Dr Manu Saunders

So many uni execs are already so excited about trying to normalise this higher ed future, and so many academics don't endorse this but have very little power to stop it happening #AcademicSky

Tree damage was a huge problem. We lost our back fence as one of our favourite backyard trees fell, a huge 40+ yr old Pittosporum. Trees and branches down across town, so many couldn't cope with an unfamiliar weight of snow. Sadly, many will see this as a reason to remove big trees from urban areas

Local councils and emergency services have been absolutely amazing in their response and efforts to keep people safe and restore services. But level of impact was unexpected. Entire communities without fuel, power or comms, limited access to restore services, homes, schools and workplaces damaged

Residents face 'several days' without power, campus closes in aftermath of snow storm Fallen branches and sleet are causing hazardous road conditions.

Started as a bit of magic and excitement, but the region was hit hard by snow, wild storms, floods, many still without power and heating, or stranded away from home. It's eye-opening how unprepared so many communities are for unexpected extreme events www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/903131...

Snow covered street curving away from the camera. Everything is white.

Biggest snow fall in decades here in Armidale NSW. We usually get an occasional flurry that doesn't settle. Heavy snow fell all day, around 40cm+ in drifts around our yard. Lots of fun, but also lots of trees cracking and falling, not used to the weight. Some birds struggling to fly!

Staff ‘demoralised’ by lack of career progression amid cost cuts Promotion freezes at UK universities exacerbate frustrations caused by mass redundancies and low pay rises, with academics warning it could force more people out of the sector

Scared to be Promoted!

“We’re hearing from members all the time that they’re holding back from putting through promotions applications because they think that moving from a lecturer to an associate professor...would put them at more risk of redundancy in the future.”

#AcademicSky #UKHE

How conspiracy theories about COVID’s origins are hampering our ability to prevent the next pandemic The COVID pandemic likely began when the virus jumped from animals to humans, and didn’t start in a lab. But false narratives continue to circulate.

"The amplification of conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID has promoted a dangerously flawed understanding of pandemic risk." 🧪 theconversation.com/how-conspira...

This image illustrates Earth Overshoot Day using a visual metaphor: planet Earth hanging a “SORRY WE’RE CLOSED” sign in space. The message below reads, “We have exceeded our natural resource budget for 2025,” emphasizing the urgent need to live within ecological limits.

24 July is #EarthOvershootDay. That means humanity has used up Earth’s yearly natural resources budget in just 7 months. In 2024, the date was 1 August.

The date keeps creeping earlier—but the trend can be reversed: www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/up...

Still Blooming: Ongoing Marine Deaths from South Australia’s 2025 Harmful Algal Bloom | Great Southern Reef Months into South Australia’s harmful algal bloom, mass marine deaths continue across the coast. From fish kills to seadragon wash-ups, discover the latest findings, satellite data, species impacts, a...

The ongoing Harmful Algal Bloom in South Australia continues to kill marine life at all levels. Devastating for ecosystems on land and sea, and for local economies 🌏 greatsouthernreef.com/2025-algal-b...

Every MP should read the Torres Strait climate case judgment. Here's why | Clear Air Technicalities of case mustn’t stop Albanese government from bold action on emissions before problems of climate change are visited upon communities closer to home

Today's column. This judgment is quite something - worth reading.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Is AI a con? A new book punctures the hype and proposes some ways to resist AI slop means faster and cheaper content, and the technical and financial logic of online platforms creates a race to the bottom.

"The risk of AI is not potential doom in the future, ... but the quieter and more significant harm to real people in the present"

theconversation.com/is-ai-a-con-...

AI is now part of our world. Uni graduates should know how to use it responsibly Using AI well is not as simple as typing questions into a chat function. There are widely recognised ethical issues, including bias, privacy and misinformation.

"Universities have a public responsibility to ensure graduates know how to use AI responsibly and understand why their choices matter." #AcademicSky theconversation.com/ai-is-now-pa...

"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪

New research in #RESInsectConsDiv reports on the magnitude of cryptic insect diversity in one tropical rainforest
doi.org/10.1111/icad.12861

#CrypticSpecies #Biodiversity
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wiley.com

Photo: Amaxia sp., Barcode Index Number ACF3741; credit: J.A. Ramirez Silva

Photo credit: Felix Neff.

The #EditorsChoice article for the issue discusses how #moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation, and landscape composition
doi.org/10.1111/icad.12835

#Biodiversity #InsectCommunities
@felixneff.bsky.social @agroscope.bsky.social @vogelwarte.bsky.social

Photo credit: Felix Neff

A children's play mat featuring a world map that excludes Pacific Island Nations

Seven different toys, each featuring a world map that excludes Pacific Island Nations

Trying to find my 3yo an accurate world map to play with, but most kids toys online are misinformation because the Pacific Island Countries have been cut out of the picture....

'It is completely incongruous': How the media’s coverage of Gaza has sent reporters independent An increasing number of reporters are launching independent ventures as audiences express distrust in the big newsrooms.

"Australian media has witnessed an exodus of talent from newsrooms — not just those made redundant by shrinking media organisations, but also those leaving voluntarily, courtesy of how their newsrooms have been reporting on Gaza and the Middle East." #auspol
www.crikey.com.au/2025/07/07/g...

They never cut the fucking commerce and business faculty do they

Office design isn’t keeping up with post-COVID work styles - here’s what workers really want As fewer employees return to the office full-time, workplace design and expectations are undergoing a dramatic shift.

The onset of the pandemic gave a lot of employees the agency to realise that flexibility to prioritise their life, health and caring responsibilities is more valuable than spending 10+ hours a day travelling to sit in an unventilated office all day theconversation.com/office-desig...

Here's the key chart from the referenced study on office trends in in Australia - a really dramatic shift in hours spent in the office from pre to "post-COVID" (they define as "after November 2021") .

A greater change than I imagined (from my WFH bunker).

Ofc COVID waves are continuing ...

The rise of end times fascism The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM

My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.

The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.

Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The spotlight on some of our journal EiCs, who #StandTallForTheSmall 🪰 , wraps up for now, even if the work does not!

Ever wondered which superpower our #RESInsectConsDiv EiC Manu Saunders might like? Find out here! ⬇️
buff.ly/pHSCJqs

@manusaunders.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social

It’s hard to fathom the resistance to clean air. It would save a fortune.

We were warned but decided to carry on regardless.

A new study shows: “heat domes” and related atmospheric events behind extreme weather around the world almost tripled in strength and duration since the 1950s.

Doubling down on phasing out fossil fuels is now more needed than ever before.

#bioacoustics community: do you know any online platforms for volunteers to join an acoustics project, validate and label acoustic data (e.g. birdnet detections, false negatives), filter for specific species etc? I asked this a few yrs ago but nothing of the sort existed...

Maybe it's time to start including graphical abstracts in the peer review process...

Meet the Editor: Manu Saunders  - Royal Entomological Society Manu began working on Insect Conservation and Diversity in 2022 and has a passionate interest in community ecology. Insect Conservation and Diversity is the RES journal that has a focus on biogeograph...

A bit about me and why I love serving as an EIC for #RESInsectConsDiv. It was fun to do this interview! @respublications.bsky.social www.royensoc.co.uk/news/meet-th...

New #OpenAccess work in #RESInsectConsDiv reports on the associations between #soil characteristics and ground-nesting bees on farms

Learn more here🔽
doi.org/10.1111/icad.12852

#Hymenoptera #Pollinators #AgriLandscapes #Biodiversity #SpeciesRichness
@manusaunders.bsky.social @wiley.com

Uni to slash jobs due to 90 per cent drop in overseas students One of Australia's largest regional universities has confirmed it plans to cut jobs in order to save about $35 million in the wake of an almost 90 per cent drop in international student enrolments.

Upsetting. Regional unis are vital education and community hubs in Australia, where so many people live far from major cities. I did my PhD and first Postdoc at CSU, and now work at UNE. Regional unis absolutely need more support to service regional communities www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

📢 We are delighted to announce the winners of the @royentsoc.bsky.social 2024 Journals Awards for the best articles led by early career entomologists! 🎉

If you're looking for some weekend reading, why not take a look at the virtual issue? ⬇️
buff.ly/CdsxJsB

Congratulations to all the winners! 🥂