Andy Foote
@andrewfoote.bsky.social
📤 1655
📥 803
📝 82
Evolutionary biologist using ancient and modern DNA to study evolution through time and space.
pinned post!
The Evolution of Cetacean Societies Edited by
@darrencroft.bsky.social
@ellengarland.bsky.social
and.bsky.social
@stephanielking.bsky.social
and myself Preorder available now
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Will share more details closer to release date
#whale
#dolphin
#animalbehaviour
about 1 year ago
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Stephanie L King
about 13 hours ago
New OA paper
@royalsocietypublishing.org
: What can we learn from bonobos and bottlenose dolphins about the evolution of between-group cooperation?
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Lovely collab with
@lirsamuni.bsky.social
Martin Surbeck and Richard Connor.
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Susan Johnston
6 days ago
Hello BlueSky 🌞 my group has a large project growing arms and legs, and we've decided to graduate from post-its to a project management software (kanban or similar). Any recommendations from academics? Ideally with clear project roles, a task tracker, and as lo-fi as possible!
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@ UiO masters students: Applications are now open for the field course “Use of Environmental DNA to Assess Marine Fishery and Fish-farm Health,” which will be taught in Brazil.
www.forbio.uio.no/events/cours...
Contact:
@micahdunthorn.bsky.social
if you have any questions.
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MSc course: “Use of Environmental DNA to Assess Marine Fishery and Fish-farm Health” - ForBio
Read this story on the University of Oslo's website.
https://www.forbio.uio.no/events/courses/2026/MSc%20course%20“Use%20of%20Environmental%20DNA%20to%20Assess%20Marine%20Fishery%20and%20Fish-farm%20Health”
13 days ago
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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra
23 days ago
Recently we're working with SNPs from whole genome assemblies to estimate ARGs. It's a pain to go from alignment files to vcf, keeping track of masked and invariant sites. So we wrote a snakemake/SLURM pipeline. Hope it's useful to others, and don't hesitate to post issues if there are problems!
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GitHub - RILAB/argprep: Snakemake pipeline for generating SINGER input files from whole genome alignment .maf files.
Snakemake pipeline for generating SINGER input files from whole genome alignment .maf files. - RILAB/argprep
https://github.com/RILAB/argprep
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Joana Meier
24 days ago
David Marques was an amazing speciation genomics researcher, a passionate birder, and a wonderful friend, husband, and father. May he rest in peace.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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David Alexander Marques (1984–2026) - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Speciation genomics researcher, author of the combinatorial theory of speciation and passionate birder
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-03006-4
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Mark A. Hanson
about 1 month ago
Very excited to be advertising this project with the excellent cosupervision of Peter Mergaert through
@i2bcparissaclay.bsky.social
and
@uniexecec.bsky.social
. This position is open to international applicants and will involve stints in both Penryn UK and Paris France. Please share! Apply:
adum.fr
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EvolDir
26 days ago
Join the ESEB STN online seminar on March 3 at 5pm CET featuring early career researchers discussing speciation. Q&A with Mark Ravinet after talks. More info:
https://speciation-network.pages.ist.ac.at/
#conference
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https://speciation-network.pages.ist.ac.at/
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Lee Hsiang Liow (廖珕庠)
26 days ago
2 PhD & 1 postdoc available at BioM in Oslo
www.uio.no/english/rese...
Interdisciplinary methods to model and govern biodiversity under uncertainty. Re-post widely! Work with statistical ecologists Olav Skarpaas (Natural History Museum Oslo
@uio.no
)
@t-ergon.bsky.social
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Methods for knowledge-based biodiversity monitoring and management under uncertainty (BioM) - UiO:Life Science
BioM develops new interdisciplinary methods to model and govern biodiversity under uncertainty, combining ecology, statistics, and philosophy. The project delivers predictive tools, normative framewor...
https://www.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/life-science/research/convergence-environments/biom/
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Benjamin Vernot
27 days ago
UPDATE: The application period for these (amazing, fun, really cool!) sedaDNA PhD positions in our group is March 2-27, but we will start screening applications after the first week. If you are interested, please try to submit *between March 2nd and 8th!* Not by March 1st as I originally wrote..
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Franca Eichenberger
27 days ago
New paper on age-related reproductive tactics & success in humpback whales, published in Current Biology.🐳🧬
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
#marmam
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
@uniofstandrews.bsky.social
@ellengarland.bsky.social
@emma-carroll.bsky.social
@clairenea.bsky.social
@lrendell.bsky.social
1/7
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Hernán E. Morales
about 1 month ago
Finally published! We first uploaded this preprint in 2022 but dropped it after frustrating reviews. It was well received and cited, motivating us to revisit it. We added new content, including simulations and a proof-of-concept genomic green status assessment.
#consgen
#popgen
#PopulationGenomics
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Erik Postma
about 1 month ago
Our stellar 🤩 list of invited speakers
#ExE2026
:
@danielbolnick.bsky.social
Trine Bilde, Dan Nussey,
@sevans.bsky.social
@andrewfoote.bsky.social
@cleliagasparini.bsky.social
Sarah Knowles,
@liamlachs.bsky.social
, Lizy Mittell,
@keesvanoers.bsky.social
, Alex Popadopolous & Katja Räsänen.
evoxeco.uk
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Programme
We have a diverse programme, including plenary and keynote speakers, contributed talks and posters, excursions and conference dinner. Scientific programme There will be two parallel sessions, covering...
https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/programme/
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Graham Coop
about 1 month ago
Excited for this. Teaching popgen is one of my favourite parts of my job and I've wondered about doing an online version of the class for sometime. Teaming up with
@jrossibarra.bsky.social
to do this is wonderful.
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Filipa Samarra
about 2 months ago
Proud supervisor moment. The last chapter of
@annaselbmann.bsky.social
PhD is now published, well done Anna!! 👏👏 Find out more👇
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Center for Whale Research
about 2 months ago
Join us Sat, Feb 7 for a FREE virtual book launch of 'The Evolution of Cetacean Societies'. Live Q&A + cover BTS. 🕕 18:00 GMT / 10am PT 🎟️ Free with registration 🔗
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launc...
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Henry North
about 2 months ago
I'll be talking about the use of genomic data for inferring and forecasting the spread of invasive pests 🐛 in conversation with Renata Retkute, who uses epidemiological models to tackle the same problem. This Friday at 13:30, David Attenborough Building & online
www.tickettailor.com/events/globa...
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Register – The Dynamics of Agricultural Pests: leveraging data from genome to landscapes – David Attenborough Building
The Dynamics of Agricultural Pests: leveraging data from genome to landscapes – David Attenborough Building, Fri 30 Jan 2026 - Up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases each yea...
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globalfoodsystems/2031068
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Max Reuter
about 2 months ago
Do you like your learned society and what it does for you and your research community? Then publish in their journal! This paper by
@nicolasgaltier.bsky.social
& Co shows that it will only do good, and comes with a handy database of academy-friendly journals. 👇
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Claudia Bank
2 months ago
Last chance to apply - the deadline is tomorrow!
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Éadin O'Mahony, PhD
2 months ago
New paper on the social learning of bubble net feeding by humpbacks in British Columbia, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B 🐋
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
#marmam
@bcwhales.bsky.social
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social
@lrendell.bsky.social
@uniofstandrews.bsky.social
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The diffusion of cooperative and solo bubble net feeding in Canadian Pacific humpback whales
Abstract. Animal culture, information and behaviours acquired and shared by social learning are a form of biodiversity with intrinsic and practical value.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2063/20252409/479678/The-diffusion-of-cooperative-and-solo-bubble-net
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Stefaniya Kamenova
2 months ago
If you haven't already done so, do fill out this EU public consultation about the future of the European Research Area. Everything that matters to us is in there - funding, employment stability, AI regulations, open science, etc.
ec.europa.eu/info/law/bet...
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European Commission - Have your say
European Commission - Have your say
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14608-European-Research-Area-ERA-Act/public-consultation_en
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Tina Saupe
2 months ago
We developed/optimised the protocol to enrich low aDNA content libraries using Twist panels. 🎣🧬👩🔬
#aDNA
#Labwork
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Genome Biology and Evolution
3 months ago
In a new GBE Review,
@david-peede.bsky.social
et al. overview the SMC model and extensions, discuss examples of discoveries made with the help of SMC-based inference, and comment on the assumptions, benefits, and drawbacks of various methods. 🔗
doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#genome
#evolution
#compbio
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Not Just Ne Ne-More: New Applications for SMC from Ecology to Phylogenies
Abstract. Genomes contain the mutational footprint of an organism’s evolutionary history, shaped by diverse forces including ecological factors, selective
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf229
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Musings on museomics (
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
) in a commentary on Clark et al. (
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
) who compared genomes of museum specimens of ponyfish collected in 1908, with samples collected in 2018, spanning anthropogenic habitat change. They found declines in genetic diversity and Ne.
3 months ago
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Antoine Stier
3 months ago
Please repost: 🚨Field assistant position 🐧 We offer a 14-months field assistant position through the French Polar Institute to work on king penguin ecophysiology and behavioral ecology. Requirements: EU citizen < 30yo having experience with harsh fieldwork & wild bird/mammal handling/sampling.
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Lee Hsiang Liow (廖珕庠)
3 months ago
Apply for Sepkoski Grants $1000 USD if you are a paleontologist from Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia
www.paleosoc.org/sepkoski-gra...
deadline March 1
@paleosoc.bsky.social
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https://www.paleosoc.org/sepkoski-grants-international-research-program-@paleosoc.bsky.social
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Ryan Hernandez
3 months ago
This story is heartbreaking. Brenna Henn is a wonderful scientist, and the work their lab does is truly insightful. Anger and rage…
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/s...
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Science Magazine
3 months ago
A new
#ScienceAdvances
study shows that commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean over the past century reduced the genetic diversity—and possibly the evolutionary fitness—of the region’s humpback whales.
https://scim.ag/4anxPpM
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Humpback whale genomes reflect the increased efficiency of commercial whaling
Humpback whale genomes reflect shifts in whaling practices and their potential impact on the animals’ adaptive capacity.
https://scim.ag/4anxPpM
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Molly Przeworski
3 months ago
Happy to highlight an essay I wrote together with
@marcdemanuel.bsky.social
,
@natanaels.bsky.social
and Anastasia Stolyarova, trying to think through what sets the mutation rate of a cell type in an animal species:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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What sets the mutation rate of a cell type in an animal species?
Germline mutation rates per generation are strikingly similar across animals, despite vast differences in life histories. Analogously, in at least one somatic cell type, mutation rates at the end of l...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.19.695482v1
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology
3 months ago
demografr: A toolkit for simulation-based inference in population genetics
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.18.694482v1
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Molecular Biology and Evolution
3 months ago
@cademirch.bsky.social
@erikenbody.bsky.social
TB Sackton &
@russcd.bsky.social
introduce Callable Loci And More (clam), a tool that leverages callable loci to accurately estimate population genetic statistics (π, dxy, and FST). 🔗
doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf282
#evobio
#molbio
#compbio
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Efficient Estimation of Nucleotide Diversity and Divergence Using Callable Loci (and More)
Abstract. The increasing scale of population genomic datasets presents computational challenges in estimating summary statistics such as nucleotide diversi
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf282
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Katharina J. Peters
3 months ago
🐬 Can friendship slow ageing? In wild bottlenose dolphins, strong social relationships aren’t just important for social life — they may actually influence biological ageing.
@liviagerber.bsky.social
#ScienceCommunication
#MarineMammals
#Ageing
#MAVELab
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
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Social bonds decrease epigenetic age in male bottlenose dolphins - Communications Biology
Across 40 years of behavioural and epigenetic data, male dolphins with stronger social relationships show lower epigenetic ages and therefore appear to age slower compared to those with weaker social ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-09227-w
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William Perry
3 months ago
📢
#PhD
opportunity! Interested in
#eDNA
and protecting our
#rivers
? We are recruiting a PhD researcher to tackle a very topical challenge: Empowering citizen scientists with an eDNA toolbox to safeguard
#freshwater
fishes. Deadline: January 16th 2026.
#PhDPosition
#CardiffUniversity
bit.ly/49bl4gO
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Jonathan Pritchard
3 months ago
Our latest preprint revisits the classic model of mutation-selection balance. Do human recessive genes fit Haldane's 100-year old model? This work is by the wonderful
@jonj-udd.bsky.social
, and co-mentored by
@jeffspence.github.io
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Allele Frequencies at Recessive Disease Genes are Mainly Determined by Pleiotropic Effects in Heterozygotes
The classic theory of mutation-selection balance predicts the equilibrium frequency of genetic variation under negative selection. The model predicts a simple relationship between the total frequency ...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.05.692665v1
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A short note just published in Biology Letters with
@darrencroft.bsky.social
, in which we build a hypothesis on the potential genomic underpinning of a mid-life female menopause in killer whales
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl..
.
4 months ago
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Leyan Wang
4 months ago
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv:
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
. This work is co-advised by
@yundeng.bsky.social
and Rasmus Nielsen. 1/7
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Robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph Inference Tools to Phasing Errors
Ancestral Recombination Graphs (ARGs) are fundamental population genetic structures that encode the genealogical history of a sample of haplotypes along the genome. They have recently received substan...
https://biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690249v1
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Judith Mank
4 months ago
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
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We made the cover of
@heredityjournal.bsky.social
! Photo by
@cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social
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4 months ago
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Buy The Evolution of Cetacean Societies book direct from uChicago press via link below and use the code UCPNEW at checkout to get 30% discount off the list price.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
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The Evolution of Cetacean Societies
From leading cetacean biologists, an up-to-date, comprehensive collection exploring advancements in our understanding of cetacean ecology, behavior, and societies. Cetaceans—whales, dolphins, and po...
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo257312594.html
4 months ago
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Stefaniya Kamenova
4 months ago
The Centre for Advanced Study Sofia is offering several quite attractive fellowship schemes for postdoctoral researchers from the social sciences and the humanities, including one specifically dedicated to Ukranian scholars. Check it out! Application deadline: 31 March 2026.
cas.bg/en/cas-sofia...
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CAS Sofia Fellowships for 2026/2027 – CAS
https://cas.bg/en/cas-sofia-fellowships-for-2026-2027/
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Nicolas Bierne
4 months ago
Improving two-step cancer treatment strategies based on evolutionary models, but above all a nice evolutionary rescue model that should be of interest to everyone.
#PopGen
#CanEcoEvo
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Dr Simon Goodman
5 months ago
New PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳
#marine
#mammals
#consgen
#popgen
#phylo
#molevol
#evolution
yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...
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The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds - Yorkshire Environmental Sciences • Doctoral Training Network
Project summary Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walrus) are keystone marine predators, and sentinels for marine ecosystem health. Advances in genomic technology open up the possibility to u...
https://yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the-evolutionary-genomics-of-life-history-adaptations-in-pinnipeds/
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Katerina Guschanski
5 months ago
Just over a month left to apply for scholarships on this project. We will run internal pre-selection interviews end of November, so if you consider applying, please reach out now. I can guarantee amazing scientific and intellectual environment at the Institute for Eco Evo
@edinburghup.bsky.social
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology
5 months ago
Elevated mutation near crossovers inhibits the evolution of recombination
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.01.685904v1
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Dr Mark E Hauber
5 months ago
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Genomic architecture of egg mimicry and its consequences for speciation in parasitic cuckoos
Host-parasite arms races facilitate rapid evolution and can fuel speciation. Cuculus cuckoos are deceptive egg mimics that exhibit a broad diversity of counterfeit egg phenotypes, representing host-ad...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt9355
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A dream postdoc on an incredible population, building on over three decades of field research, and with a brilliant and supportive PI.
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5 months ago
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This is a bloody awful situation. If anyone has experience of how to deal with this please reach out to Kim
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5 months ago
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Hanna Kokko
5 months ago
A young PI here in Mainz has a fabulous PhD position that will be filled soon! By you? Keywords: Social insects, ageing, gene expression.
www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb10-evoluti...
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Behavioural Ecology and Social Evolution
https://www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb10-evolutionary-biology/
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A great opportunity to work with great colleagues (Marie Louis and Outi Tervo) on the beautiful Faroes on an ambitious eDNA study of marine mammals.
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5 months ago
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New paper out in Heredity: 'Evidence of long-term purging of mutation burden in killer whale genomes'. Time calibration of purging was through inclusion of an ancient (7.5Kyr) genome which was close to directly ancestral to the present-day population with signature of purging.
rdcu.be/eM25j
5 months ago
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