Shelly Gaynor
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shellygaynor.bsky.social
Shelly Gaynor
@shellygaynor.bsky.social
NSF Postdoc Fellow with U of Michigan | PhD from UF I polyploidy evolution + Botany | https://mlgaynor.com/
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
📅 Post-Symposium Workshops at #PSS2026
🗓 Jan 22, 2026 | 11AM–12PM
📍 In-person • Gainesville, FL • FREE!

🌿 UF Herbarium Tour with Dr. Lucas C. Majure & Dr. Alan Franck

Explore 500,000+ specimens, native biodiversity, and cutting-edge plant research!

🔗 www.ufplants.org/symposium-workshops-2026
December 12, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Check out our new paper! :)
Differential expression of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes drives the production of transgressive pigments in #Nicotiana section Repandae allotetraploids

New #AJB research by @emccnicotiana.bsky.social, @jlandisbotany.bsky.social, et al.

doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #polyploidy
December 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Sad to be finishing up as a postdoc in @blackrim.bsky.social 's lab. I've had such a great time there! Also excited to be about to start as an Assistant Professor/Lecturer at University College Dublin.
November 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Has your EEB/Biology department updated its minimum PhD pay for 2025-2026? Let us know here: rhettrautsaw.app/shiny/Biolog...
December 9, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Join us for an @smtpb.bsky.social workshop on Modern Coexistence Theory. We'll cover mathematical foundations, the theory of partitioning, and data-based applications. Featuring @swatipatel.bsky.social, Nick Kortessis, & Lauren Shoemaker. Zoom link here: smtpb.org/event-6426026
November 19, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
The UC Davis Ecology and Evolution in Working Landscapes REU provides undergrads with research experience in ecology and evolution in natural and managed landscapes. Apply now through Feb 15 via etap.nsf.gov

Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!
Ecology, Evolution, and Working Landscapes
ecoevoreu.ucdavis.edu
December 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
​The @mortonarboretum.bsky.social NSF REU program ​is open for summer 2026! $7500 stipend + housing / travel. Apply by 31 Jan 2026 and share with your networks!

Details at ​​https://mortonarb.org/science/opportunities-in-science/research-experiences-for-undergraduates-program/
December 4, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
@phylieu.bsky.social & I have a new preprint out: "Statistical and structural bias in birth-death models" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

It's NOT a "the sky is falling in div methods again" but estimates can be biased, and that can happen in small clades even on big trees (MiSSE, Clads, BAMM)

1/2
December 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Pro tip (and subtweeting that Atlantic article without giving them views): the more inclusive one’s course design, the more everyone can benefit (including those with needs but without the resources to get a formal diagnosis, which is likely a big population).
December 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Want to use nQuack, but would rather use a VCF file? New tutorial on how to do just that: mlgaynor.com/nQuack/artic...
Duck Waddle GIF
ALT: Duck Waddle GIF
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Holiday trees are up in the @soltislab.bsky.social!
December 1, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Big bluestem has been a lovely and complex system to work with for the majority of my PhD and will always have a piece of my heart! Very excited to share this work with the community.
Super proud of @alyssa-phillips.bsky.social 's paper, now out on biorxiv! She resolves the origin(s) of polyploid big blue-stem, a dominant species in the midwest tall-grass prairie. Her common garden analysis also informs on environmental adaptation and hints at the impacts of polyploidy.
The origins and adaptive consequences of polyploidy in a dominant prairie grass
Polyploidy is ubiquitous across North American prairies, which provide essential ecosystem services and rich soil for agriculture. Yet the mechanism driving polyploid abundance is unclear. Multiple hy...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Excited to cite this paper!
Super proud of @alyssa-phillips.bsky.social 's paper, now out on biorxiv! She resolves the origin(s) of polyploid big blue-stem, a dominant species in the midwest tall-grass prairie. Her common garden analysis also informs on environmental adaptation and hints at the impacts of polyploidy.
The origins and adaptive consequences of polyploidy in a dominant prairie grass
Polyploidy is ubiquitous across North American prairies, which provide essential ecosystem services and rich soil for agriculture. Yet the mechanism driving polyploid abundance is unclear. Multiple hy...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Super proud of @alyssa-phillips.bsky.social 's paper, now out on biorxiv! She resolves the origin(s) of polyploid big blue-stem, a dominant species in the midwest tall-grass prairie. Her common garden analysis also informs on environmental adaptation and hints at the impacts of polyploidy.
The origins and adaptive consequences of polyploidy in a dominant prairie grass
Polyploidy is ubiquitous across North American prairies, which provide essential ecosystem services and rich soil for agriculture. Yet the mechanism driving polyploid abundance is unclear. Multiple hy...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations

Schley et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Exciting new paper on polyploidy in the tropical tree genus Inga. Congratulations @rschley.bsky.social !
November 25, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
🌿Excited to share our new study in New Phytologist! 🌿
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.

Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Moreover, we find that polyploid species have more loci under positive selection, particularly in genes relating to chemical defence against herbivores, a key ecological pressure on tropical trees 🐛

@newphyt.bsky.social
#PlantScience #Evolution #TropicalBiology #Genomics #Polyploidy
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Very happy to share that this paper is now online on @currentbiology.bsky.social !! 🥳🧪 Check out the final published verion here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
#mimuluspropaganda
November 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Annual Mabel with a Lego PacBio Sequencer. This time the Vega, but we also have the Revio and Sequel Lego edition.
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Annual Mabel with a Lego PacBio Sequencer. This time the Vega, but we also have the Revio and Sequel Lego edition.
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Hang in there! Hurricanes have driven the evolution of introduced brown anole lizards in the southeastern United States, selecting for longer limbs and larger toepads that improve survival during high winds at sites with frequent hurricanes. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/iTrV50XuP7A
November 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
We are recruiting field technicians to contribute to a field study of adaptation to climate in Chamaecrista fasciculata in Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC. My collaborators at UGA will soon post similar positions in Ithaca, NY and Archbold Biological Station, FL. Please share jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/225...
Temporary Plant Evolutionary Ecology Field Technician
The Sheth plant evolutionary ecology lab in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) is currently seeking field technician to participate in an NS...
jobs.ncsu.edu
November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Shelly Gaynor
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM