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Barbara Tschirren

@btschirren

Associate Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Exeter (Cornwall). Interested in the ecology & evolution of health and disease, life history evolution, cross-generational effects, and more. πŸ­πŸ£πŸ¦β€πŸ¦‘πŸ¦ŸπŸ¦ πŸ§ͺπŸ§¬πŸŒ»πŸˆπŸ“β›°οΈ

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19.10.2023
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Latest posts by Barbara Tschirren @btschirren

This will be the first conference where we'll have a presence! We're very keen to learn what the evolutionary ecology community would like to see from an organisation representing it so please come along to our discussion session to tell us.

02.03.2026 12:57 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We already have more than πŸ’― participants for #ExE2026, but there are still places available.

Once you have registered, you have until April 1 to submit an abstract, so don’t miss out and register now at sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/registra...

Everything you need to know is πŸ‘‡ and at evoxeco.uk!

02.03.2026 09:32 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

And not just for UK folks! πŸ‘‡ #ExE2026 welcomes evolutionary ecologists from around the world! Join us in Cornwall next summer πŸ–οΈπŸ¬

19.02.2026 19:34 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Join us for 4 days of cutting-edge Evolutionary Ecology research in beautiful Cornwall! πŸ‘‡ #ExE2026

13.02.2026 12:12 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol

3 lecturer jobs at School of Biological sciences at Bristol! Apply by March 8!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

11.02.2026 12:48 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Experimental Evidence That Prenatal and Postnatal Developmental Stress Affects the Adult Seminal Fluid Proteome in a Precocial Bird Seminal fluid proteins are important modulators of male fertility and reproductive success, yet little is known about how their abundance responds to early-life developmental stress. Japanese quail C...

How does pre- and post-natal environmental stress affect the seminal foam proteome of Japanese quail? Find out here, Chloe Mason’s second PhD thesis paper: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @martingarlovsky.bsky.social @oscarvedder.bsky.social

01.02.2026 10:06 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity The Department of Biology was established in 2010 through the merger of the Departments of Ecology, Cell and Organism Biology, Biological Undergraduate Education, and the Biological Museums. The depar

Come and join me and my colleagues at the Department of Biology, #LundUniversity in #sweden! We have am open position as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity.

Apply here no later than February 11 2026:

https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:848749/type:job/where:4/apply:1

20.12.2025 15:58 πŸ‘ 77 πŸ” 117 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

A lot has happened since our first announcement of #ExE2026, an evolutionary ecology conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in #Cornwall from June 29 to July 3 2026.

Have a look at our new website to see our confirmed plenary speakers, the mid-conference excursions, and more.

πŸ‘‰ evoxeco.uk πŸ‘ˆ

21.11.2025 16:49 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Join us! 🧬πŸͺ°πŸŽ‰πŸ”¬

We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies.

Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!

17.11.2025 15:58 πŸ‘ 60 πŸ” 62 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship | University of Exeter About the PartnershipThis project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP).

The project is ideal for candidates excited by fundamental evolutionary questions at the intersection of wildlife disease ecology, genomics, and immunology. You will have significant freedom to develop the project in directions that match your interests and strengths. πŸ”¬πŸ§ͺ🐭

15.11.2025 18:48 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You will combine whole-genome resequencing 🧬 and pathogen screening 🦠 to test how fluctuating selection and antagonistic pleiotropy shape genetic diversity, with a special focus on the trade-off between resistance and autoimmune disease risk / immunopathology.

15.11.2025 18:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This PhD project aims to uncover the evolutionary forces that maintain genetic variation in disease susceptibility in natural populations, using bank voles 🐭 (Myodes glareolus) as a model.

15.11.2025 18:48 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

**PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social** How is immunogenetic variation maintained in the wild?

Why are alleles that increase disease susceptibility maintained in populations, when natural selection should eliminate them?

15.11.2025 18:48 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Investigating the Role of Host Microbiome Dynamics as Drivers of Wildlife Disease Using a One Health Framework at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Investigating the Role of Host Microbiome Dynamics as Drivers of Wildlife Disease Using a One Health Framework at University of Exeter, listed on FindAPhD.com

**PhD opportunity at @uniexecec.bsky.social** How does host microbiome dynamics affect wildlife disease?

Combine molecular techniques, statistical modelling, and field sampling to understand how microbiome dynamics in 🦑 affects their susceptibility to bTB. πŸ”¬πŸ¦ πŸ§ͺ Please repost! shorturl.at/q3OxV

13.11.2025 20:34 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter, list...

*PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social* How does antimicrobial resistance spread through ecosystems?

Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦀), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. πŸ”¬πŸ¦ πŸ§ͺ
Please repost!

12.11.2025 18:07 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We have just launched our projects for #phd studentships starting in Sept 26 πŸ™Œ

⏰Application deadline: Midday, Wed 3 Dec 25

Come and see the (wide!) range of #bioscience projects πŸ‘‰ tinyurl.com/3m9um286

04.11.2025 16:01 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Next - understanding the dynamics of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds (lead supervisor @btschirren.bsky.social ) Funded by @swbiodtp.bsky.social

bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.bristo...

04.11.2025 09:34 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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First up - understanding how the host microbiome can shape prevalence and severity of infection with Mycobacterium bovis in wild European Badgers, funded by @swbiodtp.bsky.social

bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.bristo...

Co-supervised by @btschirren.bsky.social
#mycobacterium #badger #melesmeles

04.11.2025 09:34 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Rhinoceros Stomach Bot Fly (Gyrostigma rhinocerontis), a black-and-orange bot fly specializing in White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Bernard Dupont, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyrostigma_rhinocerontis_(Owen,_1830)_1(a)_-_iNaturalist.org.jpg

Rhinoceros Stomach Bot Fly (Gyrostigma rhinocerontis), a black-and-orange bot fly specializing in White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Bernard Dupont, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyrostigma_rhinocerontis_(Owen,_1830)_1(a)_-_iNaturalist.org.jpg

A Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi), a brown tick that specializes on the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on Amami Ōshima, one of the southern islands of Japan. Credit: Takamasa Nemoto

A Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi), a brown tick that specializes on the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) on Amami Ōshima, one of the southern islands of Japan. Credit: Takamasa Nemoto

The Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus (Emmareus) fionnus), a flea known only from the Isle of RΓΉm off the west coast of Scotland, where it specializes on nesting colonies of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Credit: Olha Schedrina / The Natural History Museum

The Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus (Emmareus) fionnus), a flea known only from the Isle of RΓΉm off the west coast of Scotland, where it specializes on nesting colonies of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Credit: Olha Schedrina / The Natural History Museum

Rhinoceros Tick (Dermacentor rhinocerinus), a spotted orange-and-black tick species that specializes on White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Moira Fitzpatrick

Rhinoceros Tick (Dermacentor rhinocerinus), a spotted orange-and-black tick species that specializes on White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and Black Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) in Africa. Credit: Moira Fitzpatrick

Hello, Bluesky! We're the IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group, a part of the Species Survival Commission! We're just starting to understand the important roles parasites play in their ecosystems, and our goal is to determine the threats wildlife parasites face and to conserve rare and unique species!

18.09.2025 23:53 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on β€œWhat determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!

25.09.2025 15:55 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 42 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

22.08.2025 13:32 πŸ‘ 121 πŸ” 76 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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**Postdoc opportunities**πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡ Find me at poster 302 today between 17:30-18:00 for a chat. πŸ¦‘πŸ¦ πŸ”¬πŸ§¬ #eseb2025

21.08.2025 07:37 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Co‐Infection, but Not Infection Intensity, Increases Shedding in a Gastrointestinal Helminth of Gamebirds Host heterogeneity in disease transmission is influential in shaping disease dynamics, but its drivers remain poorly understood. Shedding intensity is often assumed to be directly proportional to inf...

Excited to see Katie Prescott's MSci project published today. Co-infection (but not infection intensity!) increases shedding in a gamebird-helminth system onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @uniexecec.bsky.social πŸ¦ πŸ”¬

06.06.2025 14:39 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Post-doctoral fellow in functional genomics and ecophysiology Subject description The goal of the project is to uncover the mechanisms explaining why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild and domesticated war

I am looking for a postdoc wanting to use functional genomics to understand why birds 🐦 struggle with climate warming in @erc.europa.eu project #HotLife. Ideal candidate is a molecular evolutionarybiologist. Join us at @biologylu.bsky.social. Details πŸ‘‡
shorturl.at/wijEq

Would appreciate a re-post!

22.05.2025 15:22 πŸ‘ 41 πŸ” 64 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Postdoctoral Researcher: Contribution of genetic background and gut microbiome on thermal physiology A post-doctoral Researcher position is available at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of JyvΓ€skylΓ€, Finland, in the group of Dr. Suvi Ruuskanen. The post-doctoral res...

3-year #Postdoc position on the role of #genetics and #microbiome on #thermal #physiology in @erc.europa.eu project in my group at @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social FIN! We establish #selection lines on quails, collab @btschirren.bsky.social DL 15.7., start Nov25-Jan26
ats.talentadore.com/apply/postdo...

18.05.2025 07:50 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4
A graphic for the Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), showing a historical portrait of Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie overlaid with an image of four young researchers walking down a hallway. The European Commission logo is in the top left. Text reads: "Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions – €404.3 million to support postdoctoral researchers”

A graphic for the Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), showing a historical portrait of Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie overlaid with an image of four young researchers walking down a hallway. The European Commission logo is in the top left. Text reads: "Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions – €404.3 million to support postdoctoral researchers”

Choose Science. Choose Europe.

A new Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call is now open.

With a budget of €404.3 million, it will support around 1,650 researchers from Europe and beyond.

Apply by 10 September β†’ europa.eu/!fBTMgF

08.05.2025 10:12 πŸ‘ 954 πŸ” 560 πŸ’¬ 15 πŸ“Œ 99
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Interested in a PhD connecting sensory ecology and evolutionary genetics? Applications are now open for a project on the Speciation Genomics of Eye Size Variation in Heliconius Butterflies in our lab at LMU Munich: www.evol.bio.lmu.de/research/mer... Please repost!

06.05.2025 11:40 πŸ‘ 101 πŸ” 100 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4
A male Japanese quail

A male Japanese quail

New publication by @matteobeccardi.bsky.social and @oscarvedder.bsky.social (with @btschirren.bsky.social) in @royalsocietypublishing.org: 'Male inbreeding reduces fertility, but does not accelerate in vivo sperm senescence: an experimental approach in a polyandrous bird'
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

30.04.2025 07:38 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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First chicks today on Penryn Campus @uniexecec.bsky.social
#springhassprung #phenology #nestboxpopulation

25.04.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Happy to share our new paper 'Wild chimpanzees share fermented fruits' @currentbiology.bsky.social

Thank you to the amazing team. @kjhockings.bsky.social @joanahbessa.bsky.social , @xavh.bsky.social, Marina Ramon, Elena Bersacola, Matthew Carrigan, @amelinlab.bsky.social . @uniexecec.bsky.social

21.04.2025 19:59 πŸ‘ 52 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1