#speciation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #speciation, aggregated by home.social.
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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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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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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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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 -
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 -
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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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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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 -
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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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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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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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 -
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 -
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 -
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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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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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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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. -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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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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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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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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 -
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