Rachel Warnock

A covarion model for phylogenetic estimation using discrete morphological datasets Abstract. The rate of evolution of a single morphological character is not homogeneous across the phylogeny and this rate heterogeneity varies between morp

Our new paper 'A covarion model for phylogenetic estimation using discrete morphological datasets,' is out in SysBio!
We introduce the "covariomorph" model in RevBayes to capture character and lineage specific rates of morphological traits.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/sysb...

I invite you to check our paper entitled “Rebuilding Ukraine’s capacity for fundamental research in evolutionary biology” doi.org/10.1038/s415... in @natecoevo.nature.com about the Ukrainian School in Evolutionary Biology #USEB we organized in 2025.
#biology #evolution #school #science #Ukraine

✨ Calling all PalAss members & future members! ✨

👉 Explore all opportunities here: palass.org/awards-grant...

Not a PalAss member yet? You’re very welcome to join us!
🔗 palass.org/membership

Please share with colleagues and students who might benefit 💬✨

#PalAss #grant #palaeontology #join

New paper on @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social: Are interphylum spiralian relationships resolvable? doi.org/10.64898/202...

@maxjtelford.bsky.social and I tried answering this question with two independent phylogenomic datasets.

(1/7) 🧪

The timing and nature of marine ecosystem recovery following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction - npj Biodiversity npj Biodiversity - The timing and nature of marine ecosystem recovery following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction

Exciting news! Our invited perspectives in npj Biodiversity looks at how marine life bounced back after the worst mass extinction ever, the Permian‑Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) ~252M years ago. Big questions: fast or slow? recovery or restructure?

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Society for the Study of Evolution Site description

Applications due Monday for the T. H. Huxley Award, which recognizes high-quality evolution education resources! The recipient will have the opportunity to attend and present their work at the NABT meeting in October or #Evol2026 in June. Apply today! bit.ly/2kP2pPM

Vacancies for professorships Find out more about the vacant professorships at FAU here: dates, contact persons, and addresses can be found in the job advertisements.

A professorship in Exogene Geodynamics opend up at our institute! Hoping to find a nice new colleague 😊 www.fau.eu/research/res...

Revealing the hidden patterns of shark and ray diversity over the past 145 million years Gardiner et al. reconstruct the diversity of sharks and rays across the past 145 million years using deep learning and an extensive dataset. Their results unveil previously hidden patterns, including ...

Our new paper is online! We found that 1) today's shark & ray diversity was already reached ~100Ma; 2) that the K/Pg extinction was not catastrophic; 3) that the max diversity was reached ~50Ma; and 4) that today's diversity is depleted compared to the past.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

Would love to see your syllabus! And/or share material!

Workshop on Molecular Evolution | Marine Biological Laboratory The workshop serves graduate students, postdocs, and established faculty from around the world seeking to apply the principles of molecular evolution to questions of anthropology, conservation genetic...

Applications are now open for the 2026 Workshop on Molecular Evolution (MOLE)!

www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

Claudia Solis-Lemus and I will be holding an informational session on Zoom next Wed (1/21) from 10:30-11:30 AM Central for those interested:

lsu.zoom.us/j/4968115684

Deadline to apply: 1/26

Hiring a new professor in my department who specializes in Earth surface topics (e.g. climate, sediments, soils, oceans, etc). Non-germans welcome to apply-- the postdoctoral qualifications (e.g. habilitation) are just for German applicants.

Book cover for Reproducible Code guide. The cover has a red background with a large yellow-bodied black-headed stag beetle.

Excited to launch the new improved Reproducible Code guide from @britishecologicalsociety.org @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social FREE online here! www.britishecologicalsociety.org//wp-content/... Amazing work by some very talented ECRs. We hope it’s useful!

There are a couple of weeks left to apply! I just heard that we can also accept PhD students with a suitable background, so extending the call to those as well. #biomech_sky

New paper alert! 🚨 🐌

We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg.

doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...

Does anyone know any current or former recipients of an SNF mobility grant based in Germany? I'd be grateful for any leads!

The deadline to apply to the Access, Inclusion, and Community (AIC) Committee has been extended to December 15!

☹️

Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections - Nature Communications Natural history collections hold over two billion specimens representing Earth’s biodiversity, but their scientific value depends on continued specimen collection and digitisation. This study demonstr...

In an era marked by rapid climate change and biodiversity loss, it is imperative that we continue to invest in the unique value of natural history collections data

"Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections" 🧪

Postdoctoral researcher for DFG-funded project “FossilGaitSim” The Biomechanical Motion Analysis and Creation (BioMAC) group at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) invites applications for a postdoctoral position with the goal to…

My research group has an open position for a postdoc! Interested in investigating the postural transition towards mammalian gait using movement simulations? We might have the right position for you! More details and application info here: www.asm.tf.fau.de/en/2025/11/1...

My manifesto for outreach officer at the PalAss

I am running for the outreach officer position for the @thepalass.bsky.social this year (manifesto in image).

If you are a member, please check your mail and consider voting in the AGM. Several important roles are up for election with great candidates looking to work for our community.

PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.

I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/

Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.

New paper by Amy Shipley and Lydia Woods DeepBio@Leeds PGRs Amy Shipley and Lydia have published a review on the sixth mass extinction, as part of a working group on Cenozoic extinctions led out of the Anthropocene Biodiversity Centre at …

PGRs Amy Shipley (@sauropodlets.bsky.social) & Lydia Woods recently published a review in @globalchangebio.bsky.social showing that while today’s extinction rates aren't yet at "Big Five" mass extinction levels, they’re likely the highest seen in the last 66myrs.

amdunhill.co.uk/2025/11/17/n...

ACCE+ DLA Programme: Morphological Trait Evolution in Isolated Populations of Large Mammals and its Implications for Rewilding in the UK at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - ACCE+ DLA Programme: Morphological Trait Evolution in Isolated Populations of Large Mammals and its Implications for Rewilding in the UK at University of Liverpool, listed on FindAPhD.co...

Anyone interested in applying for PhDs at #2025SVP, email or find me or @tguillerme.bsky.social for a chat if you’re interested in morphological trait evolution with a conservation theme:
🔗 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Flow diagram illustrating the workflow for the ppgm R package. It starts with an extant envelope, fossil data is added, the evolution of climate niche is modelled, and finally climate niche & palaeoclimate are matched to show potential range.

ppgm: an R package for integrating neontological, palaeontological & climate data in a phylogenetic comparative framework onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #SVP2025 @alexh-palaeo.bsky.social @datadryad.bsky.social @tamueccb.bsky.social

Want to do a PhD linking palaeontology, ecological modelling and polar ecosystems? Look no further than this NERC GW4+ DLTP funded project with @rowanwhittlebas.bsky.social at @bas.ac.uk & @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and others (inc me).

www.bristol.ac.uk/media-librar...

Reminder that my lab is seeking graduate students for fall 2026. As part of @oupaleobiology.bsky.social, my lab uses a combination of fossils, statistical phylogenetics, fieldwork, & computational approaches to investigate macroevolutionary dynamics in the marine biosphere. Link w/ more info below:

PhD position available in evolutionary genomics/bioinformatics (hoehnalab.github.io/job_adverts/...). Topic: analyzing gene expression evolution across several firefly species and linking expression changes to genomic architecture. The position is jointly supervised with @anaevolcatalan.bsky.social

PhD Topics - Entry September 2026 — The Foster Lab This year we are involved in 3 fully funded PhD projects via IGNITE our NERC DLA. The deadline is Thursday Jan 8th 2026 .  1.      Is the world already 1.5 C warmer?...

Fully funded PhD projects available in my group (Please share with interested parties, details here: www.thefosterlab.org/blog/2025/11...):

Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪

Three more summaries added below!

We'll return when more articles come live.

Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!

🔎 How can we measure and compare morphological diversity through time and across groups?
New Edition of the course: Introduction to the Analysis of Morphological Disparity

📅 January 6th–15th, 2026 (ONLINE)