Dr. Sarah Goslee

I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this

The book contains worked examples by the authors of many of the main ecology packages, and there’s an accompanying GitHub repo.
github.com/RCodingForEc...
I hope those of you who are my kind of nerds find something useful and interesting there.

R Coding for Ecology, edited by Duccio Rocchini, is now out.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
I have an invited chapter on the ecodist package, which I updated while writing this chapter to add some features and to standardize some options.

One of the most troubling misconceptions about science and research held by politicians is that science and research can be turned on and off without consequence, like turning a water spigot.

Agreed, media coverage in this space lacks nuance. iNat has used machine learning and computer vision for a long time: that’s how their suggested identifications work. That’s a good use! What they’re proposing now is a generative AI partnership with Google. So many potential problems.

I use iNat data heavily in my scientific research and outreach. I encourage people to record observations. I spend a chunk of my time identifying.

I am strongly opposed to using generative AI in this way. It’s a breach of community trust and will produce results of dubious value.

Image recognition is fine. There are lots of incredibly useful machine learning applications, including that kind of computer vision.
I object to using generative AI / LLMs for this (or, well, anything). Those models are trained on stolen data, environmentally expensive, and of dubious value.

Screenshot from Twitter. iNaturalist says "We're so excited to be one of the organizations selected for this @Googleorg program! Learn more --" which then has a screenshot from Google.org saying "Meet the 20 incredible organizations selected for the Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI! These changemakers will use #GenAI to address pressing societal challenges, from education to community resilience. Discover their inspiring work: goo.gle/3TeKDog"

@inaturalist.bsky.social please explain what is being referred to here? What does "enhance[ing] biodiversity data by converting thousands of identification remarks into natural language explanations" mean. Won't that introduce a lot of nonsense into what is now an imperfect but important tool? 🌿 1/2

View Scott Loarie’s graphic link Scott LoarieScott Loarie • 2ndPremium • 2nd Executive Director, iNaturalistExecutive Director, iNaturalist 21h • 21 hours ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn Follow It’s a huge honor for iNaturalist to be selected for the Google.org Generative AI Accelerator! We’re excited to use Generate AI to make biodiversity data more accessible and meaningful. 🌍🤖🪲 hashtag#GenAIAccelerator iNaturalistiNaturalist 9,955 followers9,955 followers 1d • 1 day ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn Follow Over the next 6 months, we're excited to be participating in Google's Accelerator: Generative AI program! Out of nearly 3,000 applications from around the world, we're one of 20 social impact organizations chosen to receive funding, technical training, and dedicated expertise from Google to build gen AI-powered solutions. More about the program and some of our hashtag#AcceleratedWithGoogle peers: https://lnkd.in/g8kwaEEP Here’s the next cohort of the Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI blog.google likecelebratelove 113 Karl Burkart and 112 others 14 comments

Just a huge win-win here, as your observations of nature become more and more inaccurate you also destroy the nature through pointlessly excessive energy demand

www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-...

USFS R&D teamed w/ the EPA to develop AirNow.gov Fire and Smoke Map in 2020. The online tool and mobile app snapshots air quality and smoke impacts nationwide. Millions of people use the tool, highlighted by the White House in 2021 as a key source of public information for air and smoke conditions.

Maine farmers left in limbo by federal funding freeze Despite having signed government contracts, farmers who have spent money on projects to conserve soil, water and power have been told they cannot get reimbursed until USDA programs and policies are re...

Excellent, and devastating, reporting by Penelope Overton at @pressherald.bsky.social : Reimbursements for SIGNED CONTRACTS suspended "until USDA programs and policies are reviewed by Elon Musk’s DOGE team."

This is all illegal and unconstitutional. I just can’t stop saying it. This administration is likely to dismantle all of the programs I worked with over the last 25+ years. Programs designed to save lives and $ by applied climate science. Used by many 1000s of Americans to manage water, energy, etc.

800 in ARS (over 10%), and 1000 from NRCS.

I am absolutely certain that I used a list of points from a published paper in a presentation some years ago, and would like to cite it again.
Can I find the paper? NOPE.
Can I find the presentation? NOPE.

I am SO SECURE.

I really truly loathe my employer-managed laptop.

Landscape ecologists and spatial folks: Dean Urban’s second textbook is out this week! deanurban.org/publication/
I highly recommend both volumes (and not just because I reviewed some chapters). Dean’s thinking on these topics has had SO MUCH influence on the shape of my career.

Boxer dog in a large stuffed chair. He’s bundled under a red fleece blanket, but all four feet are sticking out next to his head.

Today I’m working at home, and dug back into this manuscript. I have already figured out how to explain a complex but crucial point, and what references support my assertion. Plus my officemate is cute.

Hi folks! I’m an ecologist working on ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, an avid #rstats user, and a geospatial nerd. I’m also on this platform as @phiala.bsky.social to keep personal and professional a bit separate, but it’s clearly not a secret!