It's almost impressive....haha

Personally, I don't think any amount of additional data is going to change anything.

If a person cannot accept ctenophores sister as the most likely evolutionary history of animals at this point, I doubt they ever will.

Maybe I'm not diplomatic enough about this issue lol.

I'm also of the opinion that when robust phylogenetic theory is applied to the question, there is no question that the ctenophore sister hypothesis is overwhelmingly supported by available data.

Also, the fact that the original Science paper is being retracted really drives home the idea that Science's editorial decisions on what Letters to consider is problematic.

Glad to see this article. Nothing against anyone, but given my Letter to Science bringing up pretty much the same thing as others (albeit in less words because I think it should've been published as a regular letter) I'm surprised there was no mention of my work

For almost two decades, scientists have debated whether sponges or comb jellies are the first animal lineage. Now some are calling for a more harmonious approach

Read the full story: go.nature.com/4q5giqz

For what it's worth, I submitted it as a regular Letter and the editor invited me to submit an eLetter. I do not think that venue is ideal for a response to such a flawed paper, but I also figured it was the best option for now.

In short, the methods were seriously flawed and the dataset broadly supports ctenophores sister with robust, theoretically sound methodologies.

Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree Determining whether sponges or ctenophores root the animal tree has important implications for understanding early animal evolution. Here, we examined support for these competing hypotheses by constru...

I posted an eLetter to the recent Science paper claiming strong evidence for sponges as the sister group to all other animals.

The eLetter can be found under the original article.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Even though we are expanding into eDNA work, we are not replacing our other conservation genetics work. So, if you're interested in taxonomy, phylogenetics, or population genetics of freshwater organisms, you should also consider applying!

We currently have a lot of funding for eDNA work, and anyone interested in eDNA applications for fish health, disease diagnostics, tracking invasive species, and detecting rare species should consider applying.

Students in my lab have opportunities to design their own research projects. I think this is a great opportunity for anyone interested in pursuing graduate school and studying conservation.

Announcement on graduate positions in my lab. PDF is here: https://nathanwhelan.com/assests/GRA_Recruitment_2024.pdf

I am recruiting Masters and Ph.D. students to work in my lab at Auburn University!

Come join a dynamic research lab working on topics ranging from freshwater snail taxonomy to environmental DNA (eDNA) research.

nathanwhelan.com/assests/GRA_...

Please share!

When doing biodiversity inventories, especially on freshwater snails, we recommend sampling as many sites as possible. That may mean rapid sampling at each site, instead of a lot of effort at individual sites.

Rediscovering another "extinct" snail begs the question: "Why do we keep finding species that we thought were extinct? " Well, we aren't surveying places where the species persist. Or sampling is happening and a lack of taxonomic expertise causes them to be overlooked.

Biodiversity and Conservation | Volumes and issues Volumes and issues listings for Biodiversity and Conservation

I'm really excited to share this publication where my co-authors and I report on the rediscovery of Big Black Rocksnail! The species was thought to be extinct for at least 30 years.

link.springer.com/journal/1053...

It's a great night for Kansas City and therefore the world!

It's a somber day for Alabama, and therefore the world. 🐐🐐

Looking forward to #SICB2024. Four talks from my lab, all on Friday

A great night for The Tide, and therefore the world!

Go to nathanwhelan.com to download the full recruitment document.

I'm still recruiting graduate students to start in August 2024.

I'm going to be scheduling interviews soon.

Students will have wide latitude to pursue research on systematics, conservation genetics, phylogenetics, and/or taxonomy on freshwater mollusks or fishes.

It looks like I'll be staying in Alaska until Wednesday! Yay open federal government!

Well, I'm definitely not a "keep your enemies closer" kind of guy. I could never

Until I leave Alaska, this is pretty much a scenic pictures account.

Great hike to the Harding Ice Field today!

Flattop mountain just outside Anchorage, Alaska

Flattop mountain trail

A look down into a yellow valley

Fall colors in Alaska's alpine habitats

Fun hike yesterday!

I made it to the Blue Space