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Elizabeth Forbes PhD

@elizabethforbes

Ecologist, researcher, educator, animal community scientist, and soil carbon enthusiast.

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23.01.2025
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Latest posts by Elizabeth Forbes PhD @elizabethforbes

I'm constantly trying (/failing) to get this point across.

If you're a trained expert in a field, then it may be worthwhile to question the scientific consensus of your peers.

If you're not, the scientific consensus is absolutely the best you can do and it's arbitrary foolishness to disregard it.

24.02.2026 16:04 πŸ‘ 3757 πŸ” 853 πŸ’¬ 54 πŸ“Œ 50

Consistently love Terry McGlynn's thoughts and am grateful for some of the hopeful elements in today's letter.

24.02.2026 18:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A lot of people seem to be realizing that some of their scientific heroes are, at best, creeps.

05.02.2026 15:09 πŸ‘ 147 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

utterly disgusted. The trust between a student and their professor was grossly abused to the point of potential for, if not outright, trafficking into a job/position that would have placed the student in harm's way.

05.02.2026 15:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Looking for sources for a @nature.com story about how researchers are coping in the midst of current events: If you're a PhD or other academic who's struggling to focus with everything that's happening in the world and would like to be interviewed for this story, please get in touch ASAP!

26.01.2026 16:25 πŸ‘ 69 πŸ” 75 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 2
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slowly learning how to watercolor (omg it's hard) and figured i'd start with some of Newfoundland's weirdest flora (purple pitcher plant). the prettiest predator you'll ever see!

23.01.2026 14:51 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We recently tested ~ a dozen public statements from a diverse set of Democratic elected officials on the murder of Renee Good and this was the top testing one

15.01.2026 17:30 πŸ‘ 3442 πŸ” 800 πŸ’¬ 77 πŸ“Œ 56

I think about this CONSTANTLY. Maybe I'm naive, but "why not both" seems SO attainable if a bit more bandwidth was given to profs - research success would be even more contingent on our students' success, then, incentivizing *good* mentorship and education not just tons of overextended versions.

07.01.2026 16:10 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

caribou crew 🀘🦌🌲

05.01.2026 15:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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New analysis of the major qualitative differences between natural and artificial intelligence (via LLMs).

LLMs and humans form judgments differently across seven epistemological stages 🧡

osf.io/preprints/ps...

25.12.2025 20:16 πŸ‘ 48 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

I feel SUPER strongly I'm the scientist I am bc I started an art major, took tons of history and writing major classes, before declaring biology halfway thru.

*not saying I'd be a bad scientist without liberal arts, but I like the one I've become and I'm good at thinking critically because of it.

02.12.2025 23:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

When I do career panels, people often ask me what about my PhD was most valuable for becoming an award-winning* science journalist.

Sure, I have a PhD in science

But I have a bachelor's in Philosophy and I use it every day of my life.

*not big awards, but still, I'm not terrible at my job.

02.12.2025 22:01 πŸ‘ 182 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 2

β€œIt is not acceptable to recruit a variety of students into the laboratory, subject them to a variety of stress tests and abuses, and then keep the students who thrive under abuse and get rid of the students who aren't able to thrive in the lab. That's straight-up exploitation.”

πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘

26.11.2025 03:35 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

If a politician:

-Has never cared at all about whales before;

-Is in the pocket of big oil, an industry which has a financial incentive to oppose alternative energy;

and

-is a well-documented liar,

You don't have to take their "we have to stop offshore wind to save whales" claims seriously.

26.11.2025 14:50 πŸ‘ 920 πŸ” 187 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 4

The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, PPFP, has been a jewel in the crown for faculty development and recruitment at the University of California for years and the results have been an expanded faculty with almost 100% tenure rates β€” unprecedented success.

02.11.2025 11:01 πŸ‘ 308 πŸ” 127 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 21

Dr. Orrick is one of the MOST thoughtful people I know about co-existing with predators. Can't wait for more from this team!!

30.10.2025 14:13 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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What old growth forests have to do with your food - High Country News More than you might think.

www.hcn.org/issues/57-9/...

thinking more and more about the essential links between unmanaged (if such a thing exists) land and explicitly managed farmland. The connections are so much more important than we realize; as an ecologist, it's impossible to care about one and not the other.

19.09.2025 18:08 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I OBVIOUSLY feel that this work is so cool, and so important! congrats on this publication!!

21.08.2025 20:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Animals don’t just live in their environmentsβ€”they transform them. And in doing so, they may also shape their own evolutionary trajectories. Our new paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution introduces a framework for zoogeochemical niche construction. A thread πŸ‘‡

21.08.2025 17:40 πŸ‘ 63 πŸ” 28 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 3
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As salmon in Alaska plummet, scientists home in on a killer Chinook in the Yukon River appear to be particularly vulnerable to a common parasiteβ€”and warming waters may be abetting the infection

www.science.org/content/arti... πŸ§ͺπŸ¦‘πŸ 

21.08.2025 19:20 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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Outdated reproductive norms, the naturalistic fallacy, and misunderstandings of welfare in recent call for zoo breed-and-feed programs | PNAS Outdated reproductive norms, the naturalistic fallacy, and misunderstandings of welfare in recent call for zoo breed-and-feed programs

Worked with Dr. @kristymferraro.bsky.social, Tony Ferraro, and Dr. Julia Monk on animal welfare in zoos! Big takeaway for me in the process: interrogate whether we're talking individual care, or population care -- a critical difference when it comes to decision making.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

13.06.2025 19:57 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Macrophycology (SEAWEED) with Dr. Patrick Martone, Dr. Charles Yarish, Danielle McHaskell, Angela Jones, and Becky Swerida β€” alie ward Moonlit seaweeds. Dreamy underwater forests. Mounds of beach debris. Not plants. Let’s talk about where seaweed grows and whether or not it will save us all. Macrophycology means β€œbig-ass algae” so le...

Omg I had the best time talking about #seaweed with Alie Ward this week @ologies.bsky.social

We talk evolution, anatomy, cooking, tattoos and more. Let the seaweed love wash over you.
www.alieward.com/ologies/macr...

12.06.2025 03:48 πŸ‘ 77 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Quoted by @evertlindquist.bsky.social on the intersections between wildlife communities and carbon in the ecosystems they're found in 🦌🌲 Thanks for the wonderful conversation, Evert!

14.05.2025 03:09 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

DEEP DISH COMMUNION WAFERS

08.05.2025 17:23 πŸ‘ 1857 πŸ” 313 πŸ’¬ 78 πŸ“Œ 30
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How the War Over Trans Athletes Tore a Volleyball Team Apart (Gift Article) Blaire Fleming was a little-known college player. Then she suddenly became a symbol of injustice β€” to both sides of the controversy.

I followed the San Jose State volleyball controversy as it happened, and this detailed account, with the participation of the trans athlete involved, is utterly heartbreaking.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/m...

21.04.2025 12:19 πŸ‘ 299 πŸ” 56 πŸ’¬ 16 πŸ“Œ 8

Folks, if any ocean scientists, educators, or conservation professionals are interested, I've had some guest spots open up on upcoming shark field work. No cost to you (other than getting yourself to the boat).

I invite guests to talk to my grad students about their career paths. That can be you!

21.04.2025 13:23 πŸ‘ 86 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4
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Head, IUCN Global Ocean Team Ocean. Headquarters, Gland, Switzerland

For the right person, this is a unicorn dream job

Head, IUCN Global Ocean Team

07.04.2025 13:22 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Labile Soil Carbon Heterogeneity Driven by Consumer Engineering of Aboveground Structure in a Kenyan Savanna - Ecosystems Aboveground ecosystem structure moderates and even confers essential ecosystem functions. This includes an ecosystem’s carbon dynamics, which are strongly influenced by its structure: for example, tro...

My last PhD thesis chapter is published after three years of revisions, and reframing, to make it clear that it's not a soil science paper; it's not an animal community paper; it's BOTH. Excited for you all to read it!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

11.02.2025 15:35 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Court restores protections for endangered whale species to prevent entanglement in fishing gear A federal appeals court is reinstating rules designed to protect a vanishing whale species from entanglement in fishing gear.

Here’s today’s #OceanOptimism

apnews.com/article/lobs...

05.02.2025 04:36 πŸ‘ 244 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1

fucking around hath occurred;
finding out has commenced

03.02.2025 20:01 πŸ‘ 296 πŸ” 25 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 1