Cate Macinnis-Ng

"White scholars must recognize, read and cite Indigenous scholarship. But they must also engage with it in deep, relational ways and be open to fully understanding its messages, even if it makes them uncomfortable — especially, we argue, if it makes them uncomfortable." So many gems in this piece.

Decolonize scientific institutions, don’t just diversify them Indigenous scholars set out eight steps to stop marginalization in academia and to enable a shared Indigenous agenda in science.

"Simply plugging more Indigenous scientists into a system that was never made for us will not fix the problems of scientific institutions. Instead, to support real change, institutions must provide space for the development of an Indigenous agenda in the sciences."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Decolonize scientific institutions, don’t just diversify them Indigenous scholars set out eight steps to stop marginalization in academia and to enable a shared Indigenous agenda in science.

New article led by Tara McAllister & co-authored by Lelani Walker, @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social, myself, Bradley Moggridge, Serena Naepi, Brittany Kamai and @napaaqtuk.bsky.social

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

Ons thing that's really bugging me about the "PhD level intelligence" is that a PhD isn't a measure of intelligence, it's a measure of commitment to study and specialisation in a narrow field (and opportunity to do so).

"PhD level intelligence" isn't really a meaningful phrase

For anyone wondering why biologists are laughing at this statement: viruses are classified across 7 realms (a rank larger than kingdom), and 22 different phyla.

RFK Jr. could have simply said “all viruses”. But he used jargon he doesn’t understand, and stepped on a rake.

ictv.global/taxonomy

Once 'America's best idea', National Parks are falling apart National Parks are being forced to stay open despite operating on a "bare-bones" crew after cuts to staff and funding. Rangers say they can't sustain it.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

What? Moa are flightless? I am shocked! Jokes aside, this is such a good piece.

"This will be a new creature, not an animal with native roots in New Zealand. This makes it yet another introduced species like the rat or stoat, with unpredictable behavior."

An excellent take down of the moa de-extinction nonsense.

Alectryon excelsus. A branch with small, light green leaves, and round red fruits and seeds.

Entelea arborescens. Big, textured, dark green veiny leaves, and the flowers are small, delicate, with yellow petals.

Sarah Featon (c. 1848-1927) was a botanical artist who worked with her husband on The Art Album of New Zealand Flora.
She painted while he wrote.
They produce their album to debunk the widely held belief that there were no flowers in New Zealand Aotearoa.
Colonial beliefs are so silly!
#WomensArt

By far my favorite paper this year.
A collaboration between Mapuche elders—including Machi Patricia—and ecologists, reflecting on building trust and shared understanding in the face of environmental crisis.
🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🧵

Fireproofing forests on a hotter planet – DW – 08/07/2025 France is battling one of the biggest wildfires in decades that is now larger than Paris. As climate change fuels record drought and heat that make wildfires more frequent and extreme, can we reduce f...

www.dw.com/en/firefight...
Fire season in the northern hemisphere is well under way. This article has some sensible solutions.

Luxon wants to sell or exchange up to 67% of NZ's conservation lands National say they will "unleash growth". That may be by selling / exchanging 5 million hectares of conservation land, much of it with "high ecological value" - representing 2/3 of the entire estate.

It's true - Luxon & National want to sell or exchange up to 67% of NZ's conservation lands

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment states:

“This proposal would represent a major change to New Zealand conservation law...The vast majority of this land is of high ecological value.”

#nzpol

iNaturalist is shaping the future of biodiversity research. See our recent paper, published in Bioscience. doi.org/10.1093/bios...

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is hiring a Directory of the Herbarium

The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is Hiring!

We are searching for a Director of the Oregon State University Herbarium and applications are welcomed at the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor.

Assistant Professor of Biology The Biology Department at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time tenure track faculty position in the College of Arts and Sciences in conservation ecology. Initial appointment to this po...

🚨🚨 New tenure track position in #ConservationBiology @oberlincollege.bsky.social in the #Biology department--come join us, and contribute to our brand new Environmental Science major too! #biologyjobs #ecologyjobs

jobs.oberlin.edu/postings/16671

illustrations of an awake common myna with lights of a city in the background, and of a sleeping common myna with trees and a dark sky in the background.

New article out:
The effects of sleep disturbance on a songbird’s vocal performance

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

#science #birds #sleep #birdsong #urbanecology

Majority of Govt's $231m tech institute funded through research funding cuts 'It will be a cornerstone of our plan to grow a high-tech, high-value economy.'

"The Government says it wants kickstart our economy with investment in science, meanwhile chopping science off at the knees and hoping no one will notice"
Majority of $231m spend on Advanced Technology Institute funded through planned research funding cuts www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

Tree rings reveal persistent Western Apache (Ndee) fire stewardship and niche construction in the American Southwest www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Thanks!

Linked In indicates he's a policy advisor for ACT. Why is RNZ publishing this nonsense?

Scholarships Scholarships available to both Masters and undergraduate students in the fields of fisheries science and marine biology.

Recruiting PhD: Population Connectivity and Biological Assessment of Non-Target Fisheries Species in the Ross Sea

You could hang out with us in our pretty little office in Nelson!

See link for contact details:
niwa.co.nz/about-niwa/s...

In NZ a Sunday column today focuses on gender divides between young men/women voters. But in reality in NZ our divide is deeper between older men vs everyone else (including older women!)
The moral panic that young men are ‘lurching right globally’ obscures much longer history of gendered politics

Photograph of a kauri tree canopy. The middle of the image is dominated by the distinctive textured trunk and there is are two researchers hidden behind a large branch taking canopy measurements.

Great to see this work by former PhD students Julia and Ben published. 🌳
We found growth efficiency declined as kauri trees aged while concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates increased, indicating a more conservative carbon use strategy in older trees. 🧪
www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16...

A very comprehensive analysis of lagged precipitation effects in terrestrial ecosystems. Tree rings, flux, grassland ANPP, satellite remote sensing, and DGVMs. Climate memory is an important driver of global plant productivity.

Deeply thoughtful talk by @ginnybraun.bsky.social. The focus is qualitative research but the ideas apply to other fields as well. Just because we can use GenAI, does that mean we should? So many good reasons to join the resistance!

I do like vandcamp but the collection is a bit limited.

Motorcyclist dies in crash on SH1 in Horowhenua Emergency services responded to the scene at Manakau, between Ōtaki and Levin, about 10.20am.

Stretch of SH1 near me (Ōhau to Manakau) was a literal killing field at 100kph, till Labour reduced it to 80 = zero fatalities for ~5 years.
Just returned to 100kph in the past month and it's claimed its first life 😞

www.1news.co.nz/2025/07/22/s...

Thanks Terry. Compensating artists better is great. I see they have a 30 day trial too.

The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza Israel controls the flow of food into Gaza. It has calculated how many calories Palestinians need to stay alive. Its data shows only a fraction has been allowed in

It is not a famine, it is a genocide @theguardian.com #warcrime

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

New documents show how ministers pushed through controversial pay equity changes Officials looked at proposals such as phasing in settlements over three years instead of paying the full amount upfront, and removing backpay.

Let’s call it what it is. Scrapping pay equity claims for women, then saying limiting human rights is “justified” to protect employers, isn’t neutral. It’s misogyny baked into lawmaking. #nzpol

www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...