Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃

Feeling very grateful to have such wonderful people to work with every day @unisq.bsky.social.
On the left, Birnbaum ecology group 2025.
On the right, word cloud of how we have been feeling this year.☺️

Well done to Genavieve (pictured below on the right) presenting at her first ever scientific conference!
Even better when your co-supervisor makes a special trip from Western Australia to support you 🥹

#ESA2025
@esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social

Alcoa shelves plans to explore Perth Hills for mining expansion US mining giant Alcoa will withdraw part of its plans to expand its mining operations in the world's only jarrah forests, following community concerns around water security and environmental impacts.

🌳🌿💚 Monday morning good news story!

Following strong opposition from local councils & residents, Alcoa has shelved its plans to explore the Perth Hills #jarrah #forests for its #bauxite mining expansion... for now at least.

#wildoz #conservation #ozflora #trees
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

ping @unisq-csas.bsky.social

This project was possible thanks to the wonderful support from MALDIID CEO Sofie De Meyer, Wildflower Society of Western Australia, and financial support from Friends of Meelup, The Ecological Society of Australia and University of Southern Queensland. We salute you all!

How good is this poster from our master's student Genavieve Jurd ?! 👇🎉☺️
If you are attending @ecolsocaus.bsky.social conference next week, please support ECRs like Genavieve during the Barbara Rice memorial poster session on Monday evening!

I'm so sad to miss out on this fantastic symposium.
Please make sure you check it out and share the insights with us on Bluesky, too! 🍄

Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live‐leaf flammability in plant species of fire‐prone forests Premise The flammability of live leaves in canopies varies considerably among plant species. Identifying macroevolutionary processes that shape variation in leaf flammability contributes to an under.....

The final version is now available #AmJBot
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Flower likened to 'cancer' for environment still sold at nurseries The colourful flowers of gazanias might attract you to buy them at a nursery but it is worth considering whether you are getting an invasive weed causing havoc to our landscapes.

www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2...

The Equilibrium Conundrum Although an assumption of equilibrium dynamics underlies most ecological theory, the evidence for this dynamic in nature and in empirical studies is scarce. This creates an unfortunate disconnect bet...

Most major theories in ecology assume some sort of equilibrium, but only ~half of empirical tests acknowledge it & even fewer observed it in their system. Does this matter? How did the idea become so pervasive in ecology anyway? Find out in our new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Monday was spent scouting for new field sites when we stumbled upon this beauty 😍
Dipodium roseum - a saprophytic orchid that does not produce chlorophyll but rather relies on carbon from decaying matter near eucalypt trees.

Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors Biological invasions can alter ecosystems, yet their impacts vary across ecological contexts. Using a global meta-analysis of 775 studies (2223 effect sizes) in terrestrial systems, we show that the m...

Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A quote from the article. Text reads: "The decline of soil biodiversity has visible and growing consequences. The science is clear, the frameworks exist, and the need for action is urgent."

.@cmarin.bsky.social and 127 co-authors present a global call to strengthen national #SoilBiodiversity action, in an #OpenLetter to policymakers at 27th meeting of the @unbiodiversity.bsky.social SBSTTA taking place in Panamá City this week.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#SBSTTA27

📢 Over 120 researchers have issued a major call to action for a coordinated approach to studying soil biodiversity! 📢

This letter urges policymakers, scientists, and others to recognize the importance of soil biodiversity and harmonize efforts. 🪱

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

128 authors - 1 message:
Open letter: A global call to strengthen national soil biodiversity action through coordination and harmonization - Marín - PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thanks @cmarin.bsky.social @thegsbi.bsky.social for leading!

I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know.

YouTube video by University of Southern Queensland Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses

Here goes a bit of shameless self-promotion:
If you missed my National Science Week online webinar, it is now available via YouTube.

Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses.

youtu.be/B_hnTfg10TM?...

The October intake of our free mentoring for early career ecologists is now open for registration! 🦇

You've got questions and they've got the answers! (They'll try their best 😅) Jump online to apply and check out the range of mentors available: tinyurl.com/bderjjxj

#mentoring #mentor #ecology

In the first half of 2025, renewables became the biggest source of global electricity for the first time, as wind & solar growth exceeded global demand growth

Shocking that it's China & India leading - EU & USA have fossil power growing

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Our department at UBC is hiring for a professor of forest ecophysiology, including "tree ecophysiology; plant abiotic or biotic stress physiology; forest mortality and climate change responses; forest carbon balance; tree water relations; or nutrient use." Learn more at: tinyurl.com/5da56f5c

A simple plant–mycorrhizal fungal resource trade co‐evolution model explains mutualism stability, extinction and transitory parasitism via fitness feedback The mutualism between mycorrhizal fungi and plants has persisted for over 400 million years, despite the mutualism paradox predicting that mutualisms should be evolutionarily unstable due to the fit.....

Loyalty and nutrient trade… University of Western Australia researchers show how plants and fungi keep their partnerships alive—even in the face of cheating 🍃 ❤️ 🍄

#Mycorrhiza #Evolution

The world needs more of Jane Goodalls and alike.
Dr Goodall was such an inspiration. I was fortunate enough to see her speak and meet at Tulane University speaking tour in 2016-2017, she came across so humble and gentle yet firm in her opinions and of course, very wise.
RIP, legend 💫

YouTube video by Open Plant Pathology Understanding plant-microbe-soil interactions to improve plant conservation and restoration outcomes

So many plant-soil enthusiasts out there or what's happening?!

Here is the link to the video if I got you intrigued: youtu.be/6elBF_ParMU?...

Started my Friday with this lovely E-Mail:
"Well I also happened to watch your interview on YouTube today and I must say you are truly an amazing person both inspiring and insightful." ☺️
So, I went and checked the above-mentioned interview, a talk actually, and it has 1.1 k views on YouTube! 🤯

Meet Fiona, who snapped that adorable video of a mommy koala and her bub. As part of her MRES, Fiona is studying the leaf endophyte diversity in dry rainforests near Crows Nest, QLD. She is supervised by myself and John Dearnaley.

What do leaf endophytes and koalas have in common?

They co-occur in our native ecosystems!
If you are keen to learn more or come and study with us, check out our programs 👇

unisq.edu.au/study/degree...

📷@unisq.bsky.social Master of Research student Fiona Stone captured this fab footage 💚

Congratulations! 🥰

Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services | PNAS Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services

“Nature conservation is not working unless it protects entire ecosystems with all their interacting members—big and small”

Fantastic opinion piece on advancing nature conservation to the next level by applying existing microorganism strategies to microbes.

Assistant Professor (Quantitative Microbe-Plant-Environment Interactions), Dept of Microbiology, Fall 2026 apply.interfolio.com/173345 at University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Position is part of a faculty cluster hire in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Quantitative-based Solutions for Food Security.