Desalegn Chala (PhD)

Researcher @UniOslo_NHM: Ecological Modelling, Biogeography, Evolution, Biodiversity Conservation, Digital Twins for Biodiversity

[Ninad Mungi @ninad_mungi]

Some media coverage on our recent study on the tropics

Climate change + wildfires + landuse change + rising trade + biodiversity loss = novel ecosystems shaped by alien species

@EconovoAU @JCSvenning
Full paper: https://t.co/XTXZQPjUhl

https://t.co/lWVmBLU48u

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Our newly published article shows how Afrocarduus diversified in Africa’s high mountains. 🌄 Sympatric speciation between Afromontane & Afroalpine zones, ecological barriers like the Turkana Depression, and climate oscillations all shaped their evolution: https://t.co/74Cm6LvwZt

[Ninad Mungi @ninad_mungi]

New paper: Alien plants interact with land-use change, climate change, and defaunation to reshape ecosystems, often catalyzing the emergence of novel ecosystems

Globally, tropics are at the forefront of such transformations @NatRevBiodiv @JCSvenning

https://t.co/nTwBxC0KET

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Our latest paper which provides an extensive data on Global Roadkill reveals how roads are silently killing wildlife worldwide with critical data gaps across the biodiversity rich Global South where road construction is surging with economic growth - raising risks.

[Pablo Medrano-Vizcaíno @pmedranoviz]

🚗💥🐾 NEW PAPER! Led by Clara Grilo, we present Global Roadkill Data, a dataset compiling 208,570 roadkill records of terrestrial vertebrates from 54 countries across six continents. 🌍📊

🔗 https://t.co/RGicPQ8ZCg

🧵👇

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Mapping suitable habitat and Anthropocene refugia for Ethiopian Guerez... https://t.co/IIbe2XKOud

[BioDT @BiodiversityDT]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗗𝗧 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘆!
Our students are taking on the challenge, applying what they've learned throughout the week to tackle three assignments of their choice:

1️⃣ 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯:
🔹 Using hashtag#VRE and available notebooks to prototype a DT.
🔹 Hands-on session applying Open Science principles.

2️⃣ 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 (𝘕𝘰𝘯-𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨):
🔹 Identifying a scientific problem.
🔹 Proposing a theoretical solution.
🔹 Exploring how it could be transformed into a Digital Twin.

3️⃣ 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘏𝘗𝘊):
🔹 Hands-on parallelisation and scaling models on LUMI.
🔹 Using the Crop Wild Relatives pDT as a case study.

🎉 Good luck to all the students as they put their knowledge into action during the final day of this educational week!

[BioDT @BiodiversityDT]

This morning’s session provided students, early-career researchers & professionals with valuable insights into how the BioDT prototype digital twins are built.
As Gabriela Zuquim, from @CSCfi & #BioDT scientific coordinator shared "𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 & 𝘏𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩".

During the session, participants had the opportunity to learn from experts:
🔸 Gabriela Zuquim provided a general overview of the BioDT project
🔸 Desalegn Chala (@UniOslo) explained the key components of a #digitaltwin
🔸 Taimur Khan (@UFZ_de) demonstrated how #DT components are applied in the Invasive Alien Species #pDT.

Curious to see how the students will apply this knowledge? Follow our social media updates this afternoon 😊

[BioDT @BiodiversityDT]

🔹 It’s time to meet our students and trainers! 🔹

At the #BioDT School & Hackathon, participants come from diverse backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives on #biodiversity and #technology. Today, they introduce themselves and share what motivated them to apply - whether it’s to deepen their biodiversity studies, enhance their research in digital modelling, explore new thesis topics, or learn how to better utilise #data.

#DigitalTwins #Biodiversity

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Join Me for a Lunch Seminar on Biodiversity Digital Twins this Thursday -the event will be live-streamed, so you can follow along online from anywhere: Digital Twins for Ecology, Conservation and Food Security https://t.co/VJPpKnoc4b

[Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 @AbiyAhmedAli]

As #Ethiopia welcomes you to the 38th African Union Summit, I encourage all participants to extend their stay and experience the rich history, diverse cultures, and breathtaking landscapes that make Ethiopia truly the Land of Origins. From ancient heritage sites to vibrant traditions and unparalleled natural beauty, there is so much to discover beyond the summit.

Welcome to your home!

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Big thanks to @birkeland_siri for organizing it! I was great to attend a very engaging workshop on The Hidden Potential of Herbarium Specimens for Biogeography and Ecology by @Barnabas_Daru at the University of Oslo. So much to learn and explore! 🌿🔍 #Ecology #Herbarium

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Ecological speciation with gene flow followed initial large‐scale geographic speciation in the enigmatic afroalpine giant senecios (Dendrosenecio) - Gorospe - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library https://t.co/cBxid98mvO

[BioDT @BiodiversityDT]

🌾 How Digital Twins are transforming our approach to agricultural resilience and biodiversity?

🗣️ In the latest BioDT podcast, Dag Endresen highlights the critical connection to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly #ZeroHunger, while demonstrating how these technological prototypes can detect emerging crop diseases and create strategic sampling roadmaps. Desalegn Chala (PhD) emphasises the transformative potential for global food security, explaining how advanced breeding pattern predictions could revolutionise crop development. And Tobias Guldberg Frøslev from @GBIF Secretariat expands the vision beyond traditional research, showcasing how these #DigitalTwins will enable unprecedented traceability of micro-organisms, fungi, and complex ecological systems.

By transcending current limitations in biodiversity research, these prototype Digital Twins represent a quantum leap in our understanding of genetic diversity and environmental adaptation.

Discover the future of sustainable agriculture and genetic innovation – listen to the full episode now! https://t.co/vZzDNBQLzF

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

A blind beetle named Hitler? The case for changing offensive names of animals and plants, and how it can be done https://t.co/Mi5yU73mE6 via @TC_Africa

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Wolves as pollinators? How fascinating! 🐺🌸 The Ethiopian endemic wolf plays a role in pollinating the equally unique endemic plant, Kniphofia foliosa! https://t.co/o52L50nQf3

[PNASNews @PNASNews]

Opinion piece: Stop using #racist, #unethical, and inappropriate names in #taxonomy. https://t.co/0UJiUFiCJh #BiologicalNomenclature #BinomialNomenclature #AnophthalmusHitleri #CarlLinnaeus

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

The blind cave beetle, Anophthalmus hitleri, is namaed after Hitler. 61 species of scorpion belong to the genus Hottentotta. The term "Hottentot" was used by European colonizers to denigrate the Khoikhoi people of South Africa, mocking their language https://t.co/6x6rohKY0S

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Nuer people have a sacred connection to birds – it can guide conservation in Ethiopia and South Sudan https://t.co/DLQKFimLFE via @TC_Africa

[RIO Journal @RIOJournal]

2/11🧵

🌱The #Crop Wild Relatives #prototype #DigitialTwin streamlines the identification & utilisation of novel #genetic resources through automating #data flow, automated #modelling runs, uncertainty analysis & timely alerts.

🔗See: https://t.co/aIsfFveIOW.

[Desalegn Chala (PhD) @desdchala]

Birds aren't just animals to the Nuer of western Ethiopia—they're 'children of god,' spirit bearers, and symbols of twinhood. Honoring these deep cultural connections contributes to biodiversity conservation. #Ethiopia #Nuer #Conservation 🦜🌿https://t.co/QbzA6sERux