Wayne Thogmartin

I’m not following why creating an .Rdata file is “bad”. Analysis occurring in chunks over days or weeks means you can pick up from where you left off rather than have to run (time-intensive) code again. I wouldn’t share it, but I use it routinely.

In 1957, Carl Lindroth published a book on the intercontinental exchange of species. He estimated the extent of biotic exchange between NAm & Europe, using 5 insightful criteria for identifying a species as recently introduced by humans... 🧵 [1/3]

Excellent! I agree with him.
Let's get this happening in Aotearoa!

🌊🌏🦑🐙🧪

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Very interesting report. Give it a read. #bats

PeerJ
First report of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of North American insectivorous bats

peerj.com/articles/197...

@peerj.bsky.social

I bet that is little different than 50 years ago when paid news came in the form of Time and Newsweek magazine.

I’m not color blind but I cannot tell where the green is. Perhaps because of its rarity? If your point is the point of the paper, they chose the wrong color to highlight it.

Opinion | What we’ll lose if bird banding ends Scientists have tagged birds for more than 100 years. That preservation program might be defunded.

and the North American Breeding Bird Survey (which identifies species at risk before it's too late): wapo.st/45CzWDz (gift). Urge Congress to protect USGS funding and the programs that power bird conservation: act.abcbirds.org/a/take-actio.... 🌎 #birds

This federal program helps track America's ecosystems. Trump's budget would gut it Buried in the Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget is the near elimination of something called the Ecosystems Mission Area. It's a program that monitors living things and the health of the land...

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA) leads federal research on species & ecosystems and houses the Climate Adaptation Science Centers.

OMB spokesperson to NPR: EMA is "obviously irrelevant to science and is exactly the kind of waste President Trump ran on rooting out of the federal government."

State of the Butterflies in the United States | Xerces Society A study published in March 2025 showed that we are losing butterflies at a rate of 1.3% per year in the contiguous US. State of the Butterflies in the United States presents a summary of those finding...

Wonderful report from Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation on butterfly declines and what to do about them xerces.org/publications...

Humanity exists beyond the bounds of sustainability.

Restoring Gold Standard Science By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United

The Trump administration just dropped an executive order, "Restoring Gold Standard Science" and there's lots to unpack. This EO reveals more about how the Administration will approach scientific integrity and science in regulatory contexts. Some initial thoughts. 🧵
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week - High Country News Trump is on a multipronged mission to eliminate a science agency that conservationists, toxicologists, universities and more call irreplaceable.

USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week www.hcn.org/articles/usg... via @highcountrynews.org

America needs the biological research within U.S. Geological Survey The loss of this research would leave America vulnerable to poor decisions about the lands we all value so much.

The current administration's plan to get rid of the Ecosystems Mission Area at the Department of the Interior is a terrible idea. Good, short piece explaining why, here: www.columbiamissourian.com/opinion/gues...

@altdoi.altgov.info

As a great example of work you can do, see our letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, which was co-signed by dozens of other societies who share our concerns about funding for the USGS Ecosystem Mission Area. esa.org/wp-content/u...

What happens to science under autocracy? The rise of the National Socialist Party in 1930s Germany provides an (admittedly extreme) example. Prior to the early 1930s, scientists at German institutions won a third of Nobels. 10 years later, that number was 5%, and has never recovered.

US conservation science is at serious risk. Join a virtual rally May 22 (12–1pm ET) to defend the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area—vital for tracking wildlife, disease, ecosystems & biodiversity. Featuring Drew Lanham & Kenn Kaufman. It’s free, it’s virtual, it’s vital.
www.mobilize.us/nwf/event/79...

His arm length is why Thuney is a guard.

The Chiefs already have 5 right tackles. I can’t see how adding 2 more helps.

Why would it? Pro football is routinely played on Sundays already and people have been able to juggle the two easily. Further, you’ve had basketball playing on Christmas for years. This concern is hardly worth any consideration. Almost foolish in fact.

Last Word is also known as Last Trash.

A lot of probationaries are getting back pay, so she should at least pursue receipt of those monies. But, yes, sticking with the new job seems most sensible given upcoming Reductions In Force.

Sandhill Crane migration in Kearny, Nebraska

I drove through there today. The video snippet is beautiful but does not do justice to how grand the sight of them is. Thousands upon thousands of them.

Articles of impeachment have been drawn, and then ignored by the party in power. Protests and strikes (of a sort) occur, but not everyone is as concerned as you’d like them to be (a third of the country is cheering the chaos, another third is oblivious).

What do you suggest people should do?

You do realize the Super Bowl is over, right?

ASLO joined 50+ scientific organizations in signing a letter from @aibsbiology.bsky.social urging Congress to protect U.S. scientific research and reverse executive actions that threaten American science and technology. www.aibs.org/news/2025/25...
#DefendScience

Where Have All The Butterflies Gone? A new study of butterfly populations in the US shows a 22% decline among over 500 species in just 20 years.

A new study found that U.S. butterfly populations dropped by 22% in just 20 years. Dr. Elise Zipkin and Dr. @nickhaddad.bsky.social join us to discuss what’s causing the decline and whether we can do anything about it.

🦋 This is the first study to combine butterfly observations from thousands of surveys across the country to create a complete picture of U.S. butterfly trends.

Of 342 species, 245 suffered declines of at least 10 percent.

Read the story here: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

2/3

Scientists brought to tears by huge loss of U.S. butterflies | CBC News Scientists calculated just how much U.S. butterfly populations have declined in the past 20 years. The results brought some scientists to tears, and have them warning about dire implications for other...

As scientists we are often exposed to upsetting findings and we should not have to bury the feelings that our research elicit - I'm glad it's adressed openly here (and yes these results are bleak)