Tyson Wepprich
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tysonwepprich.bsky.social
Tyson Wepprich
@tysonwepprich.bsky.social

Biologist in Oregon, forest mgmt, fire ecology, insect population trends, butterflies, biocontrol, climate change, SEIU member, he/him

Environmental science 50%
Agriculture 23%

Oregon fire history in western Cascades reconstructed with tree rings by Johnston, Merschel, Schmidt & Reilly. Including evidence of fires hundreds of years ago similar in size to 2020 Labor Day fires. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Diverse historical fire disturbance and successional dynamics in Douglas‐fir forests of the western Oregon Cascades, USA
We created the first annually resolved records of historical fire occurrence coupled with precise estimates of tree establishment for the northern half of the west slope of the Oregon Cascades, a reg...
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
My colleagues Calvin Farris (NPS) and Ellis Margolis (USGS) led a landmark study in paleofire reconstruction. In addition to showing that fire management can restore past fire regimes, the demonstrated methods are a first in dendrochronology. 1/6 esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/
Species shift their ranges in response to climate change, but many can't keep up. The resulting "community-climate disequilibrium" can impair ecosystem function and cause counterintuitive dynamics, like short-term gain but long-term loss onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Linking Community‐Climate Disequilibrium to Ecosystem Function
When turnover in species composition lags behind the pace of climate change, community-climate disequilibrium increases. We, for the first time, explicitly link this disequilibrium to ecosystem funct...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Appreciate you posting the graphs!

yeah, weird! big margin of error for WV and other small population states, I'd call it not distinguishable from no net change but not my field of study

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

🌎 'Journal of Forestry' has published a special issue on Forest Pollinators, Guest Edited by James W. Rivers and Michael D. Ulyshen—Hurry, it is free to access until 15th February. bit.ly/4bM6sWK 🍁 #Entomology
SEIU, which represents nearly 2 million workers around US, are holding Friday actions in solidarity with the Minnesota economic blackout, from the Twin Cities to Orlando, to Columbus, to Phoenix, to Seattle, to Boston, to LA, to New York.

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

North Carolina Natural Heritage Program just posted two invertebrate biologist jobs (one aquatic, one terrestrial) to work on species of concern in Hurricane Helene-affected areas. We'll probably be collaborating with whomever they hire. Details here:

nc.wd108.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NC_Car...
Biologist - L&W65042657 HYBRID
Agency Dept of Natural and Cultural Resources Division Division of Land , Water Stewardship Job Classification Title Environmental Specialist I (NS) Position Number 65042657 Grade NC12 About Us The No...
nc.wd108.myworkdayjobs.com

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Searching for something tangible to do to make a difference in your community 🤔? Look no further! Join us for a Wildlife Conservation Letter-Writing Party in #Eugene or #Portland coming up in the next several weeks.

#seaotters #1percentforwildlife #oregon #wildlife #wildlifeconservation

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

2025 was the third-hottest year in Oregon in records that date back to 1895.
This year’s heat wasn’t as obvious — coming at night and in spring, late fall and early winter (hence the crap snowpack). It was also dry, but not that wildfire-y. Full story: tinyurl.com/dauh9e64

oh no! I'm fascinated by one of its former projects and would gladly put a big tarp over that hole. bsky.app/profile/tyso...
TIL about the Cyclocrane invented in the 80s for aerial logging. Did not pan out. Great video showing its test flights in Tillamook, Oregon www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiU7...

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

New on Entomology Today: A simple rubbing technique borrowed from grade-school art class offers a quick and effective way for scientists to measure damage to trees caused by bark beetles—and an accessible tool for engaging the public in forest entomology.
When Art Meets Science: A Rice-Paper Rubbing Technique for Measuring Bark Beetle Damage
A simple rubbing technique from grade-school art class offers an easy way for scientists to measure damage to trees caused by bark beetles.
entomologytoday.org

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

📣Corvallis is a forming a new R-Ladies group and hosing their first event on Jan 22 at 5:30 pm at Common Fields. Details and an RSVP for the event are here: www.meetup.com/rladies-corv...

Please share widely!

@weare.rladies.org #Rstats #Rlang #R #oregon

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Ever wish rocks could tell you their stories? Geologist and writer Marcia Bjornerud imagines how 10 Wyoming rocks would describe the world as it was when they formed for @highcountrynews.org's Deep Time issue: www.hcn.org/issues/58-1/...
Meet the oldest rock in the West - High Country News
An urban geologist goes to downtown Seattle and finds a rangeof rocks rivaling any assembled by plate tectonics.
www.hcn.org
National assessment of river protection in the U.S.

Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org

Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social

Thread 👇 | DM for PDF

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Anyone out there have thoughts on how to remove duplicates from NIFC fire polygon data? There are a lot of observations that aren't 100% matches (spelling errors, slight name differences) but are clearly the same fire. I don't think using an erase in terra will work because data span multiple years

oh wow, mdpi special issue invitation on monarch butterfly conservation edited by a crank with very particular opinions about how they shouldn't be listed. thatsbait dot gif

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Now that we're at the end of the year, it's time to rave about my favorite science and nature writing of 2025. If you're looking for holiday reading material, here are 12 stories I loved from around the web, all free to read:
#SciComm #ScienceWriting #Bestof2025

ianrosewrites.com/2025/my-favo...
My Favorite (Free) Science Writing of 2025 - Ian Rose
ianrosewrites.com

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Today at @unbreaking.org we have a big update to our page on transgender healthcare. A TIMELINE!!! And the explainer has been rewritten to be clearer and easier to follow (if not any less soul crushing).

If you need a primer on all the ways this administration is attacking gender affirming care:
Transgender Healthcare: Explainer — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

New study: backyard mosquito sprays lead to insecticide levels high enough to kill pollinators, and sprays travel easily into neighboring yards. stacksjournal.org/article/ande...
An initial assessment of risk to pollinators from mosquito control in residential settings - Stacks Journal
Peer-reviewed research - An initial assessment of risk to pollinators from mosquito control in residential settings
stacksjournal.org

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Today’s incoming atmospheric river could bring one of the bigger flooding events of the past decade in Oregon, NWS meteorologists said, with around 16-18 streams currently forecast to see some level of flooding. Wind and wet soils could also bring widespread outages: tinyurl.com/34fptzsy
Fun collab w an awesome group of ecologists, led by Jenn Williams and Tom Miller! Linking Climate and Demography to Predict PopulationDynamics and Persistence Under Global Change dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele....
Linking Climate and Demography to Predict Population Dynamics and Persistence Under Global Change
Predicting how climate change will affect the population dynamics and ultimately persistence of plant and animal populations is a grand challenge in biodiversity science and global change biology. Co...
dx.doi.org

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

ICYMI (I did): homeowners in WA State filed a class action law suit against big oil companies for skyrocketing insurance rates caused by climate harms, including forest fire risks and flooding. 1/
Homeowners Sue Oil Companies as Climate Damage Drives up Insurance Rates - Inside Climate News
The class-action lawsuit is the first of its kind to target Big Oil over rising home insurance costs.
insideclimatenews.org

Is that a long lag time for movement after the clearcut by Weyerhaeuser about 15 years ago?

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Massive landslide Friday closes Highway 229 between Siletz and Kernville, damaging homes and sending debris into river:
lincolnchronicle.org/massive-land...
📷ODOT

Reposted by Tyson Wepprich

Very pleased to announce that my recent paper in Oecologia "Trophic generalism in the winter moth: a model species for phenological mismatch" won the journal's 2024 Ehleringer Prize for student research! 🏆

You can read more about the paper and the award below 👇

link.springer.com/journal/442/...
I started getting reports of an unseasonal Joshua tree bloom in the last few weeks, and looking over records on @inaturalist.bsky.social it's pretty widespread! So we're putting out the call for folks to record this "bonus bloom" and help us study it 🌿

lab.jbyoder.org/2025/12/10/w...
Weird wet weather has Joshua trees flowering early — or late? Help the Yoder Lab map this “bonus bloom” to understand why
A flowering tree in Yucca Valley, CA, observed by iNaturalist contributor wanderingmojave on December 9. A tree with lots of flowers in Tehachapi, CA, observed by iNaturalist contributor tina9294 o…
lab.jbyoder.org

Mississippi seems to have a long-term increasing trend in test scores, which is great! Probably not due to a silver bullet switch in reading that happened partway through the long-term trend.