This one is for the #squirrels in the crowd!
Deng et al. use population #genetic structure, interspecific relationships, lineage differentiation, and #speciation to reconstruct the #evolutionary history of #Chinese #walnuts! https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13153
@WileyEcolEvol
#evolution #JSE #botany

3-Jun-2025
Study resolves diatom tree of life, could offer clues to Earth's puzzle
Research finds #diatoms evolved slowly for 100 million years and then experienced an evolutionary burst of #speciation 170 million years ago.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086102

#science #evolution #ecology

New publication out 🆕 📤

"No evidence of transposable element bursts in the Galápagos Scalesia adaptive radiation despite hybridization, diversification and ecological niche shifts"

https://mobilednajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13100-025-00362-z

🔍 Despite rapid speciation, niche shifts, & hybridization, we found no significant TE accumulation differences across species or hybrids.
🌵 Even in arid-adapted lineages—where genome downsizing may be expected—TEs didn’t decline.
#TransposableElements #Speciation #AdaptiveRadiation #Genomics

Understanding the factors contributing to #genetic structure among closely related #sympatric species is crucial for grasping adaptive divergence and #speciation initiation. Learn why in this revealing new #JSE paper!
https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13178
@WileyEcolEvol
#evolution #ficus #botany

A new population #genomic analysis by Liu et al. unravels the #evolutionary processes leading to budding #speciation in Rhodiola sect. Trifida.
Explore their findings, right here in the latest from #JIPB! 👇
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13905
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #botany

🆕Interview: In this interview, Daniela Mera-Rodríguez, talks about a recent publication on 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑠 species complex. #taxonomy #nquilinism #parasitism #speciation

https://blog.myrmecologicalnews.org/2025/04/23/diversity-and-evolution-of-the-emacromyrmex-octospinosus-em-species-complex-a-century-old-taxonomic-puzzle/

15-Apr-2025
A tale of two hummingbird bills


There are two species of streamertail #hummingbirds on the island of #Jamaica, #WestIndies—one with red-billed males (Trochilus polytmus) and the other with black-billed males (T. scitulus). This is a puzzling situation, as many evolutionary biologists have argued that avian #speciation is unlikely to occur on small oceanic #islands.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1080172

#science #evolution #birds #ecology

Exam in progress

Evolution, from speciation to conflict and cooperation bwn species

New element
Draw pictures in answers
Had students practice all semester
One drawing lesson per lecture

Also checking on Philip Ball's
#HowLifeWorks

#species #speciation #Evolution #Conflict #cooperation #inclusiveFitness #ants #biology #Iceland #UniversityIceland

Januario et al. found no correlation between sexual selection intensity & speciation rates or proxy traits. Because sexual selection intensity has high intraspecific variation and low phylogenetic signal, its macroevolutionary impacts are weak. Read now!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/734457

#sexualSelection #speciation #intraspecificVariation #phylogenetics #macroevolution

My #preLights #article about a preprint dealing with the role of color #polymorphisms in woodland #salamanders to trigger faster #speciation and phenotypic #evolution rates. See also my former post. Photo creative Commons see linked article.
#StefanFWirth Berlin

https://prelights.biologists.com/highlights/loss-of-a-morph-is-associated-with-asymmetric-character-release-in-a-radiation-of-woodland-salamanders/?share=mastodon

Gene flow and habitat heterogeneity shape coexistence dynamics of Arctic charr morphs in connected lakes. Han Xiao, et al
Submitted to Molecular Ecology,

preprint on Authorea.

#ecology #Evolution #popgen #charr #salmonid #diversity #geneticdiversity #metapopulation #speciation #geometricMorphometrics

https://www.authorea.com/users/588916/articles/1254729-gene-flow-and-habitat-heterogeneity-shape-coexistence-dynamics-of-arctic-charr-morphs-in-connected-lakes

Lerch et al. unify perspectives on coexistence with evolutionary perspectives on speciation to study how diversification results from a complex interplay of both ecological and evolutionary constraints.
Summary & Analysis by Nikka Malakooti: https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/Nov-2024-Lerch.html

#coexistence #evolution #speciation #diversity

Latest preprint from #SvenssonLab: our large-scale global phylogenetic comparative study on the macroevolutionary dynamics of female #colour #polymorphisms in the damselfly family #Coenagrionidae

#evolution #speciation #Extinction #Odonata #InsectsOfTheFediverse #insects

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.15.637939v1?fbclid=IwY2xjawIjJEpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcilptrn3U6m-RcEPnBMle3xAnsCb7jN8Ygw5ve6qYFzgXi8K-MuzFN9Jg_aem_Lnu4kHPvOOrgLf6Zr3iKTg&s=09

Deng et al. use population #genetic structure, interspecific relationships, lineage differentiation, and #speciation for 142 populations of three #walnut species to reconstruct the #evolutionary history of #Chinese #walnuts!
https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13153
@WileyEcolEvol
#evolution #JSE #botany

Madagascar, located off the African continent in the Indian Ocean, is the oldest #island of the world. It split off from the Indian subcontinent about 100 million years ago. This old age explains why it is a hotspot of biodiversity and home of exotic life-forms like small ring-tailed lemurs and giant #baobab trees. The biodiversity is a result of Madagascar's long geographic isolation.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691222622/the-new-natural-history-of-madagascar
#Evolution #Speciation #GeographicIsolation

🐦Beaks on (fitness) peaks - OUT NOW!🐦

🎙️Listen to our most recent episode with Trevor Price.

🎨: Keating Shahmehri

#science #scicomm #sciencecommunication #biology #scicomm #evolution #reproduction #speciation

An ancient #medicinal #plant genus, #Rhodiola is also a promising model for investigating radiation #speciation. Here, integrated analyses reveal extensive cytonuclear discordance and two new members of the genus!
https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13149
@WileyEcolEvol
#PlantSci #systematics #botany #evolution #ecoevo

Allopatric speciation (Biogeography 🌍)

Allopatric speciation 'other' and πατρίς 'fatherland') – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model: 86 – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with g...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopatric_speciation

#AllopatricSpeciation #Ecology #Speciation #Biogeography #EvolutionaryBiology

Exited to see our paper on gene flow and speciation in thrushes come out in Molecular Ecology. Really fun and interesting work with Kira Delmore and @JeffDaCosta. #speciation, #geneflow, #hybridization, #birds

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17635

Common misconceptions of speciation.

#Evolution #Speciation

https://academic.oup.com/evolinnean/article/3/1/kzae029/7848478