🎙️ Keynote #3 🥁 Thrilled to welcome Dr. Edyta Sadowska (Jagiellonian University 🇵🇱) to EMPSEB31! Her work explores how evolution affects physiological and metabolic strategies in animals, from zebra finches to bank voles and tits. 📅 8–12 June 2026 📍 Oberwiesenthal, Germany #EMPSEB31 #EvoBio #PhDLife

🏔️ EMPSEB31 is heading to the mountains! This year we’ll meet in Oberwiesenthal, Germany (8–12 June 2026), a quiet mountain town in the Ore Mountains, right on the Czech border. Think forest trails, open skies, and fresh air. Join us for a week of science and fun!🌿 #EMPSEB31 #EvoBio #PhD

🎙️ Announcing our second keynote for EMPSEB31! Dr. Jonathan Henshaw (University of Freiburg) explores sexual selection, mating systems, parental care, and fertilization strategies using analytical + simulation models. 📅 8–12 June 2026 📍 Oberwiesenthal, Germany #EMPSEB31 #EvoBio #PhDLife #Mating

Looking forward to Prof. Mariella's talk!🕷️

Attention ECRs! Apply now for a Conference Travel Award from @eseb.bsky.social to attend @empseb31.bsky.social OR the upcoming @evolmtg.bsky.social in Cleveland 2026 📣 DEADLINE: 30th January 2026 eseb.org/prizes-fundi...

🦋 Ever thought about the artist behind those naturalist illustrations? Maria Sibylla Merian, a 17th-century German naturalist, worked when women were rarely recognized in science. Her timeless art now represents EMPSEB31 in the spirit of curiosity and observation! ✨🔍 #ScienceArt #EvoBio #EMPSEB31

We’re very grateful to ESEB for supporting early-career researchers through their Conference Travel Awards 💙 Opportunities like these help make conferences more accessible. We warmly encourage students interested in #EMPSEB31 to apply!

📢 The Call for Abstracts for #EMPSEB31 is now open! 🔗 Full details & submission info on our website. ✈️ Applying for an ESEB Travel Grant? ⏰ Abstract deadline for travel-grant applicants: January 15, 2026 ⏳ General abstract deadline: February 1, 2026 #EvoBio #PhD #EMPSEB31

🧬✨ It’s official! EMPSEB31 is coming to Germany, June 2026! Link in Bio 😉 Europe’s friendliest evolution meeting returns, by PhD students, for PhD students. 📍Oberwiesenthal, Germany 📅8–12 June 2026 🚨Save the date & follow us for updates! #EMPSEB31 #EvoBio #PhDLife #ScienceCommunity #EMPSEB

EMPSEB30 has come to an end, but we’re thrilled by the many enthusiastic volunteers eager to organize EMPSEB31. Next stop could be France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, or Denmark 🇩🇰… we’ll see! Wishing all future organizers the best of luck!💫

A big thanks to @biologists.bsky.social for their generous support through the Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing! Their help made our eco-friendly shuttle buses from Prague & Brno possible 🚌💚 and allowed us to reward participants who traveled by train 🚆.

🎉 Congrats to Luisa Linke, winner of the EMPSEB30 Best Poster Award for “What drives sex differences in immunity?” She wins a free course from Physalia Courses — big thanks for the support! 🙌 @physaliacourses.bsky.social

🎉 The AllGenetics–EMPSEB Award for Best Oral Presentation goes to Tarunkishwor Yumnam for his brilliant work on the evolution of the butterfly “false head”! 🦋👏 Big thanks to @allgenetics.bsky.social for supporting emerging science talent! 💙

EMPSEB30 was a blast! 💥 A week full of science, fun & great conversations in Milovy, Czechia. PhD students from around the world came together to learn, share & connect. Huge thanks to all participants, speakers, organizers & sponsors who made it possible! 💙

If bottom-up approaches still needed evidence they work, #EMPSEB30 gave it. A warm atmosphere, sustainability prize, engaging DEI session, emotional workshops, alternative presentations, so many out-of-the-box things. Altogether with a really high scientific quality. Thank you @empseb30.bsky.social!

And that’s a wrap! #EMPSEB30 comes to an end in the same friendly way in which it started🙌🏽 A huge thank you to the organisers for a flawless conference and for the phenomenal final show! 🕺🏻💃🏻@empseb30.bsky.social

Todays plenary talk was given by Bibiana Rojas. She showed us her thrilling research that focuses on the study of poisonous frogs that display unique behaviour in parental care and early life.🐸 Thank you Bibiana for not only the talk, but contribution to DEI Panel and friendly athmosphere!

Last but not least! Our final talk not only in Session 7A but also at the whole conference was given by Marie Krátká. She showed us her unique results about the LTR Retrotransposons in holocentric species and how their abundance and nature differ from monocentric plants!🌱💻

Stanislav Kostiuk talked about the centromere diversity and structure in tribe Arabideae. He showed how frequent centromere repositioning is and how we can study this interesting phenomenon.🧬🌱 This was great addition to our Session 7A!

The next talk in Session 7A was given by Petr Janás. He introduced us to how CRISPR-Cas engineering can rewind chromosome evolution in plants!🌿 Thank you for the inspiring talk!

Our last session 7A - Evolutionary Genomics started with Lucie Horáková, she shows us her fascinating research about the centromeres in hop!🌱

Juan Francisco Esteves Ramírez gave a talk about his work on tradeoffs between competitive ability and parasitoid resistance in experimentally evolved Drosophila populations. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #drosophila

Ana Carolina Varela Pereira showed us the genetic mechanisms that Drosophila larvae evolve to cope with nutritional stresses. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #drosophila

Zorimar Vilella Pacheco @biologaboricua.bsky.social gave a fascinating talk on differences in within- vs. trans-generational plasticity in different Daphnia magna lineages. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #plasticity

Benjamin Cejp gave a very comprehensive talk on allometries in life-history strategies and a fast-slow continuum in amphibians. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #lifehistories

The DEI panel is an important part of every EMPSEB. This year, participants discussed five selected scenarios in smaller groups. Thanks to all, for great discussions about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Special thanks go to @biobiiana.bsky.social, who concluded the event with an encouraging talk.

Tarunkishwor Yumnam @tarunyumnam.bsky.social presents his awesome work on false head evolution in butterflies with very beautiful animations. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #butterflies

Thank you, Sara Kafimola, for your great talk with the title "Evolutionary insight into Euconulus fulvus group (Gastropoda) with some taxonomic implications". #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #snails

Muhammed Rasit Durak @rasitdurak.bsky.social is explaining how he combines phylogenies, substitutions and protein structures to infer coevolution across the tree of life. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #phylogenetics

Laura Brosseau-Acquaviva gave an interesting talk about phyloregions of rodents in the Sudanian savanna now and in the past. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudents #evolution #savanna

Our todays keynote speaker was Alicia L. Bruzos. She gave an inspiring talk about contagious cancer in different bivalve species. 🐚This unique type of cancer represent an interesting oppurtunity to explore the nature and evolution of cancer. We would like to thank @bruzos.bsky.social for the talk!☺️

We finished Session 5B strong with Erica Winslott. Erica talked about the green tortoise beetles and how their populations differ when it comes to their host plant species.🪲🌱 Thanks Erica for the fascinating talk!

Another captivating talk in Session 5B was given by Agnes Szwarczynska. In her research she studies the correlation between telomeres, length of life and reproduction. Thanks @agasz.bsky.social for amazing talk!👏

What a fascinating study on the false heads of some butterflies! 🤩🦋 Great presentation by @tarunyumnam.bsky.social #EMPSEB30 @empseb30.bsky.social

Next talk in Session 5B belonged to Veera Schroderus. She introduced us her interesting research regarding the importance of social networks and hobbies in human health.🧶🎣🌱

Todays morning Session 5B - Life histories started with Lea Huber and her talk about how ostriches of different age react to various temperatures. 🥵🥶 Thanks Lea for your great talk!

We closed the 3A session with a fascinating talk by Grzegorz Ostrowski on the diversity and evolution of Mucoraceae: from pathogens to dry-aged meat specialists. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #mucoraceae

Thank you to Abosede Eniola Olarewaju @eniolami.bsky.social for explaining what phylogeography can tell us about the evolution of parasites and their hosts. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #parasites #phylogeography

An insightful talk by Najmussher Ghani — Competitors matter: transmission upon death selects for a higher pathogen load but not always an increase in virulence. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #pathogen #transmission

In Session 3A, Jorge Gonzalez Garcia introduced us to the enERVate pipeline, which is designed to identify, filter and annotate integrations of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in host genomes. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #enERVate

Can you spot the moths? This is a perfect illustration of Akhil Sadiq's talk, 'Blending at borders: the role of background boundaries in camouflage'. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #camouflage

A fascinating presentation was given by Pranav Shriram Datar on the topic of Venom variability in Hottentotta tamulus scorpions, which explored the underlying factors. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #scorpions #venom

Elisabeth Maria Mikkonen gave a great talk about how milk cortisol concentration in Asian elephants is shaped by maternal and infant factors. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #elephants #milk

We closed the 4A Session with introduction into the world of sex chromosomes in pipefish that have a unique presence of male pregnancy!🐟 Thank you, Kevin Hsiung for interesting presentation!😊

Another 4A presentation was about sex chromosomes in termites and its potential connection with casts. Thank you, Roxanne Fraser, for amazing presentation!🪳🤩

Our Session 4A Evolution of Sex started with Gokul Bhaskaran and his captivating presentation about male aggression in bank voles!🐀

Ritam Das @ritamd.bsky.social ended session 4B with a very clear talk on the evolution of gene regulatory networks underlying negative frequency dependent selection. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #selection

Eric Libby gave a very fascinating, very funny talk this morning on the evolution of metabolic endosymbioses. 🦠👏

This is a perfect opening for session 2B. Theo Brown asks, 'Does it pay to be lazy?' He tested the 'lazy flight' hypothesis of aposematic butterflies. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #aposematic_butterflies

Thank you, Salvatore Bannò, for your interesting talk about your experimental evolution study of yeast and its adaptation to a changing environment. #EMPSEB30 #conference #phdstudent #evolution #yeast