Orlando Schwery

So I pleased to announce the conceptual spawn of FigTree: PearTree (acronym still to be finalised). If you want to dive right in it is hosted as a web app here: artic-network.github.io/peartree (click the “Example...” button for immediate candy and then click every button you can find).

Register for Theory across Biology 2026: 12 June, Bern.
One-day meeting on mathematical & theoretical approaches in biology with chalk talks and flip-chart sessions. Ideal for theorists, modelers, and interdisciplinary biologists.
Abstracts by: 10 May 2026
Register by: 24 May 2026: buff.ly/svAZ8NF

Reposting this because I'll never pass up an opportunity to introduce people to the wonderful world of sheoaks.

To be clear, this is family of ANGIOSPERMS with feaux needles/cones most closely related to BIRCHES.

Oh, and they also fix nitrogen to boot! Then again, so do the closely-related alders.

seminar announcement with photos of speakers and talk titles

The integration of speciation seminar series is restarting, with the first session coming up on *Tuesday March 3rd @ 5pm CET*, featuring two talks by @naturalselection.bsky.social and @andreaestandia.bsky.social + career Q&A with @markravinet.bsky.social as part of the ECR in Speciation theme.

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...

Best practices for moving from correlation to causation in ecological research - Nature Communications Different scientific traditions offer seemingly disparate approaches to inferring causal relationships in ecological systems. This Perspective unifies the causal assumptions and methods from...

Excited to share our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com We synthesize causal discovery & inference approaches across traditions (regression adjustment, quasi-expts, SEMs, Granger causality, convergent cross-mapping, and more) into a unified workflow for ecologists. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I'm not really big on awards in academia but my students got together and put in a successful nomination packet to give me an outstanding mentor award from my college and it's the most meaningful and humbling recognition I've received in my career. 🥹

Positions available - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

My post-doc Charlotte King will be starting her own Minerva research group in September and is looking for PhD students. Click here if you are into experimental biomechanics, apes and hominin evolution.

www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Computational Immunology

We have an open Assistant Professor position (tenure track) @ethz.ch in Computational Immunology - ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z... Please apply / share!

adrftools: Estimating, Visualizing, and Testing Average Dose-Response Functions Facilitates estimating, visualizing, and testing average dose-response functions (ADRFs) for characterizing the causal effect of a continuous (i.e., non-discrete) treatment or exposure. Includes suppo...

I'm so excited to announce the first release of my newest #Rstats package, {adrftools}! This package facilitates estimation, visualization, and testing for the causal effect of a continuous (i.e., non-discrete) treatment.

🧵 1/10

#statssky #episky #causalinference

"Palaeontology is a science and these days you need some maths and computer skills and the more the better...[which] will be of far, far more use to you at university and beyond in a career than learning the names of dinosaur species or the exact age of a given formation."

I worked on euphorine braconids for my PhD but I haven't really touched it since, so it was nice to be included and help contribute in this updated version of the dichotomous key. Hope it will be useful to people as the old version was to me.

cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/articles/ssv...

Coming to #evol2026 this summer? The SSB Early Career Travel Funds competition is now live! Apply by February 27 for this years’ Tri-Society meeting.

More info:

www.systbio.org/early-career...

I am looking for a PhD student to join my new Socio-Eco-Evo group, hosted in Katie Peichel's Evolutionary Ecology Division @ University of Bern. We're offering a fully funded 4-year position, studying social plasticity and behavioral adaptation among stickleback in Greenland. Please share around!

Birds of World's new Phylogeny Explorer It’s been an exciting week. Five years in the making, we’re very excited to release this new, updated, dynamic phylogeny of the world’s birds. By harnessing Open Tree of Life ’s existing...

Taxonomy and phylogeny are two sides of the same coin, but that doesn't mean they are always in agreement. I wrote a blog post on why the new Phylogeny Explorer in @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social is such a big deal in that regard, and what's in store next for us.

eliotmiller.weebly.com/blog/birds-o...

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets. A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply. If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky

Please forward this REU opportunity (paid summer internship) to undergraduates interested in plant biology and related fields etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o...

New paper with @smishra677.bsky.social!

How many different trees can be generated by just one duplication event? It turns out A WHOLE LOT, if you consider the coalescent process.

1/

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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...

Becoming a part of the @systbiol.bsky.social community is one of my greatest scientific achievements. I am happy to celebrate this today with a journal cover and a nomination to the editorial team

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

As we all settle back in at home after an amazing #ssb2026 in Baton Rouge, it seems fitting to share this recent pub from @mbomaaaron.bsky.social where he writes about the utility of taxonomic education. Aaron was a @systbiol.bsky.social mentee and so it is very exciting to see this work of his out!

Very excited for this incredible lineup of talks at #SSB2026!

ssb2026.github.io/talks.html

For those giving talks, more instructions will be sent shortly.

@systbiol.bsky.social

Graduate Student Grants — American Society of Plant Taxonomists

Support from @amsocplanttaxon.bsky.social up to $1500 is available for masters and doctoral students to conduct fieldwork, herbarium studies, and/or laboratory research in any area of plant systematics. Join ASPT today, and apply by Feb 28, 2026... details below:

www.aspt.net/awards

Looking for a postdoc? Work on vertebrates and have lab experience? Come be the lab manager/museum postdoc for the LSU Museum of Natural Science!

(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)

Please RT: we are looking for a PhD student to work on macrogenetics and quantitative genetics of South African proteas. Amazing collaborative project with @plantecology.bsky.social @debbiemleigh.bsky.social & others, embedded in @terra-cluster.org. Dream project if you love molecular biodiversity!

🧪🐠 I am hiring a postdoc! Work will be on patterns of biodiversity across phylogenetic scales using teleost fishes as a model. Apply by end of Jan 2026 for full consideration apply.interfolio.com/179070 I encourage folks to reach out with any questions. Please Share!

Lead by @ptitle.bsky.social, equal contributions from @fhenaodiaz.bsky.social, @tvasconcelos.bsky.social and me. Created for the 75th anniversary of @systbiol.bsky.social "An evolving view of lineage diversification"
academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

Not sure our paper rocks as much as Katharina’s cover illustration, but we’re very delighted it was picked as ‘Editor’s Choice’ on @evolletters.bsky.social!