Evaluating the vulnerability of critical early life stages in plants during heat extremes Abstract. Plants, their seeds and their gametes show remarkable resilience and responsiveness to environmental conditions. However, worsening climate chang

Our new @conphysjournal.bsky.social paper is out now! We discuss the physiology and ecology of vulnerable early and reproductive life stages for enhancing conservation & restoration in the context of extreme heat.
doi.org/10.1093/conp...

North America’s 2021 ‘heat dome’ has caused catastropic ecological damage: study Billions of mussels scorched and baby birds dropping from sweltering nests: North America’s 2021 heatwave caused a cascade of ecological damage, some of it catastrophic, some unexpected, a new study s...

“The heatwave had widespread ecological effects, including an almost 400% increase in wildfire activity & negatively affecting more than three-quarters of the species studied,” said UBC zoologist Dr. Diane Srivastava. @zoology.ubc.ca @srivastavalab.bsky.social

www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-...

Weighing the options: a test of alternative stomatal optimisation models at high temperatures Stomatal optimisation models centre upon a fundamental tradeoff for plants: opening stomata promotes carbon uptake, but closing stomata prevents water loss. However, stomatal opening can occur at hi...

So proud! Our brilliant PhD student Camille Sicangco's new paper just out in @newphyt.bsky.social : Testing stomatal optimisation models at high temperatures nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Yes, forest trees die of old age. But the warming climate is killing them faster The warming climate is killing Australia’s forest trees at a faster rate. This offers a glimpse of what may lie ahead for forests globally.

'Yes, forest trees die of old age. But the warming climate is killing them faster' #ClimateEmergency #Globalwarming #trees #eucalypts #plantscience #ecology 🪴🌳🌾🌱🌡️ theconversation.com/yes-forest-t...

High‐temperature acclimation of photosystem II in land plants The effect of high temperature on plant performance and survival is a topic of great interest given the ongoing rise in global heatwave frequency, duration, and intensity. The temperature at which ph....

New paper led by @bposch.bsky.social out in @newphyt.bsky.social . We reviewed evidence, mechanisms, and consequences of high temperature acclimation of leaf heat tolerance: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

PhD opportunity available at @westsyduhie.bsky.social with the brillant Dr Laura Williams - hyperspectral data and process-based modelling of tree diversity 🌳🌲 please share with your networks tinyurl.com/ms6mjz8y

🚨 New R package! 🚨

balancR provides tools for data balancing + robust scaling analysis, based on our recent Global Ecology & Biogeography paper: doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Co-developed with my PhD advisor @seanmichaletz.bsky.social

Check it out 👉 michaletzlab.github.io/balancR/

Submit an abstract to our #AGU2025 session "Heat and Microclimate Impacts on Plant Functioning: From Molecules to the Biosphere" (agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/pr...) @nicolebison.bsky.social @luiza-aparecido.bsky.social @bposch.bsky.social @agu.org @agubiogeosciences.bsky.social @gec-agu.bsky.social

Infrared imaging shows heat levels in sun-exposed leaves of Alstonia scholaris from the Australian Wet Tropics. As climate change increases temperatures and the severity of heat waves, both natural ecosystems and agricultural plants are increasingly affected by heat. Examining heat responses at cellular, genetic, physiological, and ecosystem scales, this special issue explores how plants sense and respond to high temperatures.

As the world warms, plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings find ways to respond to the heat.

In a new special issue of Science, researchers examine how heat affects plants at multiple scales, from the molecular level to the biosphere. scim.ag/44cSw3Z

New Article: "Leaf venation network evolution across clades and scales" rdcu.be/epLNP

Evolution of leaf venation networks, from fewer, corrugated veins to high vein density and smoother loops. Herbivory as a potential driver of venation architectural changes.

The effect of fire on the carbon fluxes and productivity of Brazilian woodland savannas The effects of altered fire regimes within open ecosystems are poorly understood and can have serious consequences on functioning and conservation acr…

My first PhD paper is now published in #STOTEN! We used a long-term fire experiment and ecosystem monitoring protocol to quantify the effect of burning on the productivity, respiration and ecosystem #carbon balance of Cerrado #savanna (1/6)

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than publishing about GREENish Warblers! (and/ or reading about them)

Fully funded PhD in Plant Ecophysiology at UBC in Vancouver 🍁! Possible topics include leaf physiology, thermal ecology, microclimates, scaling, tree physiology, forest ecology & more. Start Jan/May/Sept 2026. michaletzlab.org
Please share!
#PlantEcoPhys #Ecology #Botany #PhDposition #GradSchool

Still reeling from the wonderful experience of #ESAus24. No better way to recover than with science friends over tea and cards on the Great Ocean Road 🚗🌊

That's a wrap on ESA2024! We're so beyond grateful for everyone who attended and presented at our biggest conference ~ever~ 🎉

We'll see you in Adelaide next year (Nov 23-28) for ESA2025!

*The echidna is not a paid actor

#ESAus2024 #ecology #WildOz

Sonya, Sam, Nicole, Josh, Hilary Rose, and Sean smile for a group photo in front of the Melbourne Convention Centre.

A great part of being a Plant Functional Trait alumna is meeting up with the #PFTC community around the world. This time, #ESAus2024 in Melbourne with @sonyageange.bsky.social, @nicolebison.bsky.social, @joshleecology.bsky.social, @seanmichaletz.bsky.social, and Sam Beale.

Some dazzling #EcologicalFashion from day 1 of #ESAus2024 🌼🦜

Surrounded by lush vegetation in a tropical forest canopy, three take-away containers have been customised to warm leaves continuously

A density plot shows the distribution of observed leaf temperatures for one example species - Myristica globosa. The graph shows that warmed leaves surpass their optimum temperature far more frequently than control leaves, and are close to their critical temperature threshold

How do tropical rainforest trees respond to warming? 🌡️🌿We experimentally warmed canopy leaves by 4°C for 8 months and found significant declines in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, with no shift in Topt. Read the new paper, led by Kristine Crous here: shorturl.at/AVTOk

Thank you Sean!!

Thank you!! Absolutely, would be super excited to chat some more 😊