Mark Ooi

Thanks for the shout-out Tim! In my other life, I always wanted to be a photographer 😊

The first chapter of my PhD is out! 🌱🔥

We looked at whether fatty acids (a common seed oil) changed composition across fire-prone and fire-free habitats + dormancy-breaking temperatures in physically dormant seeds! (1/2)

@markooiecol.bsky.social @ryantangney.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/aob/...

I was wondering the same!

The "living fossil" Wollemi pine🌲can self-fertilise! New research from #CharlesSturtUni shows this critically endangered conifer produces viable seeds without cross-pollination - which helps explain their low genetic diversity in natural systems 🧬

Open access paper 🔗 buff.ly/l3yG5Rt

A dense, intricate cluster of golden-brown roots and rootlets from the grasstree Kingia australis, displayed against a white background. The cluster shows a complex branching structure with a main parent root extending horizontally, from which hundreds of fine secondary roots and rootlets emerge in all directions, creating a dense, bushy appearance. Photo credit: Byron Lamont. The text on the image reads: "An eroding riverbank exposed the hidden root systems of the grasstree, Kingia australis."

Riverbank erosion in SW Australia exposed previously undocumented root clusters in Kingia australis. Research by Lamont et al. suggests these novel 'kingioid roots' enhance water and nutrient uptake rather than storage, linking with seasonal root-cluster types🫚

Paper here 🔗 buff.ly/Hi3BxLE

🌱 New research from The Australian PlantBank reveals how 4 threatened Australian Grevillea species respond to temperature changes. Good news, 3 species show resilience to future warming, but G. iaspicula prefers cooler conditions & may struggle with climate change.

Read more 🔗 buff.ly/b4pbbgv

Are you eligible for APC-free #OpenAccess? 🌱

Researchers from institutions with agreements in place between their library and CSIRO Publishing can publish #OA in our journal without needing to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Find your institution:
www.publish.csiro.au/journals/ope...

Traits such as spines & water storage vessels allow #cacti to thrive in #aridecosystems. These traits are also useful indicators of #ecosystemintegrity. Paredes Cubas & colleagues from @universidadjaen explore 12 standardised measures of functional traits in #Cactaceae 🌵🔗https://buff.ly/Rc1J5K4

Plant life-history data as evidence of an historical mixed-severity fire regime in Banksia Woodlands Context The concept of the fire regime is central to understanding and managing fire-prone ecosystems globally, and information on past regimes can provide useful insights into species disturbance…

Quantifying the life history (fire tolerance) of six shrub and tree species reveals the historical, highly variable fire history of #banksia #woodlands in south-western #westernaustralia, according to Russel Miller and colleagues from @murdoch.edu.au doi.org/10.1071/BT23...

Variable seed quality hampers the use of Themeda triandra (Poaceae) for seed production, agriculture, research and restoration: a review Themeda triandra (Forssk.) is a tussock grass of international importance for its keystone role in grassy ecosystems and, hence, is often a focus for seed production, research and ecological…

The germination success of tussock grass #Themeda triandra, a keystone species of many #grassland #ecosystems is hampered by variable seed quality and a lack of standardised germination protocols, according to Marne Durnin and colleagues from University of Adelaide 🌱 doi.org/10.1071/BT24...

🌿 How did plants respond to postglacial warming near Tasmania’s treeline?
New research by Astorga et al. shows that some species survived the Last Glacial period locally, while others, like fire-adapted shrubs, arrived much later.
Read more in Australian Journal of Botany 🔗 doi.org/10.1071/BT24...

In New Caledonia’s rainforests, the rare monocarpic tree Cerberiopsis candelabra may owe its success to fast seasonal growth and high juvenile survival. Salmon et al. tracked 134 individuals for 18 months, revealing traits that may help them thrive after disturbance 🌱
🔗Read more: buff.ly/CUN2V5V

Finite resources, lots of species requiring conservation. @saltandbrine.bsky.social asks the question - how far do we go for each plant species? A simple question generating deep thought! #ICCB2025

We're delighted to announce the reappointment of @jwmorganecology.bsky.social and @markooiecol.bsky.social as Co-Editors-in-Chief of Australian Journal of Botany!
Their continued leadership ensures the journal remains at the forefront of botanical research in Australia and beyond 🌱 📖

Pollination strategies are exceptionally complex in southwestern Australia – a globally significant ancient biodiversity hotspot Context The Southwest Australian Floristic Region has exceptional plant evolutionary complexity for fire, nutrition and pollination traits.Aims Our aim was to allocate pollination strategies to all…

The stunning Southwest Australian Floristic Region is #biodiversityhotspot - and a hotspot of equally diverse plant pollination strategies. Mark Brundett and colleagues from Uni. Western Austalia catalogue pollination mechanisms of > 8800 species doi.org/10.1071/BT23...

Schoenoplectus californicus (Cyperaceae) amorphous silica contribution to the silicon cycle in pampean shallow lakes: an analysis of spatio-temporal variation and silicon–lignin relations Context Phytoliths constitute an important source of silicon in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Schoenoplectus californicus (C.A.Mey.) Soják (Cyperaceae) is an important phytolith producer.Aims…

Freshwater biota rely on #silicon, often from rock weathering. But in #Argentina, the sedge Schoenoplectus californicus is providing an important #ecosystemservice as a key silicon source to freshwater ecoystems. Mara De Rito & colleagues, Uni. Nacional de Mar del Plata-CIC doi.org/10.1071/BT23...

Origins of the rare Australian daisy Erigeron conyzoides and its implications for biological control research and conservation management Context Confidence in risk analyses for weed biological control (biocontrol) agents is underpinned by knowledge of the phylogenetic associations between the target weed and off-target plant species,…

A surprising discovery was made by CSIRO botanists which revealed the daisy fleabane (thought to be a rare Australian species) is an introduced plant! Molecular data suggests it likely hails from the Northern hemisphere as it is not distinctly different from the widespread bitter fleabane.
🔗⬇️

Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.) invasion has only a small effect on the diversity of a subalpine grassland Context Ox-eye daisy (OED; Leucanthemum vulgare) has invaded subalpine communities in Australia.Aims We evaluated the effect of OED on subalpine grassland diversity in Kosciuszko National Park…

Addition and removal experiments by McDougall et al. in subalpine grassland within Kosciuszko National Park reveal that the invasive Ox-eye daisy affects grassland diversity. Luckily, undisturbed communities seem resilient to the daisy's invasion despite its abundance.

🔗 ⬇️

New paper out! After the 2019-2020 #fires in Australia our team undertook #IUCN Red List assessments of fire affected #plant species, to handle the volume we undertook paired rapid and full assessments and compared their accuracy 1/4

doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

Expert identification blitz: A rapid high value approach for assessing and improving iNaturalist identification accuracy and data precision and confidence Citizen science data are increasingly used in research and conservation, so assessing and improving data accuracy is important. We recruited 50 experts to review a dataset of Western Australian plant....

New paper open access in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Cit sci data quality is a hot topic, and assumptions about ID accuracy are often made without evidence. We decided to test identification accuracy for a WA plants @inaturalist.bsky.social dataset

Seagrass restoration in NSW

Sunset at Fowlers Gap. Photo by R. Freeman

Desert dawn in Sturt National Park

Rocky shore in the Sydney region

BEES is now on Bluesky. Looking forward to sharing the latest news and research from staff and students.

The covers of five journals, Australian Journal of Primary Health, Australian Journal of Botany, Reproduction, Fertility and Development, Wildlife Research, and Australian Journal of Chemistry.

Five of our journals are now on Bluesky!

Aus J Botany: @ausjbotany.bsky.social 🌱
Aus J Chem: @ausjchem.bsky.social 🧪
Aus J Primary Health: @ausjph.bsky.social 🩺
Reproduction, Fertility & Development: @repfertdev.bsky.social 🥚
Wildlife Research: @wildliferesearchj.bsky.social 🐾

Australian Journal of Zoology: evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology.

We're seeking Associate Editors to join the #AusJZoology editorial board!

Associate Editors help manage the peer review process, uphold the journal's high publication ethics, and contribute to the publication of impactful zoological research.

Find out more: www.publish.csiro.au/zo/Expressio...

Implications of varroa mite establishment for Australian plants and their persistence The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a highly abundant introduced pollinator with widely established feral populations across a large proportion of Australia. Both managed and feral populations c...

How will the spread of varroa impact feral bees and the pollination of native plant species? Our paper in @AusJBotany.bsky.social asks that question. Led admirably by @tomlebreton.bsky.social with @saltandbrine.bsky.social and Amy-Marie Gilpin #UNSWScience www.publish.csiro.au/BT/BT24020

Fire ecology database for documenting plant responses to fire events in Australia - Scientific Data Scientific Data - Fire ecology database for documenting plant responses to fire events in Australia

Fire ecology database for documenting plant responses to fire events in Australia

by José Rafael Ferrer-Paris, Ada Sánchez-Mercado, David Keith @willcornwell.bsky.social @markooiecol.bsky.social et al.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Honeybee visitation and native plant pollination Australia Honeybee visitation and native plant pollination Australia What insect pollinators are visiting flowers in your area? Are the pollinators European honeybees or are they something else? As varroa mite ...

To get started we are launching a citizen science project on iNaturalist where anyone can contribute images of honeybees or native pollinators visiting native flowers so we can have a baseline for how flower visitation changes before and after varroa mite reaches different parts of the country 4/5

There is a huge need for more research on pollination in native species and support for existing work. Collection of baseline data is crucial as is monitoring already threatened species. There may also be unexpected impacts arise through interactions with other threats like fragmentation or fire 3/5

A figure showing the impending spread of varroa mite across Australia and the possibly positive effects of a reduced honeybees on fruit set for some native plant species

We found a decline in feral honeybees will be good news for some plants and bad news for others. But we found major gaps in our knowledge of how honeybees influence native plant pollination and pollinators. The loss of feral honeybees due to varroa mite is an opportunity to fill these gaps 2/5

Varroa mite arriving in Australia has been a big worry for agriculture and bee keeping but it will also result in a massive decline in feral honeybee populations. This will affect many native plant species visited by honeybees, our new paper aimed to understand what those effects might be 1/5

Western Sydney University PhD scholarship round is now open
[Australian & New Zealand citizens|residents only]

If you are interested in doing a PhD on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, fungal ecology & related topics then get in touch with me.
www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...