Robert Fournier
Ecologist, postdoc at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara. robertjfournier.com
- So excited to share our new paper out today in Ecological Applications @esajournals.bsky.social! We used time-series modeling explore ecological risk for fishes and their prey in the San Francisco Estuary during key phenological windows that shape food web dynamics. dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap....
- By modeling how long-term population trends and variability impact decline probability, we examined how risk fluctuates throughout the year for age-0 fishes. We found that risk can vary from month to month, highlighting that risk might not be consistent even within the same life stage.
- We also found that fishes are accumulating risk faster than their zooplankton prey during key times of year. A pattern that hints at the potential for trophic mismatches that could affect the whole food web. We also found strong spatial patterns, with the strongest divergence in more saline regions.
- Assessing risk across species and at fine spatial and temporal scales can help pinpoint management priorities to protect estuarine food webs and guide limited conservation resources
- Reposted by Robert FournierBillions of gallons of water flow daily through California’s water projects. In this National Academies Report we examined key actions to protect endangered fish & Bay-Delta ecosystems while considering human water needs nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2913... #WaterResources #CentralValleyProject
- At my first Western Society of Naturalists meeting presenting some of our work looking at sea otter restoration! Looking forward to introducing myself to a new scientific society and engaging with a new audience. Please reach out if you want to connect! #WSN2025
- Reposted by Robert FournierHow vulnerable are riparian trees to drought? Using groundwater and satellite data from a California waterhsed, our new paper found that trees by drying rivers lost up to 5 weeks of growing season, suggesting they’re nearing critical groundwater limits. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Reposted by Robert FournierDoes tidal marsh #restoration "work", if the goal is bringing back key species AND the trophic interactions that support them? A thousand stable isotope samples later, we have answers! 💯 work by PhD student Megan Pagliaro: esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #SanFrancisco #BayDelta
- Reposted by Robert FournierLooking for a postdoc, and interested in river-coastal linkages, #remote sensing, and time series analysis? Come work with us @natureatcal.bsky.social on an exciting project led by @rachelspatial.bsky.social! CC @sfs-src.bsky.social @aslo.org @cerfscience.bsky.social @caseagrant.bsky.social
- We're hiring! My lab is seeking a 2-yr Postdoc in 🌊 marine ecology + 🛰️ remote sensing. You'll work with a big team (including @albertruhi.bsky.social @cgerleinsafdi.bsky.social) to study the impacts of changing rainfall on marine freshwater plumes + coastal organisms. aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05114
- Reposted by Robert FournierSo great to see our work on blue dasher dragonflies highlighted in the New York Times. Excellent piece by @cjgiaimo.bsky.social! www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/s...
- Anyone at #esa2025 this year? Get in touch!
- Reposted by Robert FournierRead the full story here -> aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... Thanks to the the International Associated Laboratory "MacLife" for funding! CC @matbuoro.bsky.social @fishteph.bsky.social @natureatcal.bsky.social
- Reposted by Robert FournierUC-Berkeley has an open-rank faculty position in our incredible Climate Equity and Environmental Justice (CEEJ) research cluster. It is an extraordinary interdisciplinary group working across multiple colleges and departments at the university! More information here: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04842
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- Reposted by Robert FournierThis threat represents an immeasurable loss to community-driven research and to the training pipeline for the next generation of collaborative conservation leaders
- USGS’ biological research arm could vanish next week www.hcn.org/articles/usg... via @highcountrynews.org
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- Reposted by Robert FournierProfessors at USGS coop units were absolutely critical parts of my education at 3 different universities. They're probably affiliated with more useful conservation research than any other agency on earth. Join the rally to defend science next week! 🌎🐟🦉🐍🦊🌿🧪 #hydrology #Invert mobilize.us/s/JyAqUI
- Reposted by Robert FournierRacist and sexist roots in the cancellation of NSF grants under Trump: Grants with female PIs canceled 2x more than men Grants with Black PIs canceled 4x over White PIs Grants with Hispanic PIs canceled 2x over White PIs Grants with PIs with disabilities canceled 2x more than without
- Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3 www.science.org/content/arti...
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[Not loaded yet] - Reposted by Robert FournierA colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond. I hope you’ll read and share the piece. stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...
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- Reposted by Robert Fournier📢 GLOSSAQUA is out in Ecology @esajournals.bsky.social. Big collaboration w/40+ coauthors led by myself, @chaevangelista.bsky.social & @ignasiarranz.bsky.social. It compiles global size spectra parameters from aquatic ecosystems globally👉: doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #datapaper #aquaticecology 🌍🧪🧵(1/4)
- Reposted by Robert FournierLooking for a quantitative ecology #postdoc? Check out this opening on time-series modeling of estuarine food webs - based in my group @natureatcal.bsky.social, in collaboration w/ State agency scientists. Apply ASAP - review of applications starts Apr 4. More info: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04818
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- Reposted by Robert FournierDelighted to share our new paper in Ecology Letters: Variation in Salmon Migration Phenology Bolsters Population Dynamics but is Threatened by Drought. With @fishteph.bsky.social, Ted Grantham, and Mariska Obedzinski. #rivers #fishes #salmon 🧪🐟 🧵(1/8) doi.org/10.1111/ele....
- Reposted by Robert FournierA 12-year-long study led by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and @caseagrant.bsky.social researchers finds that the alternative life histories of coho salmon have made their populations more stable. Read more at the Stone Center for Environmental Stewardship site. nature.berkeley.edu/stewardship/...
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- A really cool paper from our incredibly talented former undergraduate, Amin al-Jamal (so far bluesky-less) is out in Ecology! It’s also my first senior author paper! We looked at the feeding habits of everyone’s “favorite” predatory stream insect—the giant water bug. doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
- Despite living (as the name would imply) in the water, we found that water bugs that live in intermittent streams seem to prefer prey from the terrestrial environment! Because drying streams have a lot of edge habitat, there is a higher availability of prey falling into the water.
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- What a good way to ring in the new year! Our new paper is (finally) out in Ecology Letters! doi.org/10.1111/ele.... We looked at climate driven phenological patterns across food webs in the San Francisco, Chesapeake, and Massachusetts Bay estuaries.
- We found that fishes, zooplankton, and phytoplankton commonly shifted their phenological patterns—with many taxa peaking earlier in the year to counter warming climates. However, climatic sensitivities were different across trophic levels, and predators and prey might diverge over time.
