Brian O'Meara
@omearabrian.bsky.social
I study diversification, species delimitation, trait evolution & similar questions, often using new methods. Also random coding projects. College prof living in Oak Ridge, TN, USA. Opinions my own. He/Him
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
But, as they say, there is no time like the present
[OK, maybe the 1930s if you want to nitpick]
But, with some data wrangling, my first NSF Funding Curves!
2/3
[OK, maybe the 1930s if you want to nitpick]
But, with some data wrangling, my first NSF Funding Curves!
2/3
February 5, 2026 at 1:58 PM
But, as they say, there is no time like the present
[OK, maybe the 1930s if you want to nitpick]
But, with some data wrangling, my first NSF Funding Curves!
2/3
[OK, maybe the 1930s if you want to nitpick]
But, with some data wrangling, my first NSF Funding Curves!
2/3
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
The Paleontological Research Institution invites applications from undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers for the 2026 John W. Wells Grants-in-Aid of Research Program who want to visit PRI collections
www.priweb.org/collections/...
Deadline is March 2, 2026.
www.priweb.org/collections/...
Deadline is March 2, 2026.
Grant Opportunities — Paleontological Research Institution
www.priweb.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
guess whose ecology grfp proposal just got rejected without review because their "proposed research does not meet NSF GRFP eligibility requirements"
a cartoon character from spongebob squarepants is holding a crab in his hand and screaming .
ALT: a cartoon character from spongebob squarepants is holding a crab in his hand and screaming .
media.tenor.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
guess whose ecology grfp proposal just got rejected without review because their "proposed research does not meet NSF GRFP eligibility requirements"
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Highly doubt a human read this proposal. Topic is photosynthesis in bromeliads. Not crops. Not health. Not policy adjacent. If it is a legit reason, just say it? This is extremely weird.
February 4, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Highly doubt a human read this proposal. Topic is photosynthesis in bromeliads. Not crops. Not health. Not policy adjacent. If it is a legit reason, just say it? This is extremely weird.
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
My grad student, who got RWR and appealed, got an email from GRFP program today that said "Your application was screened by NSF program officers with expertise in your proposed field of study and was determined to be ineligible according to the solicitation requirements."
No details were given. 😡
No details were given. 😡
Reposting again because according to Reddit threads, another round of RWR emails went out today.
NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics?
1) Write NSF
2) Write your Congressperson
3) CC us at [email protected] so we can compile + follow up
Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter
1) Write NSF
2) Write your Congressperson
3) CC us at [email protected] so we can compile + follow up
Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter
February 4, 2026 at 11:35 PM
My grad student, who got RWR and appealed, got an email from GRFP program today that said "Your application was screened by NSF program officers with expertise in your proposed field of study and was determined to be ineligible according to the solicitation requirements."
No details were given. 😡
No details were given. 😡
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
dplyr 1.2.0
dplyr 1.2.0 fills in some important gaps in dplyr's API: we've added a new complement to `filter()` focused on dropping rows, and we've expanded the `case_when()` family with three new recoding and re...
tidyverse.org
February 4, 2026 at 11:39 AM
dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
- `filter_out()` for dropping rows
- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools
These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!
tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Are female economists treated differently than males in academic seminars?
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
February 3, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Are female economists treated differently than males in academic seminars?
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
These authors wanted to know whether gender shapes how scholars are treated when presenting research.
So they built a massive dataset of 2,000+ economics seminars, job talks, and conference presentations from 2019–2023...
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
New preprint by recently graduated PhD student Marisano James:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"Insights into strepsipteran flight".
Mind you -- I do not work on Strepsiptera or vision but he was in my lab ... he just needed to find help / advice elsewhere.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"Insights into strepsipteran flight".
Mind you -- I do not work on Strepsiptera or vision but he was in my lab ... he just needed to find help / advice elsewhere.
www.biorxiv.org
February 3, 2026 at 9:17 PM
New preprint by recently graduated PhD student Marisano James:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"Insights into strepsipteran flight".
Mind you -- I do not work on Strepsiptera or vision but he was in my lab ... he just needed to find help / advice elsewhere.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"Insights into strepsipteran flight".
Mind you -- I do not work on Strepsiptera or vision but he was in my lab ... he just needed to find help / advice elsewhere.
“Increasing the number of lanes is not a solution to traffic problems. It’s far better to use multi-occupant vehicles and carpool” [kidding]
(Image from nashvilletodo.com/nashville-pe...)
(Image from nashvilletodo.com/nashville-pe...)
February 3, 2026 at 12:25 PM
“Increasing the number of lanes is not a solution to traffic problems. It’s far better to use multi-occupant vehicles and carpool” [kidding]
(Image from nashvilletodo.com/nashville-pe...)
(Image from nashvilletodo.com/nashville-pe...)
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
After a >1 yr hiatus, the #fern tree of life (FTOL) #phylogeny is back with another update! 🌿 🌏 🧬
For the first time including >1,000 whole plastomes and >6,000 fern species!
Available at fernphy.github.io/downloads.html
For the first time including >1,000 whole plastomes and >6,000 fern species!
Available at fernphy.github.io/downloads.html
Downloads – Fern Tree of Life
Current and past versions of FTOL available for download
fernphy.github.io
February 3, 2026 at 8:20 AM
After a >1 yr hiatus, the #fern tree of life (FTOL) #phylogeny is back with another update! 🌿 🌏 🧬
For the first time including >1,000 whole plastomes and >6,000 fern species!
Available at fernphy.github.io/downloads.html
For the first time including >1,000 whole plastomes and >6,000 fern species!
Available at fernphy.github.io/downloads.html
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
❗⏰ Please remember that the deadline for submitting your applications for abstracts and awards for SMBE 2026 ends today.
Join us in Copenhagen from June 28 to July 2 for a fantastic meeting!
#SMBE2026
Join us in Copenhagen from June 28 to July 2 for a fantastic meeting!
#SMBE2026
Abstract submission & Award applications for SMBE 2026 are now open!
Submit your research and apply for SMBE awards via the submission portal.
📝 Read more & submit here: smbe2026.org/abstracts
And symposium selection is now finalized!
👉 See all accepted symposia: smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
Submit your research and apply for SMBE awards via the submission portal.
📝 Read more & submit here: smbe2026.org/abstracts
And symposium selection is now finalized!
👉 See all accepted symposia: smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
February 3, 2026 at 11:23 AM
❗⏰ Please remember that the deadline for submitting your applications for abstracts and awards for SMBE 2026 ends today.
Join us in Copenhagen from June 28 to July 2 for a fantastic meeting!
#SMBE2026
Join us in Copenhagen from June 28 to July 2 for a fantastic meeting!
#SMBE2026
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Slim 5 can now simulate genomes with multiple chromosomes like autosomes, sex chromosomes, mitochondria and chloroplast dna academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
SLiM 5: Eco-evolutionary Simulations Across Multiple Chromosomes and Full Genomes
Abstract. Evolutionary simulations of multiple chromosomes, even up to the scale of full-genome simulations, are becoming increasingly important in populat
academic.oup.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Slim 5 can now simulate genomes with multiple chromosomes like autosomes, sex chromosomes, mitochondria and chloroplast dna academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
It was taught by John Wakeley. It was a grad class, but by my senior year they let me take a few of the grad classes (they were interesting).
I ended up doing the HW for that class on Thurs nights, often falling asleep on top of my books/notebooks.
I ended up doing the HW for that class on Thurs nights, often falling asleep on top of my books/notebooks.
February 3, 2026 at 12:28 AM
It was taught by John Wakeley. It was a grad class, but by my senior year they let me take a few of the grad classes (they were interesting).
I ended up doing the HW for that class on Thurs nights, often falling asleep on top of my books/notebooks.
I ended up doing the HW for that class on Thurs nights, often falling asleep on top of my books/notebooks.
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards!
www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
February 2, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards!
www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Please do not let all the focus on the funding environment in academia distract us from the real victims of these crimes and their enablers. Please do not look away from the misogyny. Please notice the gender differential. Please pay attention to how women are talked about in these emails.
While it may explain some of the context, this framing also hides that women scientists didn't cozy up to epstein the way men did. They also need funding, no? This is also about being part of a powerful boys club where one can act in despicable ways with impunity. Misogyny is a huge driving factor.
February 1, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Please do not let all the focus on the funding environment in academia distract us from the real victims of these crimes and their enablers. Please do not look away from the misogyny. Please notice the gender differential. Please pay attention to how women are talked about in these emails.
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
New paper out:
The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation
with @fossildetective.bsky.social, @bigfacecats.bsky.social, Curtis Congreve & @jonhendricks.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🦑⚒️
The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation
with @fossildetective.bsky.social, @bigfacecats.bsky.social, Curtis Congreve & @jonhendricks.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🦑⚒️
The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation - npj Biodiversity
npj Biodiversity - The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation
www.nature.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:22 PM
New paper out:
The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation
with @fossildetective.bsky.social, @bigfacecats.bsky.social, Curtis Congreve & @jonhendricks.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🦑⚒️
The flounder effect: disparities in taxonomic and ecological study intensity across extant and fossil marine organisms hamper conservation
with @fossildetective.bsky.social, @bigfacecats.bsky.social, Curtis Congreve & @jonhendricks.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🦑⚒️
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
I was a postdoc at Harvard (in human evolutionary biology) from 2010 to 2012 and it’s grim how many men I interacted with during that time are popping up in the Epstein files trying to prove disgusting evo-psych theories about women *shudder*.
February 1, 2026 at 10:14 AM
I was a postdoc at Harvard (in human evolutionary biology) from 2010 to 2012 and it’s grim how many men I interacted with during that time are popping up in the Epstein files trying to prove disgusting evo-psych theories about women *shudder*.
In my quals I went very literal under stress.
Faculty member: “Can you write a variance-covariance matrix for a tree?”
Me: “Yes”
Silence.
More silence.
Faculty member: “Would you?”
Faculty member: “Can you write a variance-covariance matrix for a tree?”
Me: “Yes”
Silence.
More silence.
Faculty member: “Would you?”
February 1, 2026 at 12:20 AM
In my quals I went very literal under stress.
Faculty member: “Can you write a variance-covariance matrix for a tree?”
Me: “Yes”
Silence.
More silence.
Faculty member: “Would you?”
Faculty member: “Can you write a variance-covariance matrix for a tree?”
Me: “Yes”
Silence.
More silence.
Faculty member: “Would you?”
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
This paper is a great for teaching phylogenetic trees.
"Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution"
Clearly written. It discusses hypotheses of relatedness among species via continental drift vs genetic data. 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution"
Clearly written. It discusses hypotheses of relatedness among species via continental drift vs genetic data. 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 31, 2026 at 11:16 PM
This paper is a great for teaching phylogenetic trees.
"Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution"
Clearly written. It discusses hypotheses of relatedness among species via continental drift vs genetic data. 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution"
Clearly written. It discusses hypotheses of relatedness among species via continental drift vs genetic data. 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Our children call our Natural History Museum the “Dead Zoo” and honestly it’s a pretty fair assertion.
January 31, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Our children call our Natural History Museum the “Dead Zoo” and honestly it’s a pretty fair assertion.
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
January 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Oak Ridge, TN. A road that is the only egress for many neighborhoods (Michigan Ave) is unplowed and seemingly unsalted (see a minivan driving down it), contrasted to our shoveled sidewalk and driveway. About 2-3” of snow.
❄️ ☃️🌨️
❄️ ☃️🌨️
January 31, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Oak Ridge, TN. A road that is the only egress for many neighborhoods (Michigan Ave) is unplowed and seemingly unsalted (see a minivan driving down it), contrasted to our shoveled sidewalk and driveway. About 2-3” of snow.
❄️ ☃️🌨️
❄️ ☃️🌨️
Sadly, I arrived after the mighty clashes that rent the biology department into the OEB and MCB clans
January 31, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Sadly, I arrived after the mighty clashes that rent the biology department into the OEB and MCB clans
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
sacred monophony leads to sacred monophyly
January 31, 2026 at 2:18 AM
sacred monophony leads to sacred monophyly
Reposted by Brian O'Meara
Macroevolution
Astrophysics
Music performance (violin)
Computational statistics
British poetry
This is an interesting list considering I was a geology major lol
Astrophysics
Music performance (violin)
Computational statistics
British poetry
This is an interesting list considering I was a geology major lol
Tell me five classes you took in college:
Medieval drama
Nuclear Ethics
Michelangelo
Coalescence
Phylogenetic Methods
Medieval drama
Nuclear Ethics
Michelangelo
Coalescence
Phylogenetic Methods
Tell me five classes you took in college:
History of Jazz
Macroeconomics
Plant Physiology
African American History
Environmental Philosophy
History of Jazz
Macroeconomics
Plant Physiology
African American History
Environmental Philosophy
January 31, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Macroevolution
Astrophysics
Music performance (violin)
Computational statistics
British poetry
This is an interesting list considering I was a geology major lol
Astrophysics
Music performance (violin)
Computational statistics
British poetry
This is an interesting list considering I was a geology major lol