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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP
@zarahpattison.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.1K following 480 posts
Invasive species, particularly plants, especially in freshwater... 🇿🇦Senior Lecturer (Asst. Prof), Univ of Stirling🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Makeup artist turned field girl. Coffee? always! ☕ Joined by #NinjaTheStaffie insta: @monsterplantscience https://zarahsinthefield.com/
zarahsinthefield.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · Nov 21
Hi all! I'm a #plant ecologist 'slightly' obsessed with #invasivespecies & love splashing around in #freshwater. Interested in how habitats/communities change with invasions, climate & anthropogenic stressors.
'Understatedly' obsessed with #dogs. Especially #rescuedogs...
zarahsinthefield.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 7h
Source: BBC
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River Wye pollution prompts UK's largest environmental lawsuit
Livestock and water companies are accused of “extensive” pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk rivers.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 3d
Fungi ruled Earth for eons before plants set their roots on land: www.earth.com/news/fungi-r...
Fungi ruled Earth for eons before plants set their roots on land
New research shows fungi diversified nearly a billion years ago, shaping soils and ecosystems long before plants colonized land.
www.earth.com
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Reposted by DrZP
bsbiscotland.bsky.social
BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 5d
Book your #ScotBotanistsConf place now! Its going to be a fantastic day @thebotanics.bsky.social, with brilliant talks on restoring montane woodland, Tufted Saxifrage, urban flora and much much more!
@sarahwatts.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social @botsocscot.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social
A small, tight clump of Tufted Saxifrage rosettes just catching the morning sunlight on a steep rock wall, high in the Grey Corries. There are three flowerheads, with the last tiny white petals hanging on as they go to seed. Behind, a pattern of brown-green bryophytes and ledges form a mosaic in the vertiginous, pale grey quartzite, with the rock spires reaching towards a bright blue sky in the far corner of the photo.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 7d
Source: The Guardian
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Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day
Investigation shows extent of green land lost across UK and mainland Europe to development from 2018 to 2023
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Reposted by DrZP
petergeoghegan.bsky.social
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 11d
"Like so many of these so-called think tanks, the Tony Blair Institute dances to the tune of its funders"

Was so great to talk about Blair, Larry Ellison, Keir Stamer and corporate capture with @georgemonbiot.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/george-mon...
George Monbiot on Blair, Starmer and the capture of democracy
I spoke with the celebrated journalist and activist about ‘junk tanks’, dark money - and how we can fight back
democracyforsale.substack.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 10d
Source: BBC
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'It lives underground and is fabulous': The race to save the world's rarest orchid
The world's most mysterious and elusive orchid lives underground in Australia. Scientists are trying to rescue this botanic marvel from going completely extinct.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 14d
Source: Nature
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The first emergence of unprecedented global water scarcity in the Anthropocene - Nature Communications
Anthropogenic climate change is projected to cause “Day Zero Drought”, when water demand exceeds supply, emerging as early as 2030 and occurring more frequently than recovery allows, posing escalating risks to regions worldwide.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 15d
Source: The Guardian
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‘The forest had gone’: the storm that moved a mountain – podcast
On a small ledge in the Swiss mountains, 200 people were enjoying a summer football tournament. As night fell, they had no idea what was comingBy Jonah Goodman. Read by Evelyn Miller
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Reposted by DrZP
ecoinvasions.bsky.social
Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 18d
We are seeing substantially reduced water levels on the St Lawrence River, extensive shoreline recession, and - consequently - loss of habitat.
www.montrealgazette.com/news/weather...
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 18d
Source: The Guardian
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Only a third of world’s river basins experienced normal conditions in 2024
Increasingly erratic water cycle is creating food scarcity, rising prices, conflict and migration, says UN agency
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 20d
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Giant pest oyster spreads through Australian waters
A problematic oyster species that can grow up to 24 centimetres long is spreading through Queensland, with the potential to invade much of the nation's coastline.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 21d
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Equity in science is a beautiful lie — and I’m done pretending
Science isn’t really moving towards equity; institutions are just perfecting the appearance of equity. We need to build an alternative system.
www.nature.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 21d
Source: Nature
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A nature-based conservation framework that aligns opportunities for bird biodiversity, climate mitigation, and human equity - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - A nature-based conservation framework that aligns opportunities for bird biodiversity, climate mitigation, and human equity
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 23d
Source: ScienceDaily
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Why some plants are taking over the world
Plants are spreading across the globe faster than ever, largely due to human activity, and new research shows that the very same traits that make plants thrive in their native lands also drive their s...
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 23d
Source: CNN
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Scientists are electrifying lakes to capture invasive species they believe are transported by hurricanes | CNN
Well before the sun rises, scientists gather at a Florida lake looking for Asian swamp eels. The eels, along with other invasive species, are gaining more of a foothold in the southeastern United Stat...
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Reposted by DrZP
sophiemowles.bsky.social
Sophie Mowles @sophiemowles.bsky.social · Sep 4
Absolutely. A really important paper here. Fieldwork 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 be safe and inclusive for everyone.
zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · Sep 4
🏞️𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?
Our new study looked at fieldwork policies and risk assessments from 90 UK universities offering environmental science courses.
The results are eye-opening:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Improving university policies and risk assessment to support inclusive fieldwork in environmental sciences
Among 90 UK higher education institutions, there was patchy mention of protected and other identity-related characteristics in fieldwork policy and risk assessments, and very limited consideration of....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 23d
Source: The Conversation
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Black wattle as firewood: how South African communities are putting invasive species to work
New research says invasive black wattle trees that are burnt as fuelwood in South Africa’s rural areas would be better turned into charcoal and useful wood products.
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 25d
Source: Financial Times
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The funding crisis reshaping UK universities
Also in this week’s newsletter, the two-tier system for treating ADHD
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 25d
Source: The Guardian
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UK universities cut back on crucial research because of reduced funding
One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report
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Reposted by DrZP
euanritchie.bsky.social
Professor Euan Ritchie @euanritchie.bsky.social · 29d
Semantics. We have killed and are still killing massive numbers of species, we can argue about what constitutes 'mass extinction', but it is in my eyes, and I'll keep referring to it as such. Own our mess. Act to prevent further death and destruction.

www.scimex.org/newsfeed/wer...
We're not living through a mass extinction event just yet
We're not living through a mass extinction event just yet Despite the extinction of hundreds of species over the past few hundred years, international researchers say we are not yet living
www.scimex.org
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · Sep 7
Source: Nature
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Many plants naturalized as aliens abroad have also become more common within their native regions - Nature Communications
How changes in species’ native occupancy over time relate to global naturalization success remains unclear. Here, the authors show that species with both high occupancy decades ago and increasing nati...
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Reposted by DrZP
appecolab.bsky.social
MTA-SZTE Applied Ecology Research Group @appecolab.bsky.social · Sep 7
Kurgans can act as refuges for rare weeds!🌿
With colleagues from ‘Lendület’ Seed Ecology Research Group, we found that these out-of-production sites provide key habitats for many rare weed species – shaped by geographical position, soils & vegetation recovery.🌱
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Reposted by DrZP
fletcherecology.bsky.social
Robert Fletcher @fletcherecology.bsky.social · Aug 7
Happy to share new work from the lab and a wonderful group of co-authors:

We argue that conservation biology needs to move beyond the current focus on species richness metrics.

While this has been argued before, we highlight the unappreciated impacts of using richness for a variety of problems:
Beyond Species Richness for Biological Conservation
Recent global policy developments have highlighted the need for straightforward, robust, and meaningful biodiversity metrics. However, much of conservation science is dominated by the use of a single....
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · Sep 4
Thank you!!
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zarahpattison.bsky.social
DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · Sep 4
Thank you Alex!!!! Will share with the team :)
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