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Stephen Beckett

@beckettstephen.bsky.social
1.1K followers 982 following 29 posts

Computational ecology. Viruses and microbes. Oceans. Bipartite networks. Dad. Scientist @UofMaryland Dept. Biology, and Institute for Health Computing. Searching learning & coffee converting. More about me: sjbeckett.github.io

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Reposted by Stephen Beckett
Jonathan Dushoff @jdushoff.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Our department is looking for a tenure-track plant biologist! See www.academicwork.ca/jobs/tenure-.... Vibrant department; liveable city; friendly country (Canada); new greenhouse facility ...
academicwork.ca
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Plant Biology
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Philip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 01/10/2026
If you are generating two papers per week, you're wasting everyone's time and resources (moderators, readers, earth). Slow down and ask your robot to make something more valuable.
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Allie Sinclair @asinclair.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thanks to Rice News for featuring my recent paper! We developed an intervention & useful tool to help people understand their protection against COVID-19 and encourage vaccination. @ricesocsci.bsky.social @riceihri.bsky.social Story: tinyurl.com/ricenewsimmest Full paper: doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
tinyurl.com
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Julia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Spread the word! I’m looking to recruit a PhD student to grow the Paulinella project. Some details can be found here: www.vanettenlab.org/join
vanettenlab.org
Join! — Van Etten lab at UMD
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Julia Van Etten @couchmicroscopy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Protists deserve the spotlight and so do scientists! This was such an honor but mostly, this project reminded me why I have the best job and friends/colleagues in the world! 🔬
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Steven Strogatz @stevenstrogatz.com · 27/09/2026
Mathematicians and scientists: Want to write for a broad audience about big ideas? Apply for the fully funded Beyond the Ivory Tower writing workshop at Wake Forest, Jan. 15–16, led by NYT editor James Ryerson. Applications due Oct. 9: beyondtheivorytower.com/workshop
beyondtheivorytower.com
Workshop — Beyond the Ivory Tower
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International Initiative for Theoretical Ecology @iite-ecotheory.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
📣We will soon be back for a new run of open online theoretical ecology seminars! We have six exciting speakers covering topics from all corners of the field to add to your calendars: In the meantime, there are 80+ previous talks on our YouTube 📺: www.youtube.com/@theoretical... See you there!
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Marco Mauri @marcomauri.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🚨 Next Friday4th September 15:30 EU, Joshua Weitz (University of Maryland) will present the talk Computational Models of the Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Inefficient Viral Infections at the Population Dynamics Seminars. Subscription sites.google.com/view/popdyn/
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Delighted to share news that our preprint “Slower-than-exponential viral decay is prevalent and can reshape virus-microbe dynamics” is now online, led by Akash Arani (UMD-BEES PhD), Paul Fremont (UMD-Biology postdoc) and Emma Wachter (former UMD Honors Bio student) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Examples of viral decay curves spanning biphasic (red), exponential (blue-dashed) fit to data (black points). ~50% are better represented by biphasic rather than exponential.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.27.747580v2.full.pdf
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Daniel Cooney @danielcooney1.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I am happy to share that the Midwest Mathematical Biology Seminar is returning for the Fall 2026 semester. All talks are scheduled for 11am Eastern Time / 10am Central time on Tuesdays. sites.google.com/view/midwest...
sites.google.com
Midwest Mathematical Biology Seminar
The Midwest Mathematical Biology Seminar will be a series of virtual talks on mathematical biology featuring speakers from the Midwest region and beyond. All areas of mathematical biology will be repr...
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Elaine Luo @oceanmicrobes.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Excited to share that our lab has moved to the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences @somas-sbu.bsky.social at Stony Brook @stonybrooku.bsky.social and we are recruiting postdocs (flexible start dates). About the lab and how to apply in the join tab: sites.google.com/stonybrook.e...
sites.google.com
Luo Lab - Microbial Oceanography
Our overall goal is to determine how microbes impact ecology and biogeochemistry, with a particular emphasis on under-explored environments with novel microbial diversity. Microbial engines drive biog...
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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The University of Maryland, College Park may lose 30% of its newly admitted graduate students this fall. That’s according to a declaration submitted by the state’s flagship in support of a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s visa restrictions. www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
thebanner.com
University of Maryland predicts 30% decline in new grad students due to Trump visa restrictions
The University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, painted a bleak picture of the consequences in federal lawsuit filings.
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School of Public Health at the University of Maryland @publichealthumd.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
THE SUMMER OF ICK SPH’s Dr. Amy Sapkota weighs in on some major public health issues Maryland faced this summer in the @thebaltimorebanner.com Read about it here! www.thebanner.com/community/pu...
thebanner.com
Maryland’s Summer of Ick: It’s more than parasites
Maryland and the nation are piling up some pretty yucky statistics in food-borne, tick and mosquito-related and viral infections. What is going on?
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 28/07/2026
Applications for the @sfiscience.bsky.social Santa Fe Institute's amazing Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships, including the Omidyar Fellowships, are now open. The deadline for applications is September 30th.
apply-sfi.smapply.org
Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowship - Santa Fe Institute
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Sean Gibbons 🦠💩 @gibbological.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Dear microbiome enthusiasts: I'm excited to be moving my lab to New York University this fall (& the NYU Institute for Engineering Health); with joint-appointment @isbscience.org I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980 Please share! 🦠🤓
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Allie Sinclair @asinclair.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
📣New paper in @pnasnexus.org! We find that giving people personalized feedback about immunity effectively changes perceived risk & motivates vaccination. 🧵⤵️ academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar... @gregoryrsl.bsky.social, @joshuasweitz.bsky.social, @beckettstephen.bsky.social, Morgan Taylor, Aroon Chande
academic.oup.com
Personalized feedback about immunity corrects risk misestimation and motivates vaccination
Abstract. Beliefs about immunity may have important consequences for health behaviors. For instance, people who overestimate their protection against a dis
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Rafal Mostowy @rafalmostowy.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Klebsiella phages often modify the bacterial capsule instead of degrading it, stripping acetyl groups. Nobody's traced how this evolves. I'm hiring a computational postdoc to find out — Kraków, apply by 21 July. mostowylab.com/job-postdoc-...
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Michele Tizzoni @mtizzoni.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
📣 There's an open PhD position in Trento/Florence under my supervision. Contact me if you want to know more!
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Michael Sieber @michaelsieber.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Have ideas for your own, independent research program in Theoretical Biology? Then come and join us as a Group Leader at the @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social in Plön, Germany!
mpg.de
Group Leader in Theoretical Biology (m/f/d)
Experience in Theoretical Biology, Applied Mathematics, Theoretical Physics
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Michael Kearney @ecophys.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I'm looking for a postdoc to work on an Australian Research Council Laureate Project on climate change responses, applying a Julia implementation of the NicheMapR package. The work could go in control theory, DEB theory or population process directions unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/UoM_External...
unimelb.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com
Research Fellow in Biophysical Ecology
Role type: Full Time (1.0 FTE); Fixed term for 2 years Faculty: Faculty of Science Department/ School: School of BioSciences Salary: Level A: $87,266 - $118,416 p.a. plus 17% super ARC-funded climate ...
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Sarah Bagby @scbagby.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Out today in Nature Microbiology: a paper that started in 2021 with an email from @sullivan-lab.bsky.social. Subject line: "Crazy ideas". www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/23
Screenshot of an email header with subject line "Crazy ideas"
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Julie Pfeiffer @jkpfeiff.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Faculty search announcement 2026: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology at UT Southwestern in Dallas. We seek candidates working in microbial pathogenesis (broadly defined). Come join our community! (1/5) www.utsouthwestern.edu/departments/...
Department members sit at a very long table in the hallway eating a pre-Thanksgiving potluck feast.
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Amy D Willis @amydwillis.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I'm hiring a #postdoc 🥳 and applications are open 🤩 Candidates with interests in EITHER statistical methodology or microbial ecology / microbiome are welcome to apply. The position / projects will be tailored to the candidate 🌟📈🎤 Thank you for sharing widely! apply.interfolio.com/188571
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Mallory Harris, PhD @malar0ne.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Our scoping review "Emerging frontiers in infectious disease modelling: reassessing the data-driven feedback loop between human behaviour and disease dynamics" is out now! From a group of epidemiologists, behavioural scientists, & mathematicians. royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Emerging frontiers in infectious disease modelling: reassessing the data-driven feedback loop between human behaviour and disease dynamics
Abstract. Mathematical models have produced important insights into the relationships between disease transmission, risk perception, and human behaviour. H
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Daniel Becker @danjbecker.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
we're hiring for a new research assistant to join our group at OU to manage field studies on migratory and Neotropical bats! please see the linked application on our website: beckerlab.weebly.com/join.html. applications will be reviewed in early August and the position can start in January.
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Our lab website is updated with a new postdoc opening! This is a 2-year, in-person position looking at the relationships between climate change, pandemic risk, and policy choices over the 21st century. Please reach out (not on here)! www.carlsonlab.bio/join
carlsonlab.bio
Opportunities — The Carlson Lab
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Science Magazine @science.org · 22/06/2026
Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. scim.ag/4xY2KCm
science.org
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
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Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
"Algae frequently get a bad press" 🤔 But reflecting further, most of the time they do good work. All about #algae in this excellent primer by John Raven and Mario Gordano www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Algae
Algae are a diverse group of organisms that collectively have important impacts, both positive and negative, on the environment and on human lives.
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Potential postdoc opportunity! We're looking for someone to do Good Work Fast at the interface between zoonotic disease ecology and global climate and land-use projections. Strong skills in statistics and geospatial modeling are the non-negotiable here. In-person in New Haven. More essential info 👉
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
New update from NSF: "Effective immediately, NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance."
nsf.gov
Update on Ocean Observatories Initiative
The U.S. National Science Foundation appreciates the concerns raised by the range of stakeholders that have informed us they rely on data from the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). Effective…
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Short-form video (~8 mins) on threats to science from @evidentmedia.org, an Emmy-winning nonprofit newsroom, featuring takes from @cdelawalla.bsky.social, @drstarbird.bsky.social & me. Ongoing efforts by OMB are another indication of the ongoing existential threats to American leadership in science.
evidentmedia.substack.com
Inside the Collapse of U.S. Science Funding
The Trump administration cut or froze more than $3 billion in approved research grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation in 2025.
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Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) @usocb.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
US GO-SHIP seeks 2 physical and/or biogeochemical oceanographers with hydrographic and cruise-planning experience to serve as Chief Scientist on either the southern (P16S) or central (P16C) leg of the 2027 occupation of the Pacific Ocean meridional line along 150°W. Deadline June 30
usgoship.ucsd.edu
Seeking Chief Scientists for P16S and P16C
Greetings, We are seeking to fill two Chief Scientist positions for the 2027 re-occupation US GO-SHIP (https://usgoship.ucsd.edu and http://www.go-ship.org) P16S and P16C. These are the southern and c...
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Guim Aguadé-Gorgorió @guimaguade.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
What can spatial patterns tell us about tumor growth or dryland ecosystem resilience? Are there bridges and opportunities between these apparently distant disciplines? This wednesday June 17 we'll have the 3rd Session of Eco-Onco Exchange, with @joshuabull.bsky.social and Benoît Pichon !
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Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦 @merz.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Reminder — UW #Microbiology has an open search for an Assistant Professor, focusing on fundamental problems in #bacteriology! If you or someone you know would be suitable, here's the ad: apply.interfolio.com/185622
Screenshot of the job listing linked in full above
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bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Virus-grazer interplay enhances virus production, particle aggregation, and trophic efficiency during infection of Prochlorococcus www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Maryland Department of Health @mdhealthdept.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Dangerous heat and humidity is expected today and tomorrow for much of Maryland with heat indexes near 100°. Check on older relatives and neighbors to ensure they have working AC. If not, help them get to a local cooling center. Access cooling centers: bit.ly/MarylandCoolingCenters.
Dangerous heat and humidity is expected today and tomorrow for much of Maryland with heat indexes near 100°. Check on older relatives and neighbors to ensure they have working AC. If not, help them get to a local cooling center. Access cooling centers: bit.ly/MarylandCoolingCenters.
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Stephen Beckett @beckettstephen.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
LOI deadline June 30 for Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
simonsfoundation.org
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Happy pride 🦇🦠🦟🏳️‍🌈
notice of award for my grant
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Viruses are highly abundant in the oceans, but there is one place you won't typically find them: in global ocean ecosystem models... until now. Introducing "vDarwin", an explicit integration of viruses into the MITgcm/Darwin global ecosystem framework: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... a 🧵
Integration of a model of viral lysis, shunt and shuttle in a large scale ocean circulation model. (A) Schematic of the large scale ocean circulation model (MITgcm): major surface ocean circulation patterns and the schematic of the advection/diffusion are represented. Note that vertical grid spacing increases with depth (i.e., layers become thicker). (B) Simplified ecosystem represented in the study. For simplicity nitrogen remineralization to nitrite and nitrate and mortality fluxes to DOM and POM are not represented. (C) Schematic of the vDarwin ecosystem model integrated in the large scale circulation model. It represents a simplification of the ecosystem presented in (B) assuming that N is the limiting nutrient. It includes the growth of a single phytoplankton type, viral lysis, zooplankton grazing, the viral shunt and shuttle and remineralization (note that remineralizing bacteria are not explicitly represented).
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Vittoria Colizza @vcolizza.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
SUMOC seminar tomorrow by Giulia Pullano (also online)
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Maryland Sea Grant @mdseagrant.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Some of the Chesapeake’s smallest inhabitants are driving big scientific questions. In April, researchers studying aquatic viruses gathered at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology for the second annual meeting of the Chesapeake Aquatic Viral Ecology network: loom.ly/8I1sbp0
A researcher points to a projector screen with presentation slides displayed as she speaks to a group of people seated at tables in a meeting roomA group of researchers pose together on the steps inside the entrance of the Institute of Marine and Environmental TechnologyA group of researchers seated at a table in a meeting room have a discussionResearchers seated at tables in a meeting room watch a presentation and a man with his laptop open asks a question
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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
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Mike Sieracki @msier.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
NSF is closing down most of the Ocean Observatory oceanobservatories.org/2026/05/anno...
oceanobservatories.org
Announcement on NSF OOI Descoping - Ocean Observatories Initiative
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Major Facility. This plan includes the removal of all in-water infrastructure from the Ir...
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Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Amidst everything else going on, today's Tracking Report by the @pandemiccenter.bsky.social finds that the # of measles cases in the US in 2026 has exceeded that of 2025--breaking last year's record for the most measles cases since elimination.
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Writeup of recent Chesapeake Area Viral Ecology meetup held at the Colwell Center in Baltimore, organized by @beckettstephen.bsky.social, Tapan Goel, @juliepourtois.bsky.social + Eric Schott, with 30+ engaged in dialogue on ways to explore viral impacts in a vital regional and national resource.
mdsg.umd.edu
Chesapeake Scientists Build Connections Around Aquatic Viral Ecology
On April 24, 2026, researchers studying aquatic viruses gathered at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology for the second annual meeting of the Chesapeake Aquatic Viral Ecology network.
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The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 08/05/2026
Happy 100th birthday to the living legend and national treasure that is Sir David Attenborough. Few figures alive have done as much for nature and conservation as Sir David, and we've been very lucky to work with him over the years. #DavidAttenborough #Attenborough100 #Nature #PlanetEarth
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The R Foundation @r-foundation.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Today marks 50 years since John Chambers and Rick Becker presented a new project to colleagues at Bell Labs - an interactive environment that became the S language. For more details, see the #RStats blog entry "S at 50": blog.r-project.org/2026/05/05/s...
blog.r-project.org
S at 50 - The R Blog
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Michael Brockhurst @brockhurstlab.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Why does antibiotic resistance evolution vary between patients? Come to @officialuom.bsky.social @mermanchester.bsky.social to help us find out! 2.5 year @wellcometrust.bsky.social postdoc position in experimental evolution Closing 15 May. Apply here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
jobs.manchester.ac.uk
Research Associate in Microbial Evolution:Oxford Road
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Florian Hartig @florianhartig.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Our new review article “Calibration, Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Complex Ecological Models—A Review” now online and freely available in #EcologyLetters dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.... #Ecology #EcologicalModelling #SensitivityAnalysis #UncertaintyQuantification 🌐
dx.doi.org
Calibration, Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Complex Ecological Models—A Review
We provide a unified framework connecting sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis and model inversion or calibration, discuss their complementary roles in understanding and reducing uncertainty in....
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Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP) @scienceimpacts.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Want to learn more about how the SCIMaP team analyzed the data for our recent NIH & NSF FY 2027 White House Budget Proposal Reports? Join us on May 7, 2026, at 12:00 pm for a webinar where you will learn about our analyses and our new interactive maps. Register here: lnkd.in/emjgsTEW
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