@darrenirwin.bsky.social
UBC Professor of Zoology; student of birds, genomes, evolution. Pro-democracy. Pro-sanity. Pro-humanity.
1/9 New in @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado8005
How does genetic architecture constrain evolutionary trajectories? To address this question, we inferred the genetic architecture of convergent plumage coloration and its evolutionary history in wheatears.
A TE insertion controls throat colour in wheatears. The gene involved (ASIP) is the same one that is epigenetically affected by an IAP insertion the famous Avy mice.
As if we needed more reasons to love TEs.
A new estimate of number of birds killed by cats in Canada was just published: https://ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/art12/
Congratulations and thank you to all authors including ECCC authors, Elizabeth Gow (co-supervisor of PhD student, Jonathan Chu), Julie Bourque and Christian Roy for this work.
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
15.10.2025 15:53 — 👍 128 🔁 156 💬 1 📌 4
New review out! With students in my lab, we explore how population size shapes speciation—from drift in small populations to selection in large ones. Do small or large populations speciate faster? The answer is more nuanced than you might think.
esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.
14.10.2025 20:08 — 👍 92 🔁 85 💬 0 📌 5🤣
12.10.2025 17:55 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Two burrowing owls in the rain. The one on the left is facing away from the camera and is looking back over his shoulder. The one on the right is in profile and is shaking water off his back.
Moist owlettes. 🪶
12.10.2025 16:49 — 👍 732 🔁 136 💬 11 📌 3In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.
“Mistnet full of grosbeaks.”
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.
"Developed new species concept"
I seriously thought the Qatar-Idaho airforce base thing had to be satire . . .
but no, up is down, down is up
bsky.app/profile/chri...
12.10.2025 15:17 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
🥳 My latest digest for Evolution is now available online!
Digest: Postzygotic isolation barriers stabilize a hybrid zone between two grosbeak species
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
Original paper: academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
#ornithology
Julia v1.12 is out 🎈🙃
#JuliaLang
discourse.julialang.org/t/julia-v1-1...
I teach an Ornithology and Herpetology course and regularly talk about the decline of amphibians, so I am thrilled to see population growth of these Portland frogs:
10.10.2025 04:35 — 👍 115 🔁 21 💬 2 📌 1
I have to fan-girl for a minute here. My friend @rosvall-lab.bsky.social built an app to gather data on bird behavior during the 2024 solar eclipse. 10,000+ citizen scientists contributed (including my kids), and the resulting paper was published in Science today!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
that's beautiful
09.10.2025 22:58 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0that one seems to like you more than the last one did
08.10.2025 00:19 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Your daily Avian Hybrids story!
Mitochondrial capture in the Chestnut Quail-thrush: Neutral or adaptive introgression?
avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/11/21/m...
#ornithology
Should I or should I not tell my Ornithology and Herpetology students about the new species of frog discovered in Portland?
06.10.2025 00:38 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0And for those of you in British Columbia / Canada:
bccancerfoundation.com/news-and-med...
Evidence for ancient #selectivesweeps followed by differentiation among three species of #Sphyrapicus #sapsuckers,” by Libby Natola and @darrenirwin.bsky.social:
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
Come work with us! My lab is looking for PhD student(s) to study elevational range shifts among dragonflies in Colorado. Reviewing applications now - apply by Nov 1 at the latest
You could spend your summers here!
The Weir Lab at the University of Toronto seeks PhD students for Fall 2026 to study avian genomics and speciation. Competitive funding, diverse training, and a collaborative environment are offered. Apply: jason.weir@utoronto.ca. More info: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~jweir/index.html #phd
02.10.2025 06:14 — 👍 10 🔁 14 💬 1 📌 0I am filled with so much love and gratitude that I cannot grieve. Dr. Goodall worked tirelessly in her gentle, hopeful way for a better world for all life on Earth. She has laid down her field notebook for the last time; now it is for us to fill with wonder, joy, and connection, into infinity.
01.10.2025 19:59 — 👍 326 🔁 56 💬 4 📌 4
Today is #OrangeShirtDay, and also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
There may be many days in which you recognize the importance of this day - e.g. listening to survivors, taking part in action, making donations, and reading the TRC report
irshdc.ubc.ca/orange-shirt...
that'll be a good one for your life list
28.09.2025 13:45 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
📢 NEW GENOME ALERT
In #G3journal, @squarehare.bsky.social, @judithmank.bsky.social, and team generated a genome assembly of the Amazon guppy, Poecilia bifurca and showed how this species shares sex chromosomes with related species, albeit with substantial Y chromosome degeneration. buff.ly/lM7etkw
this checks out
25.09.2025 04:01 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Proud to announce the project I've been working on 🏳️⚧️🧬
Had hoped to have more ready, but the events of the last week stressed the importance of speaking up against fascism NOW
I'd appreciate your support in spreading the word, esp if you work in life sciences research, healthcare, or biotech
