Rob Boyd
@robboyd.bsky.social
NERC Independent Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. Visiting Scientist at UK CEH. Associate Editor for Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Into biodiversity monitoring, sampling theory, missing data theory, and causal inference
Reposted by Rob Boyd
The #KunmingDialogue is taking place in Kunming, China, this week. Three days of multi-stakeholder consultations will focus on the first Global Review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in the lead-up to #COP17.
September 9, 2026 at 1:55 PM
The #KunmingDialogue is taking place in Kunming, China, this week. Three days of multi-stakeholder consultations will focus on the first Global Review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in the lead-up to #COP17.
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Don't forget to register for our next MEE live!
Antica Čulina will introduce the concept of Risk of Bias (RoB), and discusses why RoB assessment matters for producing reliable systematic reviews and meta-analyses 🌍🧪
Find out more and register👇
buff.ly/8Hj79o9
Antica Čulina will introduce the concept of Risk of Bias (RoB), and discusses why RoB assessment matters for producing reliable systematic reviews and meta-analyses 🌍🧪
Find out more and register👇
buff.ly/8Hj79o9
September 9, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Don't forget to register for our next MEE live!
Antica Čulina will introduce the concept of Risk of Bias (RoB), and discusses why RoB assessment matters for producing reliable systematic reviews and meta-analyses 🌍🧪
Find out more and register👇
buff.ly/8Hj79o9
Antica Čulina will introduce the concept of Risk of Bias (RoB), and discusses why RoB assessment matters for producing reliable systematic reviews and meta-analyses 🌍🧪
Find out more and register👇
buff.ly/8Hj79o9
Reposted by Rob Boyd
New blog post!🚨
Antica Čulina tells the story of how a something that bugged them 15 years ago was finally formalised in a paper on a Risk of Bias assessment in ecological and evolutionary meta-analysis 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
buff.ly/si6MLJq
Antica Čulina tells the story of how a something that bugged them 15 years ago was finally formalised in a paper on a Risk of Bias assessment in ecological and evolutionary meta-analysis 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
buff.ly/si6MLJq
Its never too late – Risk of Bias in ecology and evolutionary biology
Post provided by Antica Čulina Hi, I am Antica. I work as a senior researcher at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia. This is a story about how something that bugged me 15 years ago was finally…
methodsblog.com
August 31, 2026 at 11:01 AM
New blog post!🚨
Antica Čulina tells the story of how a something that bugged them 15 years ago was finally formalised in a paper on a Risk of Bias assessment in ecological and evolutionary meta-analysis 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
buff.ly/si6MLJq
Antica Čulina tells the story of how a something that bugged them 15 years ago was finally formalised in a paper on a Risk of Bias assessment in ecological and evolutionary meta-analysis 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
buff.ly/si6MLJq
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Delighted this huge team effort is out! By surveying >20,000 people from >100 countries, we used to butterflies to show that aesthetic biases distort scientific research & environmental policy. Understanding this bias is a key step towards more balanced decision-making 🦋
www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
August 26, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Delighted this huge team effort is out! By surveying >20,000 people from >100 countries, we used to butterflies to show that aesthetic biases distort scientific research & environmental policy. Understanding this bias is a key step towards more balanced decision-making 🦋
www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
What makes a multispecies abundance indicator "wrong", and what can be done to fix it? Read our new paper in Ecography to find out!
@sacrevert.bsky.social @spakey.bsky.social @susanjarvis.bsky.social, Gary Powney and Xiao-Li Meng
@uniexecec.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
@sacrevert.bsky.social @spakey.bsky.social @susanjarvis.bsky.social, Gary Powney and Xiao-Li Meng
@uniexecec.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
How to reduce sampling error in species population monitoring: from theory to methods
Progress towards national and international targets to halt and reverse declines in species' abundances will be assessed using multispecies indicators (MSIs). A distinction must be drawn between two ...
doi.org
August 24, 2026 at 10:26 AM
What makes a multispecies abundance indicator "wrong", and what can be done to fix it? Read our new paper in Ecography to find out!
@sacrevert.bsky.social @spakey.bsky.social @susanjarvis.bsky.social, Gary Powney and Xiao-Li Meng
@uniexecec.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
@sacrevert.bsky.social @spakey.bsky.social @susanjarvis.bsky.social, Gary Powney and Xiao-Li Meng
@uniexecec.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
Reposted by Rob Boyd
🦋 I’m recruiting a fully funded PhD student at the University of Helsinki: understanding how butterflies respond to climate change across Europe. Apply by 30 Sept:
Full details:
jobs.helsinki.fi/job-invite/5...
Please share!
#ecology #job #phd
Full details:
jobs.helsinki.fi/job-invite/5...
Please share!
#ecology #job #phd
Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) in Butterfly Ecology and Climate Change across Europe
Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) in Butterfly Ecology and Climate Change across Europe
jobs.helsinki.fi
August 17, 2026 at 12:13 PM
🦋 I’m recruiting a fully funded PhD student at the University of Helsinki: understanding how butterflies respond to climate change across Europe. Apply by 30 Sept:
Full details:
jobs.helsinki.fi/job-invite/5...
Please share!
#ecology #job #phd
Full details:
jobs.helsinki.fi/job-invite/5...
Please share!
#ecology #job #phd
Reposted by Rob Boyd
📖Published📖
This new review article proposes several main steps towards increasing the use of Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment in ecology and evolutionary biology and highlights the important role of the synthesis community, but also of journals and funders 🌍 🧪
Read here 👇
This new review article proposes several main steps towards increasing the use of Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment in ecology and evolutionary biology and highlights the important role of the synthesis community, but also of journals and funders 🌍 🧪
Read here 👇
buff.ly
August 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM
📖Published📖
This new review article proposes several main steps towards increasing the use of Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment in ecology and evolutionary biology and highlights the important role of the synthesis community, but also of journals and funders 🌍 🧪
Read here 👇
This new review article proposes several main steps towards increasing the use of Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment in ecology and evolutionary biology and highlights the important role of the synthesis community, but also of journals and funders 🌍 🧪
Read here 👇
Reposted by Rob Boyd
The Journal of Mathematical Philosophy is now open for submissions!
It is fully open access, with no fees for authors or readers. Please help spread the word, and do consider sending us your work.
Very happy to be part of the inaugural editorial board.
mathematicalphilosophy.org/mathphil
It is fully open access, with no fees for authors or readers. Please help spread the word, and do consider sending us your work.
Very happy to be part of the inaugural editorial board.
mathematicalphilosophy.org/mathphil
mathematicalphilosophy.org
July 31, 2026 at 9:48 AM
The Journal of Mathematical Philosophy is now open for submissions!
It is fully open access, with no fees for authors or readers. Please help spread the word, and do consider sending us your work.
Very happy to be part of the inaugural editorial board.
mathematicalphilosophy.org/mathphil
It is fully open access, with no fees for authors or readers. Please help spread the word, and do consider sending us your work.
Very happy to be part of the inaugural editorial board.
mathematicalphilosophy.org/mathphil
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Current butterfly occurrence data largely reflect where citizen scientists can go, rather than solely where species occur 🚶♀️
Accessibility metrics can be used to inform citizen science survey design and aid interpretation of data.
@mingruiliuml.bsky.social @robboyd.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/2tbw3jf3
Accessibility metrics can be used to inform citizen science survey design and aid interpretation of data.
@mingruiliuml.bsky.social @robboyd.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/2tbw3jf3
Causal Analysis Reveals That Public Access to Land Can Shape Our View of Species' Geographic Distributions
Aim Citizen science data are widely used to study species' distributions. Using butterfly observations from South-West England, we sought to better understand what shapes the spatial footprint of re...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 30, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Current butterfly occurrence data largely reflect where citizen scientists can go, rather than solely where species occur 🚶♀️
Accessibility metrics can be used to inform citizen science survey design and aid interpretation of data.
@mingruiliuml.bsky.social @robboyd.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/2tbw3jf3
Accessibility metrics can be used to inform citizen science survey design and aid interpretation of data.
@mingruiliuml.bsky.social @robboyd.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/2tbw3jf3
Why DAGs aren't just for causal inference and should often represent the observation process
Check out our new paper:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
@r-cooke.bsky.social, Gary Powney and @sacrevert.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Check out our new paper:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
@r-cooke.bsky.social, Gary Powney and @sacrevert.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Why your DAG should probably incorporate sampling and measurement processes
Insect scientists are starting to use Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) to display assumptions about causal relationships between variables that exist be…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 29, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Why DAGs aren't just for causal inference and should often represent the observation process
Check out our new paper:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
@r-cooke.bsky.social, Gary Powney and @sacrevert.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Check out our new paper:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
@r-cooke.bsky.social, Gary Powney and @sacrevert.bsky.social
@ukceh.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
What has a greater effect on the number of butterfly records across Devon and Cornwall: habitat or public access?
Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Causal Analysis Reveals That Public Access to Land Can Shape Our View of Species' Geographic Distributions
Aim Citizen science data are widely used to study species' distributions. Using butterfly observations from South-West England, we sought to better understand what shapes the spatial footprint of re...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 20, 2026 at 3:41 PM
What has a greater effect on the number of butterfly records across Devon and Cornwall: habitat or public access?
Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Our new paper, led by Mingrui Li, addresses this question dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.... @jonbennie.bsky.social @davidroybrc.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Are our ecological conclusions built on shaky foundations?
Our latest paper in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social highlights that Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment, crucial for ensuring the internal validity of research, is almost never used in #systematicreviews in eco & evo 📉
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/2041...
Our latest paper in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social highlights that Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment, crucial for ensuring the internal validity of research, is almost never used in #systematicreviews in eco & evo 📉
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/2041...
July 16, 2026 at 5:37 AM
Are our ecological conclusions built on shaky foundations?
Our latest paper in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social highlights that Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment, crucial for ensuring the internal validity of research, is almost never used in #systematicreviews in eco & evo 📉
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/2041...
Our latest paper in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social highlights that Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment, crucial for ensuring the internal validity of research, is almost never used in #systematicreviews in eco & evo 📉
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/2041...
Interesting
6 years of research: "The only trait that consistently predicted objections to remote work was narcissism—the tendency to be self-centered & entitled. The higher the opinions of themselves leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status—& the more they favored return-to-office mandates."
July 6, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Interesting
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Scientists using LLMs (AI) to write/modify text & to précis the literature is a slippery slope
Scientific training is about learning how to: write clearly & succinctly, assess the literature, develop our own knowledge, & be critical thinkers
Using LLMs to do these undermines scientific integrity
Scientific training is about learning how to: write clearly & succinctly, assess the literature, develop our own knowledge, & be critical thinkers
Using LLMs to do these undermines scientific integrity
June 10, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Scientists using LLMs (AI) to write/modify text & to précis the literature is a slippery slope
Scientific training is about learning how to: write clearly & succinctly, assess the literature, develop our own knowledge, & be critical thinkers
Using LLMs to do these undermines scientific integrity
Scientific training is about learning how to: write clearly & succinctly, assess the literature, develop our own knowledge, & be critical thinkers
Using LLMs to do these undermines scientific integrity
Reposted by Rob Boyd
We’re hiring! We invite applications for an Ecological Statistician to join our team. Work at the interface of cutting-edge biodiversity science and statistics. DL 27 May
@jarnovanhatalo.bsky.social @rececochange.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
@jarnovanhatalo.bsky.social @rececochange.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
Ecological Statistician
Ecological Statistician
jobs.helsinki.fi
May 7, 2026 at 6:36 AM
We’re hiring! We invite applications for an Ecological Statistician to join our team. Work at the interface of cutting-edge biodiversity science and statistics. DL 27 May
@jarnovanhatalo.bsky.social @rececochange.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
@jarnovanhatalo.bsky.social @rececochange.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu
jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
Reposted by Rob Boyd
"The real threat is a slow, comfortable drift toward not understanding what you're doing. Not a dramatic collapse. Not Skynet. Just a generation of researchers who can produce results but can't produce understanding."
Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
The machines are fine. I'm worried about us.
On AI agents, grunt work, and the part of science that isn't replaceable.
ergosphere.blog
April 2, 2026 at 5:30 PM
"The real threat is a slow, comfortable drift toward not understanding what you're doing. Not a dramatic collapse. Not Skynet. Just a generation of researchers who can produce results but can't produce understanding."
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Fantastic that our paper using @ukbms.bsky.social data led by @robboyd.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the best paper of the year prize! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
Robin Boyd: Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data
Throughout March, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in E…
methodsblog.com
March 26, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Fantastic that our paper using @ukbms.bsky.social data led by @robboyd.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the best paper of the year prize! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Reposted by Rob Boyd
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
Robin Boyd: Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data
Throughout March, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in E…
methodsblog.com
March 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
In his blog post, @robboyd.bsky.social talks about his paper 'Using causal diagrams and superpopulation models to correct geographic biases in biodiversity monitoring data' 🌍 🧪 Read the blog and find the full article 👇
buff.ly/a7UROJJ
Reposted by Rob Boyd
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅
In his paper, @jsmartin.bsky.social proposes a statistical model for detecting how complex, continuously varying environments shape the expression of and association among multiple organismal traits 🌍
Read more here 👇
In his paper, @jsmartin.bsky.social proposes a statistical model for detecting how complex, continuously varying environments shape the expression of and association among multiple organismal traits 🌍
Read more here 👇
buff.ly
March 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅
In his paper, @jsmartin.bsky.social proposes a statistical model for detecting how complex, continuously varying environments shape the expression of and association among multiple organismal traits 🌍
Read more here 👇
In his paper, @jsmartin.bsky.social proposes a statistical model for detecting how complex, continuously varying environments shape the expression of and association among multiple organismal traits 🌍
Read more here 👇
Reposted by Rob Boyd
In a sea of opinions about the role of LLMs in academics I offer my own.
Apart from being harmful, exploitive plagiarism machines, LLMs rob us of the opportunity to experience the gift of friction in writing, which changes how we think.
We must not give away that gift.
doi.org/10.1002/fee....
Apart from being harmful, exploitive plagiarism machines, LLMs rob us of the opportunity to experience the gift of friction in writing, which changes how we think.
We must not give away that gift.
doi.org/10.1002/fee....
Thinking like a mountain in the age of AI
Click on the article title to read more.
doi.org
March 16, 2026 at 2:16 PM
In a sea of opinions about the role of LLMs in academics I offer my own.
Apart from being harmful, exploitive plagiarism machines, LLMs rob us of the opportunity to experience the gift of friction in writing, which changes how we think.
We must not give away that gift.
doi.org/10.1002/fee....
Apart from being harmful, exploitive plagiarism machines, LLMs rob us of the opportunity to experience the gift of friction in writing, which changes how we think.
We must not give away that gift.
doi.org/10.1002/fee....
Reposted by Rob Boyd
We're pleased to announce the shortlist for this year's Robert May prize! 🌟
Each year, we award the Robert May prize to the best paper in the journal by an early career author 🧪 🌏
See the full list below 👇
buff.ly/SosksZF
Each year, we award the Robert May prize to the best paper in the journal by an early career author 🧪 🌏
See the full list below 👇
buff.ly/SosksZF
March 12, 2026 at 10:31 AM
We're pleased to announce the shortlist for this year's Robert May prize! 🌟
Each year, we award the Robert May prize to the best paper in the journal by an early career author 🧪 🌏
See the full list below 👇
buff.ly/SosksZF
Each year, we award the Robert May prize to the best paper in the journal by an early career author 🧪 🌏
See the full list below 👇
buff.ly/SosksZF
Reposted by Rob Boyd
Published 📖
Generalized graphical mixed models connect ecological theory with widely used statistical models
GGMMs connect ecological theory with statistical models that are applied for inference, prediction, and causal analysis throughout ecology 🖥️ 🌍
🔎
Generalized graphical mixed models connect ecological theory with widely used statistical models
GGMMs connect ecological theory with statistical models that are applied for inference, prediction, and causal analysis throughout ecology 🖥️ 🌍
🔎
buff.ly
March 12, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Published 📖
Generalized graphical mixed models connect ecological theory with widely used statistical models
GGMMs connect ecological theory with statistical models that are applied for inference, prediction, and causal analysis throughout ecology 🖥️ 🌍
🔎
Generalized graphical mixed models connect ecological theory with widely used statistical models
GGMMs connect ecological theory with statistical models that are applied for inference, prediction, and causal analysis throughout ecology 🖥️ 🌍
🔎
Reposted by Rob Boyd
As well as the FIT Count survey, we run a more systematic survey using insect traps in a set of 1 km squares across the UK. If you live near one of the red squares on the map and are interested in taking part please contact us for more details ukpoms.org.uk/one-km-squar...
March 6, 2026 at 3:57 PM
As well as the FIT Count survey, we run a more systematic survey using insect traps in a set of 1 km squares across the UK. If you live near one of the red squares on the map and are interested in taking part please contact us for more details ukpoms.org.uk/one-km-squar...
Reposted by Rob Boyd
CFP: Society for the Study of Measurement will be held at the University of Edinburgh
June 22-25, 2026. Submit proposals for papers, symposia, & poster on any topics in the theory, history, philosophy, & application of measurement by January 15, 2026 app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80364...
#HPS
June 22-25, 2026. Submit proposals for papers, symposia, & poster on any topics in the theory, history, philosophy, & application of measurement by January 15, 2026 app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80364...
#HPS
December 29, 2025 at 12:31 PM
CFP: Society for the Study of Measurement will be held at the University of Edinburgh
June 22-25, 2026. Submit proposals for papers, symposia, & poster on any topics in the theory, history, philosophy, & application of measurement by January 15, 2026 app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80364...
#HPS
June 22-25, 2026. Submit proposals for papers, symposia, & poster on any topics in the theory, history, philosophy, & application of measurement by January 15, 2026 app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80364...
#HPS
New paper on adaptive sampling for ecological monitoring published in @oikosjournal.bsky.social nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/.... Premise is to aim for proportional allocation across strata. Success depends on choice of stratifying variables. Oli Pescott’s brainchild
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM
New paper on adaptive sampling for ecological monitoring published in @oikosjournal.bsky.social nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/.... Premise is to aim for proportional allocation across strata. Success depends on choice of stratifying variables. Oli Pescott’s brainchild