Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Amy Parachnowitsch

Robert G. Björk @robertgbjork.bsky.social · 5d

🎉We have announced a new professorship at the University of Gothenburg 🇸🇪 to celebrate our Crown Princess’s 50th birthday!
🌿Broad focus on biodiversity — from microbes to modelling
📢A fantastic opportunity for researchers working across scales and disciplines!

🔗 web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...

The Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity

Professorship in Biodiversity. The University of Gothenburg hereby announces a unique and prestigious position – the

web103.reachmee.com

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Hope Jahren @realhopejahren.bsky.social · 6d

Did you know that Europe names a Tree of The Year? Looks like Quercus spp. do quite well. Here's the 2015 winner, a ~150 year old Oak tree in Estonia that footballers have learned to play around. #bloomscrolling

Oak tree on a football field – Tree of the year

Is there a place in the world where you can find a stadium which has an oak tree in the middle of it? For the locals in Orissaare its a common thing, but this tree is at heart of the community. Before...

www.treeoftheyear.org

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Peter Moonlight @petermoonlight.bsky.social · 7d

Calling botanical researchers, the School of Natural Science at Trinity College Dublin is hiring a tenure track Assistant Professor in Plant Biodiversity and Conservation.

I know this is someone's dream job, so let me know if that is you and you want to chat!

my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui...

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Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 14d

I do a comic about ornithological vocabulary for every issue of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's wonderful Living Bird magazine. Here's the latest one, featuring the American Bittern.

A three-panel comic. The first panel is a scrap from a dictionary that says crypsis, noun: patterning or coloration that allows a bird to remain concealed by blending in to its environment. In panel 2, labeled effective crypsis, an american bittern blends in with a marsh full of tall plants. In panel 2, labeled ineffective crypsis, an american bittern fails to blend in among some short plants, next to a wet floor sign, and behind a stop sign.

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 19d

Tipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ research

The annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science.

www.nature.com

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Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 19d

"Fascism is a temper tantrum disguised as an ideology" is a great line

Gareth Watkins @garethwatkins.bsky.social · 19d

Dam been writing a book about this and she just TikToked it in 90 seconds.

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 19d

This thread is a delight.

Duncan Mackay @theduncanmackay.bsky.social · 19d

#OTD 19 September 1991, walkers in the high Ötztal alps on the Italian border, found a body melting out of the ice. It turned out to be the remains of a c.5200 year old man preserved with all his kit.
Of course, it was essential to replicate him in Playmobil.
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#PlaymobilÖtzi
#PlaymobilInfestation

Playmobil figure kitted out as prehistoric iceman Ötzi.

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · 26d

So happy with this one!

International Journal of Plant Sciences @ijpsjournal.bsky.social · 27d

JA @ijpsjournal.bsky.social

Spatiotemporal variation in selection on floral traits related to abortion rate, predispersal seed predation, and fitness variance

@evoecoamy.bsky.social, Monica A Geber

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....

#PlantScience

University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent

www.journals.uchicago.edu

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Joey Bernhardt @joeybernhardt.bsky.social · Aug 14

Please help us spread the word! Please amplify!

We are searching for an associate or full professor (Canada Excellence Research Chair) in Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph! 🐟🌿🦠🐜🐸🐝

Applications are due October 6 2025.

careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-C...

#AcademicJobs #EvoBio

Canada Excellence Research Chair in Biodiversity Genomics

careers.uoguelph.ca

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Jana Vamosi @jvamosi.bsky.social · Aug 8

Assistant Professor, Freshwater Ecologist, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary in Canada #academicjob careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1652277...

Assistant Professor, Freshwater Ecologist, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary in Calgary, ...

careers.ucalgary.ca

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Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · Aug 20

Resharing my post from earlier this week, just in case you're working on your syllabus and want to give a think about how you're going to be dealing with AI with assignments.

scienceforeveryone.science/how-i-am-thi... 🧪

How I am thinking about GenAI in the classroom

Student use of GenAI is not the problem, it's a symptom of bigger problems.

scienceforeveryone.science

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Aug 20

Congratulations to Ada Clarke who had an excellent master’s defence today. She was an absolute pleasure to work with! Forgot pictures but found this lovely bag in Sweden as a gift.

Upcycled bag from traditional Swedish cross stitching and fabric. Tapestry cross stitch of two birds on a branch looking into a candle lit window in a red house. Snow flakes and a winter scene with snow and ice on the window sills. Fabric striped with mainly light and dark blue, and red and white to a lesser extent

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Aug 7

Just like that my sabbatical in Sweden is done! Sad to be leaving but looking forward to adventures ahead!

Old Swedish school poster with information about the flower parts. Multiple line drawings of flower forms

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Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · Aug 6

A meta-analysis found that high-density managed honeybee populations can:

👉disrupt local biodiversity🌏
👉reduce pollinator richness🧪
👉alter plant-pollinator relationships🐝
...all with minimal benefits to crop yields!

Calls for evidence-based hive density guidelines 📑

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

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Jennifer Apland @omgitsmejenny.bsky.social · Aug 1

I'm so excited to share my master's research! Do pollinators change their foraging behavior depending on floral and ambient temperatures? Do flowers that thermoregulate experience higher rates of pollinator visitation? Check it out below! 🏵️

Functional Ecology @funecology.bsky.social · Aug 1

📰Published📰 Modifying floral infrared reflectance reveals how flower temperature impacts pollinator visitation🌼

buff.ly/GRWUhzZ

🧪🌍

Modifying floral infrared reflectance reveals how flower temperature impacts pollinator visitation

Jennifer S. Apland, Matthew H. Koski. This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology article which can be found here. The sun emits a wide spectrum of light that plants can use to warm up…

fesummaries.wordpress.com

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Jul 25

It is with great sadness I have pinned the tab for D2L once again (sabbatical ending sad face). To be clear I do like teaching but educational software and admin, well let's just say I haven't missed that part!

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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · Jul 25

♻️🆓: A functional view of flower–pollinator trait matching. A commentary on ‘Mismatching explained: constricted corolla tubes in Roscoea elevate the nectar’
doi.org/10.1093/aob/...

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Cath Hodsman @cathhodsman.bsky.social · Jul 23

Did u know?Some pollinators we know less about than others. This amber & black beauty is a Rose Sawfly. Sawflies aren't flies,but are related to bees, wasps & ants.They're approx 600 species in the UK & 1000's,world wide. The adults feed on nectar & pollen,making them excellent pollinators. 🌱🌿🇬🇧🌱🪲🌍🐜🐝

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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · Jul 22

Did you know that bisexual flowers are perfect? Botanists do.

My latest pin celebrates the fact that 90% of flowering plants have individual flowers with both male and female parts. Botanists call these 'bisexual' or 'perfect' flowers. Please share!
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...

A row of five enamel pins in the shape of six-petal flowers in nonbinary, pan, bi, trans, and LGBTQ+ flag colours. Each is on a backing card that reads "A perfect flower by canopy robin. Did you know that 90% of flowering plants have individual flowers with both male and female parts. Botanists call this a perfect flower."
The bi flower's backing card is purple and the others are green.

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Jessica Elena @byjessicaelena.bsky.social · Jul 16

Wahoo I made a phone wallpaper!

byjessicaelena.gumroad.com/l/bunnies-ph...

A product photo showing a mockup of a phone wallpaper, and below is the text "phone wallpaper". The wallpaper features two white bunnies sitting among some flowers.

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New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · Jul 15

✨ Paper spotlight ✨

(🧵 1/3) Evolution of petal patterning: blooming floral diversity at the microscale
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Fig.3 Micropatterns on the petal surface are created by variation in epidermal cell pigment, shape and cuticle textures.

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Jul 14

Keep in mind that this is a list appropriate for Europe (some invasive plants in NA) but great to see this!

Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · Jul 13

Scientists identified the best flower mixes to attract bees and hoverflies –

- appealing to the human eye and helping pollinators thrive

Here are the flowers that both bees and humans like best

Scientists identified the best flower mixes to attract bees and hoverflies – appealing to the human eye and helping pollinators thrive

eastangliabylines.co.uk

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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · Jul 13

Ex-farm worker here.

We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.

Not true AT ALL.

Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.

The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.

At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.

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Andrea Kirkwood (she/her) @kirkwoodlab.bsky.social · Jul 12

“York University scientist Sheila Colla remembered as a fierce advocate to save wild bees. Colla, 43, died Sunday of cancer. She successfully fought for the rusty-patched bumblebee to become the first bee listed as an endangered species in Canada and the U.S.”

www.thestar.com/news/gta/she...

‘Sheila just went for it’: York University scientist Sheila Colla remembered as a fierce advocate to save wild bees

Colla, 43, died Sunday of cancer. She successfully fought for the rusty-patched bumblebee to become the first bee listed as an endangered species in Canada and the U.S.

www.thestar.com

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Amy Parachnowitsch @evoecoamy.bsky.social · Jul 9

A major sabbatical accomplishment: learning to do stranded knitting (two colours)! Still need to block but it is done!

Blue and grey sweater with patterned yoke. Blue is the main colour. Pre-blocking so stitches are a bit raised and puckered in places.

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