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Stacks Journal

@stacksjournal.bsky.social
785 followers 5 following 175 posts

A scientific journal designed for ease and ethics. Publishing open-access articles, Special Issues, and entire journals. Join Us ⬇️ www.stacksjournal.org

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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
The big finding: It's not primarily forest age that predicts nest survival. It's nest size. And nests larger than 0.3 m³ survived at nearly 100%. And in young forests, those large nests were anchored to broken tops and split trunks. Structures that logging operations routinely remove. 4/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Researchers surveyed 6,557 trees across 63 stands, stratified by age from 20-year managed forests all the way to 300+ year old growth. They tracked 1,044 arboreal nests over four years — climbing into the canopy to inspect each one — modeling what makes nests survive or disappear. 3/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Red tree voles spend less than 30 minutes a day outside their nests and eat almost exclusively Douglas-fir needles. They almost never touch the ground. Lose the right trees, & the nest structures in them, & you lose the vole. That's what makes this research so important for forest management. 2/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Turns out we've been thinking about one old-growth animal wrong. The red tree vole, one of the most canopy-dependent mammals in the Pacific Northwest, is assumed to need ancient forests to survive. But new research published in @stacksjournal.bsky.social found the story to be more complex. 🧵
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
It’s not just about the heat. The study also identified more threats to their persistence: 🧩 Habitat fragmentation 📉 Lack of long-term monitoring data 🔍 Low public awareness compared to "charismatic" large carnivores 5/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
To aid conservation, researchers used a 3-phase expert consensus—surveys, workshops, and deep-dive discussions—to identify what's actually happening on the ground and chart a path forward for conservation. The verdict? 3/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
From the forests of North America to the mountains of Asia, Guloninae species play vital roles as small predators. The problem? Most are listed as "Least Concern" globally, a label that often hides dramatic local declines and ignores the unique threats they face. 2/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Why are they so vulnerable to climate change and ecological breakdown? 🌎 Narrow habitat preferences ❄️ Cold-adapted ranges (especially in the fast-warming Arctic) 🌲 Fragmented forests 🔄 Low adaptive capacity
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
From wildfires to deforestation to the collapse of prey populations, this research maps out how 11 Guloninae species are vulnerable to climate and ecological breakdown. TLDR: 10 of 11 species are at medium or high risk.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
The pine marten, fisher, wolverine, & similar species are facing more than habitat loss — they also occupy environments threatened by climate change. New peer-reviewed research in @stacksjournal.bsky.social assesses the future of the Guloninae across the globe — and the outlook is rough. 🦊🌍🧪 A 🧵
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
This new technique could be really helpful for other non-invasive monitoring because it is: 💰 Cost-effective: Only one temperature logger needed 🦊 Efficient: Detects when animals are inside, not just nearby 📈 Scalable: Automatable—ideal for long-term monitoring 4/
Histogram showing the number of uses detected by fishers and martens for each month of the year. Fishers uses are shown in black bars while marten uses are shown in gray bars.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Then they matched how temperature changes inside the den boxes were correlated with animals entering, staying, & leaving the boxes. And they found... Every fisher and marten visit triggered a consistent temperature spike. Even better—those spikes were distinct enough to tell the species apart! 3/
Graphs of temperature, first derivative of temperature by time, and second derivative of temperature by time for a den box use by an American marten.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
💡 What if monitoring wildlife was automatic and could even differentiate among species? New research in @StacksJournal.bsky.social shows a novel idea: using the rate of temperature change in den boxes to track martens, fishers, and even sometimes squirrels. 🌍🧪🦊 A 🧵 #WildlifeConservation
A fisher standing outside of a fisher den box in a red pine forest during the day in winter.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Researchers used 11 microsatellite DNA markers to analyze 246 individuals from Siberia. The surprise? In 6 out of 11 sable populations, some animals were actually pine marten hybrids. And – morphology alone couldn’t tell them apart. 3/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Sables and pine martens look distinct — with different tail lengths, throat patches, and fur. But in areas where their ranges overlap, hybrids (called "kidus") may resemble either one.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Do you think you can always tell a sable from a pine marten just by looking at it? 👀 In the Ural forests, it may be harder than you think. New research reveals how genetic tools can uncover surprising levels of hybridization in the wild. 🧬🦊🌍🧪 A🧵
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
They found two big patterns: 🟩 Local colonization drives most occupancy 🍂 But in fall — when juvenile skunks disperse — long-distance movements increased Open lawns and water sources played a key role. 4/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
The team tracked striped skunks using remote cameras in parks, golf courses, and cemeteries across Chicago. Their goal? To figure out if skunks spread locally from nearby dens — show up from long distances. 2/
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
🦨 Ever wonder how skunks decide where to live in urban landscapes like Chicago? New research from @masonfidino.bsky.social, @lizalehrer.bsky.social, & @sbmagle.bsky.social from @lpzoo.org used nearly a decade of data to find out! 🦊🌍🧪 A 🧵
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
When combined with genetic distinctiveness and a likely period of isolation since the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 years ago), these findings strengthen the case for recognizing P. p. columbiana as a valid subspecies of #fisher. 4/
Drawing of a female fisher by Andrea Toth.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Their winter diets were also different: 🟤 Columbian fishers consume more hares, squirrels, and grouse 🟤 Boreal fishers relied more on small mammals and ungulates These patterns reflect ecological divergence across biogeoclimatic zones. 3/
Frequency of occurrence of 5 different prey groups in stomachs during winter collected from 208 fisher carcasses in British Columbia, Canada, 1989-1993. Many stomachs had multiple prey items, so total percentages occasionally summed to greater than 1.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Analyzing >400 specimens from carcasses & live captures, @richweir.bsky.social found that fishers in central BC are significantly smaller, more compact, and exhibit higher foot-loading than those in northern BC—traits consistent with adaptation to structurally complex, snow-covered forests. 2/
Distribution of the Columbian and Boreal populations of fishers that occur in British Columbia, Canada (adapted from Weir et al. 2024), along with locations of carcass samples collected between 1989 and 1993.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
At the end of the peer review, reviewers vote on whether the article is ready to be published. We only publish articles with >70% approval, and we disclose the identities of the reviewers and publish the peer review with every article. Transparency creates more trust. 4/n
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Hi -- Welcome! We're a scientific journal founded on the ethics of good science. We believe that publishing should be collaborative, fair, and transparent. Here's how we're creating a new future for scientific publishing. #SciPub #AcademicSky 🧪 1/n
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Their results suggest that pine marten presence was strongly associated with reduced road traffic and coniferous woodlands and cover. They recommend that southwest England and south Cumbria should be evaluated for new pine marten reintroductions. 4/
Predicted habitat suitability.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Using a combination of modeling techniques, they identified habitat suitability, connectivity, and potential for range recovery across different regions in Britain. 3/
Map of Britain with potential areas for translocations.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Many carnivore populations are declining and translocations can help. 🧪🦊 But how do we determine where to reintroduce them? New research on pine #Martens from the Martes Working Group provides a clear framework for answering this important question. A 🧵
Two pine martens in the forest.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
You can read the full paper in @StacksJournal It's #OpenAccess and went through our new collaborative peer review. 6/6 doi.org/10.60102/stacks-24003
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
And they found….Wildlife responses to cannabis farms varied greatly! Some species avoided the farms & became more nocturnal (like black-tailed #deer), while others were attracted to the farms & became less nocturnal (like gray #fox). This seemed to relate to animal size! 4/
A figure from the paper indicating the effects of cannabis farms on wildlife.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
Using #RemoteCameras, they investigated the space-use and activity patterns of wildlife on and around cannabis farms in southern Oregon. They also developed a really interesting statistical model using #Bayesian analysis to answer their questions. 3/
A map of southern OR where this study took place.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
The legal agricultural production of cannabis is relatively new, and there hasn’t been much research conducted on its effects on wildlife. Compared to illegal grows, legal ones often have high-powered grow lights, drying fans, and visual barrier fencing. 2/
An image of cannabis.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
How does cannabis farming affect wildlife? There’s been rapid growth of #cannabis farms in the US, but little is known about how #wildlife are impacted. So Phoebe Parker-Shames and her colleagues Ben Goldstein & Justin Brashares studied this question. Here’s what they found 🧵
An image of a mountain lion on a cannabis farm.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/08/2024
The injured coyote showed similar speeds & space-use as its neighboring non-injured coyotes. But, interestingly, it showed a stronger selection for roads & open wetlands, potentially indicating that having 3 legs affected its ability to traverse some land cover types. 5/
A Geographical Information System (GIS) generated map of a section of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, USA enlarged from an inset map of the Gulf of Mexico region. The terrestrial landscape is represented by the ESRI World Topographical map. Polygons and small dots in yellow, gray, red, and blue represent space use of four coyotes modeled using time-local convex hulls and GPS-acquired telemetry locations, respectively.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/08/2024
They amputated the injured forelimb, added a radio collar to the coyote, and monitored it for nearly 2 years to understand how its behavior differed from other nearby coyotes. What did they find? 4/
A sedated and anesthetized coyote wearing a muzzle lies on a veterinary treatment table. A male wildlife biologist is holding a GPS radio collar and writing on a clipboard. The coyote’s injured right foot can be seen in this photo.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 01/08/2024
How should scientists handle animals that get injured during research? When a #Coyote was injured during fieldwork, Joey Hinton at @nywolforg.bsky.social, along with their collaborators, asked this very important question. Read on to learn how they approached it 🧵
A veterinarian in surgical gowning leans over a coyote covered with a surgical drape and performs an amputation surgery on the coyote.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 22/07/2024
They used interviews & structured sampling to understand what people thought of the local wildlife. In one of their surveys, they gave participants cards with pictures of wildlife and asked them to sort them into piles of animals they wanted/didn't want in their community. 3/
A bull elephant on a riverbank in Zambia.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 22/07/2024
Want to know more about human-wildlife coexistence around protected areas? Then do we have an article for you! @lmerz.bsky.social and her colleagues studied human perceptions of wildlife in eastern #Zambia and found some really interesting results. #HumanDimensions #Wildlife 🧪🦊🌎 1/
A bull elephant on a riverbank in Zambia.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 26/03/2024
3. Updates from your colleagues about new collaborations. Got a new grant? Need a new collaborator or co-author to fill in some expertise? Ask your colleagues to collaborate with you!
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 26/03/2024
2. Q&A with colleagues in your field. Ask questions about your research and share your knowledge to help your community do great science.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 26/03/2024
1. A curated summary of all the new peer-reviewed research in your field. Every month you will receive the latest peer-reviewed research in a digestible and easy-to-read format.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 20/11/2023
This is exactly the reason we need to strengthen peer review and bring credibility back to scientific publishing. It’s so important to know that you can trust the peer-reviewed literature. There should not be a home for known predatory publishers — on RG or anywhere.
An image of research gate showing their partnership with MDPI
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 16/11/2023
#TWS2023 last week was a huge step forward for scientific publishing. We received unbridled enthusiasm for The Stacks from hundreds of researchers from @wildlifesociety. It's time to strengthen peer review and make it easier to share our findings. Exciting times ahead! 🎉📚🔬
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 08/11/2023
Good morning @wildlifesociety! Want to know how we’re strengthening peer review and making it easier to publish your findings? Come stop by our booth! It’s time to create a future for scientific publishing we can be proud of. #TWS2023
Our poster and Lego display at TWS.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 23/10/2023
Who benefits when science is #OpenAccess? #OAWeek
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 20/10/2023
Next week is #OpenAccess week with @SPARC_NA. Open access is good for science and it’s good for society. Let’s make every day Open Access for peer-reviewed research. #OAWeek
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 19/10/2023
More research showing that single-blind peer review creates biased outcomes for higher-income and English-speaking countries. If we know that double-blind peer review decreases bias, then shouldn’t it be used at all journals? #PeerReview
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 18/10/2023
The best part? We create better science when we come together as a community. Oh – and it’s even been described as “fun and refreshing.” The future of peer review and publishing is here! Come join the community on our website. 6/6
Quote by a Stacks reviewer that says it was fun and refreshing and they enjoyed interacting with the other reviewers
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 18/10/2023
It’s important to know if you can trust the research, so we post all peer reviews with the article. Clear transparency is good for science. 5/n
Image displaying the credibility score and ability to view peer review in The Stacks.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 18/10/2023
Reviewers create better science and should be recognized for their contributions beyond calling it “service.” In The Stacks, reviewers can opt-in to be listed as a “Collaborator” on the published paper they helped improve with their feedback. 4/n
Image showing how reviewers can be listed as Collaborators on the article.
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Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · 18/10/2023
No single reviewer or editor should carry more weight than any other, so article acceptance is determined by a vote of the reviewers. If more than 70% think the article is ready to be published, it is. It’s that simple. 3/n PS: There are no desk rejects.
Image showing how reviewers vote on publication in The Stacks.
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