Bouwe Reijenga
@breijenga.bsky.social
(Macro)evolutionary biologist • postdoc @OxUniEarthSci
from fossils, phylogenies and theory to community assembly and diversification trends
from fossils, phylogenies and theory to community assembly and diversification trends
Pinned
Bouwe Reijenga
@breijenga.bsky.social
· Mar 26
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
doi.org
Out now in @pnas.org , we study the recovery dynamics of biodiversity across the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction. We quantify how species-area relationships – how diversity scales with geographic area – have changed for dinosaurs, mammals and others: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Cool paper on rate-time scaling: it’s not just an artifact! We need to re-think underlying evolutionary processes generating (fossil) phenotypic changes! By @vildebruhn.bsky.social @kjetillsj.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Cool paper on rate-time scaling: it’s not just an artifact! We need to re-think underlying evolutionary processes generating (fossil) phenotypic changes! By @vildebruhn.bsky.social @kjetillsj.bsky.social
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
How time, climate, and storage shape DNA survival in herbarium specimens - and why plants from the tropics face tougher odds 🌿🧬
#AncientDNA
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#AncientDNA
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 4, 2025 at 8:32 PM
How time, climate, and storage shape DNA survival in herbarium specimens - and why plants from the tropics face tougher odds 🌿🧬
#AncientDNA
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#AncientDNA
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Loss of macroevolutionary species fitness explains the rise and fall of clades - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The interplay between speciation and extinction rates shapes clade diversity dynamics. Using a novel phylogenetic model that includes living and fossil lineages, the authors estimate speciation and ex...
www.nature.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Human impacts on large mammals went well beyond triggering late Quaternary mass extinctions. A new paper by Brook et al. showing that biogeographic patterns were erased by the spread of domesticated species:
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
A related paper is in press. Stay tuned.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
A related paper is in press. Stay tuned.
August 13, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Human impacts on large mammals went well beyond triggering late Quaternary mass extinctions. A new paper by Brook et al. showing that biogeographic patterns were erased by the spread of domesticated species:
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
A related paper is in press. Stay tuned.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
A related paper is in press. Stay tuned.
"The genomics of discrete polymorphisms maintained by disruptive selection"
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
The genomics of discrete polymorphisms maintained by disruptive selection
Disruptive selection can lead to the evolution of discrete morphs. We show that particular
genetic architectures, in terms of dominance, epistasis, and linkage, are likely to
evolve to produce discret...
www.cell.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:39 PM
"The genomics of discrete polymorphisms maintained by disruptive selection"
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants
September 12, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Extreme climate events can catalyze rapid evolutionary change! in our new Current Biology (@currentbiology.bsky.social) piece, Colin and I argue it’s time to study their evolutionary consequences systematically — beyond opportunistic observations. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Evolutionary consequences of extreme climate events
Simon Baeckens and Colin Donihue review case studies of rapid evolutionary change
in response to extreme climate events and sketch a framework for future studies in
the rapidly changing climate of the...
www.cell.com
September 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Extreme climate events can catalyze rapid evolutionary change! in our new Current Biology (@currentbiology.bsky.social) piece, Colin and I argue it’s time to study their evolutionary consequences systematically — beyond opportunistic observations. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Check out our perceptive on the Emerging uses of artificial intelligence in deep time biodiversity research www.nature.com/articles/s44...
#AI #paleontology
#AI #paleontology
Emerging uses of artificial intelligence in deep time biodiversity research - Nature Reviews Biodiversity
This Perspective explores the existing and potential applications of artificial intelligence in deep time biodiversity research as well as offer guidelines on equitable and ethical use of artificial i...
www.nature.com
August 11, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Check out our perceptive on the Emerging uses of artificial intelligence in deep time biodiversity research www.nature.com/articles/s44...
#AI #paleontology
#AI #paleontology
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Our paper, led by Eva van der Heijden, shows the work of an international team combining phylogenomics, hybridisation tests, population and comparative genomics and pheromone analyses to resolve the taxonomy and evolution of two rapid radiations of glasswing butterflies. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
July 30, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Our paper, led by Eva van der Heijden, shows the work of an international team combining phylogenomics, hybridisation tests, population and comparative genomics and pheromone analyses to resolve the taxonomy and evolution of two rapid radiations of glasswing butterflies. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
🚨 The New Age of global bird phylogenies continues!
Hot on the heels of the fantastic updated tree created by @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others, we use a different approach to generate a near-comprehensive timetree of >9000 bird species. 1/3
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧪🌐🪶
Hot on the heels of the fantastic updated tree created by @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others, we use a different approach to generate a near-comprehensive timetree of >9000 bird species. 1/3
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧪🌐🪶
A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification
Flight may affect the dispersal and evolution of birds. Using a new evolutionary tree,
Claramunt et al. find that efficient fliers have broader geographic ranges, and speciation
reduces range size, bu...
www.cell.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:43 PM
🚨 The New Age of global bird phylogenies continues!
Hot on the heels of the fantastic updated tree created by @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others, we use a different approach to generate a near-comprehensive timetree of >9000 bird species. 1/3
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧪🌐🪶
Hot on the heels of the fantastic updated tree created by @eliotmiller.bsky.social and others, we use a different approach to generate a near-comprehensive timetree of >9000 bird species. 1/3
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧪🌐🪶
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
New paper out today in @pnas.org presenting near-complete phylogeny of the Grevilleoideae subfamily of Proteaceae plants, representing years of work and huge collaboration from an amazing team - ft. @marcelcardillo.bsky.social @hsauquet.bsky.social @austinmast.bsky.social and many others not on bsky
July 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM
New paper out today in @pnas.org presenting near-complete phylogeny of the Grevilleoideae subfamily of Proteaceae plants, representing years of work and huge collaboration from an amazing team - ft. @marcelcardillo.bsky.social @hsauquet.bsky.social @austinmast.bsky.social and many others not on bsky
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
the current rate of extinction, as estimated by ourselves and others, whom we cited, and across diverse major taxa, we may well be headed in the direction of a new mass extinction event
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo... 🌐🧪
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo... 🌐🧪
Denying that we may be experiencing the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction paves the way for it to happen
Arguing that we are not currently experiencing a Sixth Mass Extinction, or at least
playing down its possibility, gives support to those who would happily allow it to
happen. Wiens and Saban [1], in a...
www.cell.com
July 16, 2025 at 7:02 AM
the current rate of extinction, as estimated by ourselves and others, whom we cited, and across diverse major taxa, we may well be headed in the direction of a new mass extinction event
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo... 🌐🧪
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo... 🌐🧪
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Fresh off the presses in @currentbiology.bsky.social : Is the deuterostome clade an artefact? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (yours truly, Paschalis Natsidis, Laura Piovani and co-leads Paschalia Kapli and @maxjtelford.bsky.social) set out to try to answer this question.
Why? (1/12)
We (yours truly, Paschalis Natsidis, Laura Piovani and co-leads Paschalia Kapli and @maxjtelford.bsky.social) set out to try to answer this question.
Why? (1/12)
Is the deuterostome clade an artifact?
There is a long-standing consensus that the animal phyla closest to our own phylum of Chordata are the Echinodermata and Hemichordata. These three phy…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Fresh off the presses in @currentbiology.bsky.social : Is the deuterostome clade an artefact? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (yours truly, Paschalis Natsidis, Laura Piovani and co-leads Paschalia Kapli and @maxjtelford.bsky.social) set out to try to answer this question.
Why? (1/12)
We (yours truly, Paschalis Natsidis, Laura Piovani and co-leads Paschalia Kapli and @maxjtelford.bsky.social) set out to try to answer this question.
Why? (1/12)
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
I think I have been fortunate to work in an institution (and a department) that has been led by people who saw the importance of enabling flexibility between work and personal life. It was crucial when we faced a major personal family challenge some years ago, and remains a core principle
In his #ParentCarerScientist case study, Professor Ben Sheldon FRS talks about navigating crises at home and at work, and why it's important for leaders to set an example when it comes to balancing work with caring responsibilities: #CarersWeek #AndAScientist royalsociety.org/about-us/who...
June 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I think I have been fortunate to work in an institution (and a department) that has been led by people who saw the importance of enabling flexibility between work and personal life. It was crucial when we faced a major personal family challenge some years ago, and remains a core principle
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! Using whole-genome and morphological data from silvereyes, we explore their evolutionary history and find that water barriers are more effective than continental distances in driving population divergence 🐤🧬
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Islands Promote Diversification of the Silvereye Species Complex: A Phylogenomic Analysis of a Great Speciator
Geographic isolation plays a pivotal role in speciation by restricting gene flow between populations through distance or physical barriers. However, the speciation process is complex, influenced by t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! Using whole-genome and morphological data from silvereyes, we explore their evolutionary history and find that water barriers are more effective than continental distances in driving population divergence 🐤🧬
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
🚨🚨🚨!Post doc opportunity! 🚨🚨🚨
35 month post doc on niche modelling of migratory whales in my lab with Katrina Jones. Job advert below:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Please get in touch with questions!
35 month post doc on niche modelling of migratory whales in my lab with Katrina Jones. Job advert below:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Please get in touch with questions!
May 29, 2025 at 12:06 AM
🚨🚨🚨!Post doc opportunity! 🚨🚨🚨
35 month post doc on niche modelling of migratory whales in my lab with Katrina Jones. Job advert below:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Please get in touch with questions!
35 month post doc on niche modelling of migratory whales in my lab with Katrina Jones. Job advert below:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Please get in touch with questions!
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
For anyone interested in extinctions and macroevolution more generally here is the recording of the hybrid symposium on approaches to extinctions which was held in Vilnius a month ago.
sites.google.com/view/mathssx...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio #Geology
sites.google.com/view/mathssx...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio #Geology
Ma(th)ssX - VU Symposium
Hybrid Symposium
"Approaches to Mass Extinctions"
Vilnius University, April 2nd, 2025
Organizer: Prof. Andrej Spiridonov
The full program and abstract
sites.google.com
May 27, 2025 at 12:51 PM
For anyone interested in extinctions and macroevolution more generally here is the recording of the hybrid symposium on approaches to extinctions which was held in Vilnius a month ago.
sites.google.com/view/mathssx...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio #Geology
sites.google.com/view/mathssx...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio #Geology
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
daily mollusk - bivalve functional group extinction and survival. cool stuff by @spissatella.bsky.social and others 🧪
The end-Cretaceous mass extinction restructured functional diversity but failed to configure the modern marine biota
The end-Cretaceous mass extinction permanently disrupted the distribution of biodiversity among ecological functions.
www.science.org
May 23, 2025 at 6:54 PM
daily mollusk - bivalve functional group extinction and survival. cool stuff by @spissatella.bsky.social and others 🧪
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
It's back! The Society of Systematic Biologists is running Year 3 of the Mentorship Program!
Find community, support your colleagues, and talk trees. Apply by June 10th, 2025.
Program info: www.systbio.org/mentorship-p...
Application form: forms.gle/QtD22C9dtfRF...
@systbiol.bsky.social
Find community, support your colleagues, and talk trees. Apply by June 10th, 2025.
Program info: www.systbio.org/mentorship-p...
Application form: forms.gle/QtD22C9dtfRF...
@systbiol.bsky.social
May 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
It's back! The Society of Systematic Biologists is running Year 3 of the Mentorship Program!
Find community, support your colleagues, and talk trees. Apply by June 10th, 2025.
Program info: www.systbio.org/mentorship-p...
Application form: forms.gle/QtD22C9dtfRF...
@systbiol.bsky.social
Find community, support your colleagues, and talk trees. Apply by June 10th, 2025.
Program info: www.systbio.org/mentorship-p...
Application form: forms.gle/QtD22C9dtfRF...
@systbiol.bsky.social
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
What's new in the world of adaptive radiation?!
Here's what we think!
academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...
Out now in @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! Wonderful writing this with Julia Day, @fishspeciation.bsky.social, and María del Rosario Castañeda
Here's what we think!
academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...
Out now in @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! Wonderful writing this with Julia Day, @fishspeciation.bsky.social, and María del Rosario Castañeda
A global perspective on adaptive radiation: Advances, issues, and future directions
James T Stroud, Julia J Day, María del Rosario Castañeda, Christopher H Martin; A global perspective on adaptive radiation: Advances, issues, and future di
academic.oup.com
May 19, 2025 at 11:07 PM
What's new in the world of adaptive radiation?!
Here's what we think!
academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...
Out now in @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! Wonderful writing this with Julia Day, @fishspeciation.bsky.social, and María del Rosario Castañeda
Here's what we think!
academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...
Out now in @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! Wonderful writing this with Julia Day, @fishspeciation.bsky.social, and María del Rosario Castañeda
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Thrilled to share the 3rd and largest paper from my PhD!🎉:
"Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Non-Ecological Speciation in Rubyspot Damselflies" is out now in Molecular Ecology!
⬇️Includes divergence times and an F1 hybrid
Thanks to my fantastic co-authors & collaborators!
📖 doi.org/10.1111/mec....
🧬🌎🧪
"Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Non-Ecological Speciation in Rubyspot Damselflies" is out now in Molecular Ecology!
⬇️Includes divergence times and an F1 hybrid
Thanks to my fantastic co-authors & collaborators!
📖 doi.org/10.1111/mec....
🧬🌎🧪
May 19, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Thrilled to share the 3rd and largest paper from my PhD!🎉:
"Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Non-Ecological Speciation in Rubyspot Damselflies" is out now in Molecular Ecology!
⬇️Includes divergence times and an F1 hybrid
Thanks to my fantastic co-authors & collaborators!
📖 doi.org/10.1111/mec....
🧬🌎🧪
"Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Non-Ecological Speciation in Rubyspot Damselflies" is out now in Molecular Ecology!
⬇️Includes divergence times and an F1 hybrid
Thanks to my fantastic co-authors & collaborators!
📖 doi.org/10.1111/mec....
🧬🌎🧪
Reposted by Bouwe Reijenga
Although species vary in their #phenological response to #climate change, some food-chains and webs are surprisingly resilient...
On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇
tinyurl.com/BufferCater
🧵1/6
On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇
tinyurl.com/BufferCater
🧵1/6
May 14, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Although species vary in their #phenological response to #climate change, some food-chains and webs are surprisingly resilient...
On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇
tinyurl.com/BufferCater
🧵1/6
On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇
tinyurl.com/BufferCater
🧵1/6