"[A] company running a government program and not getting paid by the government to do it … sounds exceedingly suspicious to me."

Using AI to speed up Australia’s environmental approvals risks ‘robodebt-style’ failures, scientists say Conservationists say move could push species closer to extinction and clearer environmental rules are needed instead

AI is not the solution to the #EPBCAct problems. But also, imagine if academics posted a media release for every grant application we submitted! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Journalists and academics/teachers leading the way on this, we can't let AI obsolesce legitimate information sources

"The most fossil fuel-friendly government in recent U.S. history has shown us all just how risky reliance on oil and gas can be — and taught the world that true energy security lies in accelerating toward a cleaner, electrified future."

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv finds that #DistributionModels of polysphinctine #parasitoid wasps (#Ichneumonidae) reveal sampling bias & flag potentially overlooked host #interactions
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70077

@riosdeciencia.bsky.social @marceloog3.bsky.social @manusaunders.bsky.social

"Universities are supposed to be bastions for thinking -- at all levels." #academicsky www.yorku.ca/professor/dr...

New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv

Urban #peatlands can harbour diverse insect communities but depend on appropriate habitat management
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70076

#Biodiversity #UrbanInsects
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

RES launches new journal: Approaches in Entomology Call for papers coming soon - Watch this space!

🚨 New journal launch!

We're ecstatic to announce #ApproachesInEntomology - a new #OpenAccess journal focused on methods, tools and innovation across #InsectScience, designed to support transparency, reproducibility, and practical advances in the field.

Read more 🔽

buff.ly/tNTmujq

@wiley.com

Equity, Ethics, and genAI in Academia Generative AI tools are openly accessible, increasingly normalised, and mostly inequitable. They’re a great example of a marketing success benefiting a specific industry that has quickly ignited a …

Reposting after many more discussions with students and colleagues who don't agree with being forced to use genAI tools for teaching, learning and research. We need better policies that promote integrity and endorse/support 'opt-out' #academicsky #highered ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2026/01/30/e...

Orals are an effective option, but not THE solution. Let's focus on the bigger picture eg time/workload issues for academics/markers to engage with individual orals vs written assessments in large classes, how to assess written skills and support equitable education in the era of AI #academicsky

Earth being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance reaches record high State of the Climate report finds Earth’s energy has moved dangerously out of balance, with oceans absorbing vast majority of trapped heat

Never too late to do something NOW, but so sad for the Earth this has been predicted for literal decades, so much that could have been done www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This will have broader impacts on conservation of species and ecosystems, knowledge of biodiversity, understanding of environmental impacts etc. etc.

World energy watchdog warns fuel crisis is 'very severe' World leaders have failed to grasp the depth of the energy crisis created by the Iran war, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned, as he considers releasing extra emergency oil stores.

What will be the long-term impact on research, especially in disciplines like Ecology that depend on field data collection? Fuel costs/supply already disrupting current research, monitoring, existing grants. Will funding bodies now see field research as too risky? www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Only a few weeks into teaching session this year and I've already had multiple students express concerns about using genAI tools and how they are 'promoted' or 'forced' on them by education institutions or workplaces #academicsky #highered

Toxic Tide Four Corners is the home of Australian investigative journalism.

This story of ecosystem collapse addresses many questions about transparency and accountability during environmental crises, especially climate-driven crises we are experiencing more frequently www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

New research in #RESInsectConsDiv

Contribution of #CitizenSciences to the production of #butterfly species long-term trends
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70066

#Biodiversity #MonitoringSchemes
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

New #OpenAccess research in #RESInsectConsDiv

A protracted #phenology: Post-#diapause larval development of a threatened #butterfly
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70068

#MarshFritillary #Euphydryas #InsectDevelopment #Microclimate
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

New research by @martamaziarz.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv finds that #bird nests support a diverse, dynamic & distinctive #macroarthropod community on #forest floors
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70067

#Biodiversity #Microhabitats #Conservation
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

U.S. and Iran Predicted a Very Different War Than the One Now Being Waged Economic disruption stemming from the conflict is hurting countries worldwide—while providing a windfall to Russia.

Each side in the Iran war seems to have miscalculated how the other would behave, triggering an ever-expanding conflict with few clear ways out in the foreseeable future.

not just panic buying here apparently, claims that suppliers are prioritising metro areas for limited supplies, and worse situation in more regional/remote areas than we are.

Diesel crisis hits towns and farms as regional suppliers face 14-day waits 'We're supposed to be getting a delivery today [Tuesday] ...but after that? Not sure.'

This is us. A small regional town in New South Wales of about 24,000 people. An administrative and education centre, farming region, on a major interstate highway. Some local servos now completely out of retail fuel. www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/919462...

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv

#Conservation implications of shifting #habitat use in migrating insects: Selection patterns in a threatened #damselfly show that season-specific actions are needed
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70063

#Migration
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv

Priority areas for #arthropod #conservation in #Iberian Peninsula & #Balearic Islands: Insights from multi-taxon distributional database
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70060

#Biodiversity #Conservation #Natura2000
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

Spider encountered during sampling in the study. Credit: Irina Das Sarkar.

Kullu (Himachal Pradesh, India) forest landscape. Credit: Irina Das Sarkar.

Lahaul Spiti (Himachal Pradesh, India) agricultural landscape. Credit: Irina Das Sarkar.

One of the researchers undertaking sampling during the study. Credit: Irina Das Sarkar.

New work in #RESInsectConsDiv explored functional variation in #spider communities across different #LandUse categories along an #ElevationalGradient in North-Western Indian Himalaya
doi.org/10.1111/icad.70062

#TraitVariation #Biodiversity
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wileyecology.bsky.social

An insect pollinator community feasts on white eucalypt blossoms.

Chuffed to start 2026 with news I've been elected a Fellow of the @royentsoc.bsky.social, one of the oldest entomological societies in the world doing amazing work to support insect science and conservation around the world. Look forward to the future of insect conservation!

Geographically proximate rare species exhibit strong population divergence while maintaining intraspecific genetic diversity in Homoranthus (Myrtaceae)

🌿🌍 Join us to learn about the newly published “Geographically proximate rare species exhibit strong population divergence while maintaining intraspecific genetic diversity in Homoranthus (Myrtaceae)” in @annbot by Eilish McMaster and co-authors. (1/9)

👉 doi.org/qr49

@manusaunders.bsky.social

Day 100 of receiving yet another, nearly identical, enshittified, chatGPT-generated proposals for some form of tech X restoration proposal for Restoration Ecology from a group of (real? fake?) professors who clearly have no restoration experience and no idea what restoration ecology even is.

Not funny that unis are encouraging staff and students to defer 'teaching and learning' decisions to this

How AI slop is causing a crisis in computer science Preprint repositories and conference organizers are having to counter a tide of ‘AI slop’ submissions.

Massive boom in conference submissions (chock full of AI fabrications) due to LLM adoption is NOT "increased researcher productivity"

It is research integrity failure, knowledge degradation, disciplinary suicide

If you've ever wondered about Expectations in Academia, there are still people reviewing grant applications who think an applicant is not worth funding because they let their 'excellent' research trajectory slow down in recent years due to *having a child* #AcademicSky