GBE | A Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Resequencing Data Reveal Low DNA Methylation and Reduced Diversity in the Solitary Bee Pollinator Osmia cornuta

Möllmann, @eckartstolle.bsky.social et al. report the first genome assembly for the European orchard bee and investigate its epigenomic architecture to find evidence for the limited role of methylation in gene regulation in Hymenopterans.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf224

#genome #evolution

Foto of an ancient beech tree, logos of Uni Freiburg and Biodiversity Exploratories, and short announcement text: "PhD position in Forest Genetics entitled "Genetic diversity of tree and shrub species in the Biodiversity Exploratories" 3 years (starting in April/May 2026), Apply now!"

🌳 PhD Position in Forest Genetics
@uni-freiburg.de
Join the BeGenDiv project to study genetic diversity of ~30 tree & shrub species across Germany’s Biodiversity Exploratories.
🧬 Fieldwork, lab work, bioinformatics & interdisciplinary collaboration
More info: uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb...

Forest biodiversity experiments test how tree species richness improves the productivity & functioning of forests. After 30 years, there are now 45 experiments worldwide!

A new synthesis on 30 years of research:
Liu et al. 2026: doi.org/10.1038/s443...
#TreeDivNet #BEF-China #MultiTroph

MultiTroph: Multi-trophic interactions in a forest biodiversity experiment in China Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research has shown that ecosystem functioning and stability are closely linked to biodiversity. A cornerstone of this field is the BEF-China research platform,...

Three years ago, we began a Sino-German journey to understand how tree diversity influences the diversity and interactions of higher trophic organisms in subtropical China. Our ideas and concepts are now published in a new article!

doi.org/10.3897/rio....
#multitroph #BEF-China #biodiversity

Increasing plant diversity in agricultural grasslands boosts yields, reducing reliance on fertilizer Higher plant diversity in agricultural grasslands increases yields with lower inputs of nitrogen fertilizer. That is the headline finding of a landmark, international study led by Trinity College Dubl...

💪 Increasing plant diversity in agricultural grasslands boosts yields, reducing reliance on fertilizer

phys.org/news/2025-12...

#agriculture #plants #diversity #food #farming #grasslands #resources #environment #goodnews

New Article: "Decadal-scale observations are key to detecting the stabilizing effects of plant diversity in natural ecosystems" rdcu.be/eYixI

Phylogenetic diversity is the key driver of long-term stability, whereas plant height shapes short-term productivity dynamics.

Happy to see this @econovoau.bsky.social paper out in the new issue of Journal of Animal Ecology - higher herbivore activity is linked to greater herb diversity & plant functional redundancy besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
#ECONOVO #Biodiversity #savanna #SouthAfrica #Rewilding

🐝 New research finds the mechanism by which tree species richness influences bee diversity—taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional—through alterations in the microenvironmental conditions in the understory.

📖 Read the full paper here ➡️ buff.ly/cHvVYER

The last chapter from PhD thesis by Juri Felix (co-supervised with @philstevenson.bsky.social) is now out in @oikosjournal.bsky.social! The study explores the effects of tree species identity and spatial scale on tree diversity effects #TreeDivNet nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🌳Interested in doing a PhD within the Excellence Cluster Future Forests @uni-freiburg.de?🌲

We are hiring a doctoral researcher for the project "Stand Density Management for #Forest Adaptation to #Drought“

Application link: uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00004...

Website: uni-freiburg.de/futureforest...

Above‐ and below‐ground trait coordination across 90 angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species in a common garden experiment This research highlights the significance of elucidating the mechanisms behind above-and below-ground organs. The varying trait coordination across clades indicates different resource acquisition str...

Just before the Xmas break🎉

In @journalofecology.bsky.social and led by Anvar Sanaei, we provide insight into #trait coordination across 90 common and future European #tree species👇

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

@agwirthweigelt.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @uni-freiburg.de

A recovering patch of rainforest in Ecuadorian Chocó, picture by Eike Lena Neuschulz

Seed dispersal by 🦜🦇 underpins rainforest recovery. We want to understand more about its timing + traits driving recovery through obs, exp + genomic data. Ready to join the @reassemblynet.bsky.social team working in Ecuadorian Chocó? Pls apply to our 4-yr PhD position @sgn.one: tinyurl.com/2pkryc99

New study on arthropod declines @natecoevo.nature.com 🪲

In two time series @jena-experiment.bsky.social & @bexplo.bsky.social we show how community (dis)assembly underpins local biomass declines.

It mostly boils down to species loss, with identity losing relevance.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

What is the effect of increasing disturbances in C European forests on insect diversity, and how does salvage logging modulate it? We found an overall positive response for both cleared and uncleared sites, with a stronger signal for taxonomic vs phylogenetic diversity doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

#Agriculture 💘 wild #pollinators = The perfect match!

Last week we brought farmers, advisors, researchers, and land managers together to share the results from the #EUproject @restpoll.bsky.social #LivingLabs across Catalonia.

Herbivory Modifies the Role of Spatial Processes in a Grassland Plant Metacommunity We empirically examined how mammalian herbivory interacts with habitat size and connectivity to affect plant diversity in a natural grassland metacommunity. We found that herbivory increased plant di...

New study out in Ecology Letters 🌱🐑!

Using long-term Åland monitoring data, we found that herbivory increases plant diversity across scales and flips the diversity–area relationship: a positive relationship is found in grazed sites while a negative one in ungrazed sites.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/ele....

New OA #TreeDivNet paper is out in @geoderma.bsky.social and it is focussed on effects of tree species richness on topsoil carbon and fungal diversity doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

Job Openings Explore exciting career opportunities at iDiv. Join a modern, international, and innovative research centre in the heart of Germany.

iDiv and @unihalle.bsky.social are hiring!📣 New job offer for a technical assistant (full time) at the lab of @jon-chase03.bsky.social - check it out and apply by 27 Nov!
www.idiv.de/career/job-o...

Cover image of the November issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution. The image shows a caterpillar of the emperor moth Gonimbrasia belina feeding on a leaf. The cover headline reads "Tree growth and herbivory"

Our November Issue is now live: www.nature.com/natecolevol/...

Featuring research on 🧪

🦆Threats to migratory shorebirds
🌍Phosphorus constraints on global photosynthesis
🦠Evolution of the meerkat MHC

Cover shows a larva of an emperor moth, from Li et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The 🏡 @ipbes.net podcast #NatureInsight is back for Season 5! 🎙️

In Episode 1, Brit Garner and @rspaull.bsky.social talk to Victor Rault and Prof. Alex Antonelli about Charles Darwin and his epic 5-year voyage that still continues to inform and inspire people. 🌍

🎧🧪 natureinsight.podbean.com

Pollinators and politics in China Last week I returned from a 14 day visit to China to colleagues at the Kunming Institute of Botany in Yunnan, part of a three-year commitment to working there that I documented on the blog last yea…

Pollinators and politics in China:

jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/11/14/p...

#China #Bees #Pollinators #Biodiversity

Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏

Why are Procellariiform seabirds most diverse in the Southern Hemisphere?

Our study found that wind patterns and time since evolutionary origin best explain the extratropical peak in breeding species richness of these remarkable seabirds. 🐦💨

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

In our new article led by Gabriele Midolo, published in Ecology Letters, we show that plant species richness in European plant communities generally decreased between the 1960s and 1980s. However, since the 1990s, this trend seems to have stopped or even reversed.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele....

How a radical experiment to bring a forest into a preschool transformed children’s health In Finland, kindergartens are exposing children to more mud, wild plants and moss - and finding changes to their health that show how crucial biodiversity is to wellbeing

How a radical experiment to bring a forest into a preschool transformed children’s health
In #Finland, kindergartens are exposing children to more mud, wild plants and moss - and finding changes to their health that show how crucial biodiversity is to wellbeing

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Neue Ausgabe des Konfuzius Magazins mit einem Artikel über TreeDì: "Wald und Waldforschung in China" ab Seite 8.
www.konfuziusinstitut-leipzig.de/konfuzius-in...

Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors Biological invasions can alter ecosystems, yet their impacts vary across ecological contexts. Using a global meta-analysis of 775 studies (2223 effect sizes) in terrestrial systems, we show that the m...

“Native #plant diversity was not a strong predictor of invasive plants’ effects. However, invasive species’ residence time modified their impacts, with native plant diversity decreasing more the longer the invasive species was present,” writes Editor Bianca Lopez
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Inspiring joint conference of @treedi.bsky.social and @multitroph.bsky.social at @idiv-research.bsky.social, with 20 presentations by doctoral researchers, 7 workshops, 5 international keynote speakers, 1 excursion and 1 guided city tour.

Tomorrow (30th) at 11am CEST, Clara Thoma from agroforst.de will talk about creating resilient landscapes through agroforestry🌳🪱🌱
Register here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Seminar series Forest Ecology: Science&Practice
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/701005.html
#agroforestry

Please pass along, I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study phys ecology, macroecology, biodiversity - spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested🧪🌐🌾