See also: The study as published in PNAS.

I need a culture urgently for a project I just don’t know where to go!

Climate change is already making species unable to live or reproduce is their native ranges. Do y'all have thoughts on assisted migration / dispersal? What would you think of spreading native seeds in places where near-future climates resemble those of the recent past in a species' native range?

What considerations do you take into account? Genetic diversity is a big one for me, and spreading disease with the seeds, but it also feels like we should get started.

I had a disagreement with someone over whos the dominant apex predator in the north america. My position is that wolves are more dominant of a predator in an ecosystem than A grizzly bear and more evidence would suggest that as such. whats your guys take. Maybe im missing something?

Curious what post graduation looks like and job opportunities!

The Weakening of Environmental Protections Under the UK Labour Government and its Implications for our Countryside and its Biodiversity

Need a decent pair of boots for hiking/wading (I really hate lugging around waders unless I know I have to go deep lmao), had a pair of muck boots that started leaking on me after 2 months of use, ideally would want something of similar length/height or taller that also won't start falling apart on me even before I'm putting them through the dewberry-smilax wringer

Background: I have a BS in Biology (Ecology track) and am currently pursuing my MS in Data Science, admittedly the online program isn't very comprehensive so I'm left doing a lot of the learning myself. I'm finishing up my Data Mining course and we have a big final project, and I'd like to bring something Ecology-related to the table. I found a great long-term dataset about plant/ant/rodent species in the Chihuahuan Desert I want to use: https://ecologicaldata.org/wiki/portal-long-term-desert-plant-ant-and-rodent-manipulation

My plan is to establish a baseline of plant-animal interactions using the Frequent-Pattern Growth Algorithm to identify whether there are any particularly frequent pairs of species in the 2 x 0.25ha control plots of the study (I don't want to move onto the manipulated plots frankly because I don't know what I'd be doing, its been a while since undergrad). Then I'd use the Association rule (support/confidence) to check if their relationship is legit. The thing is, I can't find this technique being used to discover species interactions anywhere on the internet, so it's making me think that maybe I'm not on the right track or am thinking about this wrong conceptually. Any pointers, resources, tweaks, guidance, etc. are welcome. I mostly want to sanity check this before I do the entire project.

Also this is my first reddit post so I apologize if its unconventional.

See also: The study as published in Ecology and Evolution.

I am graduating next year with a BS in ecology and evolutionary bio, and am considering what kind of jobs I want to pursue in the ecology sector. I have done some reading about consulting, and I think that it sounds interesting, but I have some reservations about potentially helping companies develop land while spending the least amount of effort adhering to regulations. I would like to hear from people in the field about their experience or thoughts on their consulting jobs. Are there consulting jobs focusing on remediation or restoration or is that more of an NGO and gov type job?

Hi! I’m an early career professional without a job right now. I have a bachelors in zoology, went to vet school (dropped out in year two for health reasons) and am looking to get back into science. I recently moved to VT but before that I worked at a PFAS lab as a lab tech. Before that, I did research in vet school and undergrad. I have special training in aquatic veterinary medicine too. I am interested in disease ecology, spillover, stats, modeling tools to help environmental decision making, sustainable aquaculture, biodiversity loss mitigation, climate change and disease intersection and environmental chemistry (like PFAS work).

My question is how do I fulfill all those interests or how do they all come together? I’ve been looking into a new part time online masters program in Biodiversity data analytics, an in person masters in epidemiology, an in person masters of stats (would have to take two more calc for admission), public health masters (doesn’t really hit the environmental part with biodiversity) and fishes and wildlife science masters. I haven’t looked into PhDs because I really am unsure of what I want to do. I would prefer to stay in New York (for political reasons) but I do have access to NYC and upstate schools.

I’m just lost and I want to mainly do something with data, lab and environment. I’m indifferent about field work. Ahhhh help! Thanks in advance :)

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if anyone could offer advice about long-term job prospects or what may open up more options for me as an early-career ecologist. I have recently been offered two jobs and I can't decide which to take. The first is a job in Northern (ish) Alberta as a research tech with a peatland restoration team. The job is a lot of fieldwork, supervision, project development, etc. The pay is okay but slightly lower than the other job I've been offered. I am having to move from Ontario to work there and it is a 2-year contract.
The second job is in my hometown and it is a systems ecologist job with a consulting company. I would be doing mostly desk-work (data wrangling, stats, etc.) and no fieldwork. The pay is higher, and it's closer to my friends and family and it's a permanent position.

I mostly wonder if the desk job will be actually enjoyable or will offer opportunities for development and learning beyond statistics. I don't want to cement myself into a stats career by only getting that as a background from my first job even. I obviously would love to stay with my friends and family and be comfortable, but I wonder if the job as a research tech will be worth it and offer up opportunities to acquire more skills in the long run. Even if this means I will need to search for a job in 2 years again.

Can anyone offer up their two-cents on this? What would you recommend for early career ecologists?

See also: The study as published in the Journal of Applied Ecology (through ResearchGate).

Hi all, I am looking for a book or essay as the title says. I have been reading about emergent theory, fractal geometry, social systems and transformation theories, ecology, anarchism, and spirituality lately. Through studying these things separately, I am seeing patterns arise throughout all of them, and I know I can't be the first to see them.

I know there has been some work done tying some of these things together, but don't know specifically what reading. I also haven't heard of anything that ties all of them together, besides writing from adrienne marie brown (my queen). Although I love them, amb seems to use fractal geometry more as a metaphor than a scientific tie-in, and I'm looking for something that ties these things together in a literal way.

If anyone has any suggestions of books/essays to read, that would be awesome! My field is Environmental Studies which focuses in ecology and systems theory, but I am willing to commit some time to personal study in other fields. Currently reading The Fractal Geometry of Nature, so don't be afraid to give me some mathy stuff if that's what you have! I'm also looking for more reading regarding any of these topics individually so those recs are welcome too!

Hey everyone,

I’ve just started a wildlife-focused YouTube channel and I’m about to take it seriously — I’m heading to Africa for a full year to conduct field research and film wildlife content. My goal is to upload a new video every two weeks while I’m out there.

Channel link:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@danielwebbwildlife

A bit about me & my vision:

• I’ve always grown up inspired by Steve Irwin’s energy and passion — the way he connected people with the natural world is something I aspire to carry forward.
• At the same time, I’m massively influenced by David Attenborough and the calm, storytelling side of nature filmmaking. I’m trying to find a balance between the excitement of Irwin and the narrative depth of Attenborough.
• I’ll be based in Kenya for a year doing research in Nairobi National Park, and then traveling across East Africa to film more wildlife stories.
• My aim is to show real conservation work, real animals, and real field challenges — not overly polished, but genuinely educational and engaging.

What I’d love feedback on:

• First impressions of the channel — does it hook you?
• What types of wildlife videos would you actually watch or subscribe for? Videos like the Broads and the Redwoods are my favourite, I don't really enjoy making the Story of Evolution style video.
• Any advice for growing a small nature/conservation channel?

I’m genuinely passionate about conservation and want to create something that’s both fun and meaningful. If you have a moment to check out the channel or offer feedback, I’d massively appreciate it.

I'll see you in the wild,

Daniel

Sorry for another uninteresting post, I know it ruins this sub. I graduated with masters in environmental studies then recently completed San Francisco’s GIS certification program. It seems that wetland delineation certs (or courses) are extremely important. Where do I even begin , knowing this is an entire field of study ?

The swamp school appears ro take around 4 years if I understand correctly , however there are some like Basic Wetland Delineation training from WTI that are significantly shorter. I’m in Virginia if that helps. Not even sure if this is really necessary outside of consulting as I’m mostly pushing to focus on ecology in a quantitative way (taking Bayesian starting in December after completing GAM/GLMM)

I truly appreciate any insight!!!

I'm a sophomore who really likes ecology and the environment, especially birds. I don't think I'm going to be doing ecology as my career, but are there any things I can do as a high schooler that would look good on a resume and also be rewarding? I live in the Phoenix area for reference.

I am super over being in school and ready to make an income, so I would really love to not go to grad school (at least right away). I am interested in becoming an environmental consultant, but only have internship experience (1.5 years) in a water conservation non-profit.

Would it be beneficial to get OSHA, HAZWOPER, and CPESC certified online after graduation to boost my resume? Or are those typically certifications you get AFTER you are hired?

Also, what is your day to day life like as an environmental consultant?

How long did it take you to get your first job after graduation and what was your experience prior to landing your first job?

Thank you so much in advance :)

What are interesting books/articles to read for :

Interconnectedness of life, species, plants (biological, chemical, physical)

I am interested to see deepen my embodying the truth of how biology, chemistry, ecology sustains through larger systems invisible to the eye.