Oliver Wilson

Happy World Albatross Day!!

Did you know that the world’s oldest known wild bird is an albatross!?

After her mate disappeared a few years ago, we thought Wisdom, a now 74 year old Laysan Albatross who breeds on Midway Atoll, was done breeding bc they mate for life.

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#ICCB2025
🧪

It was great to meet with pupils and parents from local schools to chat about 3D pollen and landscapes for the University of Nottingham Family Discovery Day! 🔥🌱🌼🌲

School of Geography proudly represented by Gary Priestnall, myself and Alastair Wills 💪🏼

Just trying to cope with the madness, losing myself in a soothing XRM scan of a pennycress flower. @danforthcenter.bsky.social @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social

A horizontal bar chart titled "Percentage of Global fossil fuel emissions (since 1751) occurring in my lifetime." The chart shows how much of the total historical global fossil fuel emissions have occurred within the lifetime of individuals of different ages, from 5 to 100 years old. The vertical axis on the left lists ages in increments of 5 years, from age 5 at the top to age 100 at the bottom. The horizontal axis represents the percentage of fossil fuel emissions, marked in 10% increments from 10% to 90%. The black bars represent the proportion of fossil fuel emissions that have occurred during each age group's lifetime. The bars increase in length as the age increases, meaning older individuals have lived through a larger percentage of the cumulative emissions since 1751. Three specific age groups are highlighted with red bars and white text annotations: Age 30: "if you are 30 it is more than 50%" Age 50: "if you are 50 it is about 75%" Age 85: "if you are 85 it is about 90%" The source of the data is cited at the bottom: "CDIAC and globalcarbonproject.org." The graphic is credited to "@neilrkaye."

If you think climate change has gotten worse during your lifetime, you're right and there's a good reason.

If you're Gen X like me, more than 3/4 of fossil fuel CO₂ emissions have occurred in your lifetime. Even if you're a Millennial, it's at least half.

📊: @neilrkaye.bsky.social

Thought-provoking conversations about how #participatory research can be best conducted to answer the right questions, for the right reasons for the most desirable outcomes. Focusing on #land management across the uk but with global impact
@anthropocenebio.bsky.social
@uoyenvironment.bsky.social

Thousands of endangered trees preserved for centuries inside Chinese temples Survey uncovers the rich biodiversity protected at sacred sites.

Love this story - the sacred (religion) providing sanctuary for the sacred (nature). Some of these trees protected by Chinese temples are thousands of years old

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

When a language dies, so does a way of knowing the land. When traditions are erased, ecosystems lose their stewards.

Help us amplify the voices that sustain the planet. Read stories of biocultural diversity at terralingua.org

#WorldEnvironmentDay #BioculturalDiversity

This is the video that first got me thinking about this issue. It's pretty shocking.

For background on why these fibres - and the drones that use them - are so prevalent, see this: www.bbc.com/news/article...

I don't have any particular expertise relevant to this, but I'm pleased that some people who do are also sounding the alarm. It's one of many grim effects of Russia's invasion, and one of many things Ukraine will need help in fixing when peace finally arrives.
ceobs.org/plastic-poll...

War often seems to bring new kinds of pollution (nuclear fallout in WW2, Agent Orange in Vietnam, depleted uranium in the first Gulf War), and it seems that one lingering environmental effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be spent fibre optic cables from drones - probably a global first.

In daylight, this Cape Fuchsia blossom is purely yellow. UV light reveals a different color dimension, including the teal markings (invisible to us!) that point pollinators to the nectar within.

Off to do a podcast – stay tuned, if you're into that sort of thing!

#flowers #photography

𝑃ℎ𝑦𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑠

Close-up of a lobed leaf bearing stout, long, orange spines across its surface. Photo by Scott Zona CC BY-NC 2.0.

Photosynthesis is the most important reaction on Earth. In most plants, leaves are the primary solar collectors & sugar-makers. But leaves are vulnerable to herbivores. As #defense, some plants use chemicals; others use physical defenses, like this Solanum pyracanthos #Solanaceae #Botany 🌾🧪🌱

Is it hot right now in the UK?

New interactive website allowing anyone to explore live temperatures hour-by-hour across the UK, and whether they are cool, warm or hot relative to normal.

istheukhotrightnow.com

Built by @roostweather.bsky.social.

Close up of a nigella flower, love-in-a-mist against a blurry background.

Nigella flowers are starting to bloom in the garden and they are magical 💙

Over 5.5 millon records available! This is really something 😊

Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline and social injustice, reciprocity emerges as a way of living and being in this world that holds transformative potential. Concepts of recipro...

People & Nature Can Thrive Together.
🌍🧍‍♀️🌎🌲🌏🍄🌐
Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems @peopleandnature.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

This is a cool thread and article on the ethnoprimatology (relationships between humans and other primates) of the Paiter-Suruí people in the Brazilian Amazon 👇🐒

Cartoon: a drawing of various whales. Caption: The pilot whale was so successful they went ahead and commissioned all the other whales

Pilot Whale

You know what time it is? That's right! It's time to plug my work again! Yay!

www.worldofmoose.com/products/pil...

‘A cemetery of trees’: vast green expanses turned to dust as loggers plunder South America’s Gran Chaco Jaguars, giant armadillos and ocelots among species threatened by shrinking habitat in one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world

Important piece on the still largely overlooked story of deforestation (and forest degradation) in the Gran Chaco - and their devastating social-ecological impacts: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I hadn't thought about that potential connection! It's worth noting, though, that these aren't the most popular names per se, just the most popular ones that are very rare in the other country. That means the table isn't very helpful for picking out these kinds of trends in popularity over time

This was the first name on the list that made me go, ah yes, this is 100% American 😂

A table showing the most American and British boys' and girls' names for births in 2023 and 1996. In each case these are the highest ranked names which don't appear in the other country's top 100 list. 2023 Most American boys: Mateo, Levi, Owen, Asher, John, Jackson, Luke, Matthew, Julian, Maverick. Most British boys: Muhammad, George, Arthur, Oscar, Freddie, Archie, Arlo, Jude, Alfie, Charlie. Most American girls: Camila, Gianna, Nora, Avery, Abigail, Eliana, Madison, Zoe, Lucy, Riley. Most British girls: Freya, Florence, Poppy, Elsie, Sienna, Daisy, Phoebe, Rosie, Evie, Millie. 1996 Most American boys: Austin, Justin, Kevin, Cody, Jose, Eric, Brian, Logan, Hunter, Caleb. Most British boys: Liam, Harry, Jake, George, Callum, Oliver, Lewis, Kieran, Jamie, Ben. Most American girls: Ashley, Taylor, Alexis, Kayla, Amanda, Brittany, Madison, Brianna, Alyssa, Morgan. Most British girls: Sophie, Chloe, Charlotte, Bethany, Lucy, Georgia, Jade, Eleanor, Holly, Alice. Data from: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/ (USA) https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/babynamesenglandandwalesbabynamesstatisticsboys (England and Wales boys) https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/babynamesenglandandwalesbabynamesstatisticsgirls (England and Wales girls)

Ok, well thank you for making my brain itch... To sooth it, I found some data on common names for babies born in 2023 and 1996 (the oldest common date - basically young adults now). You have statistically sound vibes! The names you mentioned are all in UK - but not US - top 100 lists.
Top 10s here 👇

A few years ago at forecasting conference, a climate researcher made the good point that motivating action will face an additional barrier in places like UK, because on average it will become nicer, warmer place over next decade or so (I.e. April sunny photos in papers) - then much worse, of course

YouTube video by MapBiomas Brasil Territórios com história: cobertura e uso da terra em sítios arqueológicos no Brasil

It was great yesterday to learn about the latest initiative from the amazing @mapbiomas.bsky.social project: 38+ years of land cover change around Brazil's archaeological sites! 🌎🏺🛰️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZb...
Find out more on their website (brasil.mapbiomas.org/2025/04/29/a...)

Uma imagem do livro 'A araucária e a gralha azul, uma história dos antigos Kaingang' por Cacique Maurício Vēn Tánh Salvador e Ana Fonseca é mostrada em uma tela numa sala de aula.

O livro está disponível aqui: www.libretos.com.br/editora-libr... É ótimo! Eu contei a história a minhas crianças, e também a discutimos numa aula de português na Universidade de Sheffield (Reino Unido) há uns meses atrás. Foi um prazer apresentar um pouquinho da cultura Kaingang aos outros alunos 😄

O povo Kaingang conta uma história sobre a gralha azul e a araucária. É uma história linda que chegou a virar livro pelas mãos do Vehn Táhn, liderança da retomada em Canela.

"You may be thinking, How are trees DEI, exactly? Well, for starters, there are over 73,000 tree species on Earth, which is, frankly, way too much diversity."

Absolutely true. UN says above 20% tree canopy cover makes it a forest

London has over 8.4 million trees with canopy cover of c.21%. It is one of the world’s largest urban forests

Those trees are doing an awful lot of good stuff

Goal should be every* urban area has at least 20% tree canopy cover

He's being subject to this exclusively for political opinions, as far as I know there's no claim that he committed a crime. If this is not the work of an authoritarian regime, I don't know how to describe it.