Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 1d

Saturday site visit today at Abram's Falls with @ryanbstephens.bsky.social, beautiful fall weather, and the onset of fall colors in southern Appalachia 🍁🍂

Water cascades down a shallow creek over large slate rocks. Yellow and orange leaves mix with some still green in front of a pale blue sky

Two men leaning on hiking sticks are deep in conversation standing at the base of a large waterfall. Leaves in the foreground are starting to transition from green to the yellows and oranges of fall.

Deeply variegated leaves of wild ginger with pale green patterns overlying a dark mint green stick out against the browns of the forest floor

Pale purple aster flowers pop next to leaves in the midst of fall colors change

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 2d

Being a Seattle sports fan on the east coast is brutal for my sleep schedule. But go Ms

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 2d

This take also ignores ethics. What if I prompt "Use these data to find me a statistically significant trend"? Or "Make modifications to this existing analysis until you find statistical significance". AI hallucinates pubs, it can hallucinate "data" too and careless students won't be able to tell

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 2d

There's no true evaluating if one doesn't already know how the statistics work. AI can be a short cut, but not a replacement for problem solving. It's why we still teach elementary math without a calculator - there are skills inherent in building logical relationships in your brain. Bad analogy imo

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Chibdm @chibdm.bsky.social · 6d

Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 9d

🚨 Please repost widely!🚨

I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions

An ad for a PhD position to start fall 2026 working with me at ETSU. For more info, please email at LeeBR1@etsu.edu.

A close-up picture of dimpled trout lilies active in early spring, still largely surrounded by the previous year's senesced tree leaves.

A beautiful vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains from on top of Carver's Gap on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 7d

Loved getting the chance to meet Rose-Marie while I was in Pittsburgh! I miss seeing her

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Pallavi Singh @thepallavisingh.bsky.social · 8d

**Please Repost**

Pallavi Singh Lab is looking for two Postdocs to join our team studying how plants balance carbon, water, and resilience in a changing climate.

PlantPlug PDRA: vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...

REVOLUTION PDRA: vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...

Deadline: October 15.

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 9d

#Phenology #Ecology #IAmABotanist #PhD #CommunityEcology #ForestEcology 🌿🌎🌳

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 9d

🚨 Please repost widely!🚨

I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Mike Moore @moore-evo-eco.bsky.social · 10d

Come work with us! My lab is looking for PhD student(s) to study elevational range shifts among dragonflies in Colorado. Reviewing applications now - apply by Nov 1 at the latest

You could spend your summers here!

Blue Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness near Ward, Colorado. A jagged peak towers over a serene alpine lake

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 11d

The naturalist Jane Goodall died today at 91. Hope, she argued, is not merely “passive wishful thinking” but a “crucial survival trait.” Revisit a conversation with Goodall, from 2021: nyer.cm/F55JtsS

An image of Jane Goodall and a chimpanzee, from 1965. Photo courtesy CBS Photo Archive / Getty.

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Drew Peltier @peltierdrew.bsky.social · 12d

It's possible I will recruit a PhD student this year: If you are interested in tree physiological ecology, Bayesian modelling, carbohydrates, hydraulics, or desert/arid ecology please email with a description of your experience. Application deadline December 15. www.unlv.edu/graduatecoll... 🌏

white leaves on a albino redwood sprout.

Burned and unburned bristlecone pine along a ridgeline.

A new phd student enjoying the perks of fieldwork in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Drew Peltier @peltierdrew.bsky.social · 12d

1st pub from Phd student Alicia Formanack synthesizing tree ring widths in drought-killed trees to show that, nope, there are no universal patterns. We present a framework combining previously described syndromes: flashy, decoupled, or declining?🌏🌐
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@newphyt.bsky.social

Flashy, decoupled, or declining? Single theories fail to explain the diversity of drought mortality signals in tree rings

Growth patterns recorded in tree rings may predict drought ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. Past studies of drought-killed trees have produced conflicting evidence. Some show killed trees were highly respons...

doi.org

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 14d

Fall vibes from Bays Mountain Park

#Fall #phenology #wildflowers

A close up picture of a bright red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) with a green and brown blurry forest floor in the background

Trees whose leaves are starting to turn yellow and orange are reflected in a still pond in front of a baby blue sky

Two turtles sit on a log floating over the water. The turtle in the back is fully stretched out in fall sunlight

Red maple leaves are suspended crimson over a marshy wetland looking out over the Kingsport Reservoir. A bright blue sky hangs above a tree-lined lake in the background

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 16d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 16d

#Phenology #ToReadPile

AoB PLANTS @aobp.bsky.social · 17d

♻️Pollination effectiveness affects the level of generalisation of a plant species with phenotypically plastic flowers by José Gómez and co-authors

Full #openaccess
👉 doi.org/10.1093/aobp...

#PlantScience

Pollination effectiveness affects the level of generalisation of a plant species with phenotypically plastic flowers

Abstract. The pollination specialisation/generalisation continuum is a basic concept in pollination biology, usually defined as the number of species or fu

doi.org

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 18d

Hugely concerning to see layoffs threatened since April may move ahead at Dept of the Interior. Our Climate Adaptation Science Center colleagues at USGS have already lost 30% of their team from retirements, buyouts and layoffs; DOI has lost 11% on average. Planned layoffs may double these losses.

The Interior Department is taking steps to implement layoffs

After a series of delays, DOI is preparing RIF lists as it looks to implement significant personnel cuts in the coming weeks.

www.govexec.com

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Jacob Levine @jacoblevine.bsky.social · 18d

I am advertising a postdoctoral position in my new lab at Duke, to start as early as August 2026. If you are interested in how plant communities respond to climate change, please consider applying!

academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30614

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Christopher Krieg 🌿 @ckrieg.bsky.social · 20d

🚨 1 Week Left to Apply! 🚨
The Krieg Lab is hiring a Research Professional in Plant Ecophysiology & Evolution.

📅 Deadline: October 1, 2025
📧 Sending materials (Cover Letter, CV, References) to: kriegc[at]wfu.edu

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

nikogeldner.bsky.social @nikogeldner.bsky.social · 25d

Call for a tenure-track position at our Department of Plant Molecular Biology in Lausanne! We are searching for promising early-career researchers in the broad field of plant-organismal interactions. Deadline: November 30, 2025 - Please re-post!

career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree...

Career Opportunities: DBMV: Tenure Track Assistant Professor towards Associate Professor in the field of Plant-organism (22484)

career5.successfactors.eu

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26d

🚨 Cool educational item alert 🚨

We teamed up with Philly Nature Illustrator, Meg Lemieur @megstampede.bsky.social to create a 12 month wall calendar all about animals!

The calendar includes lessons we can learn from animals & how we can help them.

Pre-order here!
www.etsy.com/listing/4366...

the front cover for a calendar with a salamander standing on a mushroom. in big bubble letters it says 2026 love notes from nature calendar created by Meg Lemieur and Sarah McAnulty phd

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 28d

What's the large compound German word for the joyous satisfaction of starting work on a new study?

#invasives #ecology #restoration

A woman kneels down in the middle of a forest among a large population of invasive stilt grass. A large log and dappled sunlight lies on the the forest floor

Two pvc quadrats lay next to each other on the forest floor, largely obscured by a near monoculture of invasive stilt grass. A large log and many standing trees can be seen in the background

A small section of bare ground in the center of a quadrat lies exposed after being cleared of invasive stiltgrass

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Reposted by Ben R Lee, PhD

Christopher Krieg 🌿 @ckrieg.bsky.social · Sep 11

🌱 Calling all mentors!
The BSA Early Career Committee is bringing back the NSF GRFP Workshop. Sign up to be a mentor if you are a:

✅ Grad student who already received a GRFP or
✅ PI, postdoc, senior researcher

Sign up here 👉 forms.gle/sQUwhVryYHJK...

#NSFGRFP #botany

Mentor Registration Form — GRFP Workshop

Are you interested in helping students write a stronger NSF GRFP application? We hope you will join us as a mentor in this BSA-organized GRFP workshop, where you will work with 4-6 applicants to help ...

forms.gle

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Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · Sep 11

Congrats Clayton!!

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