#speciation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #speciation, aggregated by home.social.
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🆕Article: Reconstructed phylogeny and morphometry suggest the European rock ant 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑥 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 (Müller, 1923) forms a ring species around the Dinaric Alps (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Csősz, S., Seifert, B., Bračko, G., Herczeg, G. & Prebus, M.M.
#morphometrics #hybrid #speciationhttps://myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=1677&Itemid=444
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🆕Article: Reconstructed phylogeny and morphometry suggest the European rock ant 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑥 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 (Müller, 1923) forms a ring species around the Dinaric Alps (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
#morphometrics #hybrid #speciationhttps://myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=1677&Itemid=444
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The line between what is a species and what is not is becoming blurrier and blurrier.
#evolution #biology #genetics #speciation #science -
The line between what is a species and what is not is becoming blurrier and blurrier.
#evolution #biology #genetics #speciation #science -
#speciation #taxonomy #habitat
"How Ecotypes Harbor the Genetic Memory of a Species’ Past
Evolutionary biologists are uncovering genomic mechanisms that allow populations to adapt quickly to different, hyperlocal habitats without splitting into new species.
(. . .)
Around 50 years earlier, the botanist Göte Turesson had had a similar revelation in a similar setting. As he walked Sweden’s shores, he noticed that saltbush plants from different stretches of coastline had distinct traits — earlier or later flowering times, or shorter or longer stalks — and between habitats, those traits fell somewhere in the middle. He bred the plants in his home garden and found that these distinct traits had a genetic basis even though they arose from the same species. In 1922, he published his results (opens a new tab) and coined the term 'ecotype' to describe a subpopulation of a species adapted to a hyperlocal habitat.
At that time, the definition of a species was even less clear than it is today. Genes were still theoretical, and the structure of DNA wouldn’t be discovered for another 30 years. Turesson 'struggled to be accepted,' said Johannesson, now the director of Tjärnö Marine Laboratory at the University of Gothenberg. How can a species contain multiple distinct phenotypes — or sets of traits — without separating into two species? 'He had quite a job to try to convince his colleagues that there were inherited differences and local adaptation within species,' she said."
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-ecotypes-harbor-the-genetic-memory-of-a-species-past-20260521/
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#speciation #taxonomy #habitat
"How Ecotypes Harbor the Genetic Memory of a Species’ Past
Evolutionary biologists are uncovering genomic mechanisms that allow populations to adapt quickly to different, hyperlocal habitats without splitting into new species.
(. . .)
Around 50 years earlier, the botanist Göte Turesson had had a similar revelation in a similar setting. As he walked Sweden’s shores, he noticed that saltbush plants from different stretches of coastline had distinct traits — earlier or later flowering times, or shorter or longer stalks — and between habitats, those traits fell somewhere in the middle. He bred the plants in his home garden and found that these distinct traits had a genetic basis even though they arose from the same species. In 1922, he published his results (opens a new tab) and coined the term 'ecotype' to describe a subpopulation of a species adapted to a hyperlocal habitat.
At that time, the definition of a species was even less clear than it is today. Genes were still theoretical, and the structure of DNA wouldn’t be discovered for another 30 years. Turesson 'struggled to be accepted,' said Johannesson, now the director of Tjärnö Marine Laboratory at the University of Gothenberg. How can a species contain multiple distinct phenotypes — or sets of traits — without separating into two species? 'He had quite a job to try to convince his colleagues that there were inherited differences and local adaptation within species,' she said."
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-ecotypes-harbor-the-genetic-memory-of-a-species-past-20260521/
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Underground #evolution: Study reveals how new #cavefish species emerged https://news.yale.edu/2026/05/21/underground-evolution-study-reveals-how-new-cavefish-species-emerged
Aquifer-mediated #speciation in cave-adapted fishes https://academic.oup.com/iob/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iob/obag021/8684975
"three species of Southern cavefish evolved from a common ancestor that had adapted to life #underground and dispersed through aquifers in soluble #subterranean rock formations. It provides the best evidence to date that speciation can occur in species adapted to only survive in subterranean ecosystems."
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A recent study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that many bird species possess wing shapes surprisingly ill-suited to their flight performance. In contrast, penguins and hummingbirds stand out as exceptions, having evolved wing shapes closely matched to their specialised style of movement.
#evolution #biodiversity #birds #flying #speciation -
A recent study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that many bird species possess wing shapes surprisingly ill-suited to their flight performance. In contrast, penguins and hummingbirds stand out as exceptions, having evolved wing shapes closely matched to their specialised style of movement.
#evolution #biodiversity #birds #flying #speciation -
RE: https://mastodon.green/@plazi_species/115904831661478242
How can allopatric #speciation lead to the #radiation of #newspecies, and how can #research succeed in reconstructing such mechanisms? #Cryptic #complexes such as the #Hemiphyllodactylus #harterti-complex (#Gekkonidae) can be revealing.
Z. Hong et al. (2026) #phylogenetically identified two new species by using the #mitochondrialgene #ND2. The #ancestral #population of the complex is thought to have diverged in the Middle #Oligocene and radiated from there throughout #Malaysia.
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RE: https://mastodon.green/@plazi_species/115904831661478242
How can allopatric #speciation lead to the #radiation of #newspecies, and how can #research succeed in reconstructing such mechanisms? #Cryptic #complexes such as the #Hemiphyllodactylus #harterti-complex (#Gekkonidae) can be revealing.
Z. Hong et al. (2026) #phylogenetically identified two new species by using the #mitochondrialgene #ND2. The #ancestral #population of the complex is thought to have diverged in the Middle #Oligocene and radiated from there throughout #Malaysia.
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I've been a student of speciation and species concepts for 40 years, so I'm surprised that I cannot recall or find a term that refers specifically to two or more species between which limited gene flow occurs--species that hybridize while remaining distinct. Does it exist?
#evolution #speciation -
I've been a student of speciation and species concepts for 40 years, so I'm surprised that I cannot recall or find a term that refers specifically to two or more species between which limited gene flow occurs--species that hybridize while remaining distinct. Does it exist?
#evolution #speciation -
every individuaL belongs to the same specieS of their parentS
Isn’t it trivial?
What’s wrong with that sentence, if we take it as a definition of species membership?What’s wrong is that it’s revolutionary.
It contradicts the current definition of species, or at least what remains of it after all the attempts to keep it usable despite hybrids such as turtles with complex patterns of fertility.
#biology -
every individuaL belongs to the same specieS of their parentS
Isn’t it trivial?
What’s wrong with that sentence, if we take it as a definition of species membership?What’s wrong is that it’s revolutionary.
It contradicts the current definition of species, or at least what remains of it after all the attempts to keep it usable despite hybrids such as turtles with complex patterns of fertility.
#biology -
New meta-analysis out on the role of sexual selection in speciation!
Across the Animal kingdom, we found that stronger sexual selection is significantly (though weakly) associated with greater species richness in comparative studies — suggesting a modest role for sexual selection in speciation.
A great collaboration with Tim Janicke, Jeanne Tonnabel, Tamra Mendelson & Mike Ritchie.
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Till Selection Do Us Part? Testing Sexual Selection’s Role in Speciation
Summary & Analysis by Pooja Radhakrishnan of "Evolutionary lability of sexual selection and its implications for speciation and macroevolution" by Januario et al.
https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/April-2025-Januario.html -
Till Selection Do Us Part? Testing Sexual Selection’s Role in Speciation
Summary & Analysis by Pooja Radhakrishnan of "Evolutionary lability of sexual selection and its implications for speciation and macroevolution" by Januario et al.
https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/April-2025-Januario.html -
⚠️ Postdoctoral position at @lemoulon : mechanisms of reproductive isolation between crops and their wild relatives ⚠️
➡️ Location : @ideev.lab @universite_paris_saclay
Department : Quantitative Genetics and Evolution➡️ Open and close dates: August 2025 until filled (will begin reviewing applications immediately).
➡️ https://moulon.inrae.fr
➡️ https://www.ideev.universite-paris-saclay.fr/news/2025/09/postdoctoral-scholar-position-mechanisms-of-reproductive-isolation-between-crops-and-their-wild-relatives-at-gqe-le-moulon/#evolutionarygenomics #domestication #speciation #incompatibilities #plant @maudten #job #postdoc #emploi #postdoctoral #maudtenaillon
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20-Aug-2025
Most known species evolved during 'explosions’ of diversity, shows first analysis across ‘tree of life’
Majority of living species concentrated among few disproportionately rich groups with high rates of diversification, shows first-of-its-kind study -
20-Aug-2025
Most known species evolved during 'explosions’ of diversity, shows first analysis across ‘tree of life’
Majority of living species concentrated among few disproportionately rich groups with high rates of diversification, shows first-of-its-kind study -
The molecular evolutionary basis of species formation revisited.
#Speciation #HybridIncompatibility #IncompatibilityGenes #SpeciationGenes
https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(25)00167-2
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How do mating signals diverge early in speciation? Rodríguez et al. conduct experimental host shifts with Enchenopa treehoppers that resulted in subtle but non-trivial signal divergence in a few generations. This was fueled by standing genetic variation and plasticity, and unrelated to host specialization.
Read now ahead of print!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/736182#mating #speciation #treehoppers #generations #geneticVariation #genetics
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How do mating signals diverge early in speciation? Rodríguez et al. conduct experimental host shifts with Enchenopa treehoppers that resulted in subtle but non-trivial signal divergence in a few generations. This was fueled by standing genetic variation and plasticity, and unrelated to host specialization.
Read now ahead of print!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/736182#mating #speciation #treehoppers #generations #geneticVariation #genetics
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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. -
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. -
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 -
🆕Interview: In this interview, Daniela Mera-Rodríguez, talks about a recent publication on 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑠 species complex. #taxonomy #nquilinism #parasitism #speciation
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15-Apr-2025
A tale of two hummingbird billsThere 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.
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15-Apr-2025
A tale of two hummingbird billsThere 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.
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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
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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
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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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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
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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
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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 -
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
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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
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Common misconceptions of speciation.
https://academic.oup.com/evolinnean/article/3/1/kzae029/7848478
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Common misconceptions of speciation.
https://academic.oup.com/evolinnean/article/3/1/kzae029/7848478
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Okie & Storch propose a theory explaining macroecological biodiversity patterns such as the latitudinal diversity gradient that addresses the role of extinction, speciation, resource availability, and the effects of biodiversity on community abundance.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/733103
#biodiversity #diversityGradient #extinction #speciation #resourceAvailability
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A classic, my first paper on #beech #genetics getting a RG-#milestone: 1000 reads for "The #evolutionary history of #Fagus in western Eurasia: Genes, morphology and the #fossil record" RG added #reticulate #evolution, suppressed #speciation, could say that.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s006060200044
Low impact? Enduring research still (obviously) worth a read over 20 yrs later 😎
PS Still happy with it. But wouldn't just use a tree anymore for #phylogenetics
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Lerch et al. unify ecological perspectives on coexistence with evolutionary perspectives on speciation to study how diversification results from a complex interplay of both ecological and evolutionary constraints. Read now ahead of print!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/732307 -
10-Oct-2024
#Galápagos finches could be singing a different song after repeated drought—one that leads to #speciationhttps://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1060426 #science #evolution #birdsong
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Individual variability in mortality is widespread. The general rule is that larger organisms have a greater chance of survival than smaller conspecifics. Dr. Chaparro-Pedraza investigates how natural variability can facilitate speciation. Read now! https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/730446
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Some photos from the thesis defence in Tjarno. The stunning weather helped, also a highly entertaining spex afterwards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spex_(theatre) #genomics
#littorina #snails #sweden #phd #viva #Speciation #spex -
First time as the opponent at a Swedish viva, Tjarno, on speciation and inversions in snails. Memorable field/snail trip yesterday, to Ursholmen islands, helped by gorgeous weather and warm sea. "Viva" v. different from UK equivalent, quite a lot of pros, and few negatives (except the £!). #genomics #littorina #snails #sweden #phd #viva #Speciation
