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Matthew R. Helmus

@mrhelmus.bsky.social
587 followers 1.1K following 38 posts

Ecology professor | Global citizen | Local agriculture supporter | Father to a prodigy | iecolab.org

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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Be intentional. If you don't work on your core, how will your team ever form? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Chris Klausmeier @chrisklausmeier.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Not sure about others in the lab, but I'm digging Codex to help me with coding. It even interfaces with Mathematica and has read my entire Zotero library, which I've found better than other research agents. Not letting it touch personal data though! What are you thinking about using Hermes for?
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Has anyone tried Hermes Agent in their research, coding, or work in ecology or academia in general? I am looking into it as an opensource version of Claude. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com
hermes-agent.nousresearch.com
Hermes Agent — The Agent That Grows With You
Hermes Agent — a standalone terminal app and a native application for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Install it and start a conversation with the agent that grows with you.
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Ferran Sayol @ferransayol.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
New paper out! 🖨️ Glad to be part of this study, out in Science Advances: "Emergent patterns of island biodiversity in the Anthropocene" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Much of what looks natural in island biodiversity is a legacy of human impacts going back millennia. See main findings 👇🧵 (1/8)
science.org
Emergent patterns of island biodiversity in the Anthropocene
Human impacts substantially affect our ability to detect and understand natural biodiversity patterns.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
How long is too long to keep your automatic "Don't expect anything from me. I'm on sabbatical." email response once you're done sabbatical...I don't want to ever turn mine off...
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
New paper from my graduate student. There is a cool video of an ant tending an invasive spotted lanternfly. First time that has ever been documented. Basically they poop sugar and wasps etc. love them for it. entomologytoday.org/2026/01/21/s...
entomologytoday.org
Sugar Rush: Spotted Lanternfly Honeydew Attracts Variety of Fellow Insects
The invasive spotted lanternfly's copious production of honeydew may rearrange local food webs, with arthropods in at least 35 taxonomic families feeding on it, per a new study.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Just had a great experience with Neobiota! If @neobiota.pensoft.n ever needs reviewers, I am happy to help. Send it my way.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Model tips 1️⃣ Models are stepping stones 2️⃣ Re-use others’ data 3️⃣ Design before you model 4️⃣ Re-using models = 👍 5️⃣ Plan data architecture & access 6️⃣ Share your code 7️⃣ Share more than the code 8️⃣ Use data ontologies 9️⃣ Define good enough 🔟 Know when to retire journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol... #Ecology 🌐
journals.plos.org
Ten quick tips to build a Model Life Cycle
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Stop using MAXENT for invasive niche modeling. Instead embrace mechanisms. Check out this great review on mechanistic niche models for invasives from ‪@erolafenollosa.bsky.social‬ in ‪@ecography.bsky.social‬ 🌐 #ecology #invasivespecies nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
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Brittany Barker @brittanysbarker.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
The invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a threat to multiple agricultural industries. In our new publication at www.mdpi.com/3429276, we present a #model that predicts the seasonal development ( #phenology) of the #SLF in areas that are climatically suitable for #establishment. #ipm #invasivepest
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
We should broaden models, not narrow them. Models are tools to explore uncertainty, communicate scenarios, and test policy. Managers seek robust strategies, not perfect forecasts. What a great paper from @cboettig.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Forecasting #Ecology 🌐
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Jeannine Cavender-Bares @cavenderg9.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
www.forbes.com/sites/johndr... "For every dollar spent [on science], the economy eventually produces an additional $1.71 in output. That return exceeds nearly every other form of public or private investment."
forbes.com
Trump’s NIH And NSF Cuts Estimated To Cost The U.S. Economy $10 Billion Annually
Economists find public R&D drives U.S. productivity growth — and pays for itself
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
So I guess electric vehicles are good for the planet! See this comprehensive life-cycle analyses of gas vs. electric. theicct.org/publication/... study from @a-niche-guy.bsky.social #electricvehicles #environment #transportation #climatechange #greenenergy
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Measuring invasive spread requires distinguishing jump events from diffusion. Check out this #Rstats package that does it! For #spottedlanternfly, diffusive spread is constant, but jump spread is accelerating 🌐 neobiota.pensoft.net/article/1473... @neobiota.pensoft.net #invasivespecies #ecology
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Managing invasive threats across complex landscapes with limited budgets is tough. Check out this is a cool new statistical method to balance ecological, spatial, and economic trade-offs. 🌐 @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social #InvasiveSpecies #Ecology besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
For those who have taken sabbaticals: Did you set up an automatic email reply? I officially started sabbatical July 1, and have already received multiple emails I'd like an automatic response for. Any recommendations on wording? #sabbatical #academic
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Do this first!
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
It's a great feeling when your PhD student submits their first paper!
media.tenor.com
a woman in a red and white striped shirt is throwing papers into the air
ALT: a woman in a red and white striped shirt is throwing papers into the air
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Girls born only a few days apart, but on either side of the starting-primary-school cut off date, have drastically different math scores. Not so for boys. www.nature.com/articles/d41... #education #teaching #stem #math
nature.com
When do girls fall behind in maths? Gigantic study pinpoints the moment
Analysis of almost three million children captures when ‘mathematical gender gap’ first emerges and could help focus efforts to stop girls from falling behind.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
We all know that prairie dogs are keystone species, and they're super cute when they yell and all run away, but did you know that birds also hear their calls and fly away when predators are near. Check out this new paper #ecology 🌐
media.tenor.com
three squirrels are standing on their hind legs on a rocky hillside
ALT: three squirrels are standing on their hind legs on a rocky hillside
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Can I get a Teleconnection?
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me...
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
One Health needs a decisive reboot esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #onehealth #ecology 🌐
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Prof. Vigdis Vandvik @vvandvik.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
And here’s a link to the project page - in #ECOBUDGETS we’ll work with the municipality of Bergen to develop approaches for #climate and #nature budgeting as a tool to halt and reverse nature loss #cbd #kmgbf www.uib.no/en/cet/17331...
uib.no
ECOBUDGETS
ECOBUDGETS helps municipalities and regional authorities make more sustainable decisions, by integrating budgets for emissions reductions and land use change into financial and other forms of administ...
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Here's that awesome study everyone is talking about on how hummingbird beaks have evolved to better use hummingbird feeders 🕊️🐦🌐 #ecology
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Yes, a few #spottedlanternfly have been spotted in Oregon, and if you want to help with the search for this highly invasive grape pest, check out this risk mapping apps we built iecolab.org/slfDashboard... #ecology
iecolab.org
SLF pestHubMap Dashboard
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Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
For scientific writers: Three things your Methods section shouldn't be - but three things Methods sections often end up being. You can avoid these mistakes! scientistseessquirre...
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
What your Methods section isn’t
If you’re a scientist like me, you read a lot of papers – and a lot of submitted manuscripts, drafts, and other larval stages of papers.* This is extremely helpful when it’s time to write your own …
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Is your student--or are you--looking for a PhD position? Check out this website that lists tons from across the globe. www.findaphd.com/phds/
findaphd.com
PhD Search
FindAPhD. Search Funded PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships. Search for PhD funding, scholarships & studentships in the UK, Europe and around the world.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
All environmental problems are social problems. A stepwise process for actionable environmental science research esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ecology
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Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I've started a website with simple graphs tracking how the US economy is doing in terms of unemployment, economic sentiment, and inflation. It will be updated monthly as new data come in. Feedback is welcome! #EconSky usbarometer.com
usbarometer.com
US Economy Barometer
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Andy Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ revkin.substack.com @revkin.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Jet lagged in Greece at 3:30 am, catching this: Under assault from Trump and MAGA, weather and climate scientists are livestreaming for 100 hours nonstop www.youtube.com/live/CcWR6Cd... #sciencematters
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
One of my greatest joys during the day is to see how many random tasks can I finish during those 10 min gaps between meetings. #academiclife
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Let's make conservation like personalized medicine and targeted advertising... The good not the bad.
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Did you not sample enough or are you just dense? Use this bayesian sequential test while you're sampling your population. It is great for pest management and rare species detection. @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #ecology
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Check out this great new set of tools for ecophylogenetics #ecology
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
A global synthesis finds agroforestry boosts ecosystem services & biodiversity without hurting productivity. Most indicators go up. Almost none go down. Agroforestry is multifunctional farming for a changing world. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #conservation #ecology #oilpalm #forest
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Bluesky is like what academic Twitter used to be!
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Bookshelfie ⭐️ @bookshelfie.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
#booksky
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Amanda Taylor 🇳🇿 🇳🇱 @amandataylor.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
We are hiring 2 PhD candidates working on resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across landscapes. Daily supervision by myself, @dominic-martin.bsky.social @iris-hordijk.bsky.social @lucianachr.bsky.social and Merel Hofmeijer. Details & application here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
wur.nl
PhD position - Resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across landscapes
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Postdoc at the intersection of biodiversity and at Cambridge!
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Matthew R. Helmus @mrhelmus.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Just had an inspiring time at the 2025 Ecological Forecasting Initiative Conference. So many great ideas and new ways of thinking. ‬ This pic is from outside the venue on the beautiful landscape of the Virginia Tech campus... and this is my first blue sky post! @ecoforecast.bsky.social
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