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Reposted by David Marques

Elisa Ramos @eksramos.bsky.social · May 9

If you're interested in the new "Pope Gull," you can learn more about it by exploring the recently published reference genome for this species (Larus michahellis) by our research group 🪶🧬 Thanks #LarOmics @davidmarques.bsky.social @joanameier.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · May 9

The Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), recently better known as pope gull (Larus urbietorbicum 😁), has now a chromosome-scale sequenced reference genome! Our first publication from the #LarOmics project, congrats @eksramos.bsky.social et al., see: wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · May 9

The Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), recently better known as pope gull (Larus urbietorbicum 😁), has now a chromosome-scale sequenced reference genome! Our first publication from the #LarOmics project, congrats @eksramos.bsky.social et al., see: wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...

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Hernán E. Morales @hernmoral.bsky.social · Apr 10

🚨 New preprint!
We analyzed 39 bird genomes—including 3 Mauritian species that bounced back from the brink of extinction—to explore genomic erosion in a comparative framework.
🧬🦜🧩
📄 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#consgen #popgen
@claudiafontsere.bsky.social

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Reposted by David Marques

Florian Altermatt @florianaltermatt.bsky.social · Mar 14

@eawag.bsky.social 2-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship.

🧬💧🌐🟦🔬🐟🌍🦐

Highly attractive #independent #postdoc position to to conduct relevant and innovative research in aquatic sciences.

Apply here: apply.refline.ch/673277/1246/...

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Mar 12

With we, I mean and want to thank our team @oleseehausen.bsky.social, @joanameier.bsky.social, Matt McGee, Salome Mwaiko, Marcel Häsler, Mary Kishe, Anthony Taabu-Munyaho, Sylvester Wandera (†), Lauren & Colin Chapman, @cewagnerlab.bsky.social & Laurent Excoffier.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Mar 12

And we found that classical ecological theory (Elton's pyramid) predicts very well the trajectory of effective population sizes since the radiations unfolded - predators de- and herbivores increasing in population size - and thus the ecology of an evolved (instead of assembled) community.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Mar 12

We found that the coalescence patterns support a very recent origin of the Lake Victoria radiation <16,700 years when the lake dried out, and also a very recent origin of the Lakes Edward/Kivu and Lake Albert radiations.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Mar 12

I used a big dataset of haplochromine cichlid genomes that encompass all ecomorphologies in Lake Victoria and many in Lakes Edward, Albert, Kivu and Saka to study the timing of radiation and their demography with MSMC2/MSMC-IM, because past studies have disagreed about when the radiations arose.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Mar 12

Our newest manuscript has just been released as preprint on bioRxiv: Genomes reveal the age and demographic history of ultrafast adaptive radiation.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Genomes reveal age and demographic consequence of ultrafast adaptive radiation

New species typically evolve over several million years. However, rates of speciation and ecological diversification vary by orders of magnitude across the tree of life, with the fastest shown by some...

www.biorxiv.org

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Feb 1

Great! I have my ideas on why this niche appears open to Caspian and not available to the other two taxa - and we are going to test these with the 200+ genomes we just sequenced of Caspian and Herring Gull. #genomicadaptation

Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · Feb 1

Caspian Gulls have found a vacant niche in Western Europe #Ornithology

Caspian gulls focused on freshwater habitats, ditches and canals in agricultural areas, while avoiding offshore marine and intertidal areas, and took different prey in major areas where other taxa co-occurred. On top of that, Caspian Gulls commenced breeding a month earlier than its two sympatric guild members, such that their energetic demands peaked (during chick rearing) well before that in the established taxa. Caspian Gulls, in their early days of colonisation, have not invaded occupied territory but found an open niche.

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Ole Seehausen @oleseehausen.bsky.social · Dec 28

Please circulate widely:

We are hiring two Ass Prof tt at the Institute of #ecology and #evolution at @unibern.bsky.social in conservation biology; mathematical & computational ecology

We are committed to diverse, inclusive and equitable leadership in research and education

tinyurl.com/IEEjobs

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Tschopp Lab @tschopplab.bsky.social · Dec 27

Exciting science on your end-of-year wish list?!? >> apply to our postdoc and PhD positions and start 2025 with a new job @UniBasel

Tschopp Lab @tschopplab.bsky.social · Dec 3

Please spread the word: we have @snf-ch.bsky.social -funded #Postdoc and #PhD positions in our lab, to investigate the gene regulatory dynamics during vertebrate skeletogenesis in a comparative setting (see doi.org/10.1101/2024... doi.org/10.1101/2024... ) apply by 31.12.24, start date by 1.2.25!

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Dec 20

Great Swiss TV science documentary (in German) featuring the research of Alex Anh-Thu Weber and @eawag.bsky.social about the invasion of Quagga mussels in Switzerland! Nice to see so many early career folks highlighted, which do a fantastic SciComm job. www.srf.ch/play/tv/redi...

Einstein - Invasive Quagga-Muscheln: Kollabierende Seen und Millionenschäden - Play SRF

In den Seen tickt eine Zeitbombe, die jahrelang unterschätzt wurde: Die rasante Ausbreitung der invasiven Quagga-Muscheln. Sie bedrohen das ökologische Gleichgewicht und verursachen Millionenschäden i...

www.srf.ch

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Dec 16

Fantastic paper by Drew Shield and colleagues just out in Science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Sexual selection promotes reproductive isolation in barn swallows

Despite the well-known effects of sexual selection on phenotypes, links between this evolutionary process and reproductive isolation, genomic divergence, and speciation have been difficult to establis...

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Marques

Rob Barber @ra-barber.bsky.social · Dec 13

Big news! 🎉 My first PhD chapter has been published in @PLOSBiology, and it just made the cover! 🐦🌍 Perfect time to dive into the key findings from our global study on sexual selection in birds. 🧵👇
📖 Read the paper: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

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Katerina Guschanski @kguschan.bsky.social · Dec 1

If you like genomics, speciation, and primates, this PhD position is for you! Unraveling the genomic architecture of speciation and gene flow in a crazy group of monkeys at U of Edinburgh . Do reach out with questions!
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Dec 7

I made a starter pack of speciation researchers. Please let me know if you or someone you know would like to be added. I am particularly sad that so far there are not many speciation researchers from the Global South represented.
go.bsky.app/J7qDY56

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Dec 7

Memories of a successful final field season in the LarOmics project. Thank you again to my group, @eksramos.bsky.social and Melody Wu, as well as to Magdalena Zagalska-Neubauer and our team in Poland!

Elisa Ramos, Melody Wu and David Marques on the old town square of Wroclaw.

Magdalena Zagalska-Neubauer measuring a large gull, assisted by Elisa and Melody, all wearing construcrion helmets, on the rooftop of a building.

Adam Lorecki preparing a large white-headed gull for standardized photos, assisted by Elisa with color and size scales and David at the camera.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Dec 5

Can I join? Thank you!

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Nov 11

My entire team wrote an opinion paper about Common misconceptions of speciation research. Each section is written by 1-2 team members. The bulk of the writing happened during two writing retreats. It was a lot of fun and I am very happy with the result. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

Common misconceptions of speciation

Abstract. Speciation is a complex process that can unfold in many different ways. Speciation researchers sometimes simplify core principles in their writin

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by David Marques

Claudia Bank @cbank.bsky.social · Nov 14

The Institute of #ecology and #evolution at @unibern.bsky.social is looking for two tenure-track assistant professors (APTT):

APTT Mathematical or Computational Ecology 👩‍💻

APTT #Conservation #Biology 👨🏾‍🔬

More info: tinyurl.com/IEEjobs

Application deadline: 1 March 2025

Panorama view onto the old town of Bern and the alps behind it on a sunny day.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Jun 10

Today, I had the privilege to handle some of the most iconic but sadly extinct birds at the Natural History Museum Basel with Ferran Sayol / U Barcelona for his research. How beautiful they are and what a tragedy that we will never be able to experience them in the wild again 😥

Study skin of the extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker on a table.

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Apr 25

Off to Poland for our second field season in Poland, to catch gulls, take a little blood and release them again. Our #Laromics group with Melody Wu and Elisa Ramos is looking forward to meet our Polish collaborators!

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Apr 22

Indeed the bill is not intermediate in any way. Very puzzling bird for sure!

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David Marques @davidmarques.bsky.social · Apr 20

Hey @davetoews.bsky.social, just saw this on facebook, could this be a Red-breasted Grosbeak x Red-winged Blackbird hybrid? That would be even crazier than your confirmed hybrid Grosbeak x Tanager… super interested to hear your thoughts! www.facebook.com/share/p/RNu8...

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