Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 15d

Honestly it’s writing more grants 🤷‍♀️

Mike Feigin 🥯 @mikefeigin.bsky.social · 15d

TFW you submit a big grant and now have to remember what used to fill your days at work.

1 1

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 26d

You can read an excellent piece about our work this summer by our lead bander Anna Peel:

vtecostudies.org/blog/2025-mo...

Lead bander Anna Peel with a winter wren

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 26d

And of course the obligatory sunrise and mountain peak photos. This view never ever gets old

1 1

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 26d

We’re up on the Mt this week for Bicknell’s Thrush but the spruce-fir is buzzing with migratory birds! Surprisingly the top is very dense with migrants (mostly young) despite the low food and cold conditions. Here’s a few of our bycatch friends. (All birds captured under USGS BBL and state permits)

1 7 33

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 27d

Sorry for the snark folks but, it’s 2025. You run mixed models just like everyone else. You are not a ‘quantitative ecologist’ with ‘deep expertise in ecological modeling’

2 5

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · 27d

I love how the default description for white male ecologists is ‘quantitative’ while for everyone else it’s ’so good with people!’

2 9

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Sep 6

Resting up this #caturday with some needed naps

2 78

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Aug 27

We were surprised they’re so abundant too! We even found a new species for the state!

1

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Aug 27

Amazing what a week of full bellies and warm snuggles will do
#catlove

5

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Aug 27

Not ever day that longhorn cuckoo bees (Triepeolus sp.) out number the bumblebees during surveys! Three species yesterday on one plot. All on blue vervain (verbena hastata) which appears to be heavily favored by this genus

1 1 15

Reposted by Desirée L. Narango

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Aug 26

OH GREAT NOW THE SWAMP IS WOKE

www.iflscience.com/deep-in-virg...

Deep In Virginia, When The Light Hits Just Right, A "Rainbow Swamp" Appears

Swamps typically bring to mind an array of mushy greens and murky browns, but in Virginia, they do things differently.

www.iflscience.com

580 2.4K 17K

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Aug 23

Worked from home this week to play catch up on papers but the cat distribution system had other ideas. Needless to say I haven’t gotten anything done because snuggles took priority.

Small, two or three week old kitten sleeping

2 17

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Aug 1

Yes, this happened to us at Urban Sustainability. Completely ghosted. We sent an email pulling the paper and submitted elsewhere.

4

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 28

Here ya go!

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Tree composition mitigates the negative effects of urbanization on specialist and generalist forest moth communities

Urbanization alters forest ecosystems, but host tree composition can mitigate its impacts on moth communities. Using light traps in urban forest fragments, we found that interaction-rich host trees e....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 2

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 28

Whoops forgot the link! Distracted by moth pictures

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Tree composition mitigates the negative effects of urbanization on specialist and generalist forest moth communities

Urbanization alters forest ecosystems, but host tree composition can mitigate its impacts on moth communities. Using light traps in urban forest fragments, we found that interaction-rich host trees e....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

2 10

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 28

Now that you’re super stoked about #moths from #mothweek, check out a paper I published this year that I’m very proud of.

Spoiler alert: the tree composition in a forest fragment predicts the abundance of specialist and generalist moths. More #keystoneplants = more moth diversity

#plantanoak

2 2 27

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 25

Fascinating!

Sam England @samjakeengland.bsky.social · Jul 24

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity | PNAS

The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...

doi.org

4

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 24

Grumbling that lots of concept & opinion papers on urban sustainability/biodiversity get published all the time without real data.

We submitted a data-driven paper on plants, inverts, birds, and soil and get rejected because none of the invited reviewers agreed to review it.

Frustrating.

2 9

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 23

Fall migration has started! Techs caught a bay-breasted warbler this morning. The start of the molt migrants that don’t breed on Mt. Mansfield, but spend 2-3 weeks molting fresh plumage for the rest of their journey.
#mansfieldsongbirds

8

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 18

Here’s 1 year of blue vervain (verbena hastata) growth from plugs planted in our experimental #nativeplant gardens last year. Lots of activity!

#vceecotypeproject
#pollinators
#buglove
#gardensforwildlife

1 10

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 17

If you’re having the kind of day I am, you might need this.

Blue Heron Farm @blueheronfarm.bsky.social · Jul 17

The baby playground has been disassembled since our last big storm, but it's up again and the new goats are trying to figure it out.

1 2

Reposted by Desirée L. Narango

Steph likes the outdoors @dendromecon27.bsky.social · Jul 15

Some actual good news for once?
www.eenews.net/articles/for...

Forest Service research survives in House spending bill

Republican appropriators also set aside a White House request for a new wildfire agency at Interior.

www.eenews.net

1 4 20

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 15

Hey how exciting! I hope it’s going well!!

1

Desirée L. Narango @dlnarango.bsky.social · Jul 15

Tis the season for fun field work, awesome data collection, learning and mentorship, beautiful days on the mountain, and baaaaaabies
#vcemansfieldsongbirds
#ornithology
#pollinators
#vermont

1 10

Reposted by Desirée L. Narango

Erin Douglas 📝 climate reporter @erinmdouglas23.bsky.social · Feb 19

Hi, I'm a climate journalist for the Boston Globe.

If you're a federal employee working in New England for EPA or the Forest Service (or you were, until last week..) I'd love to hear from you.

My colleagues and I at @bostonglobe.com are dedicated to protecting our sources.

Signal: erinmdouglas.23

3 44 68