@natduffus
Ecological economist @ukceh.bsky.social - interested in nature markets, biodiversity net gain, carabids, and queer science proudly neurodivergent, she/her π³οΈβππ³οΈββ§οΈπ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ
π± New research shows how to make sure the nature credits you buy are real, not just greenwashing. Dive into science-based tips for stronger biodiversity & climate impact from Nature Recovery experts. Read moreπ
@ecioxford.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk @natduffus.bsky.social @joewbull.bsky.social
Brainwashing, 2026 edition. This paper shows how X's algorithmic feed shifts people's views rightwards. It's a sophisticated, highly effective form of reorientation. And it is utterly chilling.
If you're still on that platform, unhook yourself now.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Really pleased to have passed my viva yesterday! Officially Dr Nat π₯³. Thank you to my examiners for a really pleasant and interesting viva, and to my supervisors for all their support over the last 4 years! πͺ²π
π£ registration for the rainbowR conference is now live π
The conference is for anyone interested in R and/or analysing data to understand LGBTQ+ issues. The majority of speakers and workshop leaders are LGBTQ+, but you do not have to be LGBTQ+ to attend.
pretix.eu/rainbowr/con...
#RStats #LGBTQ
Jacket design for Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life: A History of Sex and Science by Ross Brooks. It features a historic, drawn image of a gynandromorph gypsy moth, with distinctive female patterning on its left side and male on its right. Against a black background, the image and text (title and author's name) are brightly rendered in a spectrum of colours resonant of the Progress Pride Flag.
My first book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life, will be published by Yale University Press on 11 August (UK) and 8 September (US). Please help spread the word! π
UK: yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300... @yalebooks.bsky.social π³οΈβπππ΅
US: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300... @yalepress.bsky.social π³οΈββ§οΈ ποΈπ¦
This week's column is about something that's arguably more important than anything in the news, crucial as some of the other issues are.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
An across-government technical assessment published today recognises that "nature is the foundation of national security" and that "every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse". A rational response to this would be to get very serious about nature recovery.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
π’Executive Education Course
Dive into Green Economy & Nature-Positive Finance -
5 days of expert training on why nature matters in financial markets πΏ
Oxford | 16β20 Mar 2026
bit.ly/greeneconomy...
A lot of what is said about Nature holding up development is simply not true. Itβs wrong. False. At best misleading. If youβve heard that newts are a cause of our national housing shortage, read this from @naturalengland.bsky.social
naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/14/b...
π UK biodiversity remains in serious declineβa worrying confirmation of what many suspected. We need an urgent rethink of our approach to protecting ecosystems, safeguarding species, and restoring habitats. Itβs time for new, science-led legislation. #CANBill
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Super honoured to have contributed to this paper, led by the brilliant Sophus zu Ermgassen! We use our experience evaluating nature markets from around the world and derive 5 'golden' rules for the design and implementation of markets that deliver scientifically-credible outcomes. π±
rdcu.be/eYFx8
The programme is out for our Symposium, Exploring Queerness in Natural History, on 5 February.
We're excited to hear from our Symposium Curators, Connor Butler and @aquadan1.bsky.social, as well as talks from Simon Goldhill, @canopyrobin.com and @rossbrooks.co.uk. (1/3)
buff.ly/jc6Unz7
A lush green woodland with moss-covered boulders, low ferns and a scatter of bluebells beneath twisting old trees. Sunlight filters softly through the canopy. Landscapes like this should be central to natureβs recovery but without proper support and clear targets, protected sites canβt deliver what theyβre supposed to.
Englandβs most important nature sites are being failed.β
Protected sites can and should be driving natureβs recovery.
But todayβs OEP report exposes the real problem: years of weak delivery, underfunding and political drift have left them unable to do the job the law intended.
We are super excited about Ross Brooksβ seminar on Tuesday! Details and sign up information below β¬οΈπ³οΈβππ³οΈββ§οΈ
Last year I wrote this for Transgender Awareness Week because of the challenges I've faced in my institution. Sharing it again as this week we celebrate trans identities and remember those who have been targeted for being themselves
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/five-steps-t...
LGBTQ+ Journal Club is turning 1! π³οΈββ§οΈπ³οΈβπTo celebrate, here's a bit about what we've been up to over the past year: a thread of interesting papers in queer biology (1/n) β¬οΈπ§΅
In our session this week, we will be joined by the amazing @penguinacho.bsky.social for a discussion on penguin sexuality and the documentary Animal Pride: Nature's Coming Out Story! π§π¬ #QueerStem #QueerAcademia #GayPenguins
A cartoon of 2 rhinocerous beetles clashing. One beetle is saying "I'm just trying to kiss you!" and the other beetle is saying "I'm just trying to kiss you too!". Above them is text reading LGBTQ+ Journal Club in the colours of the progress pride flag.
Hello bluesky! We are an LGBTQ+ Biology Journal Club at Uni of Oxford π³οΈβππ³οΈββ§οΈ. We are interested in topics relevant to queer ecology and amplifying queer voices in academia πͺ²π±.
For those in Oxford, we meet every 2 weeks - get in touch for more details! π₯³
this post tells such a story...
Wish I could say I was shocked, but here's the Labour government constraining the right to peaceful protest again...
'You can protest but only according to our rules. The rules are: you're not allowed to use any of the tactics that make protest effective.'
New preprint alert! We DNA barcoded 95 thousand Ghanaian arthropods, more than doubling the number of BINs (a species proxy) available online from West Africa. In doing so weβve released a huge amount of new data to scientists studying the region π§ͺ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 𧡠1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
π¨Women are central to tropical wild meat systems, yet too often overlookedπ¨
A new paper led by @jasminwillis.bsky.social, Dr Lauren Coad, @orchiddelirium.bsky.social & @ejmilnergulland.bsky.social reviewed 334 studies across 54 countries, finding women occupy 36 roles, from harvesting to trade.
Congrats! Sticker time! :') πͺ²
"Today, we clear a soccer fieldβs worth of tropical forest every six seconds, a loss dramatically worsened by humanityβs growing hunger for meat"
Wean ourselves off meat now, or the switch to a Pliocene climate that's locked in will do it for us
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Police continue to mass arrest protestors for opposing genocide and the Palestine Action ban.
The day after the ban came into force, 29 were arrested. Last month, it was 500.
Today, over a thousand people are defying the unjust proscription of a domestic direct action group.
Cool new research by @e-ellis1.bsky.social Moths & hoverflies are more sensitive to urbanisation than bees, but urban trees boost moth species richness in UK cities. #teammoth π royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Our upcoming Queer Ecology evening will be a real treat, with a special guided tour exploring the diversity of nature and its interpretation by scientists throughout history.
π Linnean Society
π 6pm 25 September
ποΈ Β£15 (discounts for Members and concessions)
Wasp Spiders, Argiope bruennichi. A big stripy female in her web, with visiting male spider (near her head).
Wasp Spiders, Argiope bruennichi. A big stripy female in her web, with visiting male spider (near her back leg).
A romantic meeting of Wasp Spiders, Argiope bruennichi, at Thompson Common yesterday.
The male is much smaller than the big, stripy female.
They ended up going out to lunch afterwards, when he became the main course.
srs.britishspiders.org.uk/portal.php/p...
#Spiders #UKWildlife
Congratulations to @natduffus.bsky.social, who has been commended in the @mplsoxford.bsky.social Impact Awards!
Nat has been recognised in the Early Career Policy Impact category for raising awareness of the ecological outcomes of Biodiversity Net Gain π
bit.ly/4eSmRZe
