Heatmaps of climate variables in southwestern United States

The endangered Pacific pocket mouse

Climate change is a huge challenge for endangered species because genetic variation needed to adapt is often lacking.

Our new study in Science Advances highlights the potential for conservation breeding and reintroduction to boost resilience to climate change. @science.org

doi.org/10.1126/scia...

The genomic impact of population connectivity and decline in Africa’s elephants - Nature Communications The two species of African elephants are facing severe declines. Here, authors assess their continent-wide genomic diversity, identifying differences in their evolutionary histories and highlighting t...

Elephant genomes reveal a past of continental connectivity and a future of increasing isolation 🐘🐘 New paper out @natcomms.nature.com by @patriciachrzan.bsky.social et al. with CMEC co-author @annabruniche.bsky.social #popgen #conservation #Africa www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Can you believe that until now there were more genomes sequenced for the woolly mammoth than for living African elephants?

Today, we bring you the first genomic, continent-scale analyses of 232 high-quality genomes of both species, the savanna and forest elephant.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The genomic impact of population connectivity and decline in Africa’s elephants - Nature Communications The two species of African elephants are facing severe declines. Here, authors assess their continent-wide genomic diversity, identifying differences in their evolutionary histories and highlighting the formative role of gene flow.

NEW❗
Throughout history, elephant genes have flown across the African continent, sometimes even between the two species. This is in contrast to what elephants are facing today, habitat loss and isolation. And we are already seeing the genetic consequences in some populations.

tinyurl.com/4pfn2xf5

Gray whales are dying in San Francisco Bay at an alarming rate – this isn’t normal In the past, the gray whale population recovered fairly quickly. But data on baby whales show that isn’t happening, and a new study finds an alarmingly high mortality rate.

Gray whales are dying in San Francisco Bay at an alarming rate – this isn’t normal

Postdoctoral position in conservation genomics and experimental evolution at Hologenomics Section, Globe Institute The Hologenomics Section, Globe Institute, University at Copenhagen, is looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to join our team. This position is part of the research project “Back from the Brink: experimental de-extinction in a model-organism to restore lost diversity”, funded under the Villum Experiment Programme. The project explores the potential of gene editing technologies for conservation using an experimental setting, the risks and consequences for the management of genetically vulnerable populations. Duration: one year.

🚨 Postdoc in conservation genomics & experimental evolution (Copenhagen)

Join us explore questions on gene editing for biodiversity conservation

🔬 Required: exp in experimental evolution (ideally C. elegans)
📅 1-year pos
⏰ Dline: April 6

employment.ku.dk/faculty?show...
@hologenomics.bsky.social

Photo of a humpback whale mid-breach, leaping almost fully out of dark blue ocean water. The whale displays dark grey/black dorsal coloring and white ventral pleats. One long pectoral fin is raised upward. White water spray surrounds its base. Blue sky and calm sea visible in the background.

Nature exploitation has long-lasting consequences.

F. Eichenberger et al found that historical exploitation, combined with current ecological & demographic factors, shapes patterns of male reproductive success and population dynamics of humpback whales in the South Pacific & potentially worldwide.

Escaping bottlenecks: The demographic path to genetic recovery in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Population bottlenecks can lead to evolutionary dead ends by eroding genetic diversity and intensifying inbreeding. Although theory predicts possible escape routes, direct observations of this process...

Escaping bottlenecks: The demographic path to genetic recovery in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) 🐨 🧬 #consgen #popgen

I much enjoy your Avian Hybrids blog. You do an excellent job of communicating science 😊

Life-history traits and habitat availability shape genomic diversity in birds: implications for conservation Abstract. More than 25% of species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are threatened with extinction. Understanding how

Link to the original @royalsocietypublishing.org article:

Great write up of our study showing that both extrinsic factors (e.g. habitat availability) and intrinsic traits (e.g. body mass and diet) play important roles in shaping patterns of genomic diversity in birds 🦜 🧬 🌏
#consgen #popgen

The effective population size – and why it matters Since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022, “maintaining and restoring genetic diversity” in wild species is on the global agenda. The headline indicat…

Effective population size is a key ingredient in indicators used to monitor genetic #biodiversity – and a fundamental concept in population genetics.

But what is it, really? 🧬 We try to explain in our new blog post ⬇️
#ConsGen #Genetics #PopGen #Monitoring #KMGBF
ginamo.org/2026/03/02/t...

Misusing research to trap songbirds in Spain

How bird hunting is still ongoing through scientific branding. 🪶🦤
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

‪
@eveliendegreef.bsky.social's latest is out in the @asn-amnat.bsky.social feature exploring the challenges of genetic forecasting😀

"Identifying Areas of Potential Risk Based on Future Genetic Adaptability in Three Arctic Whale Species"
doi.org/10.1086/738889 🧪🌎🧬🌐 #consgen #popgen #evobio

🧬 Museums + zoos = a rapid ID pipeline.
Using a local network in Ecuador, we genetically identified trafficked olingos (Bassaricyon), revealed a likely new country record, and shared a recipe for accessing high-quality samples from the wild. url: academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...

The Importance of Effective Population Size in Conservation and Biodiversity Monitoring Effective population size (Ne) is a key concept in biology and conservation. Stripped to its bare essentials, it reflects how much genetic drift a population experiences, expressed as a number of ind...

We have compiled a special issue for @evolappjournal.bsky.social on Effective population size in Conservation and Biodiversity Monitoring, dedicated to the late Michael W. Bruford.
This SI is a must read for everyone who struggles with what "effective population size" means.
#consgen

New paper out in Biological Invasions! We show that “genetic rescue” can unintentionally boost invasive fallow deer in Australia. Genomic data & simulations reveal how escaped genotypes from farms may increase pop growth & spread → key implications for management. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Borgerforslag mod industriel svineproduktion i strid med Dyrevelfærdsloven Folketinget pålægges at ændre dyrevelfærdsloven og tilhørende bekendtgørelser således, at der indføres følgende forbud og krav til svineproduktionen f

Så er der et nyt borgerforslag som I alle sammen gerne må gå ind og skrive under på, så vi ikke fortsat skal være en skinkenation der behandler vores mange millioner svin dårligere end hvad loven ellers siger man skal. Tak!

www.borgerforslag.dk/se-og-stoet-...

🧵6/6
A big thanks to all co-authors Mischa Fraser, Rasmus Heller, @lauradbertola.bsky.social, Christina Hvilsom, Renzo Balboa and Xiaodong Liu. The paper is out now in Conservation Genetics.

🧵5/6
🦒 Take-home: Zoo giraffes often have mixed ancestry and uneven genetic diversity, meaning studbooks alone can miss key information. Integrating genomic data with pedigree records is essential to manage inbreeding, maintain diversity, and maximize the conservation value of ex situ populations.

🧵4/6
🧬 Genetic diversity varies widely among zoo giraffes. Some individuals show long runs of homozygosity, indicating recent inbreeding, while others retain high diversity, reflecting very different management histories.

🧵3/6
🦒Genome-wide data reveal that many zoo giraffes have admixed ancestry, often combining multiple wild lineages. These complex genetic backgrounds are largely invisible in studbooks, yet crucial for informed breeding and conservation decisions.

🧵2/6
🧬 We use whole-genome data to investigate patterns of admixture, genetic diversity, and inbreeding in zoo giraffes, informed by reference data from wild populations—and show why genomics matters for better ex situ conservation decisions.
#consgen #pogpen #zoo #giraffe #genomics

🎉🎉 New publication out! 🎉🎉
🧵1/6
🦒 The giraffe known as Marius made global headlines when he was euthanized by Copenhagen Zoo in 2014 after being deemed surplus. His story highlights how challenging it is to manage zoo populations for conservation with limited resources 🧬
doi.org/10.1007/s105...

Inbred source populations result in genetic rescue of imperiled trout populations Genetic rescue—assisted translocation to reduce inbreeding and increase population viability—is a promising conservation strategy for mitigating the e…

Work by Bell, Kovach, Whiteley and colleagues demonstrates that even inbred trout source populations can be used for genetic rescue. Great news for folks considering translocation efforts, but are faced with the challenge of identifying suitable (genetically diverse) donor populations #ConsGen

Not Just Ne Ne-More: New Applications for SMC from Ecology to Phylogenies Abstract. Genomes contain the mutational footprint of an organism’s evolutionary history, shaped by diverse forces including ecological factors, selective

In a new GBE Review, @david-peede.bsky.social et al. overview the SMC model and extensions, discuss examples of discoveries made with the help of SMC-based inference, and comment on the assumptions, benefits, and drawbacks of various methods.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

#genome #evolution #compbio

MBE | SLiM 5: Eco-evolutionary Simulations Across Multiple Chromosomes and Full Genomes

Haller, Ralph & Messer present SLiM 5, a major extension of the SLiM simulation framework for simulating multiple chromosomes, enabling a heightened level of realism for full-genome simulations.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf313

#evobio #molbio #compbio

Evaluating inbreeding and assessing the risk of outbreeding depression in genetic rescue using whole-genome sequence data
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Pangenomes: new tools for ecological and evolutionary genomics Genomic structural variation is an important component of genetic variation in natural populations. By assembling and analyzing multiple high-quality genomes within a species or clade, pangenomes capt...

www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Humpback whale genomes reflect the increased efficiency of commercial whaling Humpback whale genomes reflect shifts in whaling practices and their potential impact on the animals’ adaptive capacity.

A new #ScienceAdvances study shows that commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean over the past century reduced the genetic diversity—and possibly the evolutionary fitness—of the region’s humpback whales. https://scim.ag/4anxPpM