iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

New paper! We used drones + ensemble models to map 18 plant species in threatened sagebrush steppe with >90% accuracy. Low-cost RGB cameras perform nearly as well as multispec: good news for monitoring biodiversity in these landscapes. read it here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ra... #drones #sagebrush #UAV

a representative landscape of the sagebrush steppe, with some shrubs in the foreground and a beautiful snowy mountain in the background.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Collecting wild seed is one of the biggest challenges in restoration ecology. How do you identify reproductive plants across landscapes? We show how drones could provide a solution, predicting flower production of a native shrub: doi.org/10.1016/j.ra... #rangelands #sagebrush

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

new paper, led by @nkolarik.bsky.social: monitoring outcomes of ecological restoration is challenging. Satellite imagery could help, but interpretation requires statistics that can identify breakpoints in messy time-series data. We provide a practical guide: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

aerial and satellite imagery from before and after a river restoration project in central Idaho, USA

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

🚨 New paper, led by Cristina Barber. We used high-resolution aerial imagery to study tree mortality in a tropical landscape. Large, isolated trees were most likely to die--alarming finding! @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A map of tree crowns in southwestern Panama, showing satellite imagery of a tropical landscape

A scientist surveying trees in a pastoral landscape with a GPS unit

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

A bumper year for bitterbrush flowers in Boise foothills

A shrub in a desert landscape covered in yellow flowers

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

enjoyed this book on accessory dwelling units in American cities. Zoning for single family homes is not working for many of us; ADUs are emerging as a solution. Author convincingly makes the case that policy solutions, including formalizing "illegal" ADU setups, can help alleviate housing scarcity

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Desert stream temps mean life or death for aquatic organisms. Drones can measure stream temps across large areas--but how do drones compare to in situ measurements? In new paper, led by Mel Campbell, we flew for 24 hours to evaluate thermal accuracy #UAS #drones www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/13...

drone imagery, including an RGB orthomosaic and stream temperature data over a desert canyon. The image shows four different flights across a 24 hour period.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Great presentation by @nkolarik.bsky.social! Nick uses satellite observations to monitor changes in desert streams, including impacts of beavers and humans. This is part of @boisestate.bsky.social's Science On Tap event, where scientists talk about their research at local breweries #scicomm

A man holding a microphone is presenting a slide titled, "Beavers are chaotic" to an audience of people in a brewery

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

New paper out, led by @villarreal-miguel.bsky.social. There's a disconnect between remote sensing advances and application to ecology (including only 11 UAS papers in Landscape Ecology!). We provide a guide for using drones to answer ecological ?s: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #uas #drones

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Velazco, who successfully defended her dissertation @boisestate.bsky.social on how invasive bracken ferns can impede recovery of tropical forests. Her work shows that climate change will likely increase rates of arrested succession www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A mountainous landscape with a background of forest and foreground of bracken fern, with a team of field biologists nearly overtaken by the ferns

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Headed back to tropical forest for field work for first time since covid! Photos are from my phd work, in Thailand. Cool frog and my real work: painstakingly putting dots of fabric paint on seedlings

Nerdy, unkempt gay guy holding a giant frog and smiling at camera

Field ecologist putting fabric paint on plant leaves

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

I am Trevor. I study restoration at large scales, using models and remote sensing. Motivated by a love of nature

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 17/10/2024

Drones are a powerful tool to map plant abundance but prone to error. In our new paper, we develop statistical models to disentangle abundance from error. I am so excited by this work! Getting closer to unlocking potential of UAS for plant ecology besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 03/10/2023

I am new here on bluesky, so here's an #introduction post! I am an Associate Professor at Boise State University. I run a research lab (caughlinlab.com) that works on spatial ecology, mostly in sagebrush steppe and tropical forests. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, reading scifi, and food

a man in glasses stands in front of sagebrush steppe

man with dog. Dog is wearing a rainbow flag. they are in front of the Idaho Capital Building.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 04/01/2023

new paper out: the Western US is experiencing an unprecedented population boom. We found declining rangeland quality in fast-growing counties. This result should raise alarm bells for ecosystem integrity, even in areas outside the footprint of cities authors.elsevier.com/a/1gKPB_3sEQ8u…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 30/10/2022

captivating book about Chinese socialism, queer awakenings, and ghost stories. Highly recommend Building 46 by @mhayoun

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 27/10/2022

Attempt to exchange romantic text messages with out-of-town husband

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 19/10/2022

Proud of @BoiseState for efforts to address food insecurity, including the food pantry and this food giveaway event (open to public), happening now.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 13/10/2022

spatial interactions between plants are fundamental for ecosystems but non-linear functions for distance decay can be hard to model. in new paper led by @c_barberab we demonstrate Bayesian solutions using @mcmc_stan@MethodsEcolEvol doi.org/10.1111/2041-2…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 07/10/2022

nevertheless, these dispersal distances are not enough to promote sagebrush recovery after megafires that increasingly burn through habitat in the American West. for most burned areas, seed limitation is likely a major barrier to recovery

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 07/10/2022

we found that sagebrush seeds disperse further than conventionally thought, including some seeds caught >20 m from parent plants

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 07/10/2022

how far do sagebrush seeds disperse? despite sagebrush's ecological importance, this question remained unknown...until now!! @cara_applestein designed winter-resistant seed traps to catch seeds blowing across post-fire landscapes. check it out @AoB_PLANTS academic.oup.com/aobpla/advance…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 29/09/2022

The @SERGreatBasin chapter is having a meeting from March 21-23 in Boise, ID. Are you interested in restoring our beautiful high deserts? Got science to present? Please register for a talk! chapter.ser.org/greatbasin/202…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 12/09/2022

Our dog is named after this bird! x.com/mhallett2320/s…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 27/08/2022

Excited to talk to people about size structured plant demography at Boise's #goatheadfest! Stop by the @BoiseState booth to play a game and learn about our research!!!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 27/08/2022

This week was my tenure and promotion seminar...I was nervous! grateful to have positive and supportive colleagues cheering me on.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 10/08/2022

For any caffeine fiends visiting Boise, if you order a cold brew to drink inhouse @Pushandpour will serve it up to you in a big ol' pint glass. That'll put a spring in your step!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 09/08/2022

Our lab has recently found that these poorly connected street networks promote at least one nasty invasive species... x.com/the_transit_gu…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 08/08/2022

at #jsm2022? Check out @MalihaM29588445's poster contrasting two very different forecasting approaches: an ARIMA time-series model vs. a Beverton-Holt model, where every parameter has a biological meaning. very different strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 04/08/2022

lots of infuriating mistakes in how monkeypox has been handled. but the original sin, as this article points out, is global inequity in disease control that allowed monkeypox to spread in the first place vox.com/culture/232924…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 03/08/2022

re-upping my love for ecology before a busy semester with a tide pool trip...no measurements, just enjoyment of the natural history and beauty of this ecosystem. highlight was seeing a leopard nudibranch (with bonus chiton!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 16/07/2022

About to see Sarah Shook and the Disarmers perform!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 14/07/2022

Most animals, even savanna-dwellers, seem to appreciate some tree cover. Merry Marshall (@nessa1412) can tell you more at her poster at #atbc2022 today at 5:30 pm!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 14/07/2022

at #atbc2022? don't miss @C_barberab's talk on spatial forecasts of tree species recruitment during restoration. she shows how we can predict individual tree recruits across large areas: Barahona 1 at 11 AM!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 13/07/2022

.@sandra_velazco9 is doing some really innovative work fusing remote sensing + field data to understand reforestation in cloud mountain forests of Peru. if you are at #atbc2022, catch her talk tomorrow at 11:15 in Barahona 1. cool methods and surprising results!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 09/06/2022

also a reminder to not stand out in the sun for too long!...Take care of your skin (this is my usual desert field work outfit

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 09/06/2022

Enjoying the desert sun on visit to @neon_sci Onaqui site. If you are doing plant ecology at this site, would love to hear about your project!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 07/06/2022

Favorite field expedition of the year--ecological data collection at Castle Rocks state park, in southern Idaho where there is an ecotone between north and south parts of our cold desert. And yes, there are cool rocks.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 09/05/2022

purple cactus from University of Texas El Paso campus. excited to spend a couple of days thinking about structural diversity in workshop organized by @elizabethalarue

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 07/05/2022

Jamie Lee Curtis (icon!) has some thoughts on this as well 😂 x.com/TrevorCaughlin…

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 02/05/2022

In middle school, I used to spend hours and hours reading books in this Grayhound Bus station, pretending I was running away to a cool city. Now I am building my career here in Boise and gentrification has killed the downtown bus station. Life is strange!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 26/04/2022

🚨funding alert!💸💵 Are you a student doing research in the Great Basin this summer? apply for this award! $1000 buckaroos for a 1.5 page application. Last year only three people applied, and all three got it. You won't find better odds than that! take our money, please!!!!

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 23/04/2022

Spring rainbow of Heuchera plants at Edwards Greenhouse

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 22/04/2022

so proud of @Valorie__Marie for showcasing undergraduate research on sagebrush resilience at #URS2022 her work will help understand large-scale patterns of plant response to extreme heatwaves

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 22/04/2022

The Great Basin is not only a basin, but also some stunning mountain ranges-like the Ruby Mountains in Nevada, shown here. Shrubs in the foreground (sagebrush and rabbitbrush) are amazingly adaptable and can also be found in low-elevation sites that look like stereotypical desert

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 17/04/2022

She likes to chew bones on my chest...expecting to share with me? I am not sure how I feel about this behavior.

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 01/04/2022

Ok, first of all, I thought we collectively agreed not to do online April fool's jokes. But second, this raises an interesting question. How do people decide what preprints to read? I tend to find myself reading those written by people I know, which probably isn't best practice

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Trevor Caughlin @trevorcaughlin.bsky.social · 30/03/2022

obsessed with this elegant Apiaceous wildflower @aroopsind and I saw on slopes of Mt. Moriah Wilderness in Nevada. I am calling it "twilight frills" since the flowers were practically luminescent in the spring sunset. anyone know the actual species name? #WelchePflanzeIstDas

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