ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly
@ltkelly.bsky.social
140 followers 61 following 18 posts
Associate Professor in Quantitative Ecology at University of Melbourne, Narrm. I like finding things out: where species live, how ecosystems work, and how we can conserve biodiversity.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 22
Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?

Our new paper is out in the July issue of @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social

📖 www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

with Hoffmann, Nitschke & @jgpausas.bsky.social
#fireecology #PlantBiology #ecoevo 🔥🌿🧬
1 12 36
Reposted by Luke Kelly
ellapouton.bsky.social
Ella Plumanns Pouton @ellapouton.bsky.social · 16d
🔥New Paper!🔥 from Julianna Santos,
@ltkelly.bsky.social @lluisbrotons.bsky.social @urbanfrogger.bsky.social @cristinaaponte.bsky.social , Lauren Ponisio, Stephen Mason, and David Keith!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Mechanisms Through Which Fire Drives Population Change in Terrestrial Biota
Understanding the mechanisms through which fire influences populations is necessary to protect species from fire regime change. We develop a cross-taxa framework that identifies mechanisms through wh...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
1 5 12
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Aug 29
Downloaded and ready to have a close read of it!
1 1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Aug 29
Brooke nailed some key ideas: "We, too, have to learn to live within the fire regimes in which we find ourselves — that we have, in fact, created for ourselves. Like it or not, we have to become fire-adapted."
1 2 5
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Aug 29
A thoughtful look at fire, resilience and the future of ecosystems in SoCal and beyond.

It was a pleasure joining @brookejarvis.bsky.social in the field for this @nytimes.com piece, with @mwtingley.bsky.social, @kendallcalhoun.bsky.social & Miroslava Munguia Ramos.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/m...
What the Bloom After L.A.’s Wildfires Reveals About Our Ecological Future
www.nytimes.com
1 4 15
Reposted by Luke Kelly
mwtingley.bsky.social
Morgan Tingley @mwtingley.bsky.social · Aug 26
A bunch of wonderful scientists are working to study how the LA fires in January impacted our local nature. We had a great time working with @brookejarvis.bsky.social and @nytimes.com on this beautiful article.

feat. @kendallcalhoun.bsky.social @ltkelly.bsky.social et al.
What the Bloom After L.A.’s Wildfires Reveals About Our Ecological Future
www.nytimes.com
1 9 27
Reposted by Luke Kelly
andreaduane.bsky.social
andreaduane.bsky.social @andreaduane.bsky.social · Aug 19
In Spain, several pyroCb events have triggered the largest wildfires ever recorded in the country. We talk about it in the media ⬇️

www.eldiario.es/sociedad/ver...
Verano catastrófico: 2025 es ya el peor año de incendios del siglo XXI y registra los fuegos más voraces de la historia
Los datos provisionales indican que los fuegos de Zamora-León y Ourense son los mayores del registro y revelan un hecho crucial: los 52 grandes incendios han quemado de media 7.000 hectáreas, 3.000 má...
www.eldiario.es
1 5
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Aug 19
How does pyrodiversity influence small mammal abundance and genetic diversity?

Our new paper led by Julianna Santos in @jappliedecology.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

#Biodiversity #FireEcology #EcoEvo 🔥🐭🧬
How does pyrodiversity influence small mammal abundance and genetic diversity?
Exploring both abundance and genetic data for small mammals revealed new ecological insights: N. yvonneae is more abundant decades after fire when hummock grass cover is high, but fire-driven habitat....
doi.org
10 31
Reposted by Luke Kelly
mwtingley.bsky.social
Morgan Tingley @mwtingley.bsky.social · Jul 26
I normally think about #fire from an ecological perspective, so really enjoyed thinking about the role of fire in the evolutionary past and future with @ltkelly.bsky.social. Take a look, it's a short read!
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 25
What are the evolutionary implications of changes in fire regimes for animals?

We explore this in our new paper in @globalchangebio.bsky.social

📖 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

with @mwtingley.bsky.social‬ @jgpausas.bsky.social & team

#Biodiversity #FireEcology #EcoEvo 🔥🦎🧬
7 15
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 25
A big thanks to UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology for hosting me while I worked on this, and to all the legends in the Tingley Lab that shared ideas with me and showed me around LA and surrounds. Plus this fox squirrel outside my office window that encouraged the example in Figure 1 #GoBruins
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 25
Our thinking was shaped by some excellent empirical work on intraspecific variation.

To name a few:
🪲Boheman weevils (Santos et al. 2025)
🐿️Eastern fox squirrels (Potash et al. 2020)
🦗Pygmy grasshoppers (Forsman et al. 2011)
🦎The Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus (Álvarez-Ruiz et al. 2021)
1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 25
We show that fire-related traits in animals can vary within species, affect fitness, and be heritable – and extend a recent plant-focused application of ‘trait-fire mismatch’ to animals.
1 1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 25
What are the evolutionary implications of changes in fire regimes for animals?

We explore this in our new paper in @globalchangebio.bsky.social

📖 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

with @mwtingley.bsky.social‬ @jgpausas.bsky.social & team

#Biodiversity #FireEcology #EcoEvo 🔥🦎🧬
1 5 13
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 22
And we develop the concept of 'trait–fire mismatch':

A type of phenotype-environment mismatch that brings together ecological and evolutionary fire science and supports forecasts of fire-driven environmental change.
1 3
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 22
We show that variation in fire-related traits – such as bark thickness, resprouting, serotiny, and smoke-induced germination – is widespread within plant species.
1 1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 22
We examine plant traits through the lens of fire science.

Traits such as resprouting and serotiny help plants thrive in fire-prone areas.
1 1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jul 22
Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?

Our new paper is out in the July issue of @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social

📖 www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

with Hoffmann, Nitschke & @jgpausas.bsky.social
#fireecology #PlantBiology #ecoevo 🔥🌿🧬
1 12 36
Reposted by Luke Kelly
ellapouton.bsky.social
Ella Plumanns Pouton @ellapouton.bsky.social · Jul 16
🔥 Hot off the press ! 🔥
Originally “sparked” from a conversation between @sarahmccg.bsky.social , Luke Collins , @brian-j-harvey.bsky.social , Meg Krawchuk and I. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
1 7 15
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Jun 15
Excited to be at #ICCB2025 in Brisbane this week! If you're interested in plant traits, fire or rapid evolution, come along to my talk on 'trait-fire mismatch' Monday at 2:55 PM in Room P5. Hope to see you there! 🌿🔥
3 16
Reposted by Luke Kelly
timcurran.bsky.social
Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · May 27
@ltkelly.bsky.social @jgpausas.bsky.social et al.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?
Patterns of fire are rapidly changing across the globe and causing mismatches between plants and their environment. These mismatches have ecological a…
www.sciencedirect.com
4 8
Reposted by Luke Kelly
jgpausas.bsky.social
juli g pausas @jgpausas.bsky.social · May 26
Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution? by @ltkelly.bsky.social et al. @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social

authors.elsevier.com/a/1l8-bcZ3X3...

To what extent do novel fire regimes generate trait-fire regime mismatches?

🧪🌍🔥🌳🌿🌾🪴 wildfre #ecoevo #PlantBiology
Trait–fire mismatching. Illustrative examples of mismatch are shown where anthropogenic shifts in fire patterns have plausibly reduced plant fitness.
2 15 41
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · May 25
Our new paper 'Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?' is in press at Trends in Ecology & Evolution - with Hoffmann, Nitschke & @jgpausas.bsky.social

Free to read & download: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l8-bcZ3X3...

@cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social #fireecology #plants 🔥🌿
authors.elsevier.com
4 16
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Mar 19
Thank you! Feels good to share this work. And it was fun to learn more about bats while working on this with microbat expert and lead author Amanda!
1
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Mar 19
Our new paper, led by Amanda Lo Cascio, explores how pyrodiversity shapes bat communities—featuring this little forest bat.🔥🦇

Check it out here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Little forest bat in southeastern Australia (photo: Amanda Lo Cascio).
1 2
ltkelly.bsky.social
Luke Kelly @ltkelly.bsky.social · Mar 7
Exploring #fireecology in the UK this week with colleagues from The University of Cambridge. In heather-dominated landscapes (Calluna vulgaris), small burns are used to create pyrodiversity for a range of ecological and management goals. This burn? Designed to enhance red grouse habitat—for hunting.
A small fire used to manage hunting areas A fire mosaic created by a mix of burning and cutting Common heather Calluna vulgaris
1
Reposted by Luke Kelly
euanritchie.bsky.social
Professor Euan Ritchie @euanritchie.bsky.social · Feb 6
Australian governments are failing to conserve biodiversity, meaning their extraordinary values are being lost and global conservation targets will likely fail. The next federal government must do better.

My letter with @biodiversityguy.bsky.social in @science.org.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Addressing Australia’s biodiversity crisis
www.science.org
6 94 220