A black and white night photo from my camera trap. It shows two cheeky raccoons in the garden with shrubs and plants behind them. The one on the left has its mouth slightly open with its tongue just poking out. The one on the right has its mouth open revealing its teeth, the lower canines being visible too. Both raccoons have their front paws held up near their chests and both are sitting down mostly looking towards the camera. They look like a fun pair and could probably show me a thing or two about my neighborhood that I have no idea about.

These two raccoons travel around together, have done for a long time now. I don't know their relationship but if one goes ahead too far it stops and waits for the other one to catch up.
#mammals

Schema .org is partnering with DataCite to update mapping for Datasets to be incorporated into their API. Get involved!

Join an intro in the Schema .org Cluster call on Mar 26, followed by a ~2 hour hackathon in the April call.

Register: buff.ly/kpxOXKX
GitHub preview: buff.ly/JeGb6Jw

If most Americans care about the climate, why is the US clawing back protections? | Colorado Public Radio Two thirds of Americans say they are concerned about climate change. Asked whether they are directly affected, and the percentage plummets. Asked what they should do about it, and it shrinks further. ...

I was unaware how much tobacco marketers went on to influence our perceptions of climate change.

It's always eye-opening -- and inspiring -- to speak with atmospheric scientist and educator @katharinehayhoe.com:

An intricate octopus cut from a single piece of paper

Japanese artist Masayo Fukuda hand-cut this life-sized octopus from one sheet of paper. Known as Kirie in Japanese (translated as “cut picture”), the art form involves cutting intricate forms from a single sheet of white paper and then contrasting it against a black background to reveal the design.

If what matters is the data then why is it the paper that gets researchers the credit and not the data? You don't put datasets into your CV and many people don't bother to preserve their data. (Note I think this should change)

What the National Center for Atmospheric Research means to the atmospheric sciences Born out of a time of great need for the federal government, NCAR plays a role with few analogues.

Great piece out today in Physics Today on historical origins, contemporary relevance, & fundamental irreplaceability of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which remains at imminent risk of dismantling for partisan political reasons.

300,000 Wondrous Nature Illustrations Put Online by The Biodiversity Heritage Library Are we truly in the midst of a human-caused sixth mass extinction, an era of “biological annihilation”?

300,000 Wondrous Nature Illustrations Put Online by The Biodiversity Heritage Library

This is me! I haven't seen the sun in so long. My poor vit D levels and overall mood are fighting for their lives! 🥲

Leave the Leaves! One of the most valuable ways to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the shelter they need to survive the winter. Thankfully, all you need to do is do less yard work.

It’s time for one of the easiest things you can do for wildlife: just #LeaveTheLeaves! Leaves are vital homes & winter shelter! 🐝
🍂 Follow our easy tips & meet the animals you’ll be saving ➡️ xerces.org/blog/leave-t...
🪧 Get your own yard sign, now available in English & Spanish ➡️ xerces.org/gifts

That was really informative and grounding. Thank you for sharing it!

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

NEW

WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened.

This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

EPA Proposes That Major Polluters No Longer Report Their Emissions - Eos The EPA proposed today that approximately 8,000 polluting facilities, including oil refineries, power plants, and steel mills, should no longer be required to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

If finalized, the proposal would mean data on the greenhouse gas emissions of facilities such as major oil refineries would no longer be publicly available. eos.org/research-and...

Day 3 of the public hearing on the EPA’s reconsideration of the endangerment finding will begin shortly.🧪

As before, we’ll be following along: 👇🧵

Great to see our article on including data management in college curricula included in that list ❤️

Comic. The Most-Observed Animal and Plant in Each State on iNaturalist. (Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times.) [labeled map of the US] WA: Mallard/Western Sword Fern. OR: Mule Deer/Western Ponderosa Pine. CA: Western Fence Lizard/California Poppy. HI: Green Sea Turtle/‘Ōhi’a Lehua. ID: Mallard/Big Sagebrush. NV: Common Side-Blotched Lizard/Creosote Bush. MT: White-Tailed Deer/Common Yarrow. WY: American Bison/Sticky Geranium. UT: Mule Deer/Utah Juniper. AZ: Ornate Tree Lizard/Saguaro. CO: Mule Deer/Great Mullein. NM: Mule Deer/Creosote Bush. AK: Moose/Fireweed. ND: American Bison/Prairie Rose. SD: American Bison/Hoary Vervain. NE: American Robin/Common Milkweed. KS: Ornate Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. OK: Pond Slider/Eastern Redcedar. TX: Northern Cardinal/Pinladies. MN, WI, IL: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Common Milkweed. IA, MI: White-Tailed Deer/Common Milkweed. MO: Brown-Belted Bumble Bee/Amur Honeysuckle. AR: Three-toed Box Turtle/Chinese Privet. LA: Green Anole/Baldcypress. IN: American Robin/Amur Honeysuckle. OH: Eastern Pondhawk/Virginia Springbeauty. KY: Common Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. TN: American Robin/Christmas Fern. MS: Northern Cardinal/Pale Pitcher Plant. AL: Gulf Fritillary/American Sweetgum. GA: Green Anole/American Sweetgum. FL: Brown Anole/White Beggarticks. NY: Eastern Gray Squirrel/White Snakeroot. PA: White-Tailed Deer/Garlic Mustard. WV: White-Tailed Deer/Great Rhododendron. VA: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern Poison Ivy. MD: White-Tailed Deer/Wineberry. DE: Fowler’s Toad/American Pokeweed. NC: Eastern Gray Squirrel/Christmas Fern. SC: Northern Cardinal/American Sweetgum. NJ: Spotted Lanternfly/Common Mugwort. VT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. NH: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern White Pine. MA: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. CT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Striped Wintergreen. RI: American Herring Gull. ME: American Herring Gull/Canadian Bunchberry.

iNaturalist Animals and Plants

xkcd.com/3118/

In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.

Lead author Auke-Florian Hiemstra holds the oldest known caddisfly casing containing microplastic, dating to 1971. Photo: Liselotte Rambonnet.

A caddisfly casing with pieces of blue microplastic, dating 1986. Photo: Auke-Florian Hiemstra

NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀

Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯

A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛

Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x

A swimming meatball to kick off what I hope is a peaceful day for you. Spea hammondi, Madera County. #herps

QuotePost with a picture you took in a National Park.

#NationalParkService America’s Best Idea
Canyonlands NP April 2021

(pls use AltText)

Beautiful! 😍

Plant with sage green color leaves and small purple flowers.

Ooo! I just hiked that one last weekend but we had far less rain this year so not many flowers. But I did see desert lavender 🪻

photo of a python in scrubland

GEE whiz! 🧙‍♂️Have you seen the latest GBIF #DataBlog post?

🌏 Learn about the Google Earth Engine and understand how to use its #Python API in this blog authored by Kit Lewers! 🐍

🔗gbif.link/db-gee

peach coloured graphic with a drawing of a stingray and text that reads data use club data processing standards practical session overlaid

Missed out on attending our #DataUseClub Practical Session last week? 🐙

Have no fear, the resources are here! 🙌

Access the session recording, Q&A, presentations and community forum all in one place!

🔗www.gbif.org/composi...

collage of biological and map drawings on a blue background

This guide is under strict monitoring...😉🔎

We've just released the new Survey and Monitoring Data Quick-Start Guide!

The latest GBIF digital publication supports users in updating a Darwin Core dataset using the #HumboldtExtension. 🐊

Check it out 🔗gbif.link/sm_guide

@tdwg.org

Three college students stand in front of shelves that contain various fossils, skeletons, and preserved insects. The students are holding a flat, glass-topped box that contains butterfly specimens.

The University of North Texas #insect collection is now on GBIF! Data entry and #georeferencing is being done mainly by a team of amazing @untscience.bsky.social undergrads. www.gbif.org/dataset/7ab6...

Help us map and study the activity of Joshua trees’ specialized pollinators, yucca moths! Yucca moths interacting with Joshua tree flowers. Left, a female Tegeticula antithetica lays eggs in the pistil of an eastern Joshua tree flower before pollinating the flower with the yellow ball o…

If you live in the Mojave or have Spring Break plans in Death Valley or Vegas, you can help study Joshua trees! Yoder Lab grad student Pryce Millikin has a new @inaturalist.bsky.social project for Joshua tree flowering and fruiting, to study the trees' specialized pollinators 🌿

buff.ly/3PLUL6e

Fifth National Climate Assessment, Chapter 2: Climate Trends Chapter 2 of the Fifth National Climate Assessment

If you're interested, you can find a summary of the latest research on wildfire and climate change in the US here:
nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/2/

Is there a link between #ClimateChange & increasing risk/severity of #wildfire in California--including the still-unfolding disaster? Yes. Is climate change the only factor at play? No, of course not. So what's really going on? [Thread] #CAfire #CAwx #LAfires iopscience.iop.org/a...

Would appreciate a RT from the scientists for this one! We have 665 scientists in the spring database and I want to get us to about 1000 before we set the teachers loose on the database for January matches.

Window with blue sky, clouds, trees, and ground reflected but with vertical all the way across and horizontal lines in the top half.

We've had birds flying into our windows so I put up some bird blocks (vertical lines). I've also started keeping the blinds part way down to help too (horizontal lines). Stay safe birdies! 🐦