John Stinchcombe
@johnstinchcombe.bsky.social
Ecological and evolutionary genetics in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UofT. Dad, dog lover, unashamed coffee addict.
Check out @ent3c.bsky.social and @sashagusevposts.bsky.social 's posts. Good stuff there
My guess is there's a generation of evolutionary biologists who read David Houle and Derek Roff's work from the 80s and early 90s who look at h2 = 0.3, and are thinking "what did else did anyone expect?"
My guess is there's a generation of evolutionary biologists who read David Houle and Derek Roff's work from the 80s and early 90s who look at h2 = 0.3, and are thinking "what did else did anyone expect?"
Blog post: A Missing Heritability Update. Three legs and other problems. I follow up on the recent excellent post on the subject by @sashagusevposts.bsky.social. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/missing-he...
Missing Heritability Revisited
Following up on Sasha
ericturkheimer.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Check out @ent3c.bsky.social and @sashagusevposts.bsky.social 's posts. Good stuff there
My guess is there's a generation of evolutionary biologists who read David Houle and Derek Roff's work from the 80s and early 90s who look at h2 = 0.3, and are thinking "what did else did anyone expect?"
My guess is there's a generation of evolutionary biologists who read David Houle and Derek Roff's work from the 80s and early 90s who look at h2 = 0.3, and are thinking "what did else did anyone expect?"
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Treating emergent traits of the microbiome like quantitative genetic traits of the host reveals how environmentally acquired symbionts can contribute to hosts' adaptation
Quantitative genetics of microbiome-mediated traits
Microbiomes, the complex communities of microorganisms associated with multicellular hosts, play a vital role in shaping host traits and fitness. But how d
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Treating emergent traits of the microbiome like quantitative genetic traits of the host reveals how environmentally acquired symbionts can contribute to hosts' adaptation
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
"Her wit was as sharp as her convictions, and her honesty was refreshing and rare."
A wonderfully written (by @gbaucom.bsky.social) obituary for my grad school friend and Auburn University Prof. Vanessa Koelling, who passed away last week.
www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/m...
A wonderfully written (by @gbaucom.bsky.social) obituary for my grad school friend and Auburn University Prof. Vanessa Koelling, who passed away last week.
www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/m...
Vanessa Koelling Obituary - Montgomery, AL
Celebrate the life of Vanessa Koelling, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Leak Memory Chapel.
www.dignitymemorial.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
"Her wit was as sharp as her convictions, and her honesty was refreshing and rare."
A wonderfully written (by @gbaucom.bsky.social) obituary for my grad school friend and Auburn University Prof. Vanessa Koelling, who passed away last week.
www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/m...
A wonderfully written (by @gbaucom.bsky.social) obituary for my grad school friend and Auburn University Prof. Vanessa Koelling, who passed away last week.
www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/m...
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
How are Pacific NW mountain birds responding to climate change?
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
How are Pacific NW mountain birds responding to climate change?
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
I got up at 4:00 am for a month to find out.
but first the backstory, or "how I spent seven years telling everyone this project wasn't possible"
new paper here:
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Maybe Duke should spend less money on higher administration and a football coach who no longer works there... and use the money for basic research, including an herbarium. Some pretty shocking salaries on this list, including from people claiming the Uni lacks $.
dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
Here’s how much Duke’s top employees made in fiscal year 2024
Belt-tightening efforts across the University have brought more scrutiny to Duke's highest-paid employees. The Chronicle examined the institution's most recent tax filings to see how much top earners ...
dukechronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Maybe Duke should spend less money on higher administration and a football coach who no longer works there... and use the money for basic research, including an herbarium. Some pretty shocking salaries on this list, including from people claiming the Uni lacks $.
dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2-year (2026-2028) - 2 positions OPENAt UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in resea...
biodiversity.ubc.ca
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
TWO curatorial positions at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada. Curator of Birds, and Curator of Plants and Sustainability... please pass the word and amplify!
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/XBR2Yc...
&
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/Sf2iAO...
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/XBR2Yc...
&
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/Sf2iAO...
Curator of Birds - Royal Ontario Museum - Career Page
Apply to Curator of Birds at Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, ON, Canada.
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:35 PM
TWO curatorial positions at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada. Curator of Birds, and Curator of Plants and Sustainability... please pass the word and amplify!
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/XBR2Yc...
&
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/Sf2iAO...
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/XBR2Yc...
&
royalontariomuseum.applytojob.com/apply/Sf2iAO...
Amazing profile of the new facilities at @ksrjokershill.bsky.social designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects.
azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
Outside Toronto, the Koffler Scientific Reserve Finds True North
Montgomery Sisam’s Koffler Scientific Reserve is a surprisingly intimate marriage of building science and agrarian vernacular.
azuremagazine.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Amazing profile of the new facilities at @ksrjokershill.bsky.social designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects.
azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
azuremagazine.com/article/koff...
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
I had such fun thinking, reading and writing this Tansley Review on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungal mycelia. We need a more fungal-centric view to better understand not only the AM fungi, but also their many ecological roles.
@newphyt.bsky.social
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....
@newphyt.bsky.social
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....
October 30, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I had such fun thinking, reading and writing this Tansley Review on #arbuscular #mycorrhizal #fungal mycelia. We need a more fungal-centric view to better understand not only the AM fungi, but also their many ecological roles.
@newphyt.bsky.social
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....
@newphyt.bsky.social
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/DHGB3S....
"The foundation for our current understanding of how phenotypic evolution operates in natural populations was laid by Lande (1976, 1979, 1982) and Lande & Arnold (1983)."
1. What a topic sentence from Vriend et al.:
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
2. What a collection of papers in a 7 year span!
1. What a topic sentence from Vriend et al.:
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
2. What a collection of papers in a 7 year span!
October 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
"The foundation for our current understanding of how phenotypic evolution operates in natural populations was laid by Lande (1976, 1979, 1982) and Lande & Arnold (1983)."
1. What a topic sentence from Vriend et al.:
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
2. What a collection of papers in a 7 year span!
1. What a topic sentence from Vriend et al.:
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
2. What a collection of papers in a 7 year span!
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Sharing our new paper, "Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts". Genomics & evolution of a mating type system involving two morphs with alternating sexes in walnut relatives www.cell.com/current-biol...
Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts
In most species within the walnut family, two genetically determined morphs alternate
between male and female flowering phases in time. Groh et al. identify a distinct
locus for this dimorphism in two...
www.cell.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Sharing our new paper, "Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts". Genomics & evolution of a mating type system involving two morphs with alternating sexes in walnut relatives www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Congratulations to @jeffgroh.bsky.social on the publication of his paper on an ancient balanced polymorphisms controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts. The paper shows the putative turnover & reversal of dominance of a mating type polymorphism
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts
In the angiosperm mating system of heterodichogamy, two hermaphroditic morphs temporally alternate between male and female flowering phases, promoting…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Congratulations to @jeffgroh.bsky.social on the publication of his paper on an ancient balanced polymorphisms controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts. The paper shows the putative turnover & reversal of dominance of a mating type polymorphism
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
My only quibble is that @ent3c.bsky.social is far too kind when noting that twin studies "offer little insight."
I think @sashagusevposts.bsky.social had it right when he wrote "twin heritability models can tell you whatever you want to hear."
I think @sashagusevposts.bsky.social had it right when he wrote "twin heritability models can tell you whatever you want to hear."
In 2018, Charles Murray challenged me to a bet: "We will understand IQ genetically—I think most of the picture will have been filled in by 2025—there will still be blanks—but we’ll know basically what’s going on." It's now 2025, and I claim a win. I write about it in The Atlantic.
Your Genes Are Simply Not Enough to Explain How Smart You Are
Seven years ago, I took a bet with Charles Murray about whether we’d basically understand the genetics of intelligence by now.
www.theatlantic.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:03 AM
My only quibble is that @ent3c.bsky.social is far too kind when noting that twin studies "offer little insight."
I think @sashagusevposts.bsky.social had it right when he wrote "twin heritability models can tell you whatever you want to hear."
I think @sashagusevposts.bsky.social had it right when he wrote "twin heritability models can tell you whatever you want to hear."
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Check out our new Tansley review on climate, plants, and microbes! I enjoyed working with a team of friendly and knowledgeable scientists.
@meafkhami.bsky.social
@kerricrawford.bsky.social
@aclassen.bsky.social
@johnstinchcombe.bsky.social
@damianmicroeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@meafkhami.bsky.social
@kerricrawford.bsky.social
@aclassen.bsky.social
@johnstinchcombe.bsky.social
@damianmicroeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
Unraveling complexity in climate change effects on beneficial plant–microbe interactions: mechanisms, resilience, and future directions
Plant microbiomes have the potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change, yet both the complexity of climate change and the complexity of plant–microbe interactions make applications and future....
doi.org
October 14, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Check out our new Tansley review on climate, plants, and microbes! I enjoyed working with a team of friendly and knowledgeable scientists.
@meafkhami.bsky.social
@kerricrawford.bsky.social
@aclassen.bsky.social
@johnstinchcombe.bsky.social
@damianmicroeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@meafkhami.bsky.social
@kerricrawford.bsky.social
@aclassen.bsky.social
@johnstinchcombe.bsky.social
@damianmicroeco.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
The genomic response to drought across spatiotemporal scales in Amaranthus tuberculatus https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.02.679894v1
October 5, 2025 at 1:33 AM
The genomic response to drought across spatiotemporal scales in Amaranthus tuberculatus https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.02.679894v1
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
New paper by former MSc student @christeinecke.bsky.social! ⭐ A behemoth effort to apply artificial selection on clonal reproduction in #Mimulus guttatus. We show that clonality evolves quickly, but not symmetrically in both directions, and multivariate life history traits are altered too! 🧪🌾
Life-history evolution under artificial selection in a clonal plant https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.01.679824v1
October 2, 2025 at 11:50 AM
New paper by former MSc student @christeinecke.bsky.social! ⭐ A behemoth effort to apply artificial selection on clonal reproduction in #Mimulus guttatus. We show that clonality evolves quickly, but not symmetrically in both directions, and multivariate life history traits are altered too! 🧪🌾
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
Fun to synthesize some exciting future directions for spatiotemporal genomics in this Tansley perspective.
Check er out!
Check er out!
✨ Paper spotlight ✨
The genetic architecture and spatiotemporal dynamics of adaptation across human-modified landscapes
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
(🧵 1/6) What determines how quickly species adapt to changing environments?...
The genetic architecture and spatiotemporal dynamics of adaptation across human-modified landscapes
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
(🧵 1/6) What determines how quickly species adapt to changing environments?...
September 22, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Fun to synthesize some exciting future directions for spatiotemporal genomics in this Tansley perspective.
Check er out!
Check er out!
A stunning day to be in the field in Southern Ontario today, at the Koffler Scientific Reserve, @ksrjokershill.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 1:46 AM
A stunning day to be in the field in Southern Ontario today, at the Koffler Scientific Reserve, @ksrjokershill.bsky.social
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
High-throughput developmental assay of cold tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.14.676146v1
September 17, 2025 at 6:33 AM
High-throughput developmental assay of cold tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.14.676146v1
Congrats to Yash Singhal, a new grad student @utoronto.ca in EEB.
Congrats to the 2025 Young Botanist Award Recipients! 🌱 🎉
These awards honor outstanding graduating seniors in the botanical sciences.
Learn more here: botany.org/home/awards/...
Make sure to nominate outstanding graduating seniors you know in 2026!
#BSA2025AwardsBlitz #IamaBotanist
These awards honor outstanding graduating seniors in the botanical sciences.
Learn more here: botany.org/home/awards/...
Make sure to nominate outstanding graduating seniors you know in 2026!
#BSA2025AwardsBlitz #IamaBotanist
September 17, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Congrats to Yash Singhal, a new grad student @utoronto.ca in EEB.
Congrats to Dr. Meng Yuan, who defended her PhD on the genome-wide potential for ploidy & sexual conflict in plants! Many thanks to @judithmank.bsky.social for serving as her external examiner. A fun collaboration w/ @stepheniwright.bsky.social and also @stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social for a paper!
September 16, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Congrats to Dr. Meng Yuan, who defended her PhD on the genome-wide potential for ploidy & sexual conflict in plants! Many thanks to @judithmank.bsky.social for serving as her external examiner. A fun collaboration w/ @stepheniwright.bsky.social and also @stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social for a paper!
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
MSc position in my lab. Come study the evolutionary & behavioural ecology of insects!
@stfx-university.bsky.social
@stfx-university.bsky.social
September 13, 2025 at 2:16 PM
MSc position in my lab. Come study the evolutionary & behavioural ecology of insects!
@stfx-university.bsky.social
@stfx-university.bsky.social
Reposted by John Stinchcombe
I am recruiting a PhD student this application cycle to explore questions on the evolution of morphological variation and phylogenetics. I'm especially seeking folks interested in fossil marine inverts. Please reach out to me if interested! Portal opens Nov. 1 eeb.utoronto.ca/education/gr...
Admissions - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Resources For More Information Please contact: [email protected]
eeb.utoronto.ca
September 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I am recruiting a PhD student this application cycle to explore questions on the evolution of morphological variation and phylogenetics. I'm especially seeking folks interested in fossil marine inverts. Please reach out to me if interested! Portal opens Nov. 1 eeb.utoronto.ca/education/gr...
Hmm... Since the test has only existed since 1992, "worst scores since 1992" as teased at the top of the article really means "worst scores in the history of the test."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...
Reading Skills of 12th Graders Hit a New Low
www.nytimes.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Hmm... Since the test has only existed since 1992, "worst scores since 1992" as teased at the top of the article really means "worst scores in the history of the test."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...