Evolutionary Applications

Flying-foxes are highly mobile, but gene flow isn't uniform: isolation-by-distance in Pteropus alecto, panmixia in P. poliocephalus & P. scapulatus, and asymmetric hybridization shape their evolution and diversification 🦇🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70329

Crop breeding & fertilisation can disrupt soil microbe mutualisms. Yet, new research on peas found that seed yield and N₂ fixation were positively genetically correlated. Breeding could therefore raise both yield and symbiotic nitrogen fixation 🌱 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70330

New research on catfish! By analyzing the myostatin-b gene across 535 Thai clariid fish from 19 populations, scientists uncovered 8 novel alleles. This sheds light on growth variation and conservation concerns in hybrid catfish farming 🐟 doi.org/10.1111/eva....

Series producers used our finding of darker frogs in #Chornobyl (@evolappjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....) to simulate 1000 years of exposure in toads for the series. This is amazing!!

I greatly enjoy this role! it's a pleasure working together with @evolappjournal.bsky.social authors and staff to support so many excellent publications📚🧬

We're delighted to announce the promotion of Associate Editors to Senior Editors in recognition of their long-standing service to EVA 👏👏👏 Thanks for your commitment and expertise! Congratulations! 🎉 Luciano Beheregaray, @profkathrynelmer.bsky.social, Zach Gompert, Frédéric Thomas & Jiasui Zhan 🧑‍🔬

Genomic data on California towhee reveal peripheral populations with low diversity, high inbreeding, and bottleneck signatures. This highlights a conservation dilemma: save locally adapted variants or prioritize the core gene pool? 🐦‍⬛🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70313

New 1.16M structural variant atlas in Pacific white shrimp suggests population-specific selection signals, convergent candidate genes, and population structure. Ready for breeding and traceability applications! 🦐🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70312

Study shows that E. cyclocarpum trees across Colombia's dry forests show regional adaptation to heat & drought. However, adaptive alleles are unevenly distributed, and future climate offset is high across all regions. These threatened dry biomes need urgent conservation 🔥🌳 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70302

New paper from my PhD is now published in @evolappjournal.bsky.social !!! We investigated inbreeding and demographic history (Ne) in caribou across western Canada using a genome-wide SNP array, covering 45 subpopulations and >750 individuals. 👉 doi.org/10.1111/eva....

📣 Introducing a new article type: Resource Articles! We're calling for accessible tools, databases, & frameworks with clear applied value for management and conservation. Broad relevance across taxa & ecosystems matters, not just single-species studies! 🌍🔬 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal...

New study on Taiwan’s Formosan Duke butterfly reveals that mountain barriers & climate gradients drive rapid genetic splits even in strong fliers. This leads to lineage-specific vulnerabilities, giving important insights for conservation 🧬🌏 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70309

My latest paper on leopard frogs tries to find patterns of adaptation related to climate and land use (particularly exposure to pesticides) in North Dakota.

New study on white anglerfish reveals extensive hybridization with black anglerfish, with up to 20% hybrids (F1) around the Celtic Sea. Demographic data suggest recent Atlantic colonization & smaller black anglerfish populations 🧬🐟🌊 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70288

New research on western larch show weak local adaptation to drought & reduced trait variation under water stress. The authors show these iconic trees may have limited potential to adapt to our future climate 🌲🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70291

With rapid environmental shifts, preserving locally adapted populations is critical. New study maps genomic regions associated with climatic factors in leopard frog (Rana pipiens). This may help us understand if these frogs can keep up with changing climate doi.org/10.1111/eva.70298

Generation length (G) is key in pops with overlapping generations, yet it is frequently ignored or misestimated. Estimating G requires detailed life-history data for both sexes. Without it, model comparisons, heterozygosity loss & demographic reconstructions are unreliable doi.org/10.1111/eva.70256

Captive breeding is an important conservation tool, but it comes with hidden risks. A new study on the critically endangered White-winged Wood Duck reveals that inbreeding in captivity accelerates deadly avian tuberculosis susceptibility 🧬🦆 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70286

Study shows size-selective harvesting pushes guppies to evolve faster life histories (earlier maturation, higher fecundity). This was done over 10 years, using 14+ traits. This hints at anthropogenic stressors that affect large individuals in nature more than small ones 🐟 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70253

Can genomic offsets help future-proof selective breeding? In this @evolappjournal.bsky.social perspective, we present a practical roadmap for translating evolutionary genomics into climate-resilient agriculture and aquaculture. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Hong Kong’s introduced population of critically endangered yellow-crested cockatoos (~200 birds) shows very healthy genetics, avoiding inbreeding & low diversity. Maybe these city parrots serve as a genetic reservoir for the native range 🦜🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva....

Our paper on #Chornobyl dark frogs, published @evolappjournal.bsky.social in 2022, just passed @altmetric.com score 1900. Four years later, and still gets noticed by all kinds of media, everywhere... The paper: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Congrats @sarahsanderson.bsky.social for receiving the Louis Bernatchez Memorial Prize for the best student-led paper in @evolappjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Louis Bernatchez was a visionary scientist and a fantastic colleague. I miss him. @csee-scee.bsky.social

I feel very honoured to receive this award. Louis Bernatchez’s work has been really influential for me, so this means a lot. Huge thanks to @lucaseckert.bsky.social, @ecoevoevoeco.bsky.social, Rowan Barrett, and Tom Reimchen!

New review shows that black soldier flies don't mate like other insects. They show protandry, lek-like behavior, complex female sperm storage organs, and a hybrid breeding strategy. An emerging model bridging evolutionary biology and insect biotechnology 🪰🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70249

New study shows that using high-quality genome for the Near Threatened red roman (Chrysoblephus laticeps) improves detection of genetic diversity, FST, & Ne estimates. Species-specific genomes matter, especially for vulnerable marine fishes 🐟🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70247

Are parasites capable of evolving quickly to meet the new pressures of the Anthropocene? Find out more in our new paper ⬇️

Parasites are evolving fast in the Anthropocene. Drug resistance is well known, but other rapid trait changes often go unnoticed. This warning piece summarizes research and calls for more studies to track, slow, and mitigate rapid parasite evolution 🦠🧬 doi.org/10.1111/eva.70244