tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders
@tomsaunders.me
400 followers 120 following 85 posts
💡 Digital research skills training • Open research • Research policy 💼 Centre for eResearch, University of Auckland. 💻 tomsaunders.me
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Reposted by Tom Saunders
emilhvitfeldt.bsky.social
Emil Hvitfeldt @emilhvitfeldt.bsky.social · 13d
I'm exited to announce a new resource about making slides with quarto and revealjs. This book is the combination of all the work I have done in this area, reordered and polished up

There isn't a lot of new information yet, but this format allows me to add more easily

slidecrafting-book.com
#quarto
Screenshot of first page of slidecrafting-book.com website
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · 18d
The verbal gymnastics don't change the fundamental reality that whatever they create will not be a dodo. Fun to watch them try though.
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · 20d
I'll mark it on my calendar: birds that superficially resemble dodos in 5-7 years.
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · 26d
Just in time for a major new release of ggplot2! www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/09...
ggplot2 4.0.0
A new major version of ggplot2 has been released on CRAN. Find out what is new here.
www.tidyverse.org
tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · 26d
The Art of Data Visualization with ggplot2: A free online book by @nrennie.bsky.social that guides us through the entire process of creating plots, including why certain decisions were made, using real datasets that have been part of #TidyTuesday. Very excited to get stuck into this one. #rstats
The Art of Data Visualization with ggplot2
The TidyTuesday Cookbook
nrennie.rbind.io
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · 27d
Nice! The second edition of 'R for Data Science' (free online book) is great for a refresher and all round amazing resource, in case you hadn't heard of it. It's helped me a lot.
R for Data Science (2e)
r4ds.hadley.nz
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Sep 2
"A lot of people have this throw away attitude that the dogs can just be disposed of and they can get another one for free on Facebook."

Irresponsible dog ownership has exploded post-covid, Animal Management doing what they can while taking abuse for looking after other people's dogs.
On the road with animal control
Auckland's animal control staff are busier than ever, impounding more than 10,000 dogs over the past year.
www.rnz.co.nz
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Aug 5
Would love to see researchers properly incentivised and rewarded by funders/institutions to publish fewer papers. One of the many interventions needed to untable the web of problems with academic publishing.
Reposted by Tom Saunders
taramcallister.bsky.social
Dr Tara McAllister @taramcallister.bsky.social · Jul 24
If you're a researcher in NZ please do our very short survey on the Vision Mātauranga policy! We are keen to hear your opinions. DM for the survey link
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jul 14
Great article! One of my favourite non-Aotearoa examples is Ampulex compressa (emerald cockroach wasp). Pretty amazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySw...
Beautiful wasp zombifies cockroach
YouTube video by Team Candiru
www.youtube.com
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jul 13
You've run workshops for media orgs before, right? Why don't these points about CC in particular make it into the handbooks or documentation used by the journos?
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Reposted by Tom Saunders
adzebill.bsky.social
Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · Jul 8
This is absolute shameful bullshit from all parties concerned. Peter Jackson is being scammed, Colossal are total frauds (5–8 years? Give me a break), and I have no idea what Ngāi Tahu think they’re doing. There are clear and simple reasons why this is impossible. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/south-isl...
South Island Jurassic Park? Peter Jackson backs project to bring back moa
Groundbreaking de-extinction project already under way, with a short timeframe revealed.
www.nzherald.co.nz
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Reposted by Tom Saunders
smcnz.bsky.social
Science Media Centre NZ @smcnz.bsky.social · Jul 7
THE SMC IS HIRING!

We're looking for someone to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in Aotearoa New Zealand.

More info and apply here: www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/06/26/w...
Work with us! Kaimanaaki Pāpāho | Media Advisor – Science Media Centre
The Science Media Centre is looking for a media advisor to join our dedicated team working to improve the reach, relevance and accuracy of news media reporting on science and related topics in…
www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jun 12
FYI iNaturalist have added an update to the post, including: "We are not giving Google special access to your iNat data, and we have no obligation to use Google’s infrastructure as part of this grant. Google is providing funding and advice on how to potentially leverage AI."
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Reposted by Tom Saunders
fontikar.bsky.social
Fonti Kar @fontikar.bsky.social · Jun 11
🗺️ Ever wander to a new place and think, "Hmm I wonder what birds/plants/[insert favourite taxonomic group] I can find here?" 🔍

We built {infinitylists} 📋 to help nature lovers create personalised, location-based taxon lists! 🌏
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jun 10
Yes - retraction should be encouraged when issues surface, not punished. Surely one of the biggest bang-for-buck moves would be for institutions/funders to lower the # of pubs they judge/evaluate/reward researchers on each year. Many of these integrity issues are symptoms of demanding quantity.
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jun 4
Most concerning to me is the attempt by the VC to frame it as a win for 'academic freedom', even though University lawyers repeatedly argued that academic freedom was a 'privelege' and that Wiles should stop talking about her expertise.
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jun 4
Nice one, congrats on the new role Fonti!
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · Jun 3
Some great examples here of how researchers can partner with Māori to co-develop research projects in ways that give effect to CARE principles alongside FAIR.
veronikameduna.bsky.social
Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · Jun 3
With the rise in technologies able to produce massive datasets (genomics, eDNA), good protocols for #Indigenous #data #sovereignty are essential - my latest for Plant & Food Research, with Maui Hudson, Amanda Black, Rangitāne o Manawatū, Linley Jesson et al

www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/articl...
Protecting indigenous knowledge · Plant & Food Research
There are many exciting initiatives underway to uphold data sovereignty.
www.plantandfood.com
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
I couldn't have done it without the amazing support and guidance from my supervisors Greg Holwell & Gonzalo Avila, and our collaborators Kye Chung Park & Lee-Anne Manning. I'm truely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from all of them.
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
...the moment of attack means we're examining ecological host range (the hosts that are actually attacked in the field, as opposed to physiological host range, or the hosts that support development of the agent, often tested in a lab setting).
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
...and this is where chemistry becomes important (for insects in particular). The stink bug egg parasitoids in this work use a variety of cues to hone in on their targets, and these cues become more and more reliable as they get closer. Testing these cues, while moving further out from ...
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Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
This is important because regulators often rely solely on the emergence work, where agents are confined with potential hosts in tight quarters to see if they *can* develop in a non-target host. This is crucial data, but a more accurate assessment of risk requires moving from *can* to *will* ...
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
In our case study, our two parasitoid wasps emerged from the two hosts at similar rates, but showed markedly different motivations to search for each host in arrestment experiments.
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tomsaunders.me
Tom Saunders @tomsaunders.me · May 28
In particular, arrestment bioassays in open arenas are relatively simple/inexpesnive but provide much-needed behavioural context. A substrate is contaminated with potential hosts and how long the agent searches is a proxy for motivation to find that host. These times can then be compared.
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