Merin Reji Chacko
Postdoc @wslresearch.bsky.social
spatial food webs | big data | biodiversity monitoring | stability | macroecology | biogeography | urban food webs merinrejichacko.com
she/her 🏳️🌈😷
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoWe’re currently running our first online ABM and IBM with @netlogo.bsky.social course after two in-person editions in Berlin & Łódź! Huge thanks to Volker Grimm, Steve Railsback & Jacob Kelter for their expert guidance Thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey!
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoPreprint alert! The epidemiology of wild–crop interfaces: Integrating ecology, evolution, and management through modeling - www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/abs/10.3...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoConservation postdoc in Brisbane, Australia 🧪
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoCome join me at Oregon State! We’re hiring a new assistant professor in population and disease dynamics of cereal pathogens. Our department is dynamic and fun, our building is newly renovated, and Oregon is wonderful! jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/171...
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko🚨 First PhD chapter is out! My work thus far, with @andy2dobson.bsky.social We found that formerly common species have declined the fastest, on average. 📄 North American bird declines are driven by reductions in common species | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- 🏵️ Preprint alert! 🐝 In an #urban garden experiment along independent #densification🏙️ × local garden floral richness🌷 gradients, floral richness maintains #pollination success under densification, but only for plants with higher floral specificity. 🔎 doi.org/10.22541/au.... #Traits #Pollinators
- Huge thanks to David Frey, who I co-led this project with, and to Matthias Albrecht, Jaboury Ghazoul, and of course Marco Moretti, for being the best co-authors one could ask for! My first real dive into #FunctionalTraits and #Urban #Pollinators and boy, what a way to start! 🌿🐝
- If you’re curious about how we collected the data 👉 Check out our data paper for full details on the experiment, including individual-level trait data for nearly 6,000 pollinators, including #bees, #hoverflies, #wasps, & #beetles across 24 home gardens in #Zurich. 📂 ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoJOIN US!!! @garlab.bsky.social is looking for a PhD and MS student to join our team studying ecology & conservation of gars, bowfin, and other non-game native fishes beginning Spring 2026! Posting & more info coming soon. Please DM or email srdavid@umn.edu with CV if interested!
- Spotted this swallowtail caterpillar munching on wild carrot by the Limmat River in #Zürich. A quiet reminder that urban #biodiversity is not to be underestimated!🌿🐛 #UrbanEcology #PlantInsectInteractions #TrophicInteractions
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoNew Masters launching! 🤩 A 2 year program in Germany and Norway, all courses held in English. Amazing opportunity to learn about some of the most critical challenges the natural world is facing from leading scientists working in this field 🌍🌱
- We’re excited to launch our Double Degree Master’s in Global Change Ecology – a unique collaboration between the University of Würzburg (Germany) and the University of Bergen (Norway)! Passionate about biodiversity🐛, ecosystems🗻, and today’s urgent environmental challenges🌍? This program is for you!
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko☘️🐛🐦⬛ When common species disappear, food webs can become unstable. This has far-reaching consequences, especially when wetland species are affected: www.wsl.ch/en/news/if-s... #speciesextinction #foodwebs #wetlands #biodiversity @merinrejichacko.bsky.social @loicpellissier.bsky.social
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko☘️🐛🐦⬛Sterben häufige Arten aus, können Nahrungsnetze instabil werden. Insbesondere wenn Feuchtgebietsarten betroffen sind, hat dies weitreichende Folgen: www.wsl.ch/de/news/vers... #Artensterben #Nahrungsnetze #Feuchtgebiete #Biodiversität @merinrejichacko.bsky.social @loicpellissier.bsky.social
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko5 papers all computational biologists should read 🧵 1. A Quick Guide to Organizing Computational Biology Projects journals.plos.org/ploscompbio...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoAbout 1500 of the approx. 2300 people that will have lost their lives across 12 European cities last week would still live, if it wasn't for our burning of oil, coal and gas. If we care about the right to life, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/pub...
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko🌍 New in Science: Consistent energy–diversity relationships in terrestrial vertebrates Co-authored by @elbohdalkova.bsky.social & David Storch from @cts.cuni.cz 📌 Temperature drives richness in ectotherms (metabolic theory) and has indirect effects in endotherms 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoVery excited to announce that our latest feral cattle paper “Strategic third-party interventions in feral ungulate affiliation” is out today in @royalsociety.org Proceedings of the Royal Society B royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... by myself, Kate Flay, Tania Perroux & @amcell.bsky.social
- Thrilled to announce the publication of the trophiCH database: a multi-trophic, species-level #metaweb for #Switzerland🇨🇭 Out now in #ScientificData 📃 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Want to explore the dataset? 🔍 webapps.wsl.ch/trophiCH/ #OpenData #Ecology #FoodWebs 🌐 1/6
- This empirically based #metaweb paves the way for data-driven studies of real-world food webs across space and time. By integrating the metaweb with local species assemblages knowledge, we can gain insights into broad patterns of food web structure across spatial scales. How, you ask? Read on! 2/6
- Just last week, we published the results of our investigation into the robustness of regional multi-habitat food webs under various #extinction scenarios. We did this by combining trophiCH with long-term occurrence data. bsky.app/profile/meri... 3/6
- 🚨 Hot off the press! We show that species loss from key habitats (like wetlands) accelerates secondary extinction in regional multi-habitat food webs. Also, we show the importance of common species to regional food web robustness. doi.org/10.1038/s420... #Ecology #FoodWebs #Biodiversity #Metaweb
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View full threadMartin Gossner, Hsi-Cheng Ho, Alain Joss, Fadri Campell, Willem Ellis, Pascal Kipf, Andjeljko Petrović, Vincent Prié, Željko Tomanović and Nik Zimmerli, as well as everyone @ele-ethwsl.bsky.social We did it!!😎 @wslresearch.bsky.social @wslbiodiversity.bsky.social @usyseth.bsky.social 6/6
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoAfter almost 4 years of intermittent work, our perspective on biodiversity modelling in urban ecosystems is finally out in @natcities.nature.com 👉🏻 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko🌐 Global Ecology Digest #26, June 30-July 08, 42 posts! ✨For the lazy (yes we are!) & friends who don't like social media but might benefit from this feed, here’s a DIGEST crafted with 💚 for you to share 👉 globalecologybs.github.io/feeddigest.g... DM if you want to receive the link weekly 🌍🦤🦑🪴🍁🧪
- 🚨 Hot off the press! We show that species loss from key habitats (like wetlands) accelerates secondary extinction in regional multi-habitat food webs. Also, we show the importance of common species to regional food web robustness. doi.org/10.1038/s420... #Ecology #FoodWebs #Biodiversity #Metaweb
- My eternal gratitude to @camilleethz.bsky.social @florianaltermatt.bsky.social, Victor Boussange, Martin Brändle, @consecol.bsky.social, Martin Gossner, Hsi-Cheng Ho, Alain Joss, @felixneff.bsky.social & @loicpellissier.bsky.social for making chapter 2 of my PhD a reality! @ele-ethwsl.bsky.social
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoNew paper out! 🏙️ We found that urbanisation simplifies and homogenises seed dispersal networks. 🪴🐦⬛ Non-native plants dominate in cities, accounting for 61% 😔 of interactions in the urban network vs just 15% in forests! 🪻🌿🌴 Check it out: doi.org/10.1111/cobi... 🌐🧪🌍🍁
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoDie Geschichte dazu hier: Zappa, M., Karger, D. N., & Hüsler, F. (2025). EXtreme Trockenheit in der Schweiz: Regionale und lokale Perspektiven einer globalen Herausforderung. In A. Björnsen (Ed.), WSL Berichte: Vol. 164. Extremes (pp. 13-21). doi.org/10.55419/wsl...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoHappy Birthday to master storyteller Sir David Attenborough! 🎉 We’ve loved working with Sir David as he delivered the narration to the upcoming immersive experience, Our Story with David Attenborough. Tickets go on sale in just two weeks. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko🚨New paper alert🚨 Exploring urban #aquatic & #terrestrial biodiversity with #eDNA 🧬 ❗ #Urbanization weakens land–water linkages ❗ Aquatic & terrestrial communities follow distinct drivers 🐞🦟 ❗ Adapted primers for aquatic & terrestrial invertebrates 🧬 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko#PostDoc Alert! #PhD in #forest- or #environmental #sciences, good publication record & interest in #ecological development of forests? 🌳🌲 Excellent knowledge in #statistics and statistical #modelling? 🖥️ We are looking for a 2-year PostDoc in forest modelling! apply.refline.ch/273855/1730/...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoWe finally got a ChatGPT generated review on a manuscript. So I wrote about how we handle these reviews is a sign of whether we have given up on peer review altogether.
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoHappy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #FrauenInderWissenschaft #FrauenInMINT #MintFrauen #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoOur research is finally out 📜 @natureportfolio.bsky.social in our publication we show that #landscape_diversity 🏞️promotes #productivity using #remote_sensing on a continental scale 🌎 across 20 years Thanks to everyone who contributed✨ #University_of_Zurich #URPP_GCB www.nature.com/articles/s43...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoToday we are releasing 64 (!) adverts for Masters by Research projects at the College of Science & Engineering. All are self-funded. Spanning 18 themes/disciplines this is the richest offering we’ve had in years. Check out the projects now and get in touch: tinyurl.com/4bw29ucv
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko📢 Are you an early career researcher, interested in how science is communicated, reported, & the evolution of the scientific ecosystem? Applications are open for the Royal Society Publishing Early Career Researcher Advisory Panel. Find out more: ow.ly/MaTk50U71W3 #ECRs #ResearchCulture #AcademicSky
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoThe Missouri Botanical Garden is hiring a postdoctoral fellow to design ex situ plant collections for conservation. Applications open until filled; salary based on experience. More details: jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/mbg/CANDIDATE… #postdoc
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoReady to make a difference in agro-entomology research? Join us for a PhD in the "GoodWeedBadWeed" project in Göttingen&@leibnizlib.bsky.social! 🌾🌱 on plant-pollinator interactions using eDNA, nectar & pollen. Fieldwork near Göttingen (driver's license required).Apply at tinyurl.com/GoodWeedBadW...
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoAre you interested in species interactions and how we model them? Then this thread is for you! Our new paper in Ecology on the role of abundance in species interactions provides new statistical tools for modelling species interactions. shorturl.at/Sqz9m 🧵(1/13)🧵
- Pre-print alert! 🚨 Excited to share my second PhD chapter: species link habitats through food webs. We show that removing species from one habitat (e.g., wetlands) can cascade across the multi-habitat regional food web, reducing its robustness. 🌿🐝🐦🦌 Check it out here: doi.org/10.21203/rs....
- Thanks to the awesome squad that made this study possible! @camilleethz.bsky.social, @florianaltermatt.bsky.social, Victor Boussange, Martin Brändle, @consecol.bsky.social, Martin Gossner, Hsi-Cheng Ho, Alain Joss, @FelixNeff.ecoevo.social.ap.brid.gy, and of course, @loicpellissier.bsky.social
- Reposted by Merin Reji Chacko⏰ Join us tomorrow at our 3rd Biodiversity Symposium: Communicating Biodiversity (or why it is so complicated)! We'll have three incredible speakers (with diverse perspectives & expertise) @colognaviktoria.bsky.social @bsaladin.bsky.social, and Bernhard Schmid. Join us in person or online!
- Reposted by Merin Reji ChackoRecent paper found its place at #BioScience December issue led by Cátia Pereira & myself. We synthesize studies on #eDNA and #traitmatching and propose a framework to couple eDNA and traits from measured and compiled datasets to reconstruct #foodwebs 🦠🐚🐌 academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
- I'm excited to defend my PhD on "unveiling spatial patterns of multi-trophic #biodiversity using the #metaweb approach" this Wednesday! 🎉 DM me if you would like to attend the presentation over Zoom, please! #foodwebs #ecology #networkecology
