Department of Biology, Lund University

High above us, the atmosphere is teeming with life. New research from @cnilsson.science at Lund University reveals how the atmosphere is an ecosystem, with complex ecological processes that affect how animals move between different altitude levels of the airspace.
www.biology.lu.se/article/hidd...

We’re delighted to host a symposium on ”Ecosystem stability to global change” tomorrow @biologylu.bsky.social , including a keynote by @frantecol.bsky.social . Join us ! www.becc.lu.se/calendar/eco...

How nice of you to share this! 😀

We're really proud and exited to announce that Staffan Bensch, professor at the Department of Biology, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Genetics of long-distance migration”. 👏👏👏

Read the full story on our website!
www.biology.lu.se/article/staf...

Hotfulla hoanden nattetid – då äter rödhaken mindre

Ljudet av kattugglor får unga rödhakar att äta mindre under sin flytt söderut. En ny studie från Lunds universitet visar hur hot från nattaktiva rovdjur påverkar fåglarnas beteende – och deras överlevnad.
www.biologi.lu.se/artikel/hotf...

Symposium in Lund September 25th The cellular roots of evolutionary change Sep 25 14:30 - 17:00 Blå hallen, Ekologihuset, Sölvegatan 37, Lund How does cell- and developmental biology improve our understanding of the evolutionary process? Join us for an afternoon of discussions about cells, development and evolution. Program 14:30 Introduction 14:40 Arild Husby, Plasticity of a life history trade-off: from GRN to high level phenotypes 15:10 Markéta Kaucká, Cell type evolution 15:40 Coffee break 16:00 Gunter Wagner, From cells to tissues and organs: nothing in evolutionary biology makes sense except in the light of cell biology 16:30 Emilia Santos, Interplay between genetics and phenotypic plasticity in the adaptation to novel environments Bonus Sep 26: 09:00 Robin Pranter, Thesis defense - Neural crest cells and the evolution of a phenotypic syndrome Lund University

How does cell end developmental biology inform our understanding of evolution? Join us for an afternoon of discussion about #cells, #development, #plasticity and #evolution.
Zoomlink Sep 25th: lu-se.zoom.us/j/62473328732
Zoomlink Sep 26th: lu-se.zoom.us/j/67411449026
#EvoDevo @biologylu.bsky.social

Microplastics in biosolids are hard to trace. A new study from Lund University shows that combining sample pre-treatment with high-resolution spectroscopy improves detection of tiny particles, supporting better monitoring and regulation.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Today we welcomed Sveriges Radio P4 Malmöhus (local radio) who actually sent live from our wind tunnel. There was a bit of waiting involved… 😇 when @pablomaciastorres.bsky.social and professor Anders Hedenström were interviewed about their research. 👏👏👏

Large-scale DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity in eulophid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae) Abstract Despite their ecological and economic importance as key regulators of insect populations worldwide, eulophid wasps remain one of the taxonomically most neglected groups of insects. A...

DNA barcoding at Lund University reveals 20–34 potentially undescribed wasp species in Europe, plus 40 new country records. The study improves barcode libraries but also warns against relying on a single molecular marker in “turbo-taxonomy.” Emma Kärrnäs, Christer Hansson & @lepphylo.bsky.social

A meta-review from Lund University shows that old and large trees, deadwood, and tree cavities support biodiversity in temperate forests. But not all structures have the same effect, highlighting the need for clear conservation goals.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#biodiversityandevolution

Post-doctoral fellow in Biology with a focus on AI and Forensics The supervisor for this position, Dr. Eran Elhaik, led the compositional genomic analyses in over a dozen sequencing consortia, whose results were published in Science , Nature , PNAS , and Genome Res

We're hiring!

Here's an exiting opportunity for a post-doctoral fellow in biology with a focus on AI and Forensics. This is an interdisciplinary project involving programming and modeling under the supervision of Dr. Eran Elhaik.

Please apply no later than 4 October!
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Known and Unknown Biases: A Framework for Contextualising and Identifying Bias in Animal Behaviour Research As scientists, we are prone to biases. These biases can influence our ideas, how we conduct our research and how we interpret our findings. Individual researchers can take active steps to locate and ...

How do our own biases impact the way we design and interpret research in #AnimalBehaviour and beyond? In our new @ethoges.bsky.social paper tirelessly led by @lucywinder.bsky.social, we discuss where #bias comes from and how we should approach it going forward. Check it out 👇
shorturl.at/Kocly

Effects of inbreeding on balancing selection: insights from Fisher's geometric model Abstract. Balancing selection is a potentially important factor in the maintenance of genetic variation for fitness and, alongside recessive deleterious mu

Inbreeding reduces the genetic diversity that helps populations thrive. A new studyfrom Lund University, by biology researcher Colin Olito, predicts that balancing selection may be far less likely in inbred vs. outbred species than previously thought.
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...

Migratory birds aren’t equally efficient at all speeds. A new Lund University study shows thrush nightingales fly most efficiently at 7–8 m/s – the speed they actually use on migration.
@pablomaciastorres.bsky.social & Prof. Anders Hedenström, Animal Flight Lab.

www.biology.lu.se/article/not-...

YouTube video by BRYOMOLECULES Project BRYOMOLECULES: Unlocking the potential of bryophytes

Biology researchers Eliza Hayse and Nils Cronberg were interviewed about their work in this great little documentary about the Bryomolecules Project.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMgt...

Fåglar klarar inte extremvärme - enligt Lundastudie Fåglar anpassar sig inte till värme enligt Lunds universitet – ökad risk för arter vid klimatförändringar

Klimatförändringar drabbar allt och alla. En ny studie från Lunds universitet visar att fåglar inte klarar extremvärmen. @cyanistesnord.bsky.social förklarar för TV4 Nyheter att det kan innebära ett hot mot flera fågelarter i takt med att jordens klimat värms upp och blir mindre stabilt.

Här syns ökningen av skadliga nattfjärilen – sprider sig över landet Forskare mäter med hjälp av AI • Larver äter och skadar buxbom

Redan för ett år sedan larmade vår forskare @larspett.bsky.social om den skadliga nattfjärilen som börjat härja i Skåne, nu ökar buxbomsmott i regionen och sprider sig norrut.

Se inslaget från @svtnyheter.bsky.social
www.svt.se/nyheter/loka...

The Australian Bogong moth may be 1st invertebrate known to be able to use stars to navigate, says OA paper. Experiments indicate the insects use stellar cues, in addition to magnetic sense, to help them fly in the right direction: spklr.io/63328BHGga

🧪 @biologylu.bsky.social @nature.com

...det fanns alltså begränsade möjligheter för 'heta' fåglar att förbättra sin värmetolerans ytterligare.

A new study from Lund University shows changes in land use reduce number of insects and increase risk of inbreeding among Swedish butterflies. Particularly true for species with specific habitat requirements, with serious consequences for long-term survival. portal.research.lu.se/sv/publicati...

The appearance of flowers of the same species is influenced by large-scale mutations. These can have as much impact on size and shape as natural selection by pollinators. This is shown by a new study i PNAS from Lund University et al.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Postnatal development in the cold render bird mitochondria more susceptible to heat stress | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Research on birds suggests that extreme weather events during development may have long-lasting consequences on form and function. The underlying cellular mechanisms mediating such phenotypic effects ...

Japanese quails exposed to heat waves as chicks are better equipped for extreme heat as adults than quails growing up in cold conditions. A new study from Lund University and @cyanistesnord.bsky.social

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia - Nature Screening shotgun-sequencing data from ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history uncovers the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA and zoonotic pathogens coi...

A big study of ancient human DNA confirms what researchers had previously suspected but were unable to fully confirm. Humans were affected by a large number of new diseases when our ancestors began domesticating animals.
@oskolkov.bsky.social @natcomms.nature.com

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

Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of thre...

Many species of sea turtles, seals, whales, sharks and seabirds are at risk of harm due to human activity. This is shown by a major international study in which Lund University has participated. The study was published i Science: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New preprint: Using pedigree data + genomics from 2,684 great tits in Wytham Woods, we explore spatial genetic structure and the role of dispersal, population turnover and immigration 🐦 With @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @nilomr.bsky.social @jon-slate.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Supernice editor dinner with 12 @avianbiology.bsky.social editors and 1 @oikosjournal.bsky.social editor at #EOU2025 ! Amazing food & great company, discussing research, publishing and conferencing.
@nordicoikos.bsky.social is lucky to have you on the editorial boards!

Förändrad markanvändning minskar antalet insekter och ökar risken för inavel bland svenska fjärilar. Särskilt arter med specifika krav på livsmiljö, vilket kan få allvarliga konsekvenser för deras långsiktiga överlevnad.

Läs mer om denna studie på vår webbplats: www.biologi.lu.se/artikel/fora...

Utseendet hos blommor av samma art påverkas av storskaliga mutationer. Dessa kan ha lika stor inverkan på storlek och form som den naturliga selektionen från pollinerare. Det visar en ny studie som Lunds universitet medverkat i.

Läs hela nyheten på vår webbplats: www.biologi.lu.se/artikel/muta...

Japanska vaktlar som utsätts för värmeböljor som kycklingar är bättre rustade att hantera extremvärme när de blivit vuxna än vaktlar som växer upp i kyla. Men det finns ett tak för hur värmetoleranta de små hönsfåglarna kan bli.

Läs hela nyheten på vår webbplats: www.biologi.lu.se/artikel/det-...

En omfattande studie på forntida människo-dna slår fast det forskarna tidigare anat men inte fullt ut kunna bekräfta. Människan drabbades av ett stort antal nya sjukdomar i samband med att våra förfäder började domesticera djur.
Läs hela nyheten på vår webbplats: www.biologi.lu.se/artikel/djur...