Category Archives: population genetics

Still ruffling feathers after all these years: Darwin's finches and a molecular view of adaptive radiation

Posted on 31 Oct, 2016 by Kelle Freel

One of the many lovely things about molecular ecology is its ability to shine new light on old stories. The well-known case of Darwin’s finches is a classic example of adaptive radiation. These finches demonstrate a clear instance where over time, … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, association genetics, evolution, genomics, Molecular Ecology, the journal, population genetics, RNAseq, selection, speciation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Building bridges across the chaos

Posted on 13 Sep, 2016 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

In a new review, Eldon and co-authors (in press) attempt to build a bridge across the chaos of genetic patchiness in the sea. They i) describe the patterns characterized as chaotic genetic patchiness, ii) discuss the potential causes of these patterns and … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, genomics, mutation, natural history, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, selection | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Phenotypes in Comparative Phylogeography

Posted on 11 Aug, 2016 by Katie Everson

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 →

Posted in comparative phylogeography, natural history, phylogeography, population genetics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Comparative View of Comparative Phylogeography

Posted on 8 Aug, 2016 by Bryan McLean

A recent issue of PNAS includes papers from a Sackler Colloquium on comparative phylogeography. As stated by the organizers, a major purpose of that gathering “was to bring together leading scientists to address the current state of phylogeography as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coevolution, community, comparative phylogeography, phylogeography, population genetics | 1 Comment

On (mis)interpreting STRUCTURE/ADMIXTURE results

Posted on 5 Aug, 2016 by Arun Sethuraman

STRUCTURE, ADMIXTURE and other similar software are among the most cited programs in modern population genomics. They are algorithms that estimate allele frequencies and admixture proportions under the premise that sampled genotypes are derived from one of “K” ancestral populations, … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, genomics, howto, methods, population genetics, software, STRUCTURE | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Genomics of Rapid Adaptation

Posted on 1 Aug, 2016 by Bryan McLean

Phenology (the timing of life cycle events such as growth, breeding, or migration) is among the most sensitive organismal traits to climate and environmental change. In recent years, phenological shifts have been documented in numerous taxa, in traits such as … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, genomics, Molecular Ecology, the journal, plants, population genetics, selection | Leave a comment

Molecular Inversion Probes: phylogenomics without the excess?

Posted on 18 Jul, 2016 by Ethan Linck

The onset of the phylogenomic era has revolutionized molecular ecology and systematics, helping resolve relationships throughout the tree of life that have long eluded researchers working with only a handful of loci and morphological data. Phylogenetic studies of nonmodel organisms … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, transcriptomics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What do dolphins, bivalves and algae have in common?

Posted on 15 Jul, 2016 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Collaboration as it turns out, between three scientists interested in vertebrates, invertebrates and algae! A few days before we left for Evolution 2016 in Austin, one of my collaborators, Eric Pante, came to Charleston as the final stop in a North American … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, blogging, career, conferences, DNA barcoding, haploid-diploid, natural history, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Great Migration and African-American Genomic History

Posted on 1 Jun, 2016 by Arun Sethuraman

Over 45 million African-Americans share a recent common history largely shaped by “The Great Migration” (1910-1970) from out of the Southern United States. And yet, the admixture history of the African-American community, and its consequences for public health are little … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, population genetics, United States | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Catching evolution in the act with the Singleton Density Score

Posted on 23 May, 2016 by Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová

A recent study led by Jonathan K. Pritchard at Stanford University brought a media storm with catchy headlines in both of the flagship scientific outlets Nature and Science News. Aside from highlighting the question of preprints without peer review being … Continue reading →

Posted in methods, mutation, population genetics, selection | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment