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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · 7d

Long-term data result in more reliable species distribution models. Perhaps expected, but nice to see it quantified formally! Thanks @nico-anselmetto.bsky.social for leading this effort at the HJ Andrews LTER. @uslter.bsky.social 🧪
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Leveraging long‐term data to improve biodiversity monitoring with species distribution models

To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to demonstrate the benefits of long-term dynamic SDMs with spatially matched predictor variables. If predicting the future of biodiversity under la...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · 15d

Nice article by @jimrobbins.bsky.social in @nytimes.com on one of my favorites - marbled murrelet - and its potential fate given changes to our forests, oceans and the US Endangered Species Act. @coforegonstate.bsky.social 🧪

A Tiny Seabird Faces Growing Threats in the Forest

www.nytimes.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · 20d

Thanks to @natecoevo.nature.com for publishing this short essay on our Costa Rica hummingbird/heliconia work!

Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · 20d

Species Spotlight 🚨

Heliconia tortuosa: What being outsmarted by a tropical plant taught Matthew Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social about science. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Free to read: rdcu.be/eG4e0

Heliconia tortuosa - Nature Ecology & Evolution

What being outsmarted by a tropical plant taught Matthew Betts about science.

www.nature.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · 22d

Old-growth Douglas-fir / western hemlock forest, Pyramids, Oregon

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Sep 3

@natecoevo.nature.com

Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Sep 3

Science is rarely a linear path from hypotheses to published papers. Here, I tell the story of our many ups and downs during the discovery of pollinator recognition. Hope you enjoy it! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Aug 26

Nice article!

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Aug 10

Another excellent article by @lyndamapes @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social, this one focused on one of my favorite species - Swainson’s Thrush. So nice to see the HJ Andrews @uslter.bsky.social linked to wintering grounds in Costa Rica. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

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Reposted by Matt Betts

Long Term Ecological Research Network (United States) @uslter.bsky.social · Jul 10

Always a pleasure to see others recognize the value of our network.

"[The LTER Network] has enabled scientists to get answers that have led to key policy decisions, from amending the Clean Air Act to prevent acid rain to preserving old-growth forests."

Lynda Mapes for the @seattletimes.com

Trump wants to cut research centers like the one in this PNW forest

Congress will take up Trump's proposed budget cuts, which target 26 long-term ecological research centers like the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon.

www.seattletimes.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jul 10

Great to see this @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social by Lynda Mapes on post-fire "reorganization" at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and LTER! @uslter.bsky.social

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jul 10

Today’s @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social features an excellent article by Lynda Mapes on how our research forest HJ Andrews Experimental Forest @uslter has changed following fire www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

A fire charred this research forest. What happened next dazzled

The 2023 Lookout Fire burned most of a forest in Oregon. What's unfolding in the aftermath could inform the future of other forests burned as wildfire becomes fiercer and more frequent.

www.seattletimes.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 26

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Simulated soundscapes and transfer learning boost the performance of acoustic classifiers under data scarcity

The biodiversity crisis necessitates spatially extensive methods to monitor multiple taxonomic groups for evidence of change in response to evolving environmental conditions. Programs that combine...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 26

Yes, good question. Alas, no highly resolved plant data in this study. But Graham collected beetle and bee data to address the same questions. Those papers out soon.

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 26

Collecting bioacoustics data but terrified of the time required to train auto-ID models? A solution from @mattweldy.bsky.social out today in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social in the form of transfer learning which minimizes the need for training data. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 25

Fledgling black-backed woodpecker @ the HJ Andrews LTER yesterday. Fascinating to see this long-studied ecosystem reorganizing after the 2023 Lookout Fire.

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 25

Clearcutting doesn't mimic fire when it comes to biodiversity conservation - in the early stages of forest development at least. Congrats to Graham Frank on the publication of his PhD chapter! esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Jun 22

Rough skinned newt, Oregon Coast Range

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · May 27

For what it's worth, I largely owe my career to NSF. Happy 75th! www.science.org/content/arti...

Is a photo subversive? NSF staff overcome obstacles to 75th anniversary portrait

Management tried to quash outpouring of support for beleaguered agency

www.science.org

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · May 15

Some well articulated arguments for science funding here: theconversation.com/unprecedente...

Unprecedented cuts to the National Science Foundation endanger research that improves economic growth, national security and your life

The Trump administration has terminated hundreds of federal grants that support engineering, biology, geology, computer science, STEM education and much more.

theconversation.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · May 2

This article came out officially yesterday focused on supporting federal science to inform forest management: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Thanks to @gcerullo.bsky.social for his efforts on this.

Benefits of onshoring forestry rely on science

www.science.org

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Apr 17

Here’s our attempt to emphasize the importance of maintaining strong federal research capacity in the face of new executive orders to increase timber production in the US: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Benefits of onshoring forestry rely on science

US Executive Orders to reduce wood imports (1) and ramp up domestic production (2) signal a transformation in forest policy. Portrayed as addressing supply chain and national security concerns, these ...

www.science.org

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Apr 6

Congrats Erin!

Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Mar 18

Defunding the research agency that uncovered forever chemicals, measures impacts of air particulate on human health, researches playground safety…what could go wrong? www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/c...

Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm

More than 1,000 chemists, biologists and other scientists could be laid off under a plan to dismantle the Office of Research and Development.

www.nytimes.com

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Matt Betts @mattbetts42.bsky.social · Mar 8

Some scenes from the Corvallis stand up for science protest today. So nice to see this much positivity out there.

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Reposted by Matt Betts

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Mar 3

Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs.

It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎

48 Scientific Societies Representing Almost 100,000 Scientists Ask Congress to Protect the Future of Science

48 scientific societies representing almost 100,000 scientists signed on to a letter asking Congress to protect the future of science

www.ucsusa.org

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