Iago Ferreiro

Rigorous validation of ecological models against empirical time series - Nature Ecology & Evolution Validating theoretical models against empirical data presents challenges. Here the authors present an assumption-light method to validate ecological models against time series data, along with a dedic...

Ecology faces an accumulation of models but not an accumulation of confidence. Our new paper w/ Jonathan Levine www.nature.com/articles/s41... in @natecoevo.nature.com introduces a rigorous test rooted in queueing theory to falsify inadequate models and build confidence in useful ones.

Our new @nature.com shows that energy flows mediated by mammals and birds across sub-Saharan Africa have declined by >30% unevenly across functional groups, with major consequences ecosystem functions
shorturl.at/AD0Yb

[1/5] Elephants shape forests by moving seeds, and carbon, across landscapes. 🌳🐘

But how consistent are their impacts across sites?

📸 : Liam Jasperse-Sjolander

a kitten with the words join us on its face ALT: a kitten with the words join us on its face

We have an open PhD student position in evolutionary ecology in our lab @creaf.cat in Barcelona! 🦎 🌳 🦆 🐍

Applications open until Nov. 10th, 2025. Please help us spread the word!

Link to position description and requirements:
creaf.factorialhr.com/job_posting/...

Lab website:
oriollapiedralab.com

Global distribution of forest landscapes covered by airborne LiDAR

Only a pre-print for now, but after 4 years of hard work I couldn't resist sharing this!

The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems

📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!

🚨PhD offer 👩‍🎓:
Fascinated by island biodiversity, palaeoecology & human impacts on ecosystems? 🌴🦜🌍 Join @creaf.cat to explore how island life changed over the last 11,700 years.
Deadline: 27 Oct 2025
Selection: ~November
Starting: ~January 2026
Supervision: @sandranogue.bsky.social & me
More info👇

Fig. 1: Extreme regional fire years across forested areas during 2002–2023.

The results of a study in Nature Communications show that climate change is raising the odds of extreme fire years and the number of large forest fires, necessitating proactive measures to mitigate risks and adapt to extreme fire years. go.nature.com/4m8fTSA 🧪

3-year #Postdoc opportunity at the University of York!
I am #hiring a Postdoc to join my URF project on exploring how #biodiversity change is unfolding in the #Anthropocene.

Deadline: 10th August 2025.

All details and the link to apply: shorturl.at/qOQst

@anthropocenebio.bsky.social #ecology

Unlocking historical plant interactions in herbarium collections Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 06 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00071-8Herbarium specimens have typically been used in plant taxonomy and systematics but are increasingly utilized to investigate aspects of plant ecology. This Review explores how herbarium collections can serve as historical data sources for studying plant interactions across space and time.

New online! Unlocking historical plant interactions in herbarium collections

Why did some #megafauna survive? 🦣🦘🦌
Our new study shows #extinction risk was higher for larger, flat-footed, island species— and lower for those closely related to tropical African/Asian fauna, likely filtered by earlier human impacts 👣🍖
📄 doi.org/10.1111/geb....
#hominid #hunting #evolution

Seed dispersal disruption limits tropical forest regrowth | PNAS Identifying linkages between biodiversity loss and climate change is required for understanding the scope of these interconnected challenges and de...

Our new study shows how animal biodiversity loss is a climate problem: tropical forests recover far less carbon where seed dispersers have declined.

We’re not just losing forests – we’re losing their ability to regrow.

Reversing that trend could align biodiversity recovery with climate solutions.🧵

Drivers and solutions to Southeast Asia’s biodiversity crisis Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 23 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00064-7The terrestrial ecosystems of Southeast Asia are both globally important reservoirs of biodiversity, and a provider of resources and livelihoods for millions of people across the region. This Review summarizes the threats to biodiversity in Southeast Asia, and the conservation solutions required to ensure successful outcomes for biodiversity and people.

New online! Drivers and solutions to Southeast Asia’s biodiversity crisis

Cover July 2025 | Oikos Journal Cover July 2025 | Oikos Journal

(Edited) Our cover for July! 🦜
ㅤ
Chesini et al. (2025) evidences how recently and long-ago burned areas show reduced species and interaction richness, raising concerns about long-term impacts of human disturbances on ecosystem resilience.

vist.ly/3yysp

This is figure 2. The plot shows the distribution of work hours at baseline (in red) and at endpoint (in green). Panel a presents company-level average work hours. Panel b presents individual-level work hours.

A study in Nature Human Behaviour finds that four-day work weeks without a reduction in income boost workers’ job satisfaction and physical and mental health, driven by enhanced work performance, lower levels of fatigue and fewer sleep problems. go.nature.com/3Um75MP #econsky 🧪

🚨 Out this week in @pnas.org 🚨
The flagship paper from my PhD @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @livingingroups.bsky.social - We show surprising statistical similarities in animal behaviour across states, individuals, and even species.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
(🧵 1/10)

Happy to share that the first paper of my PhD is out!

We developed a trait-based framework 🌱🦜 to quantify how plant-frugivore interactions and animal movement shape plant functional connectivity—the dispersal of seeds between habitat patches.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

How is bat size affected by climate? Author: Laura Paltrinieri, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid Global environmental change is one of the greatest challenges facing biodiversity. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patt…

Read our latest blog post by @laura-paltrinieri.bsky.social‬, whose research reveals how temperature and rainfall affect the body size of European bats. 🦇

Laura offers insights into their resilience, vulnerability, and what it means for conservation in a warming world. 🌍

bit.ly/3GsQunp

🚨🐘🌴 Fossil evidence of proboscidean frugivory and its lasting impact on South American ecosystems 🌴🐘 🚨

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

@iphes-cerca.bsky.social @biomarkerslab.bsky.social

@iagoferreiro.bsky.social gave a fantastic talk about the work we are doing in the Amazon on the characterization of ecological networks along a defaunation gradient. Great collab with the Instituto Jurua from Brazil and scientists from Norway, UK, and Brazil. #ATBC2025

Happy pride🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️!!!!
@mncn-csic.bsky.social

Here we go!!! Congress time! So happy to be back at the ATBC annual meeting 6 years later. #ATBC2025 @iagoferreiro.bsky.social @laura-paltrinieri.bsky.social

New preprint from the lab, led by the great @mphilippelesaffre.bsky.social . We produced layers of hunting exposure across the tropics that can be used in cumulative threat mapping approaches and vulnerability assessments. More info below 👇🏻

🖨️ New preprint out !

We present the first global, high-resolution, spatiotemporal maps of hunting pressure across tropical forests 🦜🐒🌴.

This long-standing blind spot in biodiversity threat mapping is now filled 😎:

ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

The effects of climate on bat morphology across space and time According to Bergmann's and Allen's rules, climate change may drive morphological shifts in species, affecting body size and appendage length. These rules predict that species in colder climates tend...

🎉My first paper is finally out!
We tested Allen’s and Bergmann’s rules on 20 European bat species🦇, exploring how their morphology changes across space and time in response to temperature🌡️ and precipitation🌧️ shifts.
📖Check it out here: nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The emergence and demise of giant sloths The emergence of multi-tonne herbivores is a recurrent aspect of the Cenozoic mammalian radiation. Several of these giants have vanished within the past 130,000 years, but the timing and macroevolutio...

The emergence and demise of giant sloths | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

La singularidad de las plantas y su impacto en los animales frugívoros: efectos de la variación individual en las interacciones planta-animal Se suele decir que cada cabeza es un mundo o que hasta los gemelos tienen sus diferencias, y lo cierto es que en la naturaleza ocurre igual: no hay dos individuos idénticos. La existencia de difere…

#BlogAEET
"La singularidad de las plantas y su impacto en los animales frugívoros: efectos de la variación individual en las interacciones planta-animal" por Elena Quintero @elequintero.bsky.social @ebdonana.bsky.social

blogaeet.org/2025/05/19/l...

Congrats Giordano! 🥰🥳

New paper out! We present a framework for quantifying the vulnerability of terrestrial insular biota to multiple threats. This is the first output of the #RIVAGE project, funded by @frbiodiv.bsky.social & brilliantly led by @celinebellard.bsky.social.

peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....

Drivers and impacts of global seed disperser decline Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of...

Pollinator decline has captured global attention, but another plant-animal mutualism is quietly unraveling.

Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity article synthesizes global evidence on seed disperser decline and what it means for plant biodiversity, ecosystem recovery, and climate adaptation. 🧵