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Category Archives: natural history
For these birds, isolation-by-distance is (almost) all in the family
Isolation by distance is one of the most fundamental processes of molecular ecology. In any finite population, the frequency of a genetic variant will change from generation to generation due to random sampling effects, which we call genetic drift. In … Continue reading
Artificial connectivity … have we overlooked the native range?
Invasive species are problematic throughout the world’s ecosystems, down even to their very name which incites heated debates. Every month, studies are published that describe the genetic structure and gene flow of non-native species in their introduced ranges. Often, these … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, conservation, evolution, natural history, phylogeography, population genetics
Tagged Biological Invasion, Ciona, Evolution, invasive species, marine, Sessile
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Humans, selection, evolution and ecological timescales … a potent cocktail
It’s been awhile since I last was able to write for TME. But, finally, I’ve stolen away some time to write about a recent study in Ecology Letters that I couldn’t put down once I started reading it. Yes, it’s about mating … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, evolution, natural history, plants, population genetics, selection, theory
Tagged Evolution, mating system, pesticide, selection
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At the molecular level, there's more than one way to fly higher
Parallel adaptation is coming into its own lately, as we’re increasingly able to examine the molecular changes underlying similar adaptations in distantly related species. A fundamental prediction of evolutionary theory is that species coping with the same environment should converge … Continue reading
Posted in birds, evolution, mutation, natural history, phylogenetics
Tagged adaptation, hemoglobin
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The tarsier's nuclear genome comes with a bonus mitochodrial genome
This week Nature Communications published a paper presenting a new genome assembly for Tarsius syrichta, the Phillipine tarsier. Tarsiers are the subject of one of the best of Ze Frank’s “True Facts” videos, and they occupy an interesting place in … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, genomics, natural history
Tagged genomic insertion, primate, tarsier
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Phenotypes in Comparative Phylogeography
Earlier this week, The Molecular Ecologist contributor Bryan McLean posted about the current state of comparative phylogeography (Riddle 2016). He listed several exciting directions that comparative phylogeography is heading, including more research that includes trait data. As a followup to … Continue reading
A tale of mammoths and a disappearing lake
A wonderful study revealed a sad story of the St. Paul Island population of woolly mammoths. Using a creative and diverse set of analytical approaches, scientists identified freshwater shortage as the likely cause of their extinction. A cross-disciplinary collaboration of … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, evolution, natural history
Tagged extinction, mammoths, St. Paul
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