Guy Pe'er

Host plant use is driven by microclimate not nutritional quality in a grassland butterfly Small Copper butterflies (Lycaena phlaeas) choose to lay eggs on host plants growing in warmer microclimates, despite lower nitrogen content. Bare ground created by European Moles increases host pla.....

Woops, seems the DOI link to the paper isn't working yet, this one is: resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A female Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) egg-laying on Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Two eggs of the Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) on Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Excited to see one of my PhD chapters now published! We found a trade-off between the quality of host plants and how warm they were for a declining grassland butterfly (Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas) and looked at how this shaped their egg-laying choices: doi.org/10.1111/een....

Global warming and excess nitrogen may induce butterfly decline by microclimatic cooling Global warming may explain the current poleward shift of species distributions. However, paradoxically, climatic warming can lead to microclimatic cooling in spring by advancing plant growth, an effe...

This underlines how thermally constrained Small Coppers (and other grassland insects) can be and suggests that impacts of excessive atmospheric nitrogen deposition on these warmth-loving species are more likely to be via changes in habitat structure than host quality, see: doi.org/10.1111/j.13...

After the extremly hot and dry summer of 2018 numbers of the Dark green fritillary (S aglaja, grote parelmoer) on Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects crashed and has not recovered. I fear it could get extinct in NL soon, what is amazing for a species that can live in so many different habitats.

I like snow, sure, but one has to admit that a carpet of flowers is nicer for the soul and mind.
(Botanical gardens, Leipzig).

Junonia orithya, a migratory Nymphalid, on the eastern beach of the Sea of Galilee (Kineret) in Israel. Picture by Ilan Green Swissa

Strange weather events carry strange migratory species: shortly before the rockets start showering on them, volunteers in Israel report on the arrival and establishment of a local population of Junonia orithya (Blue Pensy) on the beaches of the Sea of Galilee, along the rift valley.

And now a Comma in the garden. That’s three butterfly species today, and it’s still February @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

P.S. Haribo, viel von dem Müll gehört euch. Habt ihr überlegt, weniger Plastik zu verwenden? Und, mittlerweile, die Reinigung zu finanzieren?

Rosamontag in Ratingen: viel Spaß, gute Laune, aber so viel Zucker u Plastik, so viel Müll u Kalorien wurden auf den Boden geworfen! Es kam zu dem Punkt, an dem die Kinder das alles einfach ignoriert haben.
Wirklich, Leute, habt ihr keine bessere Art zu feiern?!

www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html...
Hidden insect diversity in grass shoots threatened by mowing

Between extreme weather events, there are also days when the weather behaves itself as it should. Like, winter as winter.

Grüne Handelspolitikerin über Vertrag: „Das Mercosur-Abkommen könnte Gefahr für EU-Gesetzgebung werden“ Die grüne Europa-Abgeordnete Anna Cavazzini verteidigt die gerichtliche Prüfung des Handelsvertrags. Dieser schade Bauern, Regenwald und Klima.

#Mercosur-Abkommen könnte Gefahr für EU-Gesetzgebungskompetenz werden, warnt die grüne Europa-Abgeordnete Anna Cavazzini. Sie verteidigt die gerichtliche Prüfung des Handelsvertrags. Dieser schade #Bauern, Regenwald und #Klima. taz.de/Gruene-Hande... #Mercosur @annacavazzini.bsky.social

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

''Knowledge is power''?
US solution:
No scientists, no science.

But hey, the people are there, and the knowledge which they already produced cannot be wiped under the carpet (although, bots in social media will try to cover it by mud).

What we may observe is, e.g., resistance by existence.

As a Nexus element, food can be key for greater change.

IPBES #NexusAssessment shows that shifting to efficient, inclusive, resilient & sustainable food systems delivers multiple Nexus benerfits.

Learn more with UNEP’s A Journey of Food: https://www.unep.org/interactives/journey-of-food

''על פרפרים ופוליטיקה'': הרצאת ערב ביום שלישי הקרוב, 19:00 שעון ישראל.
המעוניינים בקישור אנא שלחו לי מסרון או אימייל.

📝Neue Studie: Mehr #Biomasse und heimische Lebensmittel aus Land- und Forstwirtschaft machen Deutschland unabhängiger von Agrarimporten – und stärken zugleich eine gesunde Ernährung, den Klimaschutz und die Biodiversität. ➡️🧵 (1/13)

Soil biodiversity is a key driver of ecosystem function, including nutrient cycling, organic-matter decomposition, plant productivity, climate regulation and pathogen control (with subsequent effects on animal, human and plant health). A foundational review in 2014 described the functional role of soil biodiversity in ecosystems, but our understanding of the relationship between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has deepened over the past decade. In this Review, we highlight progress in the field, discuss the approaches and methodological advances that have enabled this progress, and identify emerging research questions. Although the spatiotemporal patterns and community dynamics of soil communities are becoming well understood, topics with important knowledge gaps include the climate feedback effects of soils, the ecology of urban soils and the development of soil health indicators. Global collaborative networks, linking existing databases, and monitoring soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are important ways to address these knowledge gaps. By considering the relationships between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning we can connect small-scale interactions among plants, microorganisms and animals to ecosystem services and planetary sustainability.

New paper with many smart people, led by Nico Eisenhauer & Marie Sünemann @eisenhauerlab.bsky.social, surveying the state of literature on the effects of soil biodiversity on ecosystem functioning

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

📢 Join our #EcologySeminar!
Dr. Federico Riva
will give a talk about why appreciating biodiversity change across scales is essential for optimizing conservation and environmental decisions

📅 Wed 14. Jan at 10:15 AM
📩 DM for webinar link

@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

"Acceptance"
(or: he's black, but we don't mind it).

🌱 How can intercropping improve pest management and farm resilience?

Join our webinar on 22 Jan 2026 | 14:00 CET to explore agroecological solutions from Guadeloupe, Slovenia & the Netherlands.

Farmers, advisors, researchers & policy-makers welcome🌾🐞

www.agroecology-transect.net/events/boost...

News spotlight: Deforestation linked to dramatic decline in Amazon rainfall | Conservation International The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.

www.conservation.org/news/news-sp...

as deep and down as things may go, they will go up again with a splash.
(Peninsula Valdez, Argentina)

🌱 Intercropping for resilient farms across Europe and beyond

👩‍🌾👨‍🔬 Join farmers, researchers and policy-makers to learn how intercropping supports pest management and resilience

📅 Thu 22 Jan | 🕙 14:00–15:30 CET

🌍 Guadeloupe | Slovenia | Netherlands

🔗 www.agroecology-transect.net/events/boost...

You can try again :-)

I wrote ''missing for me'', i.e. what I'd wish for the EU to prioritize, not what their priority is...

Cock of the Rock

EU top goals for 2026.
Missing for me:
- Environment
- Healthy food and diets
- Depolarisation

Severe flooding in Sumatra following Cyclone Senyar was intensified by deforestation and soil degradation, which reduced the land’s capacity to absorb rainfall. Restoring forests and soil health is essential to reduce flood risks and maintain ecosystem resilience.

🔗 https://ow.ly/T3gG50XJwcx

What would be your title for this?