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drdave.bsky.social
Professor of Ecology, educator, maker | ecology, mistletoe, acoustics, conservation | updates on research, family & other beasts. Living on unceded Wiradjuri country #AwesomeBirds #WildOz
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Always reskeet new mistletoe descrptions

Struthanthus longipetiolatus (Loranthaceae) is a newly described hemiparasite that is endemic to the forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur Biogeographic Province in Mexico. ➡️ doi.org/10.5091/plec...

Was nice to hear and record the mournful call of the Common Potoo on my recent trip to Ecuador. These strange-looking birds look almost like cartoon characters with their huge bulging eyes! #fieldrecording #birds youtu.be/TQc9hdRv1Bs

We can achieve 100% renewable energy in Australia & also protect threatened species impacted by wind and solar developments with only 2-3% increase in electricity bills compared to if we didn't consider threatened species. #iccb2025 great talk by A Rogers

@martinemaron.bsky.social squeezing How To Fix Offsets (paraphrasing) into 3 minutes. Exceptionally I might add. Key message for me was applying absolute, rather than net gain, the latter inevitably leading to more loss. Standing room only I might add! #ICCB2025 @iccb2025.bsky.social

Dr April Reside convinces us at #ICCB2025 that microbats are the best crop-pest eaters! Eating their body weight in insects every night 😳. They indeed forage in veggie crop farms, but can we do better to lure more microbat species to do more crop-protecting help? @iccb2025.bsky.social

That’s not a radio-tracking collar. THIS IS A RADIO-TRACKING COLLAR! (Spotted at Savannah Tracking booth at #ICCB2025)

Morning all.

A plenary of huge encouragement to get the #ICCB2025 conference started from Queensland Chief Scientist & QUT Professor Kerrie Wilson. #conservationscience 🌏

Such a beautiful welcome to Turrbal country from song woman Butinga and Aunty Cathryn. Welcoming us to #ICCB2025 with first nations representatives responding in song, and delegates from 90 countries embracing the smoke, the welcome, the deep connection with Country

Currently…

A late stage Purple Emperor caterpillar perfectly mimicking half a Sallow leaf - the veins even line up. Fully fattened and about to perform the miracle of pupation, converting to a liquid soup in the pupa and then reassembling into a magnificent butterfly - amazing.

Good morning.

A great article on the potential for native bees in urban areas - this is one of the reasons that we have been experimenting with migratory beekeping with native stingless bees at the Australian Parliament. www.smh.com.au/environment/...

📝 The genetic prison that traps a ghost plant 🧵 doi.org/10.1002/pei3... Why would you make leaves that are all cost and no benefit? A ghost plant puzzle is solved. #Botany #PlantScience 🧪 #InBrief (1/10)

Tiny part.

🐙🌿🐍🐛 Nope, it's not a snake - it's the caterpillar of a sphinx moth (Hemeroplanes sp.)., found by our guides in Corcovado Natl. Park., Costa Rica. Normally the caterpillars blend with the vegetation, but if disturbed they twist their head upside down to reveal a "snake," and even wave around to--

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Morning all.

Best thing today happened yesterday with @judykirk.bsky.social - very curious #Rakali #BillabongCk #UpperBillabong

Hopetoun Falls in the Otways is gorgeous! So nice to see water flowing after a long dry spell.

Evening all. Sound right up if the jesus lizard is your jam.

We're delighted to announce the reappointment of @jwmorganecology.bsky.social and @markooiecol.bsky.social as Co-Editors-in-Chief of Australian Journal of Botany! Their continued leadership ensures the journal remains at the forefront of botanical research in Australia and beyond 🌱 📖

Getting there now. Companion paper now shaping up too. Evolutionary ecology of mistletoe fruit specialists over the last 30 million years lets goooooooooooooooooooo.

I see some people posting their strawberry moon photos from last night, so here is my humble contribution. Micrathena clypeata, sometimes referred to as the strawberry spider, is seen here spinning her moon-like egg sac. This is one of the photos from WildSumaco that I am most proud of.

So excited to share this paper, lead-authored by newly-minted Dr. Andrew Dreelin from my lab and @andyjboyce.bsky.social's with you all! 🧪 There's this paradox about prairie dog towns - many birds seem to love them, but they attract a lot of predators. 1/n authors.elsevier.com/c/1lFifmjMA3tq

Check out this issue of Phil Trans Roy Soc B called "Acoustic monitoring for tropical ecology and conservation." Several cool papers on different systems royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

Good morning.

Here's a hot tip! Long term studies and monitoring of #threatenedspecies is a must to support decision making on adaptive #fire management strategies Something to remember this #WorldEnvironmentDay Read more here buff.ly/PfrEzQX @PacificConsBio.bsky.social

Nice analysis of the longest phenological record available, 1200+ years of cherry blossom (Sakura) in Kyoto. Showing blossom times have been shifting for 137 years in response to warming

Top of my list of missing native species we should be looking at reintroducing to Ireland? Lynx!! • Never attack people • Rarely attack livestock • Aren't pack animals • Help regulate deer • Help regulate smaller predators, like fox • Are a huge tourist draw • Are just GORGEOUS!!

The fish tank is a big hit with Pepper!

maybe my favorite paper I've written, I have a synthesis out today early access in @asn-amnat.bsky.social today that attempts to answer a simple but slippery question: what is an elevational range? doi.org/10.1086/737130

Huge congratulations to @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social Deputy Director and Chief Investigator, Professor of Climate Science Nerilie Abram (@scienceanu.bsky.social) 🧊 New Chief Scientist for the Australian Antarctic Program! @climatenerilie.bsky.social www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2025/au...

Here's a treat. Beautiful music by an Indigenous artist featuring the call of the butcherbird. Great video clip as well ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pdi...

3 paddocks west of Melbourne could be Australia's "most important" property. While it's worth millions to developers, it's also home to the only known population of Victorian grassland earless dragons. Experts are worried it's not adequately protected. au.news.yahoo.com/secret-hidde...

A monumental taxonomy unification effort has just been published - thanks to all those who've collaborated for years to make this happen! birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...