Dr. Thilina Surasinghe
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thilinas.bsky.social
Dr. Thilina Surasinghe
@thilinas.bsky.social

Conservation scientist, Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, MA, USA.
Research: #EcoRestore, #biodiversity, #conservation #urbanEcology, invasive species
PhD in Fisheries & Wildlife 🐢🐍🐸🐦 🐟🌃🧪🏞️📊🖥️🛰️🏳️‍🌈🌍🦤 .. more

Environmental science 80%
Geography 20%
The review I wrote while at Colossal is part of this collection: Genome engineering in biodiversity conservation and restoration rdcu.be/e0NyH
COLLECTION | To coincide with our first anniversary, Nature Reviews Biodiversity has launched a collection of our content relating to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Targets: go.nature.com/4pV2cI1
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Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Targets
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets out 23 global targets to be met by 2030 that aim to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
go.nature.com

Access full text: doi.org/10.3390/biol...
doi.org

Losing amphibians means losing ecological functions and benefits to people. Conserving them is not niche biology — it’s core to #BiodiversityConservation, #GlobalChangeBiology, #OneHealth 🌍💚.

#Amphibians #Ecology #ConservationScience #EcosystemServices

and contribute directly to biomedical innovation through skin-derived compounds with antimicrobial and therapeutic potential 🧬🧪

They also support human livelihoods via agriculture, ecotourism, and cultural knowledge — yet nearly 40% of species are threatened 🚨📉.

🐸✨ check out our paper:
In this synthesis, we show how amphibians underpin ecosystem functioning (#NutrientCycling, #FoodWebs, #PestControl), act as some of our most sensitive early-warning systems for environmental change (#Bioindicators)...🐸🌍🦤ec🌱
David Dudgeon & Jia Huan Liew (2026) Welcome to the Homogenocene? Trajectories of change in global #freshwater #fish biodiversity during the Anthropocene: evidence from tropical East Asia
🔓 via Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci @royalsocietypublishing.org doi.org/10.1098/rstb... #BioInvasions 🧪🌏🐟
Welcome to the Homogenocene? Trajectories of change in global freshwater fish biodiversity during the Anthropocene: evidence from tropical East Asia
Abstract. Interactions between climate change and anthropogenic stressors such as poor water quality and habitat degradation have had deleterious consequen
doi.org
📖 Published!

CISO, a deep learning-based method for species distribution modelling Conditioned on Incomplete Species Observations 🖥️ 🦌 🌍

🔎 Find out more:
buff.ly

Our project centers around #undergraduateResearch training 🎓🔬 and builds strong international partnerships 🤝🌍 to advance coastal ecological science together.

🌍✈️ wrapped a pilot trip to São Vicente, Cape Verde 🇨🇻 to prepare for our NSF-funded IRES project on marine & coastal #biodiversity 🌊🐠🦂🦐🍤🦀
Great meetings with our collaborators at Uni-CV Cabo Verde 🎓 and Biosfera Cabo Verde 🌱 — excited for the fieldwork and collaborations ahead! 🚀🧪

Fall creators🐍

🍂 Fall fieldwork update: surveying upland amphibians & reptiles near restored wetlands to understand how habitat restoration influences terrestrial habitat use and seasonal movements. 🐸🐍 🌱🦤🌍🐢
Iconic examples of fire-dependent (pyrophylous) taxa in the plant (green), animal (red), & fungi (gray) kingdom & their phylogenetic relationship. Tips are genus (& family)

Source: doi.org/10.1093/bios... BioScience
@aibsbiology.bsky.social

🧪🌍🔥🌳🌿🍁🌐 wildfire #ecoevo
'What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision. Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.' Nature, 23 Oct 2025. I’m amazed this is framed as a revelation — it’s pure common sense. 🧪🌎🌐
Need healthy #FreshwaterHabitat?

A new study confirms #oldgrowth #forests (>75 years) are better for freshwater #invertebrates and #vertebrates than young forests.

Diverse #habitats in older trees support more unique and specialized aquatic species 🌍

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Forest age influences freshwater biodiversity in temperate watersheds
Forests can affect stream structure and function, but evaluations linking freshwater biodiversity to watershed-scale forest-stand conditions are limit…
www.sciencedirect.com
Widespread #MountainEcosystem loss (2000-2020) is driven by human expansion ( #agriculture approx. 89% and #NaturalDisasters approx 11%)

Over half (approx 56%) occurred in #ProtectedAreas or #biodiversity hotspots, demanding urgent #conservation action 🌍

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Global loss of mountain vegetated landscapes and its impact on biodiversity conservation - Nature Communications
This study reports widespread loss of mountain vegetation worldwide from 2000 to 2020, with ∼89% attributable to human expansion, primarily agriculture. Over half of this loss occurred within protecte...
www.nature.com

And reconnected with @jalene-lamontagne.bsky.social and some old friends

I had the opportunity to attend the NEON convergence Summit 2025 at #CUboulder 🌍📊
This summit brought together scientists working on #macrosystemsEcology, #biodiversity, #continentalScaleBiology using #NEON.
#EnvironmentalDataScience #OpenScience

🌐🌱🧪

Some spots in our restored wetland are full of common reed (Phragmites australis), while others stay mostly invasion-free 🌾🤔.
We are asking: how do water levels 💦 and habitat structure 🌱 shape these invasion patterns?
Understanding this helps guide better wetland restoration and management.
🌍

We are studying the spread of common reed (Phragmites australis) in a restored wetland 🌿.
We aim to understand how wetland hydrology 💧 and habitat structure 🪵🌾 influence the degree of invasion.
#InvasiveSpecies #WetlandRestoration #Phragmites #GenerationRestoration
#Wetlands #InvasionEcology

Some spots in our restored wetland are full of common reed (Phragmites australis), while others stay mostly invasion-free 🌾🤔.
We are asking: how do water levels 💦 and habitat structure 🌱 shape these invasion patterns?
Understanding this helps guide better wetland restoration and management.
🌍

We are studying the spread of common reed (Phragmites australis) in a restored wetland 🌿.
We aim to understand how wetland hydrology 💧 and habitat structure 🪵🌾 influence the degree of invasion.
#InvasiveSpecies #WetlandRestoration #Phragmites #GenerationRestoration
#Wetlands #InvasionEcology

a new research project on ecological #TippingPoints 🌱🌍🧪🌐🦤 & regime shifts 🔄 at @cu-esiil.bsky.social Innovation Summit 🏔️.
Looking forward to working with amazing colleagues 🤝 on data-driven approaches 📊 to ecosystem change.

#OpenScience #EnvironmentalDataScience #Biodiversity

Excited to present at #SER2025, the 11th World Conference on #EcologicalRestoration 🌎!

Join me this Thursday, Oct 2 📅 at 5:00 PM in the Quartz Room for Session O.28: Restoration, Biodiversity & Climate.

I will share our remote-sensing–based approach to track #wetland restoration success 🌿🛰️...

Back in the field this fall 🍂 with undergrads 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬, monitoring woodland #herps 🐸🦎 around restored wetlands 🌿. We are testing whether wetland restoration helps not upland biota. 🌱🧪🌍
#WetlandRestoration #RestorationEcology #Biodiversity #Amphibians #Reptiles #UndergraduateResearch #GenerationRestoration

Year 3 underway on comparing #urban vs #rural #turtle pops with @eren2010.bsky.social at Continental scale
#UndergraduateResearch
🌍🦤🧪🌐🌱🐢

✅ Take‑homes

Supporting home gardens (especially with traditional/indigenous practices) is not just sentimental—it’s a practical conservation tool.

Protect home garden designs that maximize structural complexity: multi‑strata trees, mixed plantings, integrating animals.

🌿🐦 New Research Highlight: “Successful Home Garden Model for Biodiversity Conservation in Sri Lanka” 📚

Our recent work published in Loris shows that home gardens are key players in conserving biodiversity AND delivering climate, social, and economic benefits.