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tomjwebb

@tomjwebb.bsky.social
3.4K followers 320 following 1.5K posts

Professional marine biodiversity data scientist and academic @sheffielduni.bsky.social. Amateur dad, musician, natural historian, cricketer, kayaker, gardener, cook, haver of opinions.

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Reposted by tomjwebb
OBIS @obis.org · 11h
🏆 OBIS Species Distribution Models are among the 4 winners of the @gbif.org 2026 Ebbe Nielsen Challenge! Built on contributions from the OBIS Community, the Species Distribution Models map current & future distributions of 12,000+ marine species in 🇪🇺 waters. Try the tool shiny.obis.org/distmaps/
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GBIF @gbif.org · 12h
🎊 Congratulations to the four winners of the 2026 Ebbe Nielsen Challenge! 🏆 BioRisk AI (Argentina) 🏆 OBIS Species Distribution Models (SDMs) (Belgium) OBIS 🏆bioReportR (Canada) 🏆georeference.it (Portugal) Read about the ENC winning projects: 🔗gbif.link/ENC-2026-w...
A collage of the four ENC winning teams
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 15h
Top quote from Martin Johnson: "…it used to annoy me a bit … most things annoyed me a bit, really" You'd never have known it from looking at him would you? www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...
theguardian.com
England can take vital lessons from worst defeats into Rugby World Cup, says Johnson
Martin Johnson believes England’s most painful defeats under Steve Borthwick can benefit them at the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 16h
@wcmb2026.bsky.social Do you know approximately what time the conference will be ending on Friday 20th? Looks like there's just a closing plenary after lunch? I'm just trying to sort travel arrangements.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 16h
I thought now I'm in my 50s I might be through getting completely undermined by those more senior than me. But no, turns out it's undermining all the way.
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Nathalie Steins @nathaliesteins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#Job alert: Are you a benthic / shellfish ecologist? We have a #vacancy for a senior marine ecologist @w-u-r.bsky.social www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/s...
wur.nl
Senior Marine Ecologist, benthic and shellfish ecology
As an experienced Senior Marine Ecologist at Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) in Yerseke, you will lead a team of dedicated researchers who are working together on a range of ecologically relevant iss...
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is just a lovely long interview with photographer Joel Meyerowitz. If I’m even a fraction as engaging and lucid should I make it to 88, I’ll be delighted. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
This Cultural Life - Joel Meyerowitz - BBC Sounds
American photographer Joel Meyerowitz reveals his formative cultural influences.
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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Please pass along: I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab. We study physical ecology, macroecology, and biodiversity — spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested 🧪🌐🌾
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European node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System @eurobis.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🐟 New in EMODnet Biology! Explore projected changes in the biomass of 18 commercially important North Atlantic fish species from 2030–2100. 🌊 Discover the dataset in the EMODnet Map Viewer 👇https://europa.pulse.ly/sy3cjugfxq @obis.org
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Richard McElreath 🐈‍⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Thoughts and prayers for research data managers everywhere. You are not alone. We will get through this together techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/excelbl...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
Excel now supports multiple values in a single cell | Microsoft Community Hub
Lists, arrays in cells, and nested arrays introduce new ways to store and organize related information, helping you keep data together without sacrificing...
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The Neotoma Paleoecology Database @neotomadb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
📢 Hiring! PAGES (Past Global Changes) is seeking a Data Science Officer in Bern, Switzerland. Work with paleoscience data, reproducible workflows, FAIR/LiPD, statistics, ML & AI. Review starts 2 Nov 2026. Details & apply: pastglobalchanges.org/news/we-are-...
pastglobalchanges.org
We are hiring! | PAGES
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My latest @newscientist.com cartoon. many more here: www.newscientist.com/author/tom-gauld/
Image: A graph with lots of red dots clustered together in a curve. The are all looking upwards at a single red dot wearing sunglasses. 

Caption: Mike was an outlier and would probably be excluded from the study, but all the other data points secretly thought he was really cool.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Think we can say it’s autumn now
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Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Jobs galore at @nhm-london.bsky.social @dissco.bsky.social - jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... - jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... - jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... - jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... - jobs.nhm.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... including Heads of Digitisation and Technical Innovation
jobs.nhm.ac.uk
DiSSCo UK Digitiser:South Kensington
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Natalie Cooper @nhcooper123.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Our update to the BES Data Management Guide is now live! assets.britishecologicalsociety.org/2026/09/2110... Huge thanks to the incredibly talented ECRs who contributed sections. It's an excellent resource that I've already used with my PhD students. ❤️
Cover image of the Data Management guide. Blue cover with a puffin on it! Also features the BES logo, Better Science Guides and our mission Through science we can.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My son’s complaining that on his forthcoming school residential they’re going to be forced to go to bed early and will have their phones taken off them overnight and to me that just sounds like bliss.
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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Dream job for an #editor & nature lover! 🐦🌿Apply now ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs 📅 Full time, Permanent. 📝 £38,710.00 per annum. 📍 BTO HQ in Thetford, Norfolk (Hybrid working). Deadline for applications: 30 September 2026. #Ornithology
A Nightingale perches on a branch amongst the green foliage of a bush. Wording over the image reads: We're hiring! Science Communications Manager.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is one of many replies to a post about Wiley's new 'let AI summarise this paper for you!' thing, but I think it's a really, *really* important point. Realising that you're allowed to disagree with papers is a key part of your scientific education.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Some astonishing images from the bird photographer of the year, seabirds very well represented, the one of guillemots is my favourite but can't begrudge the gannet winning overall www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Winners of bird photographer of the year 2026 – in pictures
Photographers from all over the world entered more than 24,000 images into the world’s largest bird photography competition, with an image of a northern gannet bursting through the ocean’s surface tak...
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Starting to see the dog wherever I look…
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Working in a profession that requires regular engagement with risk assessments, and H&S more generally, can really ruin your enjoyment of TV action/drama.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Since walking the puppy, it’s amazing how many random people in the street feel the urge shout out things like ‘gorgeous!’, ‘how cute!’, etc. It’s very flattering. Reminds me of my 20s.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Windfall
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Got the day off, purely to use up some leave. Turns out I’m not as good as this one at sitting around doing nothing. Might see if I can fashion a stair gate that she can’t clear…
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Good to see Finisterre continuing their partnership with the RNLI - another way you can support this wonderful organisation while getting a nice jumper/hat at the same time finisterre.com/collections/...
finisterre.com
New Arrivals | Summer 2026 | Finisterre
Embrace the restorative power of nature with gear built to get you out there. Discover plant-based wetsuits, warm knitwear and responsibly made outerwear.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Excellent opportunities here for someone!
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
What have I become?
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In thisa piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social I express the wish for a better level of public discourse around AI that doesn't leave us hanging on every word of the alleged tech gurus. www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
thenewworld.co.uk
Apocalyptic AI fantasies are a stupid, annoying distraction from its real problems
The people who work in AI are not gurus and most of their predictions have been wrong. Working in the industry makes them less reliable commentators, not more
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The Marine Biological Association @thembauk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Call for Content! We are seeking submissions for the January 2027 Edition of The Marine Biologist Magazine.  - Original features - Opinion pieces - Books, movies & podcast reviews Authors receive a 25% discount on Membership! Deadline for submissions: 26 October 2026 Contact: editor@mba.ac.uk
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
My friend did a triathlon in the Cairngorms at the weekend. She's worked extensively in Nepal and made a late decision to use it to fundraise for the Nepal Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. JustGiving page here if you're able to donate anything: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
justgiving.com
Help raise £250 to help those impacted by the devastating flash flood in Nepal – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to help those impacted by the devastating flash flood in Nepal. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Voilà: Francis Gagnon @chezvoila.com · 14/09/2026
The UN IPCC is looking for an entry-level designer to create charts and infographics. Interesting how they call it "graphic designer" but expect dataviz. 📊
ipcc.ch
Graphic Designer in the IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit — IPCC
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Very weird google experience recently - I googled the guy we got to sweep our chimney in 2024 as I needed his number. The AI summary confidently told me that he had tragically died in a climbing accident *in 2020*. All other details about him and his business were correct. Most disconcerting.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Currently reading Pierre Novelli's enjoyable book about autism, Why can't I just enjoy things? This is him writing about a particularly frantic piece of deadline-scraping work as a student:
From Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things by Pierre Novelli, on frantic deadline-driven student work habits:
Unfortunately, I did not learn from that situation. I should have thought, ‘Gosh, what an astonishingly stressful way to live. All of these problems are entirely self-inflicted. Why don’t I just not be like this?’ Instead I thought, ‘I win again! Take that, established truths of life and work! I operate outside your purview in a zone all of my own! I will never die! More coffee! Why am I sad?!’ And thus my academic career continued until I graduated.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This 'AI cracks maths puzzle' feels a bit like a team of people turning up at a beautiful salmon river with electro-fishing equipment, and then boasting about catching more fish than the guy who's there tying his own flies. True, but… sort of missing the point? www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Immature playground boasting’: Mathematicians uneasy at OpenAI’s latest scalp
As OpenAI model cracks Millennium Prize Problem that puzzled experts for decades, many feel shocked at pace of change
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
As my eyes get older, I often find myself taking photos when I'm doing jobs around the house so I can zoom in. Sometimes this means I meet new characters I didn't even know lived with us.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I wrote this quickly at a bus stop and didn't realize it would go viral, or else I would have worded it better. But the point is that the media is too credulous about AI killing everyone in 10 years (how?) when climate change is killing people now and will only get worse (we know exactly how).
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sizing up the opposition and feeling faintly intimidated
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Sal Keith (she/her) @salkeith.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Last 2 days! Join our team!
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Helen Hipperson @hhippers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🧬 We’re Hiring: Research Associate (Molecular Ecology / Bioinformatics) 🧬 We are looking for an RA to join @nerc-eof.bsky.social at the University of Sheffield. 👉 Apply here: tinyurl.com/yxa9tnww
tinyurl.com
Research Associate (Molecular Ecology/Bioinformatics)
Research Associate (Molecular Ecology/Bioinformatics)
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Promising start to Marina Hyde’s latest: “Busy times for crayon-wielding US president Donald Trump, Earth’s most tireless freelance cartographer…” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
America: the gulf, the lake and now the state – what’s next on Trump’s huge renaming spree? | Marina Hyde
Farewell, New Mexico. The war isn’t going well and nowhere on Earth is safe from the US president’s favourite displacement activity, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
We're on the cover! (Paper: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...)
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is cool. Several years ago I had a student trying to work out how to fit occupancy models to @obis.org data, turned out it was really hard and we didn't get as far as we'd hoped. But this looks like a promising way forward.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Update on the arms race with the teen: left to his own devices [sic] he’d be online all night, so we got wifi that we can control quite specifically, e.g. turning it off only on his laptop & console…
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Really nice short profile of Elinor Ostrom (one of dozens of similar profiles in this excellent series) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Human Intelligence - Provocateurs - Elinor Ostrom - BBC Sounds
Elinor Ostrom challenged economics and reimagined shared human cooperation.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The episode of Add to Playlist that I saw live back at the Sheffield podcast festival is now available for all to enjoy - recommended! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Add to Playlist - Anne Dudley and Jon Boden at the Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield - BBC Sounds
Jon Boden and Anne Dudley join Anna and Jeffrey at the Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Nice piece about what looks like a really interesting documentary about North Sea marine life www.theguardian.com/film/2026/se...
theguardian.com
‘Sharks are my film stars’: how the Jacques Cousteau of the North Sea finally unlocked its beauty
Epic plankton blooms make filming in the North Sea notoriously difficult. But a new documentary gives a rare glimpse of the kaleidoscopic life – seals, sharks, tuna, orcas and shorthorn sculpins – lur...
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 04/09/2026
As the climate changes, some mollusks will shrink to half their current size, while others will grow up to 15% larger, depending on lineage and location. The ecological and social consequences for marine ecosystems could be profound. In PNAS: ow.ly/iUo450ZJsTl
McDonald's dorid, a California nudibranch representing the molluscan diversity examined in this study.
CREDIT: Seth Finnegan.
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tomjwebb @tomjwebb.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Enjoying this product description
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Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 05/09/2026
You can use this UN-approved Equal Earth projection right now in #rstats #gis #databs
library(tidyverse)
library(sf)
library(rnaturalearth)

world <- ne_countries() |> filter(sov_a3 != "ATA")

ggplot(data = world) +
  geom_sf() +
  coord_sf(crs = "+proj=eqearth") +
  theme_void()A basic world map using the Equal Earth projection
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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
We're seeking a Research Ecologist to develop & apply methods for analysing large-scale passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) datasets & to lead work on the collection/analysis of restoration & rewilding data. Apply via www.bto.org/jobs Closing date: 22 September. #Ornithology #bioacoustics
The heads of two Puffins appear above a bank. Wording above reads: We're hiring! Senior Research Ecologist: Landscape Restoration & Monitoring Science.
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