If you are a scientist and not already on twitter, I urge you to join! You might be reluctant to join (another) social media website, but the benefits of twitter are too good to miss out on... 

What is twitter?
Twitter is an online social media website, which allows users to send and read short messages (of 140 characters) called “tweets”.  

Six reasons why you should be on twitter:

1.       Communication

Twitter is a great tool for academics to communicate about their research to other academics and to the public, to announce and share publications, and to write and debate about relevant research issues (in an unrestricted manner). Furthermore, scientists are using social media to circulate information about potential opportunities in their lab, upcoming events, or to post updates from meetings and conferences. Along with forging links between scientists, interactions on twitter can improve communication between scientists and the general public.

If you are shy or hesitant, twitter is a great forum to ask a question, voice your opinion, or to start up conversations with leaders (or anyone) in the field, a common problem for early stage researchers! Unlike a conference setting, twitter allows you to sit back and read a conversation between other scientists (without awkwardly standing there), and gives you plenty of time to think about a comment or response (if you feel like giving one).

2.       Networking and exchanging ideas

Twitter is a tool for engaging and communicating with a massive global network of peers and researchers across the world. Twitter allows scientists at any stage of their career path to connect with other scientists, removing the barrier of status. You are able to connect with people who have similar (or very different yet fascinating) interests. Twitter, unlike other social media websites, allows for real time conversations to happen, so you can get direct input and feedback from other academics and the general public. It is a great equaliser and allows for easy communication with people whom you might not ever interact with otherwise.

Are you attending a conference? Twitter can connect you with people who share similar interests to you before you even get there. If you cannot make the conference, following a conference hashtag (e.g. #ESA2014) can keep you informed with what’s happening, who presented, what people thought, what was particularly interesting etc.

3.       Dissemination

Twitter allows you to get your message out there, and the potential platform is immense: compare an audience at a conference with the potential online audience of twitter. For instance, 1731 tweets by 176 people during the 2011 International Congress for Conservation Biology reached 110,000 Twitter users. Not bad! More info here.

Scientists want other people to read about their research right? Studies have shown that tweets linking to peer reviewed PDFs are retweeted 19% of the time, exponentially increasing dissemination. 

Click here for tips on how to use twitter and blogging to disseminate your research.

4.       Inspiration, innovation, exploration

Twitter can be used to keep up to date with the most recent published articles (you can follow journals directly) and is a great resource for scientific inspiration (e.g IFLScience). It is exciting to read other people being enthusiastic about their work, debating with others and communicating with experts in other fields about research that’s happening as we speak. I follow a lot of field biologists and natural historians (e.g. @SeymourDaily) who will often post photos from the field (@Primate and predator) which keeps me excited about nature.

Are you a biologist with a secret passion for astronomy? Twitter allows you to follow whoever you like. You can follow astronomers, NASA, explore hashtags relating to astronomy… giving you access to current and exciting research you might never have learnt about otherwise.

5.       Opportunities

Twitter allows you to enhance your online visibility, it can be very useful to have an online presence these days, especially as an early stage researcher. Who knows, maybe this “getting noticed” could help in the highly competitive job market.

Following a lab group or researcher that you are interested in working with can be a good way to stay up to date on their research, and learn about opportunities in their lab as they come up, all improving your likelihood of getting job. Following that, there are various useful twitter feeds, such as conservation careers (@conservcareers) that post job opportunities on a daily basis.

6.       Helpful resources for grad students

There are loads of specialised groups that are aimed at grad students helping other grad students (#phdchat). For example: tweets by the thesis whisperer team (@thesiswhisperer) offer advice and useful tips on writing and other PhD related stuff. If you are having problems with statistics, there are lots of specialist groups such as R-package related hashtags #rstats, or you could also follow @Rbloggers and statistics for biologists @statsforbios to name a few.

Every week we hear from Master's student Stuart Brooker who traps moths weekly in the woodlands around Durham University. Stuart identifies, records and photographs the moths he traps and provides CEG with a weekly update of his trapping efforts. 

Here is Stuart's week 11 report:

The unsettled weather of week 10 continued into this week, and, if anything, night-time temperatures fell away further; leaving the mornings feeling, dare I say it, a little Autumnal. These conditions undoubtedly adversely influence moth survival and activity, and this was reflected in this week’s catch, which was the lowest in terms of both species and individuals since the first week of June. Nevertheless, there were still a number of interesting species well worth showcasing.

The ‘Top Moths’ this week all just happen to be micro-moths. The division between micro- and macro-moths is a rather arbitrary one, reflecting traditional practice rather than taxonomic-correctness; although – with the inevitable exceptions – many micro-moth families are considered to be more primitive than those of the macro-moths. Micro-moths could be considered as the ultimate LBJ’s, and are often overlooked or ignored. However, in both form and ecology, the 1600 or so UK species are fascinating and diverse. What’s more, when viewed up close, many are revealed to be every bit as attractive and intricate in pattern as their bigger relatives.

So, it turns out that micro-moths can be serenading bee-nest wreckers, bird-poo imitators, or decked-out head-to-toe in Christmas wrap ... boring Little Brown Jobs they most certainly ain’t!

Stay tuned weekly for more 'Stu's Top Moths' or follow us on twitter for updates and photos of moths and other wildlife around Durham University!

Masters student Stuart Brooker has been trapping moths for 10 weeks in the woodlands around Durham University. Stuart identifies, records and photographs the moths he traps and provides us with a weekly update of his trapping efforts. 

Here is Stuart's week 10 report: 
"The weather became unsettled this week, and night-time temperatures fell off slightly from those of prior weeks. Nevertheless, on the evening of 30th July, forecasts informed that there would be no overnight rainfall or through the following morning – so, confidently, I left my trap quietly doing its business in its usual spot in the woodlands. However, when I looked out of the window in the early morning, I witnessed the aftermath of a great deluge! As I walked to the trap-site, the small woodland stream, usually little more than a gentle trickle, was now a raging torrent. My fears where confirmed when I reached the trap and saw that the mercury vapour bulb had shattered (but still burning bright). Inside the trap, a set of soggy cardboard egg cartons provided limited shelter for over 300 weather-beaten moths. Two-thirds of the catch was either a Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella) or a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) – two very common and widespread species that evidently occur in good numbers and find light irresistible.

In amongst the Ermines and Yellow Underwings was a single Old Lady (Mormo maura). This large moth is unmistakable, even when most of its markings have been worn, or washed, away! It is widespread in Britain but described as ‘local’ rather than common. However, although it may be drawn by light, it enters the trap infrequently, and as such, may be under-recorded by trappers. Svensson’s Copper Underwing is a moth of similar hue to the Old Lady. In contrast however, it looked very ‘fresh’ and its colouration was deep and rich. The species is very similar to the closely-related Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea), but a combination of subtle features suggested this individual was very likely to be A. berbera. Other infrequent visitors to the trap this week included a new addition to the list of ‘thorns’ (see weeks 5 and 9 for others) – the Dusky Thorn, a Small Phoenix and Oak Nycteoline – a diminutive macromoth that, when I placed it on an oak tree to photograph it, it wrapped its wings around the shoot to hide its outline and promptly ‘disappeared’."

Old Lady (Mormo maura)

Svensson's Copper Underwing (Amphipyra berbera)

Oak Nycteoline (Nycteola revayana)

Stay tuned weekly for more 'Stu's Top Moths' or follow us on twitter for updates and photos of moths and other wildlife around Durham University!