Kristy Ferraro
@kristymferraro.bsky.social
100 followers 150 following 41 posts
Banting postdoc at Memorial University, PhD at Yale | ecosystem ecology | conservation ethics | #caribou & other #deer zoogeochemistry | she/her | #dyslexic misspelled posts mine own www.kristymferraro.com
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kristymferraro.bsky.social
Animals don’t just live in their environments—they transform them. And in doing so, they may also shape their own evolutionary trajectories. Our new paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution introduces a framework for zoogeochemical niche construction. A thread 👇
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Wonderful visit with Joseph Bump in Newfoundland at @memorialu.bsky.social last week!! Any guesses what Joseph, @gadammeyer.bsky.social, and I talked about??🌲🦌🌲
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Spent the morning tromping around looking for, and learning about, moose from my favorite moose experts @gadammeyer.bsky.social and Shawn Leroux @memorialu.bsky.social
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Thanks @alisoncribb.bsky.social! Can’t wait to hear what you think!!
Reposted by Kristy Ferraro
natecoevo.nature.com
Direct human actions such as hunting and bird deterrence at aquaculture sites kill up to 10% of the populations of some shorebird species migrating along China’s coast each year, suggesting that this direct mortality is an overlooked threat to migratory populations 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Direct mortality due to humans threatens migratory shorebirds - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Direct human actions such as hunting and bird deterrence at aquaculture sites kill up to 10% of the populations of some shorebird species migrating along China’s coast each year, suggesting that this ...
www.nature.com
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Rewilding isn't just about restoring ecosystems—it's about building relationships. In our new paper, we highlight how considering the individual and collective relationships among animals and humans in (re)introduction efforts can lead to better rewilding of socio-ecological landscapes.
Reposted by Kristy Ferraro
kristymferraro.bsky.social
The bottom line: zoogeochemical niche construction offers a way to understand how animals, through their elemental legacies, can influence not just ecosystems—but their own evolutionary trajectories.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
We outline experimental, correlative, and comparative approaches to identify and test these dynamics, providing ecologists with tools to discover new eco-evolutionary feedbacks and revisit old hypotheses about animal behavior and movements.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Our contribution: the Zoogeochemical Niche Construction Framework. We link animal-driven changes in elemental cycles to nutritional ecology, fitness, and ultimately evolutionary processes.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
But here’s the catch: despite both focusing on feedbacks between organisms and environments, niche construction and zoogeochemistry have mostly developed in isolation. This means we know little about the evolutionary consequences of animal-driven nutrient cycling.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Meanwhile, zoogeochemistry has shown that animals are powerful drivers of element redistribution and cycling. Think salmon carrying marine nutrients into forests or seabirds fertilizing islands.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Niche construction theory tells us that organisms can influence their own evolution by modifying their habitats. Classic examples include earthworms changing soil structure or beavers building dams.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Animals don’t just live in their environments—they transform them. And in doing so, they may also shape their own evolutionary trajectories. Our new paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution introduces a framework for zoogeochemical niche construction. A thread 👇
Reposted by Kristy Ferraro
jgewirtzman.bsky.social
So fun to be featured on this week’s @naturepodcast.bsky.social talking about the tree microbiome and could not be more thrilled to be following a story on rubber ducks.
naturepodcast.bsky.social
This week on the pod 🔊

🦆 Researchers develop a new glue and test it on a rubber duck
🦠 The diversity of microbes within living trees

go.nature.com/41tMU3B
Underwater glue shows its sticking power in rubber duck test
Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 06 August 2025
go.nature.com
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Stories and science, oh my!

Thanks @aibsbiology.bsky.social for hosting @gadammeyer.bsky.social and I to chat about our new paper in BioScience! We talk about narratives in science and provide tools for creative storytelling in ecology and conservation. Have a listen!
Reposted by Kristy Ferraro
gadammeyer.bsky.social
And it's out! I had an absolute blast chatting about the power of narrative in science reporting with @kristymferraro.bsky.social and James Verdier. We unpack the hero-villain trope in ecology and conservation and explore better narratives that build and resolve tension without creating a villain.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
New Scottish field site loading…
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Newfoundland in summer is magic.
Baby humpback jumping out of the water.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Ultimately, we show that while this problem is everywhere, there are ways forward—approaches that let science writers be more honest, creative, and true to the complexity of the natural world.

If you like storytelling, or easter eggs of novels and movies in science writing, give our paper a read!
kristymferraro.bsky.social
One of my favorites? The "will they, won't they" arc—perfect for Jane Austen's critiques of the English gentry AND for ecological phenomena like partial migration, where animals linger in uncertainty. It's messy, dynamic, and far more true to life.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
We think there are better ways to tell ecological stories. Borrowing narrative tools from our favorite books and films, we suggest alternatives that work well in science writing, like character studies, reckoning with the past, or the inconvenient prophecy.
kristymferraro.bsky.social
And the hero–villain trope shows up everywhere in ecology and conservation writing! It's in our paper titles, the words we choose, the narrative tension built in our introductions, and even in presentations. This is a problem.