Stephen Murphy (smurph)
@smurph.bsky.social
7K followers 1.9K following 1.1K posts
Professor at U Waterloo - Sch Environment, Resources & Sustainability. Ecologist, EIC Restoration Ecology, Botanist, Protected Areas. Grasslands. https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-resources-and-sustainability/blog/you-break-it-we-fix-it
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Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
wildwoods.bsky.social
"Research shows wildfires are 4x more likely in areas w/roads than in roadless forests...and >90% of wildfires occur within 1/2 mile of a road. Even USFS's own research undercuts the argument that repealing the roadless rule would have a positive effect on fire mgmt."🌍 www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-e...
The Trump administration’s latest attack on cherished public lands | Opinion
“For more than two decades, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres of our national forests from industrial development.”
www.sacbee.com
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
cathyhernandez.bsky.social
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
A graphic advertising phage ecology and evolution research at the University of South Carolina, showing a central image of a tide pool flanked by a photo of an agar plate containing diverse microbes and a TEM image of a virus particle.
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
catieivy.bsky.social
Do you like songbirds? Are you concerned about how wildfire smoke may impact their physiology?

I'm searching for graduate students who are interested in looking at the effect of wildfire smoke on songbird physiology! Come join my lab @usaskartsci.bsky.social!

research-groups.usask.ca/ivy-lab/
The Ivy Lab! - Welcome to the Ivy Lab!
research-groups.usask.ca
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
lars-brudvig.bsky.social
Apply to become the next MSU EEB Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow!

These are two year positions with research stipend, working with 2+ MSU EEB faculty. Applications due 10 November 2025. More here:

eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
eeb.msu.edu
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
erleellis.bsky.social
Redefine how the world measures progress!
🌍🧑‍🌾🌽🌎🌴🐬🌏🚵‍♀️🍄🌐👍

Join the Global Expert Consultation to develop
The Nature Relationship Index (NRI) @undp.org

<15 mins to make a difference
anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
> Deadline: Oct 15, 2025
> Background: rdcu.be/etpiQ
smurph.bsky.social
On this issue, I note that the editorial staff do not have any say in which publisher is used - the governing Society decides that and whether to switch & contracts cannot legally end until they are up for renewal. I understand the anger to be sure & wish I had a solution.
smurph.bsky.social
With due respect, I think this is actually a Canadian variant of "Minnesota Nice".
smurph.bsky.social
And I write this from sitting in the shade reading a book on a lovely fall day
smurph.bsky.social
Damn right. Well said as always
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
lizszabo.bsky.social
The 280 pediatric flu deaths are the highest number reported in the U.S. since the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic and the highest for a non-pandemic flu season since child deaths became nationally notifiable in 2004. The mortality rate was highest overall in infants under 6 months of age
smurph.bsky.social
You would think our uni would. But we both know they never do.
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
jasondovemark.bsky.social
If conservationists work from a compromised baseline, our notions of abundance, scarcity, and ecological wellbeing will keep getting defined downward:
"The researchers show that using the 1970s as a baseline tends to normalize an already severely degraded state."
phys.org/news/2025-10...
Bird conservation threatened by shifting baseline syndrome
New research shows that populations of dozens of waterbird and seabird species have been declining for much longer than previously thought in Europe. The article "Shifting the baseline for waterbird a...
phys.org
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
hadrianmk.bsky.social
Such a vital point. Max doesn't focus on it here, but this is also essentially the reason why the consumer carbon price failed. There is no political constituency for broad-based regulations that have no tangible local benefits. It doesn't matter if a policy is "efficient" if it's not durable.
Reposted by Stephen Murphy (smurph)
smurph.bsky.social
Once again, I'll be quoting you in my class - next week we tackle the policies and politics of how to apply systems analysis to things like energy and climate.
smurph.bsky.social
Yes - and as you have said clearly and often - that warning should be "Don't fucking go to the USA".
smurph.bsky.social
A great (horrible) example of why Canadian's cannot pretend we are really any better.
smurph.bsky.social
Are we living in a tritely written episode of "Yes, Minister" or "The Thick of It"?