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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Aug 28

A new chapter begins! Starting this September, I’ll be working on bird macroevolution at @ebdonana.bsky.social . Excited for this new adventure and the amazing research ahead 🐦🐤🪶

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Instituto de Investigación en Cambio Global @iicg-urjc.bsky.social · Jun 26

👨‍🔬Also Joaquín Calatayud, #IICG researcher, is co-authors of the new article ‘Two major ecological shifts shaped 60 million years of ungulate faunal evolution’, published in @natcomms.nature.com

👀You can read it here👇

Two major ecological shifts shaped 60 million years of ungulate faunal evolution - Nature Communications

Here, the authors analyze a fossil dataset spanning 60 million years to investigate ecological stability. Their network analysis identifies prolonged stability interrupted by two major functional transitions in ungulate assemblages linked to tectonic and climatic events.

doi.org

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 13

Here you can find a link to my full CV:

drive.google.com/file/d/1xH5P...

Fernando Blanco CV (ENG).pdf

drive.google.com

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 13

🚨 I'm looking for #Postdoc opportunities starting this September! 🧑‍🔬🔍
I'm a highly motivated researcher with experience in R, network analysis, and multivariate statistics. My focus is on the evolution of ecosystems and biodiversity over deep time.

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

SEPaleontologia @sepaleontologia.bsky.social · Jun 6

¡Nueva publicación de soci@s! 🗣️

Un nuevo estudio liderado por @fernandoblancos.bsky.social explora cómo los cambios ambientales impactaron en los grandes #mamíferos y sus ecosistemas durante el Neógeno 🐘🌍

👉 Léelo aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/?p=1423

#SEPsocios #Paleontología #CambioClimático

60 millones de años en movimiento: cómo los cambios ambientales transformaron a los mayores herbívoros del planeta—y cómo sus ecosistemas resistieron - sepaleontologia

sepaleontologia.es

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

La Tierra puede acercarse al tercer colapso ecológico www.lavanguardia.com/sociedad/202...

La Tierra puede acercarse al tercer colapso ecológico

MADRID, 05 (SERVIMEDIA) Los ecosistemas de la Tierra afrontaron dos reorganizaciones abruptas por cambios ambientales como glaciaciones o movimientos tectónicos en los úl...

www.lavanguardia.com

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

Los ecosistemas resistieron cambios muy abruptos en el pasado, pero ahora pueden colapsar www.lavanguardia.com/vida/2025060...

Los ecosistemas resistieron cambios muy abruptos en el pasado, pero ahora pueden colapsar

Madrid, 5 jun (EFE).- Un equipo de científicos ha comprobado la capacidad de adaptación que tenían los ecosistemas del pasado a las perturbaciones más abruptas, como las...

www.lavanguardia.com

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

9/ This paper is the result of over 7 years of work—a true collective effort. Huge thanks to all my co-authors for making this possible! @ohsanisidro.bsky.social @singerstone.bsky.social @amniotalab.bsky.social et al.

📸 @singerstone.bsky.social

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

8/ But here’s the concern:
We are now in a period of accelerated functional loss—driven by habitat destruction, climate change, and overexploitation.
If this continues, we may be on the brink of a third global tipping point—one driven by humans.

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

7/ Despite major extinctions (including the Late Pleistocene megafaunal collapse), the basic functional scaffolding of herbivore faunas stayed stable for the last 4.5 million years.
Ecosystems “changed players,” but kept the same formation—until now.

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

6/ 🌀 Second tipping point (~10 Ma): Driven by global aridification and the spread of C4 grasslands, this restructured herbivore faunas again. Forested browsers declined, grazers with tougher teeth rose. Functional diversity began a long decline that continues today.

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

5/ This event also led to an acceleration in functional diversity increase. For the first time, all major herbivore orders—Proboscidea, Artiodactyla, and Perissodactyla—coexisted across continents, expanding ecological roles and reshaping ecosystems at a global scale.

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

4/ 🌀First tipping point (~21 Ma): Triggered by tectonics—Africa and Eurasia connected via the Gomphotherium land bridge. This unleashed a wave of faunal migrations and global functional reorganization (Proboscideans out of Africa for the first time).

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

3/ Across time, we found long phases of functional stability, where ecosystems retained their structure despite species turnover.
But we also found two major, irreversible tipping points in global herbivore faunas—moments of drastic ecological reassembly.

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

2/ We used network analysis and trait data (like body size & tooth shape) from 3,000+ species to reconstruct the functional structure of global ungulate ecosystems over the past 60 million years.
Rather than focusing on taxonomy, we asked: What ecological roles they played?

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

1/ Large herbivores (like ancient elephants, rhinos, deer) aren’t just big plant-eaters—they’re ecosystem engineers. They shape landscapes, disperse seeds, and influence soil and fire dynamics.
But how did they evolve as climates and continents shifted?
📸 @singerstone.bsky.social

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Jun 5

🦏🦣🦌 LARGE paper alert!!! We tracked 60 million years of large herbivore evolution—over 3,000 fossil species—to uncover how ecosystems have changed and reorganized through time. What we found might help us understand the next big tipping point 🧵👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Two major ecological shifts shaped 60 million years of ungulate faunal evolution - Nature Communications

Here, the authors analyze a fossil dataset spanning 60 million years to investigate ecological stability. Their network analysis identifies prolonged stability interrupted by two major functional tran...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

James Witts @jdwitts.bsky.social · May 21

Back from a fun 10 days @imsi.institute in Chicago 🇺🇲, working as part of an Interdisciplinary Research Cluster on 'Advances in Mathematical Modelling of mass extinction events'. Great collaborations and some thought-provoking work!

A diverse group of 7 people pose in front of a large banner showing the work of the Institite for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation.

A large mirrored bean-shaped sculpture surrounded by people, green trees, and skyscrapers under a blue sky.

A man draws and explains a series of complicated models on a blackboard while a woman watches.

A sign projected on the floor saying 'mass extinction'.

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · Apr 17

Call for a postdoc position at Vilnius University.
If you are interested in doing innovative macroevolutionary, macroecological, geobiological research in my group please write me: [email protected] or PM.
Duration of the project 2 years, budget up to 130K euro.
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#Paleobio ⚒️ #Geology

Stylized computer enhanced picture of conodonts

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Amniota Lab @amniotalab.bsky.social · Apr 4

Burgos retreat at @cenieh.bsky.social with some Amniota Lab members! Ignacio Lazagabaster, @fernandoblancos.bsky.social , @paleoiris.bsky.social @singerstone.bsky.social & @ohsanisidro.bsky.social Fossils, science, food and good vibes

#paleobiology #AmniotaLab #MACPALS

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC-UCM) @igeociencias.bsky.social · Mar 26

Hoy se celebra el Día Mundial del Clima, un sistema complejo que incluye a la hidrosfera, la atmósfera, la geosfera y la biosfera.

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. @arctomet.bsky.social · Mar 16

Shupinski AB, Craffey M, Smith FA, Lyons SK. Different mammals, same structure: co-occurrence structure across the Plio-Pleistocene transition. Paleobiology. Published online 2025:1-10. doi:10.1017/pab.2024.53
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Different mammals, same structure: co-occurrence structure across the Plio-Pleistocene transition | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core

Different mammals, same structure: co-occurrence structure across the Plio-Pleistocene transition

www.cambridge.org

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Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Ana Rosa Gómez Cano @argomezcano.bsky.social · Mar 3

Hola!
El 26 de marzo a las 15:00 en la Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas (UCM) proyectamos Off the Archeological Record. Después, abrimos debate en una mesa redonda con la arqueóloga y guionista Paloma Zarzuela, y las paleontólogas Mª Ángeles Álvarez Sierra y Dánae Sanz

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Fernando Blanco @fernandoblancos.bsky.social · Feb 18

Brilliant paper! Functional networks are key to understanding past ecosystems. Exciting to see this research evolving—more work to come!

Reposted by Fernando Blanco

Peter Roopnarine @peterroopnarine.bsky.social · Feb 13

Late for Darwin's big day, but a new paper adding to his great theory, addressing the persistence of ecological systems on long timescales. "Selection, evolution and persistence of paleoecological systems" www.frontiersin.org/journals/ear... #evolution #paleontology #selection

Frontiers | Selection, evolution and persistence of paleoecological systems

www.frontiersin.org

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