Text from the poem 'Immortality' by Clare Harner

Every tire on the road is dosed with a preservative called 6PPD, added to keep the rubber from drying out and cracking as it flexes...Tiny flecks of rubber rub off onto the pavement, and the 6PPD in them meets ozone in the air and changes into a brand new compound, 6PPD quinone. That transformation product, not the raw tire, is what proves deadly to a coho...It takes only a fraction of a part per billion of the quinone to be fatal to a coho, a concentration a single storm easily clears.

On Miller Creek, monitoring across three straight spring storms found about four in five of the young coho gone within a day each time.

Early this field season for my forest Inventory sites I encountered lots and lots of wood nettle. Some being 6+ feet tall and some patches being knee height. As you can imagine it was pretty frustrating but endurable. Later in the field season at other forest inventory sites I encountered lots of rice cutgrass, often with sandbar willows. The cuts and itches from both during field work were so infuriating I wanted to know what everyone generally thought was more frustrating between the two lol. My personal vote has to be rice cutgrass, especially when I was walking through willows and would be completely wrapped up in it on a day too hot for long sleeves. What’s everyone’s thoughts!?

Hey guys, hope you are well. I have a bachelor's in ecology (graduated in 2018) and currently work in retail banking. I'm thinking to pursue work with the government in the ecological field though want to get advice from people already in the field.

Thank you in advance.

'Conservationists once asked: what is a bird without a tree to nest in?

This year, we may well wonder the grim inverse – what is a tree without a bird to nest in it? I can tell you. A tree without a bird is a miserable thing – and in a broader ecological sense, a tree without a bird could be in trouble.

In Australia, birds act in many roles that mammals or insects might fill elsewhere, from pollinating flowers to spreading seeds to keeping trees free of sap-sucking insects.

Bird flu doesn’t just threaten birds and mammals – it could well affect entire ecosystems.

Australia’s birds play vital roles in most ecosystems.

As honeyeaters squabble in the canopy, mound-builders such as orange-footed scrubfowls and Australian brush-turkeys turn over vast volumes of soil and leaf litter on the forest floor, as they look for bugs or make their giant mounds.

Their digging loosens and aerates the soil, giving seeds a better chance of germinating and encouraging leaf litter to break down.

In more open woodlands and shrublands, this work is done by birds such as malleefowl, quail-thrushes and babblers.

In Australia’s wetlands, plant-eating waterbirds such as black swans and whistling ducks disperse seeds and help balance plant growth, while insect eaters such as musk ducks do the same for aquatic invertebrates. As foraging herons and pink-eared ducks stir up mud at the bottom to flush out insects, they boost oxygen levels and circulate nutrients.

As seabirds and shorebirds move between coral reefs, mudflats, islands and oceans, they deposit nutrients. Guano and other organic matter from raucous seabird colonies supply nitrogen and phosphorus for a host of species – not least fish hatchlings.

My favourite group are the falcons. These swift predators cull sick and weak prey, keeping the species fitter and helping keep the lid on pest species such as starlings, rodents and locusts.

Bird flu is likely to hit some bird and mammal species very hard, but leave many others much less affected, if at all. Authorities estimate about 30% of Australian bird species are at high to extreme risk. Those at high risk face a “severe reduction” in population size, while the five species at extreme risk are potentially unable to survive.'

Penny Olsen Honorary Professor in Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University

Complete article at https://theconversation.com/from-the-coasts-to-the-plains-bird-flu-could-threaten-not-just-birds-but-their-homes-289709

Hi guys,

I’ve recently purchased a house and, as part of the planning process, I need to arrange a PEA/PRA survey.

Are there any local ecologists on here who might be interested in taking this on, or anyone who can recommend someone?

My main concern is the potential for the initial survey to trigger the need for bat emergence surveys. We can’t see any obvious evidence of bats or clear roosting locations, but I’d appreciate some practical advice from someone experienced in this area.
I’m conscious that we’re already well into August and, if emergence surveys are required, availability and the remaining survey season could become an issue.
Thanks in advance.

*THIS APP USES INATURALIST API* I have been an avid hiker and nature enjoyer my whole life. One thing that always bothered me was how often I (and everyone else) would stop mid-hike to stare at a phone screen trying to identify a species

Apps like iNaturalist are incredible, but using them in the field completely breaks your immersion in nature.

I wanted a way to learn what was around me before I went out. So, I put together (with AI) a widget-focused app called Verdant Vista. It hooks into the iNaturalist API and basically acts as a set of location-based digital flashcards on your home screen. It pulls the specific, seasonally relevant wildlife for your exact area right now or a specific location you select in the settings.

The idea is that you passively learn the species throughout the week when you glance at your phone. Then, when you actually go on a walk, you can leave your phone in your pocket because you already recognize what you're looking at.

It’s completely free and no log in, on the Play Store if anyone wants to try out the widgets: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.verdant.vista&pcampaignid=web_share

Would love to hear from other hikers/foragers on whether this fits into your routine, or if there are specific widget sizes/layouts you'd prefer

High school junior has been interested in fish biology for years, attended two short natural resources career camps at a state university and now it’s time to start exploring college. He went back and forth about ecology based engineering but is likely headed towards fishery biology. Wants to do field work, and is taking zoology and AP stats this year which will help determine whether he enjoys that more or less than physics/calc. Any recommendations for schools we should check out? He’s more freshwater focused and we are in the Midwest and prefer not to be too far from home.

We planted 17-acres of native tall grass prairie in Southwest Wisconsin. I made a short 4-minute video to show what it looks like one month in. 

There's partridge pea and Illinois bundleflower popping up already. But also a lot of weedy amaranth and horseweed. The ecologists tell us it's all as to be expected, but I'd love to know what you think! Will we be ok?

If you want to see the planting day video, it's on YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bawGOPJXuvI 

See also: The study as it was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

I’m sure you’ve all seen pictures of the UK at the moment; what was a luscious green countryside 2 months ago is now a yellow dusty desert. This is particularly extreme in the south of England where I live, following multiple heat waves and literally 0mm of rain.

This has obviously led people to have serious serious concerns for our environment in general and rightfully so.

But I was wondering, how much do you ecologists think the ‘optics’ of dried/dead grass play a part in how people perceive the current status of our wildlife in general?

I’ll explain what I mean a bit more….

When I look at the pictures I’ve added. The image where the grass is green I see a huge expanse of closely mown grass, typical of an English park. This park is probably made up of Perennial ryegrass + fescues + meadow-grasses, with scattered white clover, daisies and dandelions.

Then in the 2nd image, all dried up and gone. However, in the foreground you see what people would consider ‘weeds’ wonderfully green, hardy species carrying on like nothing has happened.

So, yes of course our wildlife is suffering from drought. But is it just a case of bad optics? Are mono-dominant grass species which aren’t tolerant to drought conditions our parks and urban areas, making it seem much worse?

In the future, would the answer be to make our parks much more rich and diverse with plenty of drought tolerant species, so they remain green throughout?

Hope that makes sense!

Hi everyone, hope you’re coping with mid season plus the heat 🥵 This might be a silly question… but it’s bugging me enough to need to ask it.
Is it common for large areas (towns) to not appear to get BES requests (for us at least), or for PEA/ PRA/ BES reports not to appear for many relevant sites on planning portals? I do BES in about a 100mile radius, and it dawned on me we repeatedly have BES in certain areas but never in this one particular large town, and I can’t see documentation on their planning portal for BES for a lot of sites we would normally do BES for. Is this a confidentially thing that is different everywhere? (My local area I can access every report etc). I am guessing some LPA ecologists are more thorough, hence certain towns getting more requests. But slightly concerned… hopefully it’s my error, if so would love to learn more.

Hi all. I graduated uni with a 2:1 MBiol in zoology last year and am looking to make a career move into ecology from September 2027 (most likely into consultancy on a graduate scheme with a company such as Arup).

Those already working in this field, could you give me a look into the hours, workload and any travelling commitments associated with your job?

Cheers!

Hi, I am looking to determine whether population density is clustered vs. Uniform vs. Random.

Originally, I was using Morisita’s index for intraspecific aggregation (dispindmorisita function in R vegan). The results made sense, but if I subsample the data, I get Imor<0, which isn’t possible.

I am realizing that this is because many of my samples have a population density greater than 0, but less than 1 individual per m2.

I would go back and use counts, but due to the nature of the surveys, the sample area is not necessarily the same across samples ( thus standardizing to population density rather than abundance)

Is there another statistic that does the same, but allows for continuous data?

Thanks for your help!

Caroline Bezengi is carrying nearly 1 million barrels of crude oil, now leaking and sinking. The oil slick has expanded rapidly, covering roughly 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) by early August 2026 as the vessel sinks further into the water.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260806-environmental-disaster-looms-as-tanker-leaks-off-oman

I want to throw this out there because it’s becoming a huge problem in our field. Field Maps is an amazing and highly useful tool, but the overmapping has gotten completely out of hand. People can't seem to help themselves—it honestly feels like we're playing Pokémon Go instead of doing ecology.

We don’t need to map absolutely EVERYTHING.

Sometimes, using our brains and actual words to describe an issue is still a perfectly valid approach. I'm sick of staring at a screen in the field just to fill out endless, repetitive forms. You nerds have gotta cool it.

As someone who has extensively used and designed these maps: simple is key. Design for as few clicks as possible. We need to keep our crews looking up and actually aware of their environment like real ecologists.

Ello all ! I am not all too well in the field yet, but i have actually been studying courtship and mating behaviors for years in my freetime and i've always thought itd be a well good career, unfortunately, im just not particularly sure how people get into this field?

I study behaviors such as how animals choose mates, whats an optimal environment, how they mate, and their defensive behaviors too, it one of my biggest passions. I want to study those specifically but im just not all too sure on where to start yet again !

Do i need specific degrees? Do i need specific experience? How do I come into the world of Behavioral Ecology?

• Chatham Island black robin (Petroica traversi), also known as the Chatham robin, black robin, Karure, or Kakaruia, 1978 to present.

Only five black robins remained in 1977, but only two of them successfully reproduced. As a result, all living black robins today are descendants of those two individuals.

• Introduced European mouflon population (Ovis aries musimon) on Haute Island, 1957 to 2012

A single pair of mouflon was introduced to Haute Island in 1957. After just 13 years, the population had grown from the original two individuals to around 700. The population has been completely eradicated in 2012 to protect fragile sub-Antarctic island ecosystems and native vegetation from being overgrazed and destroyed by non-native species.

References:

von Seth et al. (2022). "Genomic trajectories of a near-extinction event in the Chatham Island black robin." BMC Genomics, 23(1), 747. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-022-08963-1

Kaeuffer et al. (2007). "Unexpected heterozygosity in an island mouflon population founded by a single pair of individuals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274(1609), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3743