Imogen Bassett

Turtles - the pet turned pest Turtles have a relaxed reputation, but in reality they're quick-moving and aggressive, and are wreaking havoc on our native wildlife

I spoke with @rnzrss.bsky.social about why we need to regulate the exotic pet trade in Aotearoa www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedeta...

Great Skua in Shetland https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bonxie_aka_Great_Skua_(Stercorarius_skua),_Hermaness_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6509392.jpg

New in #BirdStudy
#Seabirds Count shows 73% decline in Great Skuas after bird flu.

Declines in UK breeding populations of seabird species of conservation concern following the outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) in 2021–2022 (Tremlett et al.) doi.org/10.1080/0006...
#ornithology

No, that's strange. Thanks anyway for trying!

🤚

With the current influx of new users, it feels important to reshare this critical information

Engaging with toxic posts, even if it’s to rebut or mock them, is still a form of amplification

We need to go back to the basics of the early Internet: Don’t feed the trolls (and the grifters)

#SocialWeb

Job alert: we're hiring a new Principal Advisor Biosecurity - does translating evidence and strategy into impactful conservation action, supporting (and supported by) a team of lovely peeps sound like your dream job? careers.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/job/Auckland...

NZ Herald website video headline with a photo of the PM and a NZ flag with the text “Watch: 'We have to honour our agreements': PM questioned on Treaty Principles Bill”

Incredible quote from the PM in relation to legislation to dishonor an agreement

Marine heatwave promotes population expansion of the invasive ascidian Symplegma brakenhielmi: doi.org/10.1007/s105...

Pretty amazing what ascidians can grow on.

#ecology #invasivespecies

Good turnout at March for Nature

Harassment of scientists is surging — institutions aren’t sure how to help As researchers increasingly face many kinds of attack over their work, there is debate about how to support and protect them. As researchers increasingly face many kinds of attack over their work, the...

This.

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

Reminder not to approach or touch sick or dead birds and if you see 3 or more call it in - public awareness is an important part of our early detection system for avian influenza!
www.mpi.govt.nz/biosecurity/...

How to Stop Bird Flu from Becoming the Next Pandemic

time.com/6976402/bird...

U.S. Needs to Better Track Bird Flu Spread in Farm Animals, Farm Workers, Epidemiologist Says Four years after a mysterious respiratory virus jumped from animals into humans and launched the COVID pandemic, wary epidemiologists are keeping a close eye on a strain of avian influenza that is spr...

Great Q&A with Katelyn Jetelina on the latest in the H5N1 outbreak
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

'Unprecedented': How bird flu became an animal pandemic Bird flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading in cows. In the handful of human cases seen so far it has been extremely deadly.

Folks in Ao/NZ... this is on our horizon. If you see unusual clusters of bird mortality, don't touch (!), but do report to MPI 0800 80 99 66

bbc.com/future/artic...

The unprecedented power the government is handing three of its ministers under its new Fast Track Approval Bill What is the Fast Track Approval Bill and why do experts say it's a step beyond even the Muldoon era?

Re-upping this because submissions close next week and it really is an extraordinary bill giving ministers an extraordinary amount of power. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

MPI proposing to cut 231 jobs...

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

We are well overdue to catch up irl!

Consultation now open on Auckland Council's 10-year budget. Do you have an opinion about how we should fund biodiversity protection, climate action, transport, libraries or any of the other important mahi council does? Then submit!
akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/hub-page/lon...

Bird flu arrives in mainland Antarctica – Expert Reaction via @smcnz.bsky.social
www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2024/02/27/b...

Opinion: I'm an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn't war — it was annihilation As a surgeon, I volunteered at a Gaza hospital. The conditions were unthinkable. With a ground offensive in Rafah, people have nowhere to go.

Los Angeles Times: "I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. I have worked in other war zones. But what I witnessed in Gaza was not war — it was annihilation."

Wildlife areas had to be 'special', eg demarcated by predator fences, district from human/cat communities, before cats were perceived not to belong in them. Our cities have wildlife interlaced throughout - how do we change norms around protecting species outside of sanctuaries? 4/n

Owners perceive their cat as a member of the local community, valuing interactions with neighbours and passersby. Even when threatened species live nearby, cats are perceived by owners to 'belong' in these spaces. 3/n besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Freedom, independence and curiosity are seen as important cat attributes. Showing how these can still be enabled within the home property, through different spaces and enrichment, is good for cat welfare and may help owners feel containment is right for them and their cat 2/n

Excited to see our new paper out. Turns out cats choosing to return to/seek out their owners is an important reinforcer of the relationship. Enabling choice/space within the property may be important for successfully encouraging containment 1/n

Iwi bid to rename National Park village splits community A close-knit community in the central North Island is divided over an iwi bid to change its name.

Submissions close on Feb 8.

This is not about branding. This is about righting a century old wrong.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/508...

I have one, but not nearly as well curated as yours!

Ten writers (of books for adults, though I really rate some authors of "children's" literature!) of whom I've read more than five books:

Kate Atkinson
Catherine Chidgey
Barbara Kingsolver
Patricia Grace
Charles Dickens
Jane Austin
Graham Greene
Gerald Durrell
Evelyn Waugh
Agatha Cristie

Also relatable...