Ian Wright

Conceptual graphic of the project aims. Depicted is a schematic of the root economics space (RES) with added exudation traits (Work Package 1: integrating exudates into the root economics space). The lower, brown-colored half of the background shows labels such as soil nutrients, soil pH, and soil moisture, with arrows (effects) pointing toward the RES (Work Package 2: environmental filtering of exudation strategies). The upper, green-colored half shows labels such as productivity, carbon cycling, greenhouse gas, and nutrient cycling, with arrows (effects) pointing from the RES toward this area (Work Package 3: effects of exudation strategies on ecosystem functions). Pictograms of a cow, a tractor, and a fertilizer bag signify land-use effects that mediate these interactions.

We are searching for a PhD student!

Are you curious and excited to unravel how #root #exudation varies between species, how this relates to the root economics space and if and how it explains ecosystem functioning and species distribution in #grasslands?

Geographical and climatic distribution of eucalypts in Australia.

Trait–climate relationships in 454 eucalypt taxa: common garden vs field-derived trends

Britton et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/PIIQ56...

The sensitivities of the theoretical model to climate and hydraulic traits.

Global variation in the ratio of sapwood to leaf area explained by optimality principles

Xu et al. @huiyingxu.bsky.social @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/QQQWKU...

Our new paper is officially out in Proceedings B! 🐜

It’s the first chapter from my PhD thesis, where we combined field mark-recapture with lab survival assays.
Huge thank you and congrats to my co-authors, Kirk Stodola, Lily Leahy, Ian J. Wright, and Heloise Gibb.

doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Thanks for letting us know, Juli. William greatly influenced so many of us!

Hear from Lizzie Wandrag, a plant community ecologist with a focus on examining how biotic interactions affect and are affected by plant species’ and community response to global change 🌱🧪

🗓️ Tuesday 2 December
🕙 10-11am (AEST) / 11am-12pm (AEDT)
📍 Register: bit.ly/TPS-LW

Extreme Heat: extending the thermal limits of life

Save the date! 47th New Phytologist Symposium on 'Extreme Heat: extending the thermal limits of life'. Explore how extreme heat affects plants that underpin ecosystem productivity.
2-5 June 2026, Cordoba, Spain.
@newphyt.bsky.social

www.newphytologist.org/events/47-nps

Submit an abstract to our #EGU2026 session "Microclimate Variation and Heat Impacts on Vegetation: From Molecules to the Biosphere"(meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...) @kalimiddleby.bsky.social @santiagotrueba.bsky.social @sonyageange.bsky.social @egu.eu @egubg.bsky.social @hs.egu.eu

PhD advert for Genomic and trait-based indicators of restoration success

Exciting PhD opportunity advertised by superstar colleague Prof. Rachael Gallagher "Genomic and trait-based indicators of restoration success" (collaboration with Botanic Gardens of Sydney). See attached image. Contact Rachael directly for more information (email in advert). Closes 30th Nov.

Thoughts on this cryptic statement from ARC ? "Graphs showing overall funding outcome statistics, including Success Rate; Requested and Approved Funds; and Approved Projects by Science and Research Priorities ..., will become available once all Projects funded under this Scheme Round are announced"

Currency Creek Arboretum open days for 2026 are now scheduled!

The world's most diverse collection of eucalypts is only open to the public twice a year, at our biannual open days. Details here: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...

Join — Sydney Functional Ecology

Excited to share a PhD opportunity in my upcoming lab at The University of Sydney!
Join an ARC-funded project on the ecology of ant invasions in 2026 🐜
🇦🇺 Live in Sydney, ant around Australia
🌍 Intl + Domestic applicants welcome
markwongecology.com/join
#PhD #Ecology #Biodiversity
Pls share, thx 🙏

We are searching for a 4- year postdoctoral fellow to work us on Microbial Ecology and Crop Disease Management.

More details below. The position will start next year.

Please circulate and repost.

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne...

📢🌿Available #traits #FunctionalTraits PhD position in my group @westsyduhie.bsky.social, closes 30th Oct. Topics: “Climate adaptations in Australian native grasses”; OR “Plant resource economics”. Apply via WSU Online Portal. Eligibility and other key info here: wrightlab.wordpress.com/news/

📢New blog by Prof Colin Prentice. Why paleoclimate science matters now- and why ignoring our planet's history is no longer an option. Read more 👇

research.reading.ac.uk/lemontree/what…

#paleoclimate #climatechange #earthhistory

New Article: "Arbuscular mycorrhizal association regulates global root–seed coordination" rdcu.be/eBmpX

Global positive correlation between root diameter and seed size, driven by dual roles of arbuscular mycorrhiza in phosphorus uptake and pathogen defence.

PhD opportunity available at @westsyduhie.bsky.social with the brillant Dr Laura Williams - hyperspectral data and process-based modelling of tree diversity 🌳🌲 please share with your networks tinyurl.com/ms6mjz8y

An ongoing Academic (Research and Teaching) position in Genomics, here at Monash University in Melbourne. Closing in a little over a week! Please share widely! Lecturer/Senior Lecturer level (similar to Assistant Professor). careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...

Two (!) ongoing Academic (Research and Teaching) positions in Ecology, here at Monash University in Melbourne. Closing in a little over a week! Please share widely! Both at Lecturer/Senior Lecturer level (similar to Assistant Professor) careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...

Wind and frost have surprisingly strong effects on global patterns in leaf cuticle thickness! Latitude, biome and taxonomy matter too. Other climate variables not so much. #trait research from international team including @lawrensack.bsky.social @westobymark.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Here's some cool results from the paper: taxonomic and environmental patterning in metabolic rate – body size relations

Metabolic traits are shaped by phylogenetic conservatism and environment, not just body size | PNAS Metabolic rate dictates life’s tempo, yet how ecological and environmental factors integrate to shape metabolic traits remains contentious. Conside...

Awesome to see our paper exploring competing hypotheses in macro/metabolic ecology out in PNAS.

Led by the all star @lilyleahy.bsky.social with a range of amazing folks including @funkyant.bsky.social @natejsanders.bsky.social @ianjwright.bsky.social.

Check it out!

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Link below for more details - shout out if you need a pdf 😉

🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Regular cumquats make a superior marmalade in combination with lemon. Perhaps true of the calamansi also? Thin strips of Tahitian lime zest add a nice zing but easily overwhelm if added to generously...

Great to get this paper out on macroevolutionary trends of the hyperdiverse southwest Australian and eastern Australian floras! @alexskeels.bsky.social

Article is open access and can be downloaded here:
lnkd.in/gaxzYppQ

Please pass along - postdoc position! with our working group on #FunctionalTraits and rarity. This is part of the FREE (Functional Rarity in Ecology and Evolution) working group led by Cyrille Violle in Montpellier France 🧪🌐🌾 emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...

I'm delighted to present this Science special issue on Plants and Heat! Through a series of Reviews and Perspective articles, covering topics from cell signalling to ecology there is something for everyone here. (1/8)

‘Empathy is a kind of strength’: Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America Young, progressive and relatable, the former prime minister of New Zealand tried to do politics differently. But six years into power, she dramatically resigned. In an exclusive interview with the Gua...

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Thermal acclimation of stem respiration implies a weaker carbon-climate feedback The efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) from woody stems, a proxy for stem respiration, is a critical carbon flux from ecosystems to the atmosphere, which increases with temperature on short timescales. Ho...

Excited to share our new paper led by Tsinghua Uni ECR Zhang Han: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... New model based on eco-evolutionary optimality explains observed seasonal and spatial trends in stem respiration, implies stem CO2 efflux down by >25% by 2100, reducing land carbon emissions.