@volkerrudolf
Community Ecology | Phenology | Ponds| Professor of Ecology & Evolution @ Rice University. Editor-In-Chief @ The American Naturalist. Dad, husband, polliwog wrangler, baker of Bavarian pretzels, chicken owner. Typos are my own.
When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.
Just a few days left to submit the ASN student research award (due March 13th)!!!! This is an AWESOME opportunity for students to get some grant writing experience!!! We LOVE reading your grants and giving feedback!!!!!!!!!!! Apply, Apply, Apply!!!!!!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
Exciting announcement! My new department is launching a postdoc fellowship in quantitative biology. Fellows will be co-advised by two Bio faculty, one that is quant focused (not me) and one that is not (me???). I would love to co-sponsor a postdoc and build a collaboration so please reach out!
📢 Now accepting proposals for the Graduate Research Excellence Grants! These provide evolutionary biology research funds for early and advanced Master’s and PhD students. Applicants must be members of SSE. Deadline: May 18, 2026
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
@eveliendegreef.bsky.social's latest is out in the @asn-amnat.bsky.social feature exploring the challenges of genetic forecasting😀
"Identifying Areas of Potential Risk Based on Future Genetic Adaptability in Three Arctic Whale Species"
doi.org/10.1086/738889 🧪🌎🧬🌐 #consgen #popgen #evobio
We understand a great deal about how and why cooperation evolves, but what about its long-term consequences?
Great to see our new review on this out now in @asn-amnat.bsky.social!
Behaviour and Eco-Evo - a new paper in Am Nat led by Thibaut Rota
"Behavior and Physiology Outpace Form When Linking Traits to Ecological Responses Within Populations: A Meta-Analysis."
journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
@asn-amnat.bsky.social
I’m pleased to share my first publication! 🎉🐦
This work, developed during my Master’s degree, explores what drives shorebird migration, linking climate seasonality, wing morphology, and habitat use.
Very grateful to my collaborators who made this possible! 🪶
#Ecology #Shorebirds
If you have previously received a @asn-amnat.bsky.social Student Research Award, we'd love to hear the outcome of your project (no matter how long ago the award was made): docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#ecology #evolution #behavior
📣 Our new paper just came out in @asn-amnat.bsky.social!
Are DMIs actors or simple markers of the speciation process with gene flow?
📎Find more about it at: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
@cienciasulisboa.bsky.social
This was a fun study to be part of:
So nice to see this coming out (nearly). It always feels special to publish in @asn-amnat.bsky.social. Such classy formatting.. brings me back to scanning every new paper edition cover-to-cover as soon as it came out when we students. Congratulations again @stuwest.bsky.social on your ASN Award!
A small yellow bird photographed in mid-flight with its wings outstretched, showing the shape of the wing when spread. Photo credit: Andrew Dreelin.
Pointy wings are thought to help migratory birds fly efficiently, but which bones and feathers are responsible? Pegan et al. describe morphological variation that contributes to hand-wing index, a common proxy for wing shape.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Photograph of one southern ground-hornbill flying towards an artificial nest while another individual stands nearby, recorded by a camera trap in the Associated Private Nature Reserves. Photo credit: Kyle-Mark Middleton.
In long-lived southern ground-hornbills, hot-dry conditions reduce reproductive success, but helpers offer no buffering effects. Middleton et al. highlight the role of life-history in shaping cooperative strategies.
Available now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Special Feature: Reciprocal Evaluation of Genomic Offset Predictions of Climate Maladaptation with Independent Empirical Datasets by Verrico et al.
Available now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Simple Seasonal Switches in Food Web Composition Unveil the Complexity of an Arctic Predator-Prey System by Bergeron et al.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Banerjee et al. propose that the underlying structure of positive feedbacks in an ecosystem may determine the tipping-evasion mechanism relevant to that particular system.
Available now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Satoh et al. identify an evolutionary correlation between egg size and parental care strategies in cichlids inhabiting Lake Tanganyika, one of the African Great Lakes.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
My new office buddy
Nice! Where did you guys go?
Most journals (like @asn-amnat.bsky.social) have clear policies that this is not allowed bc it violates privacy and confidentially rules of the review process and reviewers agree to those terms when they accept a review. so I would reach out to the journal to let them know.
AI agent goes nuts on open source maintainer after having its pull request denied. This is a pretty insane story. Open source development as we've been used to for the last few decades is likely over. 1/
theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-...
A small group of wading birds showing winter feathers, gathered on a beach in Tasmania. Photo credit: Eric J. Woehler.
What drives shorebird migration? Gutierrez-Zorrilla et al. reveal that climate seasonality, wing shape, & habitat use are key predictors. Novel modeling untangles inherited traits from ecological selection.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Special Feature: Lind & Lotterhos tested over 800K genomic models, and their findings offer key insights into how data formats shape forecasts of species' futures under climate change.
Available now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The American Naturalist classic cover
Special Feature: Archambeau et al. reveal substantial variability in genomic offset predictions across methods and SNP sets in maritime pine, highlighting the need for further validation of genomic offset models.
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
I was just looking for papers on fish spine evolution, how fortunate!
Maybe booking a flight to Zurich to go work with awesome collaborators inspired today’s baking adventure: St Gallen Bürli. Super Crispy yet so soft inside.
New round of NSF GRFP declines without review. If you were affected:
1) Write NSF
2) Write your Congressperson
3) CC us at grfp@grant-witness.us so we can compile + follow up
Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter
This is the link to the post: bsky.app/profile/noam...
Bar chart depicting FY26 Federal R&D Appropriations with entities: NIH, NSF, NASA, DOE, and NIST. NIH shows a slight increase of 0.9%. NSF, NASA, and DOE display decreases of -3.4%, -24.3%, and -3.4% respectively. NIST has a significant increase of 26.5%. Annotations compare budget requests to 2026 law. Features the AAAS logo.
With FY26 federal appropriations bills now signed into law, the R&D funding outlook is brighter than initially feared. Compared to the drastic cuts that were proposed in the spring, the bills show some increases, flat funding, or relatively small reductions for R&D.
