Sign in

Paul Selmants

@biogeocycle.net
1.2K followers 469 following 273 posts

Ecosystem scientist, bike nerd, transit fan. Research on forests, carbon and climate change. Opinions my own. 📍San Francisco, CA www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/paul-c-…

PostsRepliesMedia
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 24/09/2026
An excellent guide to starting a new Diamond open access journal, also provides existing society journals with an alternative to contracts with big for-profit publishers.
010
Reposted by Paul Selmants
PLOS @plos.org · 08/09/2026
The first articles have now been published in our new journal, PLOS Ecosystems. These papers bring together open research from multiple disciplines to address the challenges facing our terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Read the first articles: buff.ly/8rsP0Z3
PLOS Ecosystems banner announcing "First articles now published" and urging readers to "Read the first papers," set over a split underwater coral and shoreline photo to promote multidisciplinary ecosystem research.
01112
Reposted by Paul Selmants
GrumpyUncleSean🔥 @grumpyunclesean.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
1/4 Fast fires don’t just burn more area. They can also change what comes back afterward. In a new Science Advances paper led by @coopecology.bsky.social, we looked at how rapid wildfire spread relates to burn severity and postfire forest recovery across western and boreal North America.
doi.org
Faster, bigger, more severe: Extreme wildfire spread sets the stage for forest ecosystem change in western and boreal North America
A relatively small number of rapidly spreading wildfire events burn disproportionately large areas. But beyond area burned, do fast fires produce distinct postfire ecological outcomes? Here, we measur...
13712
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Jeff Dukes @dukesjeff.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I'm looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join my group at Carnegie Science, now based at Caltech in Pasadena. If you're interested in land-atmosphere interactions and how they're influenced on small scales by microclimates, please take a look at the ad! apply.interfolio.com/190703
Jeff Dukes, on his hands and knees under a thick canopy of chamise chaparral at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, smiles down at a camera on the ground below him after installing a microclimate sensor.
13927
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 30/07/2026
Wait, how come the limit on his gov travel card isn’t set to $1 like mine is?
010
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Rob @robertferry.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Getting panels on your roof? Check your solar quote against this vast database to see how competitive it really is.
solarquotecheckup.com
Solar Quote Checker — Independent Solar Proposal Review
Check a solar proposal before signing. Compare its price, production assumptions, equipment, warranties, financing, and missing terms without installer sales calls or lead resale.
033
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 24/07/2026
I know, right? Everyone knows he’s Dr. Full of Assumptions.
090
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Loukas Theodosiou @bioinformatician.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
After four years, several updates and a handful of CRAN releases, 𝗹𝘁𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗥-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲, reached a version I feel genuinely good about sharing with the community. github.com/loukesio/ltc...
216940
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Jeff Dukes @dukesjeff.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Just published this new paper, with a bunch of fantastic colleagues, with many suggestions for "Improving the representation of plant water stress and water use in Earth System Models." Access is free online. We have some great figures, thanks to Victor Leshyk. 🧪🌐🌳🌎
04416
Reposted by Paul Selmants
simonrobjones.bsky.social @simonrobjones.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Why do some plants open their stomata at high temperatures? Our new paper shows that this behaviour is optimal, and a crucial thermoregulation strategy. 🍃 However, this only emerges when the leaf energy balance is fully integrated in the optimisation. This is missing from global models at present!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Stomatal Decoupling From Photosynthesis Under High Temperatures Is Consistent With Stomatal Optimisation
Many leaf gas exchange models predict that photosynthesis and stomatal conductance are tightly coupled and respond in parallel to changing environmental conditions. However, experiments show that whe...
11910
Reposted by Paul Selmants
PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 16/06/2026
Predicting how #ecosystems respond to change is hard, in part due to differing scales of ecological and biogeographical data. This Essay by Nuria Galiani and @miguelbaraujo.bsky.social explores how new large-scale eco data opens insights into the shaping of #biodiversity🧪#AcademicSky bit.ly/43y4KDk
Diagram depicting the feedback relationships between environmental processes, environmental patterns, biotic interactions lead to biogeographical patterns, using the distributions of lizards in genus Liolaemus in South America as an example.
033
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 12/06/2026
Nice win, they showed real grit coming back like that.
000
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 06/06/2026
Oof, yeah - “pitch” was poor word choice on my part. I was hoping for more of a discussion.
000
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 05/06/2026
I’m down, got a podcast topic & an expert guest to pitch (not me).
100
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 03/06/2026
But then we wouldn’t click on them. At least I wouldn’t.
000
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Danny Cullenward @ghgpolicy.org · 30/05/2026
If you live in California and haven't decided how to vote, please indulge me as I share why I voted for Tom Steyer. I'll share some more pragmatic thoughts below, but to be honest the the thing I keep coming back to is that he was endorsed by the best candidate in the race, Betty Yee.
24219
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Vallery Lancey @isthelaststop.com · 30/05/2026
CARB has been a repeat villain in quiet wonky policy choices that actually have big consequences for pollution and getting things done in California. Two prior examples: - Dis-incentivizing electric trolly-buses - Pushing hydrogen/battery train incentives (a scam) over proven electrified trains
610728
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 28/05/2026
Glad someone is trying to redefine the current hellscape of scientific publishing …
000
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Leah Stokes @leahstokes.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
California could kill one of its biggest clean energy successes. More than 200,000 households are part of the Demand Side Grid Support program — the world's largest distributed power plant. It's on the chopping block. My latest in @sfchronicle.com. Gift link! www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
sfchronicle.com
California shouldn’t abandon a proven way to cut rising energy costs
OPINION: The Demand Side Grid Support Program could save Californians up to $206 million on their electricity bills — unless the state stops funding it, Leah C. Stokes writes.
410541
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 23/05/2026
Following @tressiemcphd.bsky.social now cuz of this calm evisceration of white lefties “concerned” about declining US birth rates.
021
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Global Dendrometer Network @globaldendro.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Hello world! This is the Global Dendrometer Network 🌍. We have been founded by the growing community of researchers and practitioners working with high-resolution tree diameter measurements: from microscopic movements to forest-scale insights. 🌳 Join our mailing list here: forms.gle/ETPuNVCH7x89...
forms.gle
Global Dendrometer Network Mailing List
Please fill out this form if you wish to be added to a mailing list regarding the Global Dendrometer Network. By signing up, this does not commit you to anything other than receiving updates about fut...
0138
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Matthew Hurteau @mhurteau.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I am hiring a new postdoc to work on an ecosystem modeling project with colleagues in hydrology, computer science, and the social sciences, including @mojisadegh.bsky.social If you want to do impactful work to understand the forest-water relationship, apply: www.hurteaulab.org/blog/ecosyst...
hurteaulab.org
Ecosystem modeling postdoc
The Earth Systems Ecology Lab ( www.hurteaulab.org ) at the University of New Mexico is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher with a strong background in ecosystem modeling or spatial data analysis to....
03336
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Max M. @ambystomax.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Solid and accurate reporting on our current situation.
21011
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 26/03/2026
Srsly. That journo either didn’t do their homework (“nonprofit Breakthrough Inst. in Berkeley” doesn’t sound like what it is) or went hunting for a spicy contrarian quote from a “liberal” source and found one.
000
Reposted by Paul Selmants
rrmutt @rrmutt.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/03/2026
Bay Area peeps: tonight they relight the Bay Lights!
Event poster reading 

Celebrate of the return of The Bay Lights!
LITE UP
THE NITE
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026 • 6pm - 9pm • FREE
Walk between the sculptures, Corpus at Pier 14 and Atabey's Treasure at Brannan Street Wharf.
Wear your lights, bring your people, and celebrate the return of The Bay Lights with music and family activities.
FREE RSVP: luma.com/baylightsreturns
WEAR YOUR LIGHTS • COUNTDOWN AT SUNDOWN
1611
Reposted by Paul Selmants
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
This should be the biggest weather and climate news on your radar today. You can send an email today to say why dismantling NCAR is a bad idea for everyone: NSF_NCAR@nsf.gov
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Readies Plans to Dismantle Renowned Science Lab
181307865
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Noah Arroyo @noaharroyo.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Let me take you back to the U.N. Plaza in early 2025: The city broke its own rules to remove a handful of trees, then sought and abandoned an effort to fine itself for the infraction. www.tlvoice.org/tenderloin-t...
tlvoice.org
Attempt to save three trees shows limits of public’s power
The city broke its own rules. Now it wants to change them.
063
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 04/03/2026
Sticker on electrical junction box, Caltrain station, Mountain View, CA
Sticker showing a frog with a whistle around its neck and the words Chinga la Migra in large letters
042
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 27/02/2026
WHAT ARE THOSE?? Can’t wait, googling furiously …
110
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 24/02/2026
1. Kevin Gross and I have a new paper out today PLOS Biology. We used economic models based around screening games and the market for unpaid labor to highlight a meltdown cycle threatening peer review.
journals.plos.org
Screening, sorting, and the feedback cycles that imperil peer review
The process of peer review is vital to contemporary science, but is also under enormous strain. This study uses mathematical models to dissect the threats to the long-term viability of peer review, su...
7324131
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 22/02/2026
Men’s room, Zeitgeist, SF
bar bathroom walls covered in graffiti
020
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 16/02/2026
Yes! 👇
000
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 07/02/2026
Slightly, yeah - but their profit margins are still obscene.
000
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 07/02/2026
We need to convince society journals to use independent, non-profit publishing platforms.
000
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 07/02/2026
Other societies I belong to publish with Wiley (Ecological Society of America, American Geophysical Union). Not quite as bad as throwing money at Elsevier but still harmful to science, scientists, and universities.
210
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 30/01/2026
I work at Moffett Field, a former Naval air base ~5 miles from the site of Super Bowl 60. We’ve been advised to work from home next week because DHS is using Moffett to fly in & “stage equipment”. Not sure if ya’ll already knew this, but sounds like they’re gonna show up in force on game day.
032
Reposted by Paul Selmants
biometlab @biometlab.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
eos.org/opinions/wha...
eos.org
What Americans Lose If Their National Center for Atmospheric Research Is Dismantled - Eos
Five ways dismantling NCAR will cost the American people, and two ways to save it.
15153562595
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 27/01/2026
10,000! That’s the answer - 10,000 STEM PhDs have been lost from federal service.
040
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Reed Maxwell @reedh2o.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
New work from our team: we mapped water table depth at 30-meter resolution across the entire continental US. That's ~8 billion grid cells, trained on over 1 million well observations. Highest-resolution estimate to date.
Map of water table depth across the continental United States at 30-meter resolution, with inset panels showing detail at 100km, 10km, and 1km scales in both eastern and western US locations. Color scale shows depth from shallow (blue) to deep (yellow) on a log scale.
1214
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 12/01/2026
There are good things happening the world. This is one of them.
021
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 21/12/2025
Neither is time, so …
020
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Dr. Joan Dudney @dudney-joan.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Please repost! The LOC Lab @UCSB is recruiting a #PostdoctoralScholar in forest ecology and data science to develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐 Applications due Feb 5 Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
15753
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 13/12/2025
It’s a sunny day, the gang’s all here …
Four figurines representing characters from the 1960s TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. From left to right: Yukon Cornelius (prospector), Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster (Yeti), Hermey (Elf, wannabe dentist), Rudolph (red-nosed reindeer).
250
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · 08/12/2025
Grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her $38 million gift ... the largest in UC Merced's history, surpassing even her own record-setting donation to our campus in 2021. She continues to be one of the few doing billionairing right. news.ucmerced.edu/news/2025/uc...
news.ucmerced.edu
UC Merced Receives Transformational $38 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott | Newsroom
1236
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 28/11/2025
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you’ve seen in the wild: Moose Black bear Green sea turtle Sea otter Hammerhead shark
241
Reposted by Paul Selmants
Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
One could write a similar piece substituting “source” with “access”…
255
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 15/11/2025
Yeah, more fuel for @sevier.io‘s fire:
0184
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 14/11/2025
And you’re not alone - there are so many of us poorer, happier, funnier than Musk bros.
020
Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 12/11/2025
OK, looks like I can go back to work tomorrow. Also, whoever wrote the text for this email violated the Hatch Act.
Email from Dept of Interior telling employees the “Democratic shutdown” is nearly over.
050