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Chris Brown

@bluecology.bsky.social
83 followers 94 following 70 posts

Ecological modelling, fisheries science, biodiversity conservation, climate change, Rstats My webpage: www.seascapemodels.org

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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Andy’s like-for-like comparisons are a refreshing break from all the hype about AI energy use. Yes AI uses a lot of energy but so do a lot of other consumer products we take for granted. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Training AI models doesn't emit that much
If we just make reasonable comparisons instead of crazy ones
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
These two iconic polar species have been driven to endangered status by a warming planet www.cnn.com/2026/04/09/c...
cnn.com
These two iconic polar species have been driven to endangered status by a warming planet | CNN
Emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals have appeared in movies and tv specials. They’re now both on the verge of extinction thanks to changes to their habitats and food supply.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Do AI coding agents actually save scientists time? Maybe sometimes if you are selective about what you usel them for open.substack.com/pub/vitaexma...
open.substack.com
Do AI coding agents save scientists time?
They speed up initial code development, but then tests for errors can add more time. Its still an open question if there is a net benefit
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
New blog post: The dirty secret about stats you were never taught. www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2026-0...
seascapemodels.org
The dirty secret about stats you were never taught – Seascapemodels
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Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
This is super interesting to read because I was very concerned about the water and AI thing so I went to my one scientist friend who literally worked on water reg/quality/usage and asked her about AI, data centers, water etc. She was far more concerned with agriculture abuses than AI.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Starting this collaborative blog was the best decision I’ve made this year. Carla Sbrocchi puts to words the uncomfortable feeling I have and explains how to move forward on the data centre environmental issue open.substack.com/pub/vitaexma...
open.substack.com
Should researchers feel guilty about data centres that power their AI usage?
We have a window now to advocate for environmentally responsible AI development
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Should researchers feel guilty about data centres that power their AI usage? Perspective on environmental impacts of AI led by the thoughtful Carla Sbrocchi @liomys.mx substack.com/home/post/p-...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
One under-appreciated use of LLMs in science is to improve code consistency. We looked at the multivariate distance among #rstats written by LLMs. Less detailed prompts produced code that was more variable in functions and variable names used. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
About to set my first uni assignment of the chatGPT era (have been on fellowship until now). Wish me luck! Tips appreciated too. Its stats and R programming assignment (#rstats) 😬
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Words... Research - 350 Business - 73 Technology - 48 Education - 38 Economy - 31 Resources - 31 Health - 21 Environment - 15 (mostly not *the* environment) Engineering - 8 Mining - 4 Climate - 2 Nature - 1 (not to do with the environment) Biodiversity - 0 Climate Change - 0 Conservation - 0
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Our new study provides guidelines for using LLMs to help with ecological analyses. We support our guidelines with quantitative evaluations of LLM performance. Its important to back up our claims about what AI can and can't do with hard data. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Generative AI can build valid ecosystem models. This is a type of 'AI powered' modelling that is transparent. The black box (an LLM in this case) writes code and equations that predict to new data well and are open to critique from humans. vitaexmachina.substack.com/p/llm-enable...
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Critical look at “AI enhanced scientists” by @liomys.mx open.substack.com/pub/vitaexma...
open.substack.com
AI-enhanced scientists?
AI tools as potential boosters of academic production
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Isabella Velásquez @ivelasq3.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
I rounded up a few Claude Skills for #RStats users. Huge thanks to the creators who developed them. They share Skills for everything from tidyverse code to brand.yml files to learning while using AI. Hope the list is useful, and please let me know what I missed! 🧡 rworks.dev/posts/claude...
rworks.dev
A Few Claude Skills for R Users – R Works
The community has come together to create some great Claude Skills that you can try out today.
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sarah @sarahjohnson.io · 21/08/2025
I was loving Claude Code... until I tried it with #rstats. Constant errors, wouldn't use the tidyverse even when asked, "optimized" functions were slower. Frustrated, I started a session just to teach R to Claude and summarize what it learned into a CLAUDE.md file gist.github.com/sj-io/3828d6...
gist.github.com
Claude R Tidyverse Expert
Claude R Tidyverse Expert. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Prototype app that makes Bayesian stats code from a flow chart: 'Mermaid to Stan'. Vibe coded in 15 minutes. #rstats www.seascapemodels.org/mermaid-to-s... So many new teaching possibilities become available when you can make apps this quickly: vitaexmachina.substack.com/p/do-we-real...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Conservation is turning to markets for funding, but are the funds sufficient to cover the costs of restoring habitats? In our new study we looked at the financial feasibility of blue carbon to support mangrove restoration. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... (DM or email me if you need a copy)
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Mongabay @mongabay.com · 13/01/2026
Can AI really help protect the planet — and the people defending it? A new op-ed warns that while COP30 leaders tout AI’s promise for conservation, ethical risks remain. It argues Indigenous experts must guide AI’s development to reflect their priorities and protections. ** Views are authors'.
news.mongabay.com
AI-centered conservation efforts can only be ethical if Indigenous people help lead them (commentary)
In November, we joined more than 50,000 Indigenous and world leaders, diplomats, scholars and activists at the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Brazil. Some of the most…
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Great article on where over emphasis on publication metrics has led us to
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Substack is the new home for thoughtful writing on the internet, and I'm trying it out. Check out my latest post on coastal habitat restoration substack.com/inbox/post/1... #biodiversity #nature #coastalhabitats #restoration
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
AI generated Santa wish list
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
New post open.substack.com/pub/bluecolo...
open.substack.com
Rethinking ecological predictions and uncertainty
Ecological modelling is a science geared towards predicting change in ecosystems.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
State of the world’s kelp forests study now open access (via Aaron Eger) www.cell.com/one-earth/fu...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Giant kelp is a productivity powerhouse—about 40x more productive than the kelp that’s replaced it on Tasmania’s east coast. Our new study found that if we restore giant kelp it boosts fisheries like abalone and rock lobster 📖 Read more: doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70242
doi.org
Predicting the Impact of Giant Kelp Restoration on Food Webs and Fisheries Production
Ecosystem restoration is gaining momentum as communities and policymakers increasingly appreciate the need to recover lost ecosystem services. However, more knowledge about the potential ecological o....
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Asher Cutter @asherdcutter.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us! eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
eeb.utoronto.ca
Employment - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
How do we monitor fisheries to know if seafood is sustainable? It turns out WHERE we monitor is just as important as HOW MUCH we monitor. We argue the “where” needs to be codified in fisheries policies: Report: www.nature.org/content/dam/... Blog: www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Classic paper titles “This research is important for the conservation and Management of Sharks”: A proposed framework for ensuring that this is actually true
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Andy Masley @andymasley.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
I'd really like to get the "AI water is being hyped up as a problem by the labs because it's so obviously stupid it invalidates AI critics' more serious complaints" people and the "Andy's in the pocket of the labs because he's questioning the AI water issue" people together in the same room
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Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
🧵1/9 There are 35,000+ fish species, but we have formal social-behaviour classifications for a tiny fraction. Most knowledge lives in the experience of researchers, fishers, divers, aquarists, naturalists, and Indigenous communities, but almost none of it is centralised. So we built ShoalBase.org.
shoalbase.org
ShoalBase | Join, Explore, Contribute Now
ShoalBase offers a global database on fish social behaviour, supporting research, conservation, and ecology through community contributions and visual data mapping.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Teaching stats next year, I’m planning to make it interactive - Stats can be more than numbers and R code, Gelman and Vehtari’s book has lots of ideas for interactive classroom stats activities
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
New post on making science infographics with Gemini Pro 3 (Nano Banana), my experiences so far www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
The new Gemini image model (AKA nano banana) is pretty impressive, does very accurate infographics based on web-search, can do basic reasoning, including generating images of code and resulting plots (without running that code the image comes out of the AI) www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
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Francisco Rodriguez-Sanchez @frodsan.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Two years ago we got together in a beautiful mountain to learn and develop #rstats packages for ecology After {labeleR} (ecologyr.github.io/labeleR/) and {BlueCarbon} (ecologyr.github.io/BlueCarbon/), {mappestRisk} is now officially out! See thread by lead author @dario-ssm.bsky.social 👇
Collaborative development of R packages for ecology https://ecologyr.github.io/workshop/
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Disgraceful & tragic what governments have done to this once science powerhouse! www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... "Federal Science Minister...Tim Ayres said the cuts were aimed at refocusing the efforts of the CSIRO towards research priorities, such as critical minerals, iron & steel...in Australia."
abc.net.au
CSIRO to cut up to 350 research jobs in major overhaul
After 440 positions were slashed last year, the CSIRO has announced more staff cuts across the country in a bid to remain financially viable.
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Should I post a pre-print? - a short guide of pros and cons written with my students and collaborators, thanks all www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
seascapemodels.org
Should I post my manuscript to a pre-print server? – Seascapemodels
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Must read paper if you do conservation science "Twenty-five years of misinterpreting the biodiversity hotspot approach" www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Twenty-five years of misinterpreting the biodiversity hotspot approach - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A quarter of a century after its publication, the biodiversity hotspot concept remains one of the most cited and influential frameworks in conservation science. But its real-world impact is poorly doc...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
We had fun with Rstats and genAI at the Centre for Marine Socioecology R workshop the past two days. Sharing these prompting patterns we developed in the workshops, that help an AI agent work through different statistical modelling tasks with a researcher step-by-step. github.com/cbrown5/GLMs...
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Python Software Foundation @python.org · 27/10/2025
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-... 🧵
python.org
The official home of the Python Programming Language
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
How to plot interactive effects from GLMs the easy way #rstats www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Quick web quizzes are easy to DIY now with vibe coding. Love this chartle idea. I’m going to make my own version for my next stats class
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Highlighting a few well informed articles about the environmental impacts of large language models. Maybe not as bad as we've been led to believe by the mass media but definitely still needs consideration: www.seascapemodels.org/posts/2025-1...
seascapemodels.org
Environmental impacts of large language models – Seascapemodels
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
This is an alarming finding from AI company Anthropic. What they mean is: the models guess when they are being tested for ethical decision making, and modify their responses to appear more ethical. So the ethical tests probably underestimate bad behaviour assets.anthropic.com/m/99128ddd00...
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Luis D. Verde Arregoitia @liomys.mx · 27/09/2025
🤖 Big update to the LLMs + R guide > 10 packages added plus other tools and interested reads luisdva.github.io/llmsr-book/ As usual, all the content is available in English and Spanish. #rstats
screenshot of the guide's news section with the following updates:
### Latest updates (September 2025):

#### R packages
- `contextR`, conversational memory for LLM workflows
- `kbretrieveR` for working with AWS Knowledge Bases
- The R Language Analysis Suite (text,talk & topics)
- `LLMR`, a general interface
- `myownrobs`, AI coding agent for RStudio
- `air`, an AI coding helper
- Format and complete few-shot prompts with `promptr`
- LLM-powered chatting in Shiny with `shinychat` and `querychat` 

#### Other tools and extensions  
- Databot, an EDA assistant for Positron
- R instructions for Cursor Users

#### Helpful reads
- ellmer deep dive - Howard Baik
- On hallucinations - Cosima Meyer
- LLM workshop materials from posit::conf 2025
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Sea Change Australia @seachangeaustralia.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
The SA and Federal governments $102.5M Algal Bloom Summer Plan is rolling out, with grants up to $150K, fee relief, and new R&D funding to help fisheries and aquaculture recover and build resilience 🐟 Read more: seachangeaustralia.org/south-austra...
seachangeaustralia.org
South Australian and Federal Governments announce the details of the $102.5 million Algal Bloom Summer Plan
The $102.5 million Algal Bloom Summer Plan delivers targeted relief and long-term recovery for South Australia’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, including grants of up to $150,000, fee relief, and n...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
I made a Connections style app to quiz my students, using genAI to do the code of course. Try it here: www.seascapemodels.org/connections-... Get the code here: github.com/cbrown5/conn...
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Chris Brown @bluecology.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Sheep paddock restored to wetland bringing back fish nursery habitat www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...
abc.net.au
Wildlife returns after Tasmanian sheep paddock restored as wetland
A sheep farmer has welcomed the restoration of an internationally significant wetland on his property outside of Hobart. The collaboration of a non-profit organisation with landowners, scientists, the...
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Australia's much loved wildlife and places sorely need greater care and legal protection. Our latest for @aunz.theconversation.com. theconversation.com/labor-is-clo... With good friends and colleagues, @drphilmccormack.bsky.social & @yungenchee.bsky.social.
theconversation.com
Labor is close to a deal on environmental law reforms. There are troubling signs these will fall short
Labor is close to a deal on its environmental law reforms. Will they strong enough to protect nature?
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... "The government was unlikely to side with the Greens to see the laws passed...Coalition wants to ensure the final say on projects rests with the minister, not the EPA...Senator Watt said it was "unlikely" the government would include a (climate) trigger in the law..."
abc.net.au
Watt nears deal with Coalition to finally overhaul environment laws
Environment Minister Murray Watt will sit down with his Liberal counterpart Angie Bell today, with quiet optimism in both parties that a deal might soon be struck to finally rewrite Australia's "broke...
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Posit @posit.co · 08/10/2025
Announcing Positron Assistant: Your AI co-pilot for data science workflows within #Positron! This AI client brings deep LLM integration for chat & inline code completions. Generate code, refactor, debug, get smart project suggestions, all in your IDE. Learn more: positron.posit.co/assistant.html
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
The new Wiley journal review system is an absolute nightmare. Editorial assistants have been replaced by a clunky, AI-enabled website that makes it harder to find and invite reviewers. Associate editor workloads have increased. I'm not convinced the invitations to reviewers are even going through.
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