Robert Ricklefs - in memoriam dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2026/06/11/r...

Interested in #macroevolution, #macroecology, and mountain biodiversity? I'm recruiting a #postdoc for an NSF-funded project at Yale, in collaboration with Martha Muñoz (Yale) and Maya Stokes (Florida State University). I'll be at #Evol2026 and happy to chat! Link below

#NewPaperAlert! This one has a massive author list and has been a LONG time in coming, but is SO COOL! First, check out the first figure to get you interested! Manakins! Fruit! Sexual-selection in action (displays and Z:A chromosomal diversity)! Read on for the back story & link 1/n

Our official guide to help you write a public comment on the OMB-2026-0034 is here: zurl.co/XgyzA Submit your comment and take additional actions here: zurl.co/RiDuv #StandUpForScience #OMB #Vought #SaveScience #FundScience

The Trump Administration’s racist science policies have achieved some of their goals. The number of Black Principal Investigators has dropped by 10% between 2024 and 2025; while the number of Hispanic PIs has fallen by 7%. For research trainees, the numbers are far worse.

Amy Angert and I are recruiting 2 temporary field technicians to assist with demographic surveys across the range of scarlet monkeyflower in California and Oregon. Perfect for recent graduates who are considering applying for grad school. Apply here: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/231.... Please share!

Check out Tris's thread on the manuscript here! bsky.app/profile/todo...

Exciting new work from the lab led by @lagiven.bsky.social & co-advised by @tododge.bsky.social mapping pigmentation variation in the swordtail X. nezahualcoyotl! Spotting variation is linked to xmrk but embedded in complex genomic regions that Tris & Lyle tackled with UL nanopore: shorturl.at/Ljw1z

If, like me, you are uncertain about how to respond to the new OMB rule that would allow political operatives to make decisions on federal grants, be sure to attend this meeting. Topics include implications of the proposed rule, how to write effective comments, and actions needed to stop OMB. 🧪

Another handful of sand in the gears: Researchers cannot serve on a panel *at all* if anyone from their institution has submitted to that panel. Recusing themselves for the proposal itself is no longer sufficient. This is needless, but will certainly slow things up even further.

Support science in California!! Now's the time to contact your state reps and voice your support! You can learn more and easily send an email here: www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/investi...

Note that due to some major delays in getting the job posted, we will begin reviewing applications on June 19!

Scientists and Science Supporters. Now is the time to act to stop the new OMB proposed rules that changes federal grant regulations and threatens to weaken US science... the comment period is open now and until July 13th. @sse-evolution.bsky.social email below with information on what to do next!

The list of Ecology/Evolution/Marine Bio Labs recruiting grad students for Fall 2027 is live! PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/MAGd4ohyPeoY... students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... Please share widely! 🧪

🚨SSE members: check your inbox!🚨 SSE has sent an important email regarding the OMB's proposed overhaul of federal grant regulations--changes that could affect peer review, publishing, conferences, professional societies, international collaborations, and more. @sse-evolution.bsky.social

📢Job alert: #Curator (m/f/d) for the #Ornithology collection at @leibnizlib.bsky.social in Hamburg. 🐦🦉🦅🪶🥚 Application deadline: July 1, 2026. For more details and application see: 8101202752.karriereportal.cloud/job/2026-18-.... Please share.

There is a straightforward mechanism for the public to comment. Former NIH program office Elizabeth Ginexi has written an exceptionally helpful guide on how to so, with detailed suggestions. 3/n elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

Russell Vought, Director of the OMB, has issued a set of proposed changes that would dramatically alter federal grant funding. However, we can each take action to prevent these from taking effect. Here's how, a 🧵 🧪 1/n www.science.org/content/arti...

"If you wanted to cripple science research and were disappointed that Congress continued to fund it, this is the sort of document you would produce." arstechnica.com/science/2026...

OMB just published 412 pages in the Federal Register (Docket OMB-2026-0034) giving political appointees authority to terminate any NIH grant, override peer review scores, and block you from publishing with federal funds. Comment period closes ~July 13. Thread 🧵

What does the new OMB proposal mean for science? How can we STOP VOUGHT and SAVE SCIENCE together? All of these questions and more to be discussed at the Emergency Science Meeting on June 2nd, 4PM ET, hosted by Stand Up for Science! Register at the link in our bio, or go here: zurl.co/g3vTZ

NEW — My first true foray into AI haterdom is about how those of us not convinced by AI’s inevitability are a real constituency worthy of a voice. Give it a read:

If you are going to comment on the proposed changes to how science is done in the US, please use this guide. The rules specify that you have to mention the number associated with the proposed changes, and this blog has those. Here is where to comment: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

Each week, I write a briefing on what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪  Needed to write Year 2, Week 22 a day early. It is grim. - new NSF grant delays - gut-churning policy proposals on NDA, accreditation, peer review - academic freedom surveys & so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

I think a lot about how mountain species are responding to warming temperatures so it was great to team up with @suzetteflantua.bsky.social @kjfeeley.bsky.social Christi McCain & Jenny McGuire to write a review of sp responses to both modern AND Quaternary warming www.nature.com/articles/doi...

📢New warbler research!📢 A phylogeny of Myioborus (the youngest genus of warblers) plus a hypothesis for how they diversified in South America and a gene causing a color difference between hybridizing species. It was great co-leading this with Laura Céspedes Arias. doi.org/10.1093/evol...

“Why are women less bullish overall on AI than men” is not actually that mysterious of a question

Excited to share that I will be joining Florida State University as an Assistant Professor starting in January 2027! I’m thrilled to build my lab at FSU in the Ecology & Evolution Division within the Department of Biological Science — stay tuned! A huge thank you to my village for all the support!

Thrilled that our new review article on animal hybridization is now up on EcoEvoRxiv! 🎉 Working on this review with @mollyschumer.bsky.social was a blast, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to catch up on all the amazing work in animal hybridization over the last few years!

Thrilled to present my dissertation research at the Hamilton Symposium! We used approaches including GWAS, long-read sequencing, phylogenetic methods, and behavior experiments to uncover the genetic basis and evolutionary history of a shared polymorphism. Can’t wait to share what we’ve learned!

We are often asked whether pangenomes are worth the hassle. The files can be large and methods to explore them are much more challenging than linear references. Earlier this week, we preprinted a clear example of how and why pan-genome graphs are so important for trait discovery.

I’m so excited to be able to finally share that @devonderaad.bsky.social was awarded one of the AOS Early Professional awards this year!!! He’ll be presenting one of the plenary talks at the @amornith.bsky.social meeting in Amherst! 🥳🥳🥳

I’m so excited to be able to finally share that @devonderaad.bsky.social was awarded one of the AOS Early Professional awards this year!!! He’ll be presenting one of the plenary talks at the @amornith.bsky.social meeting in Amherst! 🥳🥳🥳

All those speeches where oligarchs get booed by Zoomers for saying AI is cool actually are quite wonderful, but you can see this EXACT meme play out on the oligarch's faces as they process their responses. Yes, its an old meme, but I have never seen it manifest so literally on stage.

Earth science has been archived: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Love this quote: "We used to make fun of Edgar Anderson by saying that he was finding hybrids under every bush. Then we realized that even the bushes were hybrids." academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...

Do you know any students who are planning to apply to graduate school this cycle? Encourage them to apply to the Biology Preview Program! We provide intensive workshops to help students w/ their applications + 1:1 mentorship.

Excited to share this new pre-print from the fantastic @kelsiehunnicutt.bsky.social! Kelsie put together a thoughtful and thorough review on hybridization in animal evolution: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v.... She tracks notable shifts in perspectives on the study of hybridization through time.

Breaking news: Indiana University plant microbiologist Roger Innes has been locked out of his laboratory by the school in response to a request by one of his federal funders. The move comes after Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs. https://scim.ag/4tsDqRr

Such a devasting loss 💔 If you are able to, consider donating to support Adriana's family 👇🏽 www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

When the NIH abruptly terminated thousands of research grants last year, the fallout wasn’t distributed equitably. A new analysis suggests the cuts disproportionately hit women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ investigators. My latest for @nature.com

Ok, hearing from multiple (very believable) NSF sources that this slowness is due largely to transitions and budget shutdown but that they’re moving a bunch of money out (all the money) by end of fiscal year

My preferred AI metaphor is actually Asbestos. - Seemingly magical properties - Developed and experimented with to make endless products - Poisoned countless communities in it's creation - Everything it was used for eventually becomes a toxic hazard to mitigate & it's in the fucking walls now

Really happy to see the @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social issue a strong policy banning the use of AI for reviewing manuscripts and submitting awards/grants/manuscripts. Science writing is a human endeavor and should be done by actual humans! wilsonsociety.org/wp-content/u...

Less than 800 NSF grants awarded over the first half of the fiscal year for the entire country. Previous years were already over 2-3k awards by now. It is not particularly overdramatic to say we are seeing the death of federally funded science research in the United States.

Hiring 3 postdocs in ecological resilience @biology.ox.ac.uk for my @erc.europa.eu CoG ResIntegrate project. Deadline May 29th. Details below. Pls share @salgoteam.bsky.social @evoldir.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social @ecolsocaus.bsky.social

Trying to write a grant proposal for NSF while the boat is literally on fire and sinking out from under you is an experience, let me tell you.

Emma Darwin was born 218 years ago today. Here is the story of how her unstinting self-sacrifice in managing Charles's chronic illnesses as well as those of their family made his evolutionary publications possible. tinyurl.com/47ffzhkd #WomenInSTEM #HiddenHelper #BioSky #Evolution