Ecology

Srinivasan Keshav (University of Cambridge) presents an interface designed to help ecologists use AI for remote sensing despite unfamiliarity with embeddings and algorithms. The Tessera Embeddings Explorer lets practitioners privately explore a region of interest, create habitat maps and perform regressions using their domain expertise and ground-truth knowledge. The talk demonstrates the tool and explains the design principles and the software architecture that follows from them, connecting usable ecological workflows with AI representations. Keshav is the Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science at Cambridge.

This scientific meeting examines how tropical-forest ecology can guide green finance while safeguarding biodiversity. Field observations, ecosystem models, economic analysis and restoration evidence connect forest condition, climate resilience, carbon storage and species interactions to nature-based investments. Discussions address additionality, landscape risks, conservation outcomes, measurement and research-informed financial policy. Programme participants include Jedediah Brodie (University of Montana, US); Rebecca Senior (University of Durham, UK); Matheus Nunes (University of Maryland, US); Julia Touza-Montero (University of York, UK); Robin Chazdon (University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia); Lindsay Banin (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK). Schedule: 5–6 October 2026, 09:00–17:00 each day, Europe/London (BST, UTC+1). Researchers may attend online or at the Royal Society, 6–9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, United Kingdom. Both modes are free; advance registration is required using the appropriate online or in-person ticket. Optional lunch was advertised at £25/day, but bookings were closed when checked; bring lunch or eat nearby.

Beth Gardner introduces spatial capture-recapture models for estimating wildlife population dynamics and movement. The seminar considers observations from camera traps and genetic identification using hair or scat, showing how the modeling framework can accommodate different sampling methods, time scales and movement processes. Gardner develops the Bayesian formulation through worked examples in R with NIMBLE, then discusses extensions and audience questions. The methods support estimates of demographic rates, spatial distributions and habitat relationships for conservation and management. The organizer explicitly schedules this occurrence at 15:00 Eastern time, rather than the series’ usual time.

This EMBO workshop brings experimental and computational researchers together around molecular mechanisms of adaptation, evolutionary dynamics, microbial communities, symbiosis, biodiversity, and cell-environment interactions.

Sanne Evers introduces the first forecasting challenge organized by the European Ecological Forecasting Initiative. The challenge uses long-running observations from Doñana National Park in southern Spain to support short-term predictions of vegetation indices and the abundance of multiple shrub species. Forecasting these changes can inform habitat management, productivity assessments and conservation decisions under climatic and hydrological pressures. The seminar explains why Doñana’s range of habitats and monitoring infrastructure offer a useful setting for comparing predictions before new observations become available. It also discusses lessons from developing the challenge and planned next steps, with participation encouraged across ecological disciplines and levels of forecasting experience.

Provide small grants for curiosity-driven basic science, including biological research, through a simple application centred on a short scientific idea video. The programme welcomes researchers at any career stage at eligible US institutions. Each award provides up to USD 10,000 as a gift to the host institution, without overhead. Applications close on 12 October 2026 at midnight Pacific Time or when the first 200 submissions are received, whichever occurs first. Biomedical, engineering and primarily computer-science proposals are outside this call’s stated remit.

Study how urban energy, material and population flows change over decades and centuries in Patrick Roberts’s Department of Coevolution of Land Use and Urbanization. Research connects supply-chain vulnerabilities and land-use impacts with historical, archaeological and environmental evidence. The Jena fellowship lasts three years; full time is standard and a minimum 75% appointment can be requested. This vacancy belongs to the September 2026 Max Planck Postdoc Program call, which accepts applications until 13 October 2026 at 12:00 CEST through the official application platform.

The University of Tasmania is recruiting a Senior Research Fellow or Principal Research Fellow for the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations Centre for Sustainable Resource and Product Solutions. Over four years, the role will turn multi-sensor LiDAR, imaging analytics and geospatial research into practical improvements in forest inventory, monitoring and decision-making. Applicants may come from academia, industry, consulting, government or applied research. Lead projects and teams, build industry partnerships, mentor colleagues and secure research or commercial support. Appointment is at Academic Level C or D, with a base salary of AUD 138,536–180,018 plus 17% superannuation; relocation support may be available. Apply with a current résumé and a cover letter of up to two pages addressing the relevant position description. Applications close at 11:55 pm Tasmania daylight time on 18 October 2026.

The MetaBoxWeb project connects food-web ecology with stream metabolism to explain how biodiversity regulates ecosystem functioning under human impacts. The researcher will synthesize stream and river fish and macroinvertebrate datasets; estimate secondary production; reconstruct quantitative food webs and energy fluxes using allometry, traits and food-web models; and test links between trophic diversity, food-chain structure and productivity. Collaboration with a second postdoc in ecosystem metabolism will connect consumer production to primary production and respiration. This 24-month position is based in Magdeburg, with full-time hours of 39 per week and part-time employment possible. Pay follows TVöD up to grade 13. Submit a cover letter, CV and supporting documents through the online portal by 18 October 2026, without a photograph, age or marital-status details.

Srinivasan Keshav (University of Cambridge) presents an interface designed to help ecologists use AI for remote sensing despite unfamiliarity with embeddings and algorithms. The Tessera Embeddings Explorer lets practitioners privately explore a region of interest, create habitat maps and perform regressions using their domain expertise and ground-truth knowledge. The talk demonstrates the tool and explains the design principles and the software architecture that follows from them, connecting usable ecological workflows with AI representations. Keshav is the Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science at Cambridge.

Seed support for short pilot and feasibility studies connected to the Tropical Field Station La Gamba in Costa Rica. Projects may cover scoping, method development, baseline data collection or initial infrastructure, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary research and follow-on external proposals within 6–12 months. Desk-based and preparatory research are permitted; an on-site visit is not mandatory. Base awards are up to EUR 10,000 for single-discipline projects or EUR 20,000 for interdisciplinary projects, over at most 15 months. A separate EUR 5,000 bonus follows submission of a competitive external funding application. The second call closes on 31 October 2026.

An institutional fellowship program supporting junior tenure-track faculty in mathematics, neuroscience, physics, ecology and evolutionary biology. Each selected HBCU can nominate up to four fellows and receive up to USD 320,000 annually for five years (USD 1.6 million total per institution, covering all fellows and including indirect costs). The program buys out at least half of fellows’ teaching duties. Letters of intent close 12 November 2026 at noon Eastern time; invited full applications close 9 February 2027. Awards begin September 2027. Funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation.

Institutional funding for HBCU centers in mathematics, neuroscience, physics, ecology and evolutionary biology, emphasizing computational, data-driven and theoretical research. Up to USD 1.5 million annually for five years (USD 7.5 million total, including indirect costs); up to two awards. Letters of intent opened 1 October 2026 and close 12 November 2026 at noon Eastern time. Invited full applications are due 9 February 2027. Awards run September 2027–August 2032. Funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation.