The DNA barcode reference library for European ants is out! 🐜🧬 doi.org/10.1111/1755...
Checklist of 650 species, ~78% covered 🧬, +6,500 COI 🧬, plus species genetic maps & trees, see Supp. Inf. "Atlas" tinyurl.com/antdnaeuatlas
A framework for species discovery, biosurveillance, and phylogeography!
Ok now for a real kicker—the oldest nematode known from fossil record was a plant-parasitic one that lived in stomatal chambers of this same plant! Discovered and imaged here by George Poinar and Hans Kerp from Rhynie Chert from around 400 mya. brill.com/view/journal...
youtu.be/rNYaw4EJpZo?...
Still accepting applicants for a postdoc! Here's the evoldir link if you're interested:
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
Please reach out! Share with a friend!
If you are researcher or student in Latin America apply for our Biodiversity Genomics course in Colombia from 27th-31st July 2026 (10 days left for registration) biodiversitygenomicslatam.weebly.com
Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution 🇨🇦 is celebrating its 20th year! Mark the occasion and support the society with a limited edition mug or notebook! 🇨🇦
The abstract deadline for GIGA VI is just a few weeks away! Submit your abstract and register to join us in Boracay, Philippines to learn all about cutting edge Invertebrate Genomic Research. gigavi.org
We (with @dornhaus.bsky.social) finally wrote up our class on how to teach modeling to biologists, which ends up being a non-trivial exercise in understanding the roles that theory plays in the scientific method. We hope others will use our class, or simply enjoy the manuscript!
Come work with us!
at least no one picked Dimetrodon?
🦑⚒️ paleo folks welcome! I'm planning to attend and will be around to show folks our exhibit "Marvelous Mollusks" at the Museum of the Earth/PRI as part of the meeting
image generated from the google emoji kitchen of a snail (possibly a caenogastropod?) making the dollar-sign emoji face, including anatomically incorrect eyebrows and a green tongue (radula?) with a dollar sign on it
pro-tip: if you're not already a member of the AMS, it's cheaper to join and then register than it is to register as a non-member (we didn't even bother having a registration category for student non-members, since student membership for AMS is only $20); If you're not a student, you save about $30
Registration for the American Malacological Society meeting in Syracuse, NY this summer is live! hope to see you there! ams.wildapricot.org/AMS-2026-Reg...
Don't hesitate! There are still ~6 hours to REGISTER for #Evol2026 at the early bird rate. Learn lots! Meet people from ASN, SSE, SSB, and beyond! Catch up with old friends! Commiserate with colleagues! And save money while doing so! Register here: www.evolutionmeetings.org/registration... 1/2
The Bailey-Mathews Shell Museum has a job opening for Science Director and Curator! #mollusc #academicsky
shellmuseum.org/careers-inte...
We just turned 4 and we wanted to celebrate with you! 🥳 🐜🎁 🪲
Between now 🎂 (April 14) and Earth Day 🌎️ (April 22) we will be having a 10% off promotion on all online orders. Use code BIRTHDAY2EARTHDAY26
Submit your abstract to present your research at the GIGA VI Conference in Boracay, Philippines July 6-10, 2026. gigavi.org
Names matter: the word ‘citizen’ carries legal, political, and cultural meanings that are not neutral, say @britishecologicalsociety.org. Instead, consider using the term ‘community science’.
Vote for Mollusc of the Year 2026. The winner will have its complete genome sequenced. There are some cool species in the running this year! www.unitasmalacologica.org/mollusc-of-t...
There are ways in which I agree with this (strongly!), yet also, ways that I disagree (experiments are not the end-all be-all solution…scaling problems there!)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
If you are around New Haven on Wed, April 22 come see my public Yale University Peabody Museum talk in O.C. Marsh Hall at 5pm!
peabody.yale.edu/news/bass_le...
#Paper Our new study on #Asgard archaea is out in Nature Communications. We find a distinctive evolutionary pattern: widespread #HGT, but genome expansion mainly through gene duplication. An interesting window into the origins of #eukaryotic complexity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbial communities can harbor many species that do not coexist in pairs, yet can coexist in the full community. Here we provide the mathematical foundations of emergent coexistence, and explain why it can't be predicted from pairwise tests journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
What's your favorite tool for extracting mitogenomes from whole-genome sequences?
Since the last time I tried this, the options have proliferated. Any recommendations would be great!
Jake the Snake among some cacti and other cool desert plants in Tucson, AZ
Jake the Snake in an office sporting studded tires, seemingly confused about why Jesse's PhD advisor decided to acquire Mark Lomolino's map cabinet at cram it into a non-huge office
Jake the Snake parked at a bike rack in Chicago, covered in snow, with a flashlight strapped to the handlebars in lieu of a specialized bike headlight
that time in 2019 that Jake the Snake's handlebar just randomly broke while on a grocery run. Pretty silly. But handle bars are not too expensive to replace, and Jake still had seven more years of riding!
... but let us remember the happy times
photo of a blue 2008 Kona "Jake the Snake" cyclocross bike with bright green handlebar tape, purple peddles, and a janky rear fender that seems like it might be cable-tied on. There is lots of wear and tear, but overall doesn't look too mangled. It's resting nobly against a large Norway Maple with a blue house and some blue sky in the background.
closeup of the "down tube," showing some crumpling of the aluminum that's probably not awesome for the structural integrity or overall alignment of the bike
closeup on the top tube showing a non-trivial dent
closeup of where the top tube meets the seat tube, showing lots of wear on the paint. This isn't from the accident at all—it's from about 17 years of carrying my bike up and down stairs, in and out of buildings, in all seasons in Chicago, Norman, Syracuse, and a few other fun spots
PSA: wear your helmets, bikers! got hit by a car on Monday and I'd probably be a lil dumber if I hadn't been wearing mine. RIP Jake the Snake (2009-2026). Thanks for all the fun times. My bruises will heal, but the bike shop guy told me there's enough frame damage that JtS is "totaled" 😢
Hi!
I'm not here very often, but I just launched my brand new lab website! I'm also hiring a !!! three-year !!! Postdoc. Interest form link can be found under "The Team" section.
(Current domain name is temporary haha. FormorphologyLab dot com coming soon!)
badger-mustard-h5jf.squarespace.com
Twenty five years on from Dolph Schluter's book "The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation" that reshaped the way adaptive radiation was studied, this review revisits key questions raised to evaluate the progress made over the past quarter century, 8 of which remain unresolved...🌍🧪👇
🎓 My PhD thesis is now available online at dx.doi.org/10.5287/ora-... ! If you're interested in anything biogeography, dung beetles, biodiversity data quality, landscape genomics, the Afrotropics, etc. etc. please have a read! Would love to discuss with anyone who has questions. 🪲🌍
Even if you don't use AI, all their bots are making the internet worse. Here's an example that explains why you're seeing "prove you're not a robot" check boxes on every website now.