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tomjwebb.bsky.social
tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social
Professional marine biodiversity data scientist and academic @sheffielduni.bsky.social. Amateur dad, musician, natural historian, cricketer, kayaker, gardener, cook, haver of opinions.
Book I'm reading at the moment has a lot about Messiaen in it. I knew he was heavily influenced by birdsong, but hadn't realised this extended to actually attempting to write it down in musical notation. A small selection here: www.oliviermessiaen.org/birdsong
Olivier Messiaen - Birdsong
This webpage enables detailed comparison of five of Messiaen's birdsongs with the actual birdsongs he used as models. The spectrograms, the 78 rpm records from which he derived the North American bird...
www.oliviermessiaen.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
📣Applications are now open!

Find out more about how to apply 👇
Apply to be a BES Associate Editor - British Ecological Society
Help advance outstanding ecological research by joining our Editorial Boards! Applications are now open across all seven BES journals.
f.mtr.cool
November 25, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Some nice shots in this collection - birdlife Australia photo awards www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The 2025 BirdLife Australia photography awards – in pictures
A preening brush turkey, a wise cassowary and some hungry terns are among the winning and shortlisted photos in this year’s prize
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by tomjwebb
We're currently looking for new Associate Editors to join our Editorial Board! 🌎🧪

If you're interested in contributing to the publishing landscape, check out the link below 👇
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/appl...
November 24, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by tomjwebb
🚨 Job alert 🚨 Postdoc position in ecological forecasting 📈 as part of the Horizon Europe OSCARS call. The postdoc will be based in lovely Sevilla (fantastic place to live) and will include working closely with several European forecasting projects. Apply by Dec 11! 🌎🧪 globalchangeeco.com/jobs
November 24, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by tomjwebb
... just look at these 👀 Just a handful of the incredible new #PhD opportunities at the lab.

Visit our website to see them all, and apply!
🔗 pml.ac.uk/Working-with...

#PhDs #PhDopportunities #hiring #Plymouth #PhDlife
November 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I didn't mind the tram being crocked on my way to work this morning as it gave me an hour extra listening to the cricket, however I do wish they would post service updates somewhere other than X - it's the only time I ever go back there, the aim is to get in and out without seeing anything else…
November 21, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
Funded PhD opportunity!!🧪🌎

Wanna improve how biodiversity is monitored & protected?
Keen to work with large datasets & quantitative methods?

This PhD could be for you!

Fully-funded PhD at University of Reading with IoZ & UKCEH
(UK or settled status applicants)
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
CR2026_23: Monitoring and protecting biodiversity across all its dimensions – taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic at University of Reading on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - CR2026_23: Monitoring and protecting biodiversity across all its dimensions – taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic at University of Reading, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Well this looks like it could be tremendously useful for those of us working on UK marine ecosytems…
*NEW* We’ve just released 337 harmonised layers from 35 sources capturing human pressures, heritage features, ecological assets and net-ocean conditions for UK waters.

Read the paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Explore our interactive portal: storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/...
November 21, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Invention of the scythe sadly preceded the widespread ability to read the instruction manual?
November 21, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Pretty sure I know of some other mums actually
November 21, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by tomjwebb
There are 3 exciting postdoctoral openings to work on biodiversity research, monitoring and conservation with us at UBC - check them out!

2 positions: biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and...

1 position: science-bcbiodiversitynetwork-2025.sites.olt.ubc.ca/opportunities/
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2-year (2026-2028) - 2 positions OPENAt UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in resea...
biodiversity.ubc.ca
November 20, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I watch very little natural history TV these days but we’re been working through Hamza’s Hidden Wild Isles and it’s really lovely www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Hamza's Hidden Wild Isles - Series 1: 1. Spring
Wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin spends the spring revealing hidden natural spectacles across the UK. Badgers, adders and nightingales offer memorable and intimate encounters.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
📣Job vacancy!📣

Research Fellow in Global Conservation at Leeds, working with Dave Williams (and me, a bit) to assess the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity, carbon, and people: jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

#ConservationScience 🌍
Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Research Fellow in Global Conservation
Salary: Grade 7 (£41,064 – £48,822 p.a. depending on experience) This role will be based on the university campus, with scope for it to be undertaken in a hybrid manner. We are also open to discussing...
jobs.leeds.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 3:34 PM
1degC here this morning, feels like -5; just heard the ice cream van
November 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Reposted by tomjwebb
Searching for a spectacular writer! 🔎🪲

GBIF are seeking a contractor to support the Secretariat in producing an overview paper documenting GBIF's 25 years of operations.

Deadline for proposal submissions: 📍 3 December 2025.

⚡Explore the details here:🔗 gbif.link/25-year-co...
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Currently in the email equivalent of that old Two Ronnies sketch where the Mastermind contestant keeps answering the previous question…
November 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
Check out our new paper, led by Liam MacNeil, showing trait convergence under similar environmental conditions in demersal fish assemblages across the Northern Hemisphere

dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb....
November 16, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
🎤 Are you an early career researcher passionate about communicating with the wider public? Applications for the 2026 British Science Festival Award Lectures are now open!

Next year's Festival is in Southampton, 16-20 Sept.

Find out more and apply >

www.britishscienceassociation.org/award-lectures
Award Lectures
Details on how to become an Award Lecturer at the British Science Festival
www.britishscienceassociation.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Consensus on WhatsApp is that we could do it with less
November 17, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!

Start your countdown; #WCMB2026 is happening exactly one year from now!

Register here: wcmb2026.org/registration

@unoceandecade.bsky.social @vliz.be #marinebiodiversity
Register here
wcmb2026.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Filthy wet, grey Sheffield in November, or Sicily? You decide…
November 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by tomjwebb
Bad news in from South Georgia - the population of breeding female elephant seals has nearly halved following a bird flu outbreak on the sub-Antarctic island.

Here's what we know so far...

📸 Connor Bamford
November 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
It's fine to reference a book you haven't read in a talk title, right?
November 14, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Huh. Well this is cool…
Corals are masters of obtaining nutrition via symbioses, in the light and in the dark: deep sea corals can associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, expressing pathways that oxidize sulfur and fix C. Corals hosting them derive some carbon from chemosynthesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbiotic fauna abound including mussels that host sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs from the SUP05 cluster (family Ca. Thioglobaceae). We investigated whether corals near cold seeps associate with related bacteria and report here that these associations are widespread. Results We screened corals, water, and sediment for Thioglobaceae using 16S metabarcoding and found ASVs associated with corals at high relative abundance (10 – 91%). These ASVs were specific to coral hosts, absent in water samples, and rare or absent in sediment samples. Using metagenomics and transcriptomics, we assembled the genome of one phylotype associated with Paramuricea sp. B3 (ASV 4) which contained the genetic potential to oxidize sulfur and fix carbon, and confirmed that these pathways were transcriptionally active. Furthermore, its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the stable isotopic composition of its host coral’s tissue suggesting some contribution of chemoautotrophy to the coral holobiont. Conclusions We propose that some lineages of Thioglobaceae may facultatively supplement the diet of their host corals through chemoautotrophy at seeps or may provide essential amino acids or vitamins. This is the first documented association between chemoautotrophic symbionts and corals at seeps and suggests that the footprint of chemosynthetic environments is wider than currently understood.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-025-02254-z?utm_source=rct_congratem[…]ampaign=oa_20251113&utm_content=10.1186%2Fs40168-025-02254-z
November 14, 2025 at 11:47 AM