tomjwebb

tomjwebb

@tomjwebb.bsky.social

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

3.3K followers327 following1.6K posts

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Honestly professional software that I use for work - I don't need this. Just do your job, I'll do mine, and let's not pretend any of this is fun or that we're in any way friends.

tomjwebb reposted

JNCC
@jncc.bsky.social

📢 #WeAreSeeking an EO Specialist to help deploy habitat & feature mapping methods & provide parameters for environmental modelling: jncc.gov.uk/about-jncc/c... ⭐Hybrid working based in Aberdeen, Cardiff or Peterborough ⭐Permanent contract ⭐£33,130 ⭐Closing date 22 November 2026

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Commenting on some proposed marking criteria I just found myself writing 'a presentation is not supposed to just be the audiobook version of the paper' and I quite like that, actually.

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tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

It's a long-term bugbear of mine. I don't think we generally teach or assess presentation skills in a way that indicates any serious thought about what makes for a good presentation.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Commenting on some proposed marking criteria I just found myself writing 'a presentation is not supposed to just be the audiobook version of the paper' and I quite like that, actually.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

As one example: I basically never want to see references in a talk, unless it's maybe one paper that was absolutely foundational to the whole reason you've done the thing you've done. But apparently we should be marking partially on 'use of the literature'?

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Heard a talk about this back in the spring. Really cool work on deep sea connectivity and dispersal.

Nature Ecology & Evolution@natecoevo.nature.com

Larval dispersal modelling and network analysis show that dispersal is extremely limited among Areas of Particular Environmental Interest within the deep-sea Clarion–Clipperton Zone. However, dispersal can be enhanced by the strategic addition of corridors 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comDispersal corridors enhance modelled near-bed larval connectivity across deep-sea protected area networks - Nature Ecology & EvolutionUsing Lagrangian larval dispersal modelling and network analysis, the authors show that dispersal is extremely limited among Areas of Particular Environmental Interest within the deep-sea Clarion–Clip...
tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

"Art can strengthen motivation to engage, while science provides evidence that can help channel that motivation toward effective action." Lovely piece.

Phil Levin@phillevin.bsky.social

I've spent my life studying nature, but some of what matters most can't be captured in data. In a new piece in Science with David Hassler, we explore why conservation needs poetry, wonder, and imagination alongside science. The microscope and the metaphor. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.orgThe microscope and the metaphorScience shows us what to do to save the planet—poetry helps us understand why we should
tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

I guess the main thing I've learnt today is not to leave dog treats in the pocket of your expensive waterproof coat when it is hanging up within reach of a determined puppy.

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tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

She did a proper runner on her walk this morning, and is completely oblivious of the stress that caused for the 45 mins or so she was missing. As far as she's concerned she just met some nice new people and got a go on another dog's lead. Pillock.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

You know you’ve got someone special when they’ll do whatever it takes to get your Clonakilty Black pudding back from their trip to West Cork

tomjwebb reposted

Ecology Group Basel - Sabine Rumpf
@ecologybasel.bsky.social

*Job alert* We are looking for a *postdoc in ecological modelling*, starting from spring 2027. Wondering how lags in mountain plant distribution shifts might turn out in the future? Apply and find out! 🪻🏔️↗️⏳ All details here: jobs.unibas.ch/offene-stell... Please repost and share widely!

jobs.unibas.chUniversität Basel: Postdoc position in ecological modellingThe research group Ecology at the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel in Switzerland invites applications for a fully funded postdoc position in ecological modelling in the...
tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

I guess the main thing I've learnt today is not to leave dog treats in the pocket of your expensive waterproof coat when it is hanging up within reach of a determined puppy.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Journals should tell you how long a manuscript is when inviting you to review. For e.g., if I’d known this one was 100 pages, I might have hesitated.

tomjwebb reposted

JNCC
@jncc.bsky.social

📢#WeAreSeeking a Marine Mammal Adviser to lead on tasks & work closely with others, inc SNCBs, regulatory agencies and Gov: bit.ly/JNCCjob2026055 ⭐Hybrid working role based in Peterborough or Aberdeen. ⭐Permanent contract ⭐£33,130 ⭐Closing date 10 November 2026

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

In my dream last night I came up with a really clever way of responding to a difficult reviewer comment. Can’t remember details and it wasn’t for anything I’ve actually written or submitted but still, feels like a victory.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

- do I _have_ to? - why? - instead of what?

Kirsty Grainger @kirstygrainger.bsky.social

The top three phrases that I currently use at work: - we are not the fourth emergency service - cockup not conspiracy - curious not furious Yours?

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tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

The upshot was I got an email from a student afterwards saying he found my lecture so depressing he had to go and sit in the park 🤷‍♂️

tomjwebb@tomjwebb.bsky.social

The annual dilemma of how comprehensively to update my coral bleaching lecture. As usual my thought process is, 'Might just let *this year's* catastrophe play out and do a more thorough job *next* year…'

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Every tv Christmas special that has quite clearly (from the phenology) been filmed in September…

Daniel Bolnick@danielbolnick.bsky.social

A related prompt: what’s a niche *natural history* inaccuracy in a film or movie that annoys you? I’ll start: there were loons calling in the background during a jungle scene in Lost.

tomjwebb reposted

University of Sheffield Player
@unishefplayer.bsky.social

An egg that never hatches can still tell scientists something important. Alessia Lavigne studies turtle and tortoise eggs to find out whether fertilisation failed or an embryo died early, helping conservationists understand low hatching success.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Just received a speculative email from a company selling "personal & professional Submersibles for 2 to 9 persons". Apparently they're good down to 2300m and have a "Perfect Safety Record". I can't see any good reason not to buy a couple.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

I definitely sympathise with university IT services trying to strike a balance between security and usability in an institution with such a large and varied user base. But sometimes we do end up with systems so secure that they are effectively unusable.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

For instance: my institution requires software to be installed before you can access any of the university teaching and learning systems. Our external examiner's institution forbids the installation of that software. Initial result: impasse. Compromise: couriering a laptop across the country.

tomjwebb reposted

Robert Saunders
@robertsaunders.bsky.social

It’s a mark of the corruption of our whole way of thinking about the world that trying to meet a planetary emergency is routinely described as “ideological”, while continuing to accelerate it is presented as “pragmatic” and “economic”.

tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

So cool!

Dr Craig R McClain@drcraigmc.bsky.social

Most animals change proportions as they grow. A coiled shell doesn't have to. Add one turn and the whole shell is just 2.2x bigger, same shape. Watch this one grow forever without changing at all. 🧪🐌 #HowToBuildAGiant #MarineLife

tomjwebb reposted

OneBenthic
@onebenthic.bsky.social

Great to see OneBenthic data underpinning new research on how climate change may reshape marine biodiversity in the North-East Atlantic. A great example of how bringing benthic datasets together can enable new science. 📄 doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aee7253

doi.orgFrom plankton to fish: 21st-century redistribution of marine biodiversity and the changing role of rare speciesPredictions of climate-driven marine biodiversity change typically overlook noncommercial and rare taxa, leading to an incomplete and potentially biased understanding of change. We address this gap by...
tomjwebb
@tomjwebb.bsky.social

Passed the same one this morning, 48h after taking the photo, and it was almost completely decomposed. (Sadly couldn’t get a picture as the puppy had just met two cocker spaniels and it was chaos.)