Sign in

Simon Heyes

@simondheyes.bsky.social
1.6K followers 608 following 294 posts

Rare plants | drought and climate change | soil specialist plants | grassy ecosystems PhD student @ La Trobe, Australia He/Him Fedi: ecoevo.social/@SimonDHeyes Blog: sdheyes.wixsite.com/ecologyblog

PostsRepliesMedia
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New paper by fellow PhD student Mark Clifton @ the Plant Reproductive Ecology & Conservation Genomics Lab! This study investigates polyploidy and hybridisation in endangered, clonal Callistemon species from Victoria, Aus. doi.org/10.1071/BT25... 🌏 🌿 🧪
doi.org
Polyploidy arises independently of hybrid status in clonal narrow-range endemic Callistemon from East Gippsland, Victoria
Three threatened narrow-range Callistemon species from East Gippsland are highly clonal, but differ in their evolutionary origins. Previous genomic studies
181
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Andy Fleming @slackbastard.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
1/ Given recent attacks on Camp Sovereignty & the fact that a little rich kid racist is assembling the troops agen this Sunday, it'd neat if lots of people attended this I reckon. 2–8pm Camp Sovereignty · Naarm Free concert + delicious food
Camp Sovereignty presents Rock Against Racism.
18955
Reposted by Simon Heyes
juli g pausas @jgpausas.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Fires beyond fire-prone ecosystems: the erosion of beech forest doi.org/10.1111/gcb.... @globalchangebio.bsky.social Global warming weakens the flammability barrier & enables fire to spread beyond fire-prone ecosystems, into fire-sensitive spp 🧪🌍🔥🪴🌱🍁🌐 wildfire #ClimateChange #GlobalChange #Fagus
Effect of the 2025 Barniedo fire (Picos de Europa, León, Spain) on the beech forest (Fagus sylvatica). The figure shows the area (in ha) of pure beech forest affected by fire in relation to the remotely sensed fire severity (x-axis; RBR: Relativized Burn Ratio). Inset: The same data in cumulative area; horizontal lines are the 1/3 and 2/3 of the total beech forest within the fire (714 ha).Photo of dead beech trees 10 months after an understory fire. In this site, the fire was of low intensity but of high severity, as it killed all beech trees. Note the effect of the heat of the fire on the bark.
02010
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This article is excellent. It speaks volumes about how governments take so many in the environmental and conservation sectors and communities for granted theconversation.com/australia-ha.... As H5N1 begins to spread and devastate Australian wildlife the dire consequences of this are evident.
theconversation.com
Australia has long relied on volunteers and wildlife carers. As bird flu spreads, they will need support
Volunteers have been a mainstay of conservation in Australia. As bird flu spreads, they must be supported – and kept safe.
29544
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
1/ A lil🧵collecting the illuminating public interest reporting of Pauline Hanson nemesis—"trashy journo" Sarah Martin Rinehart puppet, "Pauline Hanson & her chief of staff, James Ashby, flew to Florida on Gina Rinehart’s private jet in October & stayed at the mining magnate’s Palm Beach mansion"
theguardian.com
Pauline Hanson travelled to US on Gina Rinehart’s private jet to attend CPAC
Exclusive: One Nation senator travelled on mining magnate’s Gulfstream 700 in October and stayed at Rinehart’s US$66m Palm Beach mansion
14205104
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Help shape the future of BHL 🌱 As we begin to modernise the BHL platform, we’re inviting BHL users to share their experiences through a 3–5 minute survey. Your responses will directly inform our priorities, identify problems, guide improvements, and shape a better BHL experience: bit.ly/4fpc75D 🧪
bit.ly
BHL User Experience
BHL is beginning a major modernisation of its platform. We’d like users to help shape what comes next. This 3–5 minute survey asks about how you use BHL and the improvements you’d like to see. Your r...
01915
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Two well needed hikes exploring Mt Langi Ghiran an imposing granite inselberg with its breathtaking views and diverse wildflowers.
242
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Just published. A correspondence in @nature.com from Dr Marissa Parrott and I about the risk that the H5N1 strain of bird flu poses to Australian wildlife, including mammals, and the need for all of us to work together! rdcu.be/ftIkt
rdcu.be
Bird flu H5N1 in Australia: protect Australian species from bird flu virus | Nature
Letter to the Editor
77328
Reposted by Simon Heyes
juli g pausas @jgpausas.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Now in summer, we can confirm that a large part of the beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests that burned in low‑intensity understory fires have died. This constitutes a clear case of a low‑intensity, high‑severity fire (I had expected bsky.app/profile/jgpa...) 🧪🌍🔥🌳🍁🪴 wildfires Picos de Europa, N Spain
A mosaic of patches of beech forests that survived the fire (in green), and patches that did not (in brown).
34016
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Belinda Medlyn @bmedlyn.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I am hiring! My former postdocs have all gone on to great ongoing roles, so I am now looking for 2 new postdocs in dynamic vegetation modelling: Modelling vegetation-fire interactions in Australia Modelling Australian vegetation distributions Details linked below - please share!
23547
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Yen @botanybyyen.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Its been a while! March was extremely hectic between working on submitting a manuscript for review, giving talks and general Masters work. Have a photo of some Grevillea pollen from the archives (Grevillea jephcottii, taken in 2022). The centre pollen grain is showing pollen tube growth!
A microscopy photo taken under brightfield of several Grevillea pollen. The pollen is fat and triangular, with each tip bearing a rounded protrusion. A pollen grain in the centre has a gelatenous-looking tube extending out of one of the bulbus tips. This is a pollen tube.
022
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
After decades of environmental and biodiversity failure, the idea of relying on "nature markets" is just the latest sick joke from the neoliberals who brought us the destructive privatization of public services. #auspol
21712
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Very depressing results for my home town in the UK with Reform winning 24 out of 25 local council seats.
000
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 02/05/2026
The mainstream media and parties in this country has almost entirely given up any pretence that they are here to serve democracy Some may think I'm helping fuelling the growing distrust in institutions but they don't need my help to pave the way for the far right to take over Utterly grim...
36815
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Dana Bergstrom @danambergstrom.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Been playing with an eye opening website from the Australian #Greens, new tax the 1% campaign. It calculates how many hours it takes Gina or other billionaires to earn your annual salary. 2.9 hr to earn the Australian median salary of $73k 😮😡 www.taxthe1percent.com.au
taxthe1percent.com.au
Tax the 1% | Australian Greens
Things are hard right now, but not for everyone. Use our brand new tool to compare your income and tax to Australia's billionaires and big corporations to see for yourself how rigged the system is, an...
01914
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Dana Bergstrom @danambergstrom.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
At the same time the most immediate risk is a 25% chance of a super El Niño. Think heatwaves, think fire, think crop failure, think mouse plague ( oh we already have that in WA). Think only 7 months prep time. Would you catch a plane with a 25% chance of crashing ? 11/
media.tenor.com
a painting of a burning forest with a tree in the middle
Alt: a burning forest
1197
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
🎉🆕📰🎉: Sexually deceptive orchids with distinct flower morphologies elicit different behaviours from a shared pollinator doi.org/10.1093/aob/... #PlantScience
doi.org
Validate User
072
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Cam Walker @camwalker.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
'Scientists have issued a dire warning that the widespread death of key eucalypt species in Australian ecosystems could be imminent, due to global heating. Scientists gathered at the Snow Gum Summit last week to discuss combating the loss of an iconic tree'. www.melbournefoe.org.au/media_releas...
melbournefoe.org.au
MEDIA RELEASE: Snow Gum Summit 2026.
Scientists warn climate change threatens ecosystems and water security at Snow Gum Summit: The Next Ascent (2026).
28058
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
🚨 New blog post estar: An R package to measure ecological stability🌍 Find out more about the estar package, which helps researchers analyse stability using the data they collect from real world systems 👇️ 🔎
buff.ly
estar: An R package to measure ecological stability
Post provided by Ludmilla Figueiredo Nature is very dynamic: forests transform through the seasons and regrow after fire, insect plagues happen with little to no forewarning, and animals like the F…
0173
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
New virtual issue in AJB 🌿All Functional Trait Handbooks, from the landmark Cornelissen et al. (2003) to the latest on reproductive traits, are now collected in one place. 20+ years of protocols for measuring plant traits across species, ecosystems & continents. All free to read. 🔗 buff.ly/zXlFjQx
03221
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Mae Mercado @maemercado.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Probably a reach here but I'm looking for someone (early career maybe) who would be willing to mentor me as I navigate the post-PhD life. I feel lost on a lot of things and would be grateful to bounce ideas and experiences with someone who's been through a couple of years post-PhD. 😭
276
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
There's not too many upsides to getting up at 4am to measure plant traits but the sun rises aren't too shabby
An early morning sunrise with a few scattered clouds and the the light of the sun at the bottom of the image.
040
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I've been thinking about how Starmer and the Labour Together purge of the left in the party has done the opposite of what they intended. Instead of crushing the left they have liberated it from the shackles of the Labour Party. Fingers crossed for Hannah Spencer in Manchester 🤞
073
Reposted by Simon Heyes
The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 18/02/2026
X’s algorithms are not neutral tools, but an editorial force, shaping real worldviews. And unlike much of what you read on X, this finding is based on rigorous research. 👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/a-few-w...
12412
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Juan Pablo Alperin @juancommander.scholcommlab.ca · 13/08/2025
Yup. But not just because of AI. Scholar is the pet project of one of Google's early employees. I can't see it surviving his retirement. OpenAlex is our best alternative, we need to invest in improving their data.
2994
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Yen @botanybyyen.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Tomorrow I'll be presenting at #VicBioCon! I've got a speed talk in Plants and Pollinators 1 (at 11:45am) and have a poster that evening at 5pm. Come say hi and ask me about my Acacias! 😊
063
Reposted by Simon Heyes
jacobpmoore.bsky.social @jacobpmoore.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Acacia paradoxa has a broad SE Australian distribution, occurs across starkly different habitats, and has remarkably variable morphology. Here is a photo snapshot of some of the diversity captured during my honours field work. #InvasionEcology #Botany #AustralianBotany #Acacia #PopulationGenomics
1101
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I am simultaneously excited that there is so much to learn about the natural world and also frustrated that I don't have all the answers now. Two galls I'm seeing and here and there is nothing about them in the literature. Eremophila leaf galls and these spongy Banksia galls demand answers
Juicy purple green leaf galls in Eremophila deserti near Melbourne, AustraliaThese weird brown spongy galls appear to affect the follicles of Banksia marginata in western Victoria, Australia.
141
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Here's some impressive Mesostoa kerri galls on silver Banksia. Because we can roughly date Banksia with node counts we can tell that this Banksia has been infested for several years and because Banksia retain cones for years we also know this individual has not successfully produced any fruit.
Large swollen stem galls. These are usually packed will larvae of this host specific waspHere are several years of galls. They form on the newest growth and Banksia can be dated with node counts so we get a good idea of how long they've had this colony of gall waspsThese are previous years galls that are filled with exit holes
151
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Welcome and follow these two reprobates @em-stevenson.bsky.social and @jacobpmoore.bsky.social who are working on vry cool and interesting stuff @ La Trobe Uni. Emily is looking at high temperature threshold's for pollen viability and Jacob is working on the cryptic invasion of a common Acacia.
230
Reposted by Simon Heyes
🌴 Scott Zona, Ph.D. 🌴 @scottzona.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Australia’s Banksia has fruits that are serotinous, opening after fire. Wildfires clear competing vegetation + deposit nutrients in the soil = good conditions for seedling establishment. 📷: Banksia ornata by davidsando CCBYNC4. #Proteaceae #serotiny #Botany 🌾🧪🌱
Photo of a scorched landscape and blackened, leafless branches bearing cone-like clusters of capsules. Many capsules are open and gaping.
48918
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Dana Bergstrom @danambergstrom.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I want a Royal Commission into masculinity and domestic violence - such language, so easy to slip off the tongue, is so utterly unacceptable and unparliamentary. It shows an inherent, deep misogyny, that’s underwrites so much of what in wrong with Australia.
1357
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Theo Sanderson @theo.io · 08/02/2026
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself! bluesky-map.theo.io I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
bluesky-map.theo.io
Bluesky Map
Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.
66572502154
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Gregor Kalinkat @gkalinkat.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
“In the race to embrace new technologies, some ecologists fear their field is losing touch with nature” 🧪
1154
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Nice surprise to find these Drosera pygmaea and still some other annuals in flower in a grassland in January!
Tiny annual sundews with red leaves bejeweled with sticky hairs to catch and digest insects. These plants are smaller than the fingernail of your little fingerSmall red sundews sit between the tussocks of grasses in a small seasonal groundwater soak. Other native annual plants hold on despite the heat and dry weather
020
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Ilaine S. Matos @ilainematos.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Fully funded PhD opportunity in my lab to study threatened plant species responses to drought and heat. This is part of mu recently funded DECRA fellowship.
01917
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Prof Ros Gleadow FAA 💙💚 @rgleadow.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Level B lecturer position in Environmental Botany (plant ecology and plant physiology), School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin Uni, Burwood (Melbourne) #BotanyJobs #PlantSciJobs #PlantEcology 🌾🪴🌿🌱🧪 Please repost Applications due 18th January. careers.pageuppeople.com/949/cw/en/jo...
careers.pageuppeople.com
Careers
02431
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Aidan Robbins has been making videos on temperate rainforests all over the world, but says Ireland's were the hardest to cover because they are now so rare. Great to see these precious, neglected ecosystems getting some global attention. They deserve so much better. m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qq9...
m.youtube.com
Ireland's Invisible Rainforest
YouTube video by Aidin Robbins
518656
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
The Jewish Council of Australia want to unite with the broader community to combat antisemitism as part of racism overall. Please read their proposal and sign here: petitions.getup.org.au/petitions/fr... @getup.org.au
petitions.getup.org.au
ADD YOUR NAME ✍️ We will not be divided after Bondi
On Sunday at Bondi we witnessed the appalling consequences of hatred and how it breeds radicalisation and violence. But as the Jewish community and the whole country grieved, some politicians went on ...
032
Reposted by Simon Heyes
juli g pausas @jgpausas.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
To remember William Bond, you could listen to his powerful talk on behalf of grasses! It is a seminal lesson in savanna ecology. Personally, I also find it nice to hear his voice. jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2021/02/21/a... 🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience #savanna
25518
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Beck is Difficult @beckjoinyourunion.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Australia is not like this. Those two horrible guys and the creeps who poisoned their minds are like this. The vast majority want to go to Hanukkah, or Christmas, or Diwali , or just a picnic with the family or a public screening of a movie, without violence. Community. That’s who we are. #auspol xx
3184
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Journal of Ecology @journalofecology.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
🌱Angela also sat down with our Executive Editor Richard Bardgett to talk about how she went from seed science to applied ecology, and falling into a career in academia 🎧Listen to the podcast here: buff.ly/2augoKE
open.spotify.com
Eminent Ecologist 2025: Angela Moles | Lessons in starting out as an ecologist
British Ecological Society · Episode
085
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Ilaine S. Matos @ilainematos.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Growing old and tolerant? How Eucalypts and Acacias traits vary across life-stages. Come see my poster and talk at ESA 2025 conference. Monday, Nov 24 5:44 PM Tuesday, Nov 25 3:00 PM #ESA2025 #EcologicalSocietyOfAustralia #EcologyAustralia #BiodiversityOnTheBrink #KaurnaCountry #Adelaide
1253
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Yen @botanybyyen.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
#Styphelia ericoides (Ericaceae), aka the pink beard heath! This is a widespread shrub to 2m high that has typical beard-heath flowers: tubular and densly hairy (bearded) on the inside. The flowers are very small (1-1.5mm long), creamy-white with pink tips. #plants #photography
A white flower with 5 pink-tipped petals looking like a star, the insides of which are covered in dense white hairs. A branch of developing flowers (almost bullet-shaped, they're long and pointed at the tip and are white and pink) and deep green leaves on a hairy brown stem.
061
Simon Heyes @simondheyes.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
I've spent the last few weekends at an incredibly diverse grassland here in central Victoria looking at species richness in the long absence of fire (probably 20 yrs in some cases). It's a cracking grassland with a wonderful diversity of annuals we don't usually see anymore 🌱🌏
Grassland in the foreground with purple flowered chocolate lilies and trees and shrubs in the background Large spreading tree in a grassland. The tree is a very large and old male dropping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata)My hand holding a small annual (Aphelia pumilio) while we're surveying some permanent plotsA volunteer holding an annual (Centrolepis strigosa) as we're wrapping up one of our last plots for the day
282
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Luiza Aparecido @luiza-aparecido.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Check out our new pub led by lab postdoc, Dr. Brad Posch! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
0126
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Prof Ros Gleadow FAA 💙💚 @rgleadow.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
#AusPol
032
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
I'm so very proud of Niger Sultana and the first chapter of her PhD thesis!!! She had so many challenges and came through them all with flying colours. With @loraxcate.bsky.social @azhar06.bsky.social et al. in @botsocamerica.bsky.social bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Testing key tenets of pyro‐ecophysiology: Indicators of drought response in relation to shoot flammability
Premise Relationships between flammability and drought tolerance influence vegetation dynamics during fires. A goal of the emerging subdiscipline of pyro-ecophysiology is to identify ecophysiologica.....
2319
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Pyro-ecophysiology of 11 woody Karst species: Leaf flammability analysis reveals fire-safe species for green firebreaks development www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Pyro-ecophysiology of 11 woody Karst species: Leaf flammability analysis reveals fire-safe species for green firebreaks development
Climate change is intensifying wildfire frequency and severity in Mediterranean ecosystems, creating urgent needs for effective fire management strate…
093
Reposted by Simon Heyes
Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 18/10/2025
Amazing to see so many people protest against Trump and the rise of fascism What will be crucial though will be to avoid exceptionalising him and understand what has created a fertile soil for these politics There can be no return to the "normal" that paved the way for the far right
17318