I am hiring a popgen postdoc!
Looking for a creative scientist to join us at USC to investigate recessive variation and complex traits in model or non-model species. The project is funded by a multi-year NIH grant, contract can be renewed.
Job add & details 👇🏽
usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-ange...
A multi-factor experimental test of hypothesized selection on the cyanogenesis trait in white clover finds a much more complicated picture than expected
Our most accomplished work on chemical evolution 🥳
These N,S-cardeneolides have unique structures and bioactivities, and they also have divergent macroevolutionary histories 🤩
Structural innovation in the evolution of plant chemical defense | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Paul Ehrlich has died. Most will remember him for "The Population Bomb." But for many of us, Ehrlich and Raven 1964 was a foundational read that influenced our careers. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Nipam Patel exploring the common myth that caterpillars 'turn to goo" inside the chrysalis, with some beautiful visuals!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCka...
The article on dogs from the Ukrainian frontline showing evidence of malnutrition and mortality-based selection has been receiving great attention! 🐕🐕🐕
It's generating a lot of discussion, and you can read it here! 👇
doi.org/10.1111/eva.70182
Say hi to old main for me :)
woah!! Congratulations Tanner!!
Congrats!!! you’re a rockstar and this is super cool ❤️
Our paper is out in @Science! The Atlantic silverside spans Earth's steepest latitudinal gradient in coastal sea-surface temperature. Despite high gene flow, populations show clinal genetic variation in multiple locally adapted traits. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Phylogenetic and functional analyses across 34 Lepidoptera and 183 plant species show that hexenal isomerases found in Lepidoptera exhibit functional convergence with those found in plants despite having evolved independently from unrelated enzyme families 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
It was our pleasure to host Andrew and listen about the #worldsgreatestecoevoexperiment
Parallel evolution of industrial melanism in the peppered moth: one locus, many alleles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02...
Now online! In this review, we cover four major topics on butterflies and moths: their evolutionary history and diversification dynamics, genomics, global diversity patterns, and conservation 🦋🌏 (1/8) @natrevbiodiv.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
We’re excited to announce @tarnopol.bsky.social as the recipient of the 2026 Larry Sandler Award! 🎉 She’ll present the Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture during the #Dros26 opening session on March 4—she'll share how her research explores how protein toxins evolve to shape host–parasite interactions.
Recent work using hybrid zones in Juniper species show diverse ancestry and increased chemical diversity. Hybrids also occupy intermediate environments and produce unique phytochemicals. This genetic and chemical variation impacts ecology and adaptation.
Photo: Kevin Stanchfield
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Happy Mardi Gras from this beautiful float of butterflies and metamorphosis! it’s truly a work of art. #mardigras2026
Interested in using aDNA time-series datasets to estimate selection?
Our study "Assessing Ancient DNA Sampling Strategies for Natural Selection Inference in Humans Using Allele Frequency Time Series Data" is now out in GBE! doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... @genomebiolevol.bsky.social @cegamorim.bsky.social
Ancient human genomes from Ladakh reveal Tibetan, South Asian, and Central Asian admixture over the last three millennia www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01...
So cool!!
That day is tomorrow for me - chapatis and tomato potato gravy!!
The American Naturalist classic cover
Special Feature: Can we predict the future of evolution? In this review, Jackson et al. dig into genomic analyses of change over time to determine if and when evolution can be forecast using genomic methods.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
@mariusmaur.bsky.social et al. investigate the venom system in Neuroptera by integrating genomics, transcriptomics and functional assays, showing that their toxin arsenal is the result of a multitude of genomic and evolutionary mechanisms.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf326
#evobio #molbio
Super cool new study from Talavera lab on migratory divide between painted lady (Vanessa cardui) populations north of the equator and south of the equator! They find a candidate gene that might be associated with the differenc ein behaviour.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
An image of a recruitment advertisement for a MS position at New Mexico Tech
I am recruiting a MS student in Biology at New Mexico Tech with an anticipated start date of Fall 2026 to work on the applied evolutionary genetics of wild populations with conservation or management concerns (butterflies, bighorn sheep). Please see the attached advertisement for more info.
Screenshot of Fig 2A from the linked paper, plotting mean ±SE of residual bill length by tarsus length for UCLA juncos by their hatch year in comparison to the same measure for nearby natural-area juncos; before and after the COVID anthropause the UCLA juncos have bills much shorter than the natural-areas juncos, but during 2020 and 2021 the UCLA junco bill lengths spike upwards to be comparable to the natural-areas juncos
Dark-eyed juncos living in urbanized Los Angeles have shorter bills than juncos in nearby natural areas— but while UCLA was closed for COVID-19 safety, campus juncos evolved longer bills again 🪶🌿
buff.ly/BOOinne
Book cover for Reproducible Code guide. The cover has a red background with a large yellow-bodied black-headed stag beetle.
Excited to launch the new improved Reproducible Code guide from @britishecologicalsociety.org @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social FREE online here! www.britishecologicalsociety.org//wp-content/... Amazing work by some very talented ECRs. We hope it’s useful!
So cool!
Butterfly populations across the U.S. are in alarming decline, a Science study finds, with total abundance falling by 22% in just 20 years.
Such widespread losses emphasize the urgent need for conservation action. https://scim.ag/4ombGv3 #WildlifeConservationDay
