2025 or Jan 2026 start. Interested students encouraged to apply by May 5 to be eligible for additional scholarships. #gradschool #flower #evolution #nectar #pollination

Masters or PHD student – nectar evolutionary ecology
Amy Parachnowitsch’s Floral Evolutionary Ecology Lab
University of New Brunswick
I am seeking a motivated student(s) to examine the role of anthropomorphic change in nectar evolutionary ecology. Potential projects include: 1) assessing how anthropogenic change affects nectar evolution, 2) quantifying phenotypic selection on nectar traits and assessing the ecological contexts where it is a target of selection, and 3) determining the ecological and genetic contributions to nectar variation to allow a predictive framework for evolutionary change. Project details will be determined with the student. Likely systems will be fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) or white clover (Trifolium repens). More about the Biology program at UNB: https://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/depts/biology/graduate/index.html
Requirements: 4-year undergraduate degree in Biology or similar / research Masters degree for PhD position. Undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher. English language proficiency. Research experience an asset (e.g. honours thesis).
Deadline: recruitment will continue until filled, however applications before May 5, 2025 can apply for recruitment scholarships to top up salary. Sept 2025 or Jan 2026 start date
Salary: UNB Biology base stipend $13500 plus tuition and fees (includes teaching assistant position for 2 semesters/year).
Apply: send a cover letter of research interests, CV, and transcripts (can be unofficial) to aparachn@unb.ca (application to UNB will follow recruitment)
Note: Qualified international applicants are welcome to apply but may face additional requirements (e.g. proof of language proficiency, etc).

5 6

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Seema Sheth @seemasheth.bsky.social · Apr 28

Amy Angert & I are recruiting 2 field technicians for demographic surveys of scarlet monkeyflower in late summer-fall. Please spread word to any potentially interested candidates! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/217...

Temporary Plant Ecology Field Technician

The Sheth evolutionary ecology lab in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina; USA) and the Angert Lab in the Departments of Botany an...

jobs.ncsu.edu

28 24

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 28

She was an incredible science writer. Her prose is beautiful. I taught The Edge of the Sea to freshmen in a "welcome to college, take a required writing course" class.

Also she asked E.B. White at the New Yorker to write about pesticides and he demurred. Carson: guess I'll roll up my sleeves...

1 2

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

Mason Heberling @jmheberling.bsky.social · Apr 16

So I’m in the New York Times today 👀 😃 in a nice piece on artists and invasive species featuring our new exhibition at Carnegie Museum on invasive plants nyti.ms/42fFzpa

Standing Up for Invasive Species (Gift Article)

Artists and scientists are finding ways to highlight troublesome plants and animals, tell their stories and, in some cases, use them as raw materials.

nyti.ms

1 7 21

Reposted by Caitlin MacKenzie

David Toews @davetoews.bsky.social · Apr 15

A lot of blood sweat and tears put into this one: we revisit Robert MacArthur's classic warbler study—with @eliotmiller.bsky.social and colleagues—using, among other techniques, fecal metabarcoding.
🧪🦉
📸 Ronnie d'Entremont
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
@psubiodept.bsky.social

Reassessing niche partitioning in MacArthur’s warblers: foraging behaviour, morphology and diet differentiation in a phylogenetic context | Biology Letters

Owing in large part to Robert MacArthur’s classic research, wood warblers in the family Parulidae are textbook exemplars of species competition and niche partitioning. Conventional wisdom suggests tha...

royalsocietypublishing.org

4 48 130

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 16

The US Forest Service Forest Inventory & Analysis is just incredible — and also the Forest Atlas is gorgeous research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/6...

Forest Atlas of the United States | US Forest Service Research and Development

research.fs.usda.gov

2

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 16

Miller's paper is the bizarro Brown paper! Two analyses of FIA plot data: one that focuses on where the logging is happening and one that shines a light on where the logging is not happening!

1 1

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 16

Tomorrow I'm going to introduce Kathryn Miller's paper "National parks in the eastern United States harbor important older forest structure compared with matrix forests" — also based on USFS FIA data (and NPS I&M)...

1 2

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 16

My students read Michelle Brown's "Timber harvest as the predominant disturbance regime in northeastern U.S. forests: effects of harvest intensification" which uses USFS FIA data to track trends in logging...

1 5

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 16

Listen I know college kids aren't watching Seinfeld but I'm writing a lecture for my advanced Forest Ecology class based on Bizarro Jerry because that's where I'm finding joy at the moment...

1 3

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 14

Absolutely!

3

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 14

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Low‐cost observations and experiments return a high value in plant phenology research

Plant ecologists in the Anthropocene are tasked with documenting, interpreting, and predicting how plants respond to environmental change. Phenology, the timing of seasonal biological events includin...

bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 4

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 8

“the process of knitting itself mirror ecological patterns — it requires attention to structure, repetition, and adaptability"

— my student's written response to the prompt "Why would a forest ecology course include an assignment to knit a wool hat?"

4

Caitlin MacKenzie @cmacmtns.bsky.social · Apr 3

Organizing the interactive activity for my talk in the 'Celebrating New England Herbaria: Research, Teaching, Community, and Outreach' session at this weekend's Northeast Natural History Conference.

My kids created the first two specimens, mine is the Polystichum acrostichoides.

three small lego plates decorated with a single layer of brown and green flat, square legos that create three pixelated pictures of an herbarium specimen, complete with label (blank white 2x2 square) and envelope packet (1x2 piece with envelope styling).

5