Rowan Kuminski

🔍 What we found:
• 114 peer-reviewed studies since the 1980s
• Research heavily focused on health, biology & behaviour
• Very little work on conservation, even as local declines emerge
• Major geographic gaps
• Urbanization, changing agriculture, and human activity shape sparrow trends

🔑Keywords

Everything this artist (Sarah Conti) makes is stunning, but I think this is my favourite so far:
"This work explores the permeation of patriarchal and colonial agendas in our world, and how nothing we touch can escape these impacts, including ornithology"

www.instagram.com/reel/DRuvmHT...

Abstract submission closes soon for our local doctoral conference (focus: cognition, behaviour, neuroscience). Free to attend, always really fun and interesting! Masters students can submit abstracts for poster presentation, which is a great chance to present to a friendly crowd :)

When I give talks about seabirds to school kids, their favourite* thing to learn is how old Wisdom is, which allows us to discuss why seabirds live so long and how that helps us study them! Excited to see her back!

*Or maybe 2nd favourite because they LOVE to learn that fulmars vomit at predators 😂

Five steps towards being a trans ally - BES Five steps towards being a trans ally - BES is the largest scientific society for ecologists in Europe. We're working towards a world in which nature and people thrive.

Last year I wrote this for Transgender Awareness Week because of the challenges I've faced in my institution. Sharing it again as this week we celebrate trans identities and remember those who have been targeted for being themselves
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/five-steps-t...

A cartoon of 2 rhinocerous beetles clashing. One beetle is saying "I'm just trying to kiss you!" and the other beetle is saying "I'm just trying to kiss you too!". Above them is text reading LGBTQ+ Journal Club in the colours of the progress pride flag.

Hello bluesky! We are an LGBTQ+ Biology Journal Club at Uni of Oxford 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️. We are interested in topics relevant to queer ecology and amplifying queer voices in academia 🪲🌱.

For those in Oxford, we meet every 2 weeks - get in touch for more details! 🥳

Community FoodBank of New Jersey - Providing Food, Help & Hope - CFBNJ The Community FoodBank of New Jersey is NJ’s largest anti-hunger organization. Learn more about our mission & how we help our hungry neighbors.

A reminder that as Thanksgiving approaches and with the current events in the US, now is a great time to donate to your local food bank! There are so many that do great work, but if you need a place to start, my family and I donate to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey!

cfbnj.org

Same view through a different lens: Comparing population trends for North American birds using eBird and the Breeding Bird Survey | doi.org/10.1093/orni... | Ornithological Applications | #ornithology 🪶

A photo of four cocktails on a black counter: three in martini glasses and one in a whiskey glass

Photo of two vases of pink and white flowers on a white window sill. The vase on the left is brown and blur witu white stripes, and the vase on the left is yellow on top and white on the bottom

After several years and 10,000 papers, last night I finished extractions for my thesis synthesis chapter on seabird predation! Got myself some lovely flowers and celebrated with the friends who supported me throughout this chapter! 🎉

A Marsh Fritillary butterfly basks in the sun.

We're hiring 🧪🌍

Two amazing senior science opportunities in Northern Ireland

Seabird Scientist: Tagging, tracking and monitoring to inform marine policy in NI
tinyurl.com/yeuw5znd

Conservation Scientist: Restoration of key habitats and priority species
tinyurl.com/4rj43dfp

A child's drawing of a female scientist, with the text: What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before

When asked to draw a scientist, school-age kids in the United States are increasingly sketching women, according to a study from 2018.

Read more on #STEMSTEAMDay: https://scim.ag/4qFrPON

A Small spaniel puppy curled up in the crossed legs of someone wearing navy blue leggings and sitting in a yellow desk chair. The puppy is white with black ears and spots, and brown flecked muzzle and paws

A four month old larger puppy in the lap of someone wearing black leggings and a grey sweatshirt, sitting with their legs crossed. The puppy is lying on his back, and is white with brown flecks on his paws and face, with black ears and flecks on his head

No matter how big he gets, Ebro is committed to providing cuddles and support while I work on my thesis 💙

'Power struggles and toxic culture' at University of Aberdeen - BBC News A review says the structure at the University of Aberdeen is "overly complex and lacking clarity".

Colour me shocked.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A photo of a small bottle of pink rose prosecco, on a wooden surface with a white wall in the background

Having a wee celebration tonight after waking up to (for the first time in a while) wonderful/hopeful news out of my home country and state (New Jersey)! 💙🌊

A photo of the book "Atles dels Ocells Nidoficants de Catalunya", a white book with a realistic drawing of two turtle doves tending to a nest, with three map examples in the top right side of the book

Been saving up for this book for a while and today it finally arrived! 😍 I've been working on a few projects on birds and linguistic imperialism in Catalonia so I'm really excited for this one!

A brown dog with white flecks sitting covered with a white sheet to resemble a ghost; holes are cut out for his eyes and snout. He is sitting on a wooden floor with a white wall in the background

Happy Halloween from Ebro!

YouTube video by Journal of Applied Ecology Understanding the policy context of Integrated Nature-Climate Action: Webinar

🚨 Did you miss yesterday's webinar on 'Understanding the policy context of Integrated Nature-Climate Action'? 🚨

Don't fret! 🌎🧪

You can watch the full presentations and discussion over on our YouTube: youtu.be/KuytewU1-Vs?...

He has definitely perfected the pleading puppy eyes 😅

A spaniel puppy witu a brown and white speckled face and black ears with black spots around his eyes, and a white patch on his head, lying with his head resting on a person's leg, wearing black leggings, on a yellow chair.

A white spaniel puppy with a brown face, black ears, and white patch on his head, lying down on the bottom shelf of a dark blue bookcase. Books have been removed from the bottom shelf, but some books are visible on the shelf above

Ebro is taking over my home office one piece of furniture at a time, despite the big comfy bed I bought him that sits right under my desk 😅

Grants — Wild Animal Initiative We have an open call for proposals on all grant types. Learn how to apply.

📢 #CFP: Wild Animal Initiative is accepting grant applications for projects studying wild animal welfare.

🗓️ Submit your EOI form by November 14 to be considered.

🧪 #wildlife #biology #zoology #ecoevo #animalbehavior #animalbehaviour #physiology #conservation #science

WOC in EEB mentorship sign up form 2025

The Women of Color in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology community (WOCinEEB; non-binary inclusive) is doing another round of matching for one-on-one mentorship!

You can sign up here: forms.gle/Cfk3Y5CZksSS...

I'm also happy to answer any questions!

#Mentorship #Ecology #EvolutionaryBiology

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PODCASTS

Altmetric now tracks podcasts mentioning research

In 2018 there were roughly 500,000 podcasts in existence. Just 3 years later that number was 2 million. Today it's around 4 million.

Amid all the Squarespace ads there's citations to research.

Let's go
1/7

Photo of a speaker in a black dress standing in dim lighting next to a presentation screen, with the title slide of a presentation titled "Exploring the effects of linguistic imperialism on conservation effectiveness and engagement in regional language contexts"

Screenshot of title slide of a presentation titled "Exploring the effects of linguistic imperialism on conservation effectiveness and engagement in regional language contexts", written in white letters over an orange title block. A digitally drawn hoopoe is in the center with speech bubbles for the word hoopoe in different languages (Hoopoe, Abubilla, Puput, Argi-oilarra), on white background

Gave my first talk today at the North East Scotland Ecology Network Science Day, and was thrilled to hear from so many people who are interested in applying these ideas to their own research here in Scotland!

A photo of a scientific poster pinned on a blue board. The poster is dark red with the white title "Exploring effects of linguistic imperialism on engagement with ornitholigical knowledge in Catalonia", with a digital drawing of a flamingo and a gull on either side. There is a map of Spain with Catalonia highlighted in red, and white text boxes and a QR code for a Catalan translation

Had a great time presenting my plans for my fourth thesis chapter today at the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Symposium at Aberdeen! This project is very close to my heart and I'm excited to present our work at several more upcoming conferences! 🪶

Research Highlights Editor for Journal of Applied Ecology - British Ecological Society Join the editorial board on Journal of Applied Ecology! Apply by 01 Nov 2025.

We're looking for a Research Highlights Editor!

Research Highlights are short commentary papers that contextualise the latest research within the wider field 🌍

This role could be a great fit for an ECR looking to take the next steps into editing ✍️🧪

Apply here: bit.ly/4o0bTV8

Small spaniel puppy with black ears, brown face, and whire body with grey speckling on his head, sleeping on a blanket draped over a person's legs, sitting on a blue couch. In the background is a white door and radiator along a soft white wall

Been playing random playlists/videos for Ebro over the weeks, and have found that his favourite things to settle down and listen to are Bella Ciao and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, so I'm really liking the personality he's developing 😂💙

Why is it that people think seabird science list serves are the best outlet to voice how opposed they are to initiatives making ornithology more inclusive? So tired of receiving insensitive mass emails from people blind with rage over changing bird/place names with colonial legacies

10 week old puppy laying on its side looking at the camera while chewing on a puffin toy about his same size. Puppy is mostly white with brown speckling on his face and feet and black ears. He is laying on a wooden floor with puppy pads on it

Got Ebro a #seabird toy so we can share a common interest 🐧

Graphic displays a Black Guillemot photographed by Edmund Fellowes/BTO with a thought bubble extending from its head and the internal text 'Just one month to submit your breeding seabird data to the SMP!'. The SMP logo is positioned in the top left hand corner. The caption reads: 'Yes, that's right! You have until October 31st to submit your breeding seabird data to the SMP so that it can be utilised in understanding how species have faired this year! #seabirds'

Yes, that's right!
You have until October 31st to submit your breeding seabird data to the SMP so that it can be utilised in understanding how species have faired this year! #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Tricolor cocker spaniel puppy sitting on the bottom shelf of a desk, looking up. He is shirt enough that his head doesnt touch the bottom of the next shelf. In the background is wooden flooring and a black metal puppy gate

When I'm working on ny thesis from home, Ebro likes to supervise from the bottom shelf of my desk 💙