Evolution

Is the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection of any use? Abstract. There have been many recent discussions of the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, with an emphasis on its mathematical accuracy. It is arg

"There is still life in the old dog."

Brian Charlesworth on Fisher's Fundamental Theorem in @journal-evo.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Photograph examples of plumage maturation in manakins, a family of colorful, tropical lekking birds.

Title page for a scientific article titled: "Evolutionary history of delayed plumage maturation in manakins," including abstract and keyword information.

Phylogenetic tree of delayed plumage maturation in manakins.

Evolution of manakin plumage maturation now out early look @sse-evolution.bsky.social

(Phylo-)Devo-evo, plumage, and social signaling

Bonkers system that reshaped how I think about both development and evolution.

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Caecilians maintain a functional long-wavelength-sensitive cone opsin gene despite signatures of relaxed selection and more than 200 million years of fossoriality The colonization of low-light environments exerts selective pressure to enhance non-visual senses while relaxing selection on vision, often leading to opsi

🚨NEW PAPER 🚨 #Caecilians maintain a functional long-wavelength-sensitive cone opsin gene despite signatures of relaxed selection and more than 200 million years of fossoriality, published in Evolution @sse-evolution.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Excited that my 2nd MSc paper is out in @journal-evo.bsky.social 🦋🎉 doi.org/10.1093/evol...
We find Heliconius’ impressive visual memory is not due to increased visual-structure investment over that of their outgroup relatives, but instead consistent with specialisation of the central circuitry.

On the repeated evolution of parthenogenesis in stick insects Abstract. Female-producing parthenogenesis is widespread in stick insects. It ranges from rare in sexual species to facultative or obligate, the latter som

Are stick insects unique in their ability to transition to parthenogenesis?

Our new review in @journal-evo.bsky.social covers intraspecific and hybrid origins, cytological mechanisms, and co-occurence of female-only and sexual populations, with comparisons to other taxa.

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Digest: Craniofacial morphology diversification in Malagasy primates and the role of size constraints in adaptive radiation Abstract. How did size-related evolutionary constraints shape the diversification of craniofacial morphology during the adaptive radiation of Malagasy lemu

Check out this new digest paper published in @journal-evo.bsky.social presenting how Malagasy #lemurs cranial shape evolution is influenced by their body size.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Allometry, sexual dimorphism, and sexual trait elaboration in the birds of paradise Abstract. Sexually selected traits include not only some of the most elaborate phenotypes in nature, but also some of the most diverse and sexually dimorph

As an early Christmas gift, @journal-evo.bsky.social accepted @kenstoyama.bsky.social and my paper on macroevolutionary patterns of ornament evolution in birds of paradise! 🦚

Check it out here:
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

I am honored to be reviewed by a great scientist and friend, @cavenderg9.bsky.social, in @sse-evolution.bsky.social @journal-evo.bsky.social. I enjoyed this excellent review, which asks what the syngameon concept gives us, and I think differently since reading it.

academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

December cover of Evolution.

Don't miss the December issue of Evolution, now online!
academic.oup.com/evolut/issue...

Don't ask “when is it coevolution?”—ask “how?” Abstract. Coevolution has come to be widely understood as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense

It's in print! My opinionated dive into the definition of "coevolution" is officially out in the December issue of @journal-evo.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Image of Cephalotes varians workers and a soldier nestled in their twig nest. Image via https://stevenwang.smugmug.com/Ants/List-of-Genera/Cephalotes/i-CjXZ3b9

Thrilled to share that @corriemoreau.bsky.social and I have a new paper out in Evolution, digging into the varied ways that extreme worker plasticity impacts genome evolution in turtle ants!

Paper 📃: doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Image 📸: Steven Wang, tinyurl.com/2rbjbyjh

The evolution of plasticity and evolvability in a simple gene regulatory network How do organisms adapt to changing environments? Do they respond plastically or evolve through genetic alterations? We present a large-scale simulation stu

#paper How do organisms adapt to changing environments? Through plasticity, evolution, or a combination of both?
Find out in our new paper by Alger Jorritsma, where we show which strategies evolve under different environmental conditions. @journal-evo.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Tetrapod vocal evolution reveals faster rates and higher-pitched sounds for mammals Abstract. Using the voice to produce sound is a widespread form of communication and plays an important role across diverse species and contexts. Variation

Now out in Evolution @journal-evo.bsky.social

Tetrapod vocal evolution reveals faster rates and higher-pitched sounds for mammals 🐘🦉🐸.

Mammalian hearing likely allowed the rapid diversification of their vocalizations.

Open access here:
doi.org/10.1093/evol...

#bioacoustics #animalcommunication

Digest: Subcellular reallocation and the evolution of anisogamy in nematodes Abstract. Why has sperm gigantism evolved, and how do subcellular allocations scale with size? Schalkowski & Cutter (2025) addressed these questions wi

Check out this nice Digest in @journal-evo.bsky.social by Pedram Samani about our EM study of sperm cell gigantism! digest = doi.org/10.1093/evol... original study = doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Sorting of ancestral polymorphism and its impact on morphological phylogenetics and macroevolution Abstract. Intraspecific phenotypic variation provides the basic substrate upon which the evolutionary processes that give rise to morphological innovation,

Don't miss the November Editor's Choice article: "Sorting of ancestral polymorphism and its impact on morphological phylogenetics and macroevolution" by Tomomi Parins-Fukuchi @tomopfuku.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

#SPEetologia

An analysis of songs from 1000+ passerine species shows that peak amplitude usually occurs near the middle of a species’ frequency range. Species with unusually high song frequencies evolved traits that help offset size-based vocal constraints.

The evolution of extreme sound frequencies in bird songs Abstract. Bird songs differ widely among species and can show peculiar phenotypes, such as extreme or unusual sound frequencies for a species’ body size. A

doi.org/10.1093/evol...
#SPEetologia

#BirdSong #Passerines #Bioacoustics #Evolution #VocalConstraints #AvianBiology #SoundEcology #AnimalCommunication #MorphologicalAdaptation #Ornithology

🚨 New study by #SPEmembers 🚨
#AnimalBehaviour #Ethology #Bioacoustic

"The evolution of extreme sound frequencies in bird songs"
Cardoso et al. with SPE members Gonçalo Cardoso @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social , and Pedro Santos @pedrobsky98.bsky.social @ Evolution @sse-evolution.bsky.social

Look at that adorable deer mouse with the Rocky Mountains in the background. Nice job @jpvelotta.bsky.social and team on nabbing the image! #fieldwins

Text: Society for the Study of Evolution SSE Presidents' Award for Outstanding Dissertation Paper, Deadline January 30. Recent covers of Evolution Letters and Evolution.

Did you publish part of your PhD work in @journal-evo.bsky.social or @evolletters.bsky.social this year? Submit your paper for the SSE Presidents’ Award! Up to two recipients will each present an award talk during the virtual portion of #Evol2026 in May. Deadline: January 30. shorturl.at/CnVo6

Sorting of ancestral polymorphism and its impact on morphological phylogenetics and macroevolution Abstract. Intraspecific phenotypic variation provides the basic substrate upon which the evolutionary processes that give rise to morphological innovation,

Don't miss this issue's Editor's Choice article: "Sorting of ancestral polymorphism and its impact on morphological phylogenetics and macroevolution" by Tomomi Parins-Fukuchi
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Evolution November 2025 cover.

Read the latest issue of Evolution: academic.oup.com/evolut/issue...

Rate–time scaling in phenotypic evolution: Limitations of current models in capturing temporal dynamics Abstract. Evolutionary rates correlate negatively with time, which makes it complicated to compare rates across lineages that have diversified on different

Article out in @journal-evo.bsky.social with @klvoje.bsky.social:

academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Coevolutionary cycling in allele frequencies and the evolution of virulence Abstract. Coevolutionary cycling in allele frequencies due to negative frequency-dependent selection—sometimes referred to as Red Queen Dynamics—is a key p

Super proud of Daniel Kim, whose paper on coevolutionary cycling and the evolution of virulence has just been published in @journal-evo.bsky.social. Daniel was in high school when he did this research and has just started his undergraduate degree @kebleoxford.bsky.social.

doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Did you publish part of your PhD work in Evolution or Evolution Letters this year? You may be eligible for this award! Papers must have been included in a 2025 issue to be eligible. Apply by January 30: shorturl.at/CnVo6

@journal-evo.bsky.social @evolletters.bsky.social

I cannot believe our work is finally out there and in @journal-evo.bsky.social ! This was an enormous group effort!

We provide an updated estimate of the number of buzz pollinated angiosperm species, genera, and families, look at consequences for diversification, number of transitions, and more!

How many plant species are buzz pollinated? After more than six years in the making, our paper on the convergent evolution of buzz pollinated flowers is out in @journal-evo.bsky.social. Thanks @draverbee.bsky.social @roszenil.bsky.social and all co-authors for your hard work! doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Cryptic female choice can maintain reproductive isolation Abstract. Sexual selection has long been considered an important mechanism of speciation. Despite growing empirical evidence that postmating sexual selecti

My latest paper, Cryptic female choice can maintain reproductive isolation, with @servedio.bsky.social and Suzanne Alonzo is now out in the October issue of @journal-evo.bsky.social ! (1/3)
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

A multi-line graph with each line tracing the minor allele frequency for a locus in the white clover genome (y-axis) varying with distance from the Toronto city center (x-axis), with many light gray lines that don't indicate significant urban-rural allele frequency change, and highlighted green lines or blue lines that have steep slopes indicating local adaptation against gene flow

Very cool population genomic look into local adaptation against gene flow at a relatively small spatial scale, urban/rural gradients across metro Toronto, in this month's @journal-evo.bsky.social

Signatures of selective sweeps in urban and rural white clover populations

buff.ly/IfNhLx7

Cover for paper 'How resource acquisition influences the detection of trade-offs' (https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpaf139)

📜 Why are trade-offs often so elusive? Does the distribution of resources in a population affect if life history trade-offs emerge? We tested this experimentally in the Australian field cricket using a re-sampling approach. Now out #OpenAccess in @journal-evo.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1093/evol...