Kier Mitchel Pitogo

A tale of homogenisation I’ve always been intrigued by ecological scaling – it’s literally in my title: Assistant Professor in Ecological Scaling. One of the main reasons we care so much about scaling is that ecologi…

New paper from the MIREN network!

We tested how homogenisation (ecosystems becoming more alike through invasions) changes with scale.

Global = clear pattern
Local = not so simple

Read more: the3dlab.org/2025/10/22/a...

Paper, led by @mbuhaly.bsky.social: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Transformative change to address biodiversity loss is urgent and possible Transformative change for a just and sustainable world often appears overwhelming. This Perspective highlights the key messages from the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment and how everyone can be ...

Transformative change for a just and sustainable world often seems overwhelming. @annelarigauderie.bsky.social and the @ipbes.net Transformative Change Assessment co-chairs highlight the roles we can each have in achieving #transformativechange.

🧪 #biodiversity #sustainability

plos.io/3VGKknN

Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries monitors a world out of balance - Nature A revised ‘Doughnut’ providing a visual assessment of trends in social deprivation and planetary degradation over the past two decades shows more than doubling of global GDP accompanied by accelerating ecological overshoot but only a modest reduction in human deprivation.

"The richest 20% of nations, with 15% of the global population, contribute more than 40% of annual ecological overshoot, whereas the poorest 40% of countries, with 42% of the global population, experience more than 60% of the social shortfall.

#Overshoot

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

Microclimate vulnerability under coupled effects of changing climate and forest structure Understanding how forest structure affects microclimate is crucial amidst global warming, especially in biodiversity hotspots such as the North Americ…

🥁New paper on microclimate vulnerability under changing climate 🌦️ & forest structure 🌳. Forest structure can buffer or amplify climate warming! Congrats to Joanna Lumbsden-Pinto @sunyesf.bsky.social, @brookhavenlab.bsky.social, @sunyofficial.bsky.social. 🌐🌍

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Biodiversity knowledge gaps persist across low-income tropical regions... how does closing these and addressing biases create a more equitable and representative #genetic knowledge base, supporting national #conservation and global #biodiversity commitments?
bit.ly/4merL5A
#conservationscience🌏

YouTube video by ERGA - European Reference Genome Atlas Global genetic diversity loss & the power of conservation to restore species resilience - Robyn Shaw

💬 Missed the #ERGAPlenary this month? No problem - catch up now on the #ERGAchannel with the recorded talk "Global genetic diversity loss and the power of conservation to restore species resilience"
youtu.be/8y0V2pjwd0A?... #conservation #speciesresilience

Can closing gaps in wildlife genomics - such as the participation of Global South Researchers - create a more equitable and representative genetic knowledge base?

Discussed in this recent Paper by Kier Mitchel E. Pitogo in #EnvironmentalConservation

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

#genomics

What Is an Elevational Range? | The American Naturalist Abstract Elevational distributions have long fascinated scientists, an interest that has burgeoned with studies of predicted upslope range shifts under climate change. However, this body of work has y...

Elevational ranges are a focus of intense study, particularly as climate change drives species upslope. But what are they and how do we measure them? In his Synthesis, Linck addresses these questions and more with community science data.
Now ahead of print! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

In our latest preprint, we show that sampling of herpetofauna in the Philippines is uneven, with natural history collections largely shaping observed species diversity. Also, sampling is biased towards large conservation areas, but not when topographic relief is high. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Joint species-trait distribution modeling: The role of intraspecific trait variation in community assembly The links between intraspecific trait variation and community assembly remain little studied, partially due to the lack of statistical methods to jointly model intraspecific trait variation and species abundances at the community level. Here, we extend the joint species distribution modeling (JSDM) framework into the joint species-trait distribution modeling (JSTDM) framework to explicitly link species abundances to phenotypic variation in traits for multiple species simultaneously. Using a case study of 65 tundra plant species abundances and 3 key functional traits measured across 325 sites, we show how the JSTDM approach (1) estimates the statistical associations among species abundances, species-level traits, and site-level traits, relative to environmental variation; (2) improves predictions on trait variation by using information on species abundances; and (3) generates hypotheses about trait-driven community assembly mechanisms. The JSTDM methodology presented in this study allows assessing the interplay between species abundances and traits at the community level, providing the much needed modeling tools to quantify the role of phenotypic trait variation in eco-evolutionary community assembly.

An extension of joint SDM to jointly model species abundances and intraspecific trait variation. #ecopubs @esajournals.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/ecy....

Biodiversity conservation requires integration of species-centric and process-based strategies | PNAS Conservation science and policy are geared primarily toward the preservation of species and habitats, with priority often given to the rarest, most...

Conservation needs to focus better on maintaining & enhancing the processes that allow ecosystems to function & adapt in a rapidly changing world

In our new paper we explore key processes - such as evolution, movement & biotic interactions - metrics, & how to conserve them
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

‘Gaps and biases in vertebrate wildlife genetics from a global biodiversity hotspot.’ A new article by @kmpitogo.bsky.social in #EnvironmentalConservation

#biodiversity #Philippines #Genomics #genetics #vertebrates #Conservation #Conservationscience🌏 #wildlife
bit.ly/4merL5A

Cool new paper about terrestrial vertebrates endemic to the 🇵🇭 Philippines ⬇️

Gaps and biases in vertebrate wildlife genetics from a global biodiversity hotspot
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

I've been working in conservation for 22 years. It's disheartening to see there are still foreigners conducting one-off trainings in the Philippines 🇵🇭 with little to no Filipino participants and *zero* Filipino experts as resource persons or facilitators. Seems very 🚩 #ColonialScience 1/2

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

Empowering collaboration avoid perpetuating dynamics associated with parachute science. Research networks must go beyond data extraction to advance science, build local capacity, share credit, and foster trust for advancing science and conservation.

The fact that 17.7% of PH endemic vertebrates still lack genetic data, less than the global average of ~24%, is encouraging and suggests strong research activity. However, these activities must be done in collab that is inclusive and empowering—involving Filipino scientists in all research stages.

118 of 213 wildlife genetic research on Philippine species (or at least mainly involving PH species) had no Filipino co-authors, and Filipino representation averaged only 1–2% of total authorship per paper.

Species confined to smaller biogeographic regions, with narrow ranges, or that are threatened or lack threat assessments, were less likely to have genetic data.

Reptiles had the lowest proportion of species with genetic data (78%, compared to 84–87% in other groups) but showed the highest growth, followed by birds, mammals, and amphibians. Mammals showed the fastest, most consistent growth in genetic data availability.

Genetic data exist for 633 of 769 endemic vertebrate species, though 590 have fewer than 20 GenBank entries, indicating limited, often non-population-level sampling. Only about 8% of 213 wildlife genetic studies included population-level sampling.

Despite global calls (e.g., Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal GBF) to track genetic diversity, countries like the Philippines face serious gaps in data and inclusion. So how are we doing? Key results are:

New paper out in @envconsjournal.bsky.social! I reviewed availability of genetic data for all 769 endemic vertebrate species in the Philippines.
Read: doi.org/10.1017/S037...

Class of 2025: five PhD students reveal realigned priorities in wake of COVID and cuts Scientists who began their doctoral studies in 2020 found their feet during a global pandemic and are graduating into an uncertain and chaotic future.

PhD graduates in 2025 enters a job market marked by instability. The world is still adjusting to post-COVID-19 disruptions, with reduced funding for #science &international collaborations due Trump's policies. Many question the viability of #research #careers. #policy www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Effects of microclimate variation on insect persistence under global change Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 21 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00067-4The ecological importance of microclimate variation is increasingly recognized. This Perspective discusses the extent to which favourable microclimates (in other words, areas with temperature and precipitation within the niche of a species) can facilitate adaptation, plasticity, colonization of new patches and, ultimately, persistence under global change.

New online! Effects of microclimate variation on insect persistence under global change

#Target3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework #KMGBF is about conserving 30% of the planet’s land, waters and sea, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services.

Learn more: www.cbd.int/gbf/targets/3

A dinoflagellate-infecting giant virus with a micron-length tail Viral infection is a ubiquitous source of marine plankton mortality, but relatively few viruses that infect phytoplankton have been characterized. Here we describe a virus, PelV-1, with unusual morpho...

Excited that this is out as a preprint! ❇️

We are introducing a novel dinoflagellate giant virus that holds so many mysteries!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Extremes I’ve just returned from a field visit to northern Sweden – above the Arctic Circle. It was close to thirty degrees Celsius this week. We nearly got burned off the mountain. This kind of heat …

Climate change hits fast and erratic - through extremes, not slow trends. In our new TREE paper (led by @lysoifer.bsky.social), we discuss what's needed for us to deal with the resulting unpredictable range shifts.

Summary: the3dlab.org/2025/07/20/e...

Paper: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I'm recruiting a 2-yr postdoc to start in October or November of 2025! I'm looking for applicants interested in exploring amphibian disease ecology as it relates to climate change. Strong quantitative skills preferred, interviews start late July. More info: erinsauer.com