Enric Frago

A test of specific adaptation to symbiont-conferred host resistance in natural populations of a parasitoid wasp Abstract. Parasitoids are important natural enemies of insects, imposing strong selection for the evolution of resistance. In aphids, the heritable endosym

An evolutionary arms race between protective symbionts and parasitoid wasps is taking place inside aphids. But what determines the aphids’ fate? We explore how the origins of symbionts and wasps shape parasitism success:

doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...

@youn-henry.drosophila.social.ap.brid.gy et al.

4 things to know about Gaza right now amid warnings of 'mass starvation' risk Hunger and disease continue to stalk Palestinians in Gaza, and aid organizations are warning that children are at greatest risk of starvation. A U.N. worker has described people as "walking corpses."

"A third of Palestinians in Gaza are going without food for days at a time, the U.N. World Food Programme's director of emergencies said. About 100,000 women and children were suffering severe acute malnutrition in the territory."

www.npr.org/2025/07/25/n...

Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped by drone over islands in Hawaii. - NewsBreak In an urgent effort to save Hawaii’s critically endangered native birds, drones are now being used to drop thousands of lab-bred mosquitoes into the island

In an urgent effort to save Hawaii’s critically endangered native birds from avian malaria, drones are now being used to drop #Wolbachia and thousands of lab-bred mosquitoes into the island forests. What a future come true.

www.newsbreak.com/fort-worth-l...

Urbanization enhances biodiversity loss. Yet sometimes cities may *paradoxically* shelter species threatened by other components of global change

We studied if urban areas are sheltering an endangered iconic lizard 🦎 from a rapidly spreading predator 🐍 in Ibiza👇

📸G. Casbas

doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

Too poor to science: how wealth determines who succeeds in STEM

Thought-provoking read, especially in these times of questioning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
🧪

Reminder: It is next week!

#MicroSky #RNASky

Howard's: evolution of microbial genes, genomes and communities. Can be experimental or computational. If interested, contact Howard Ochman, howard.ochman@austin.utexas.edu
Homepage: web.biosci.utexas.edu/ochman/index...

"Thinking time —the time needed to concentrate without interruptions has always been central to scholarly work. It is essential to designing experiments, compiling data, assessing results, reviewing literature and, of course, writing. Yet, [it] is often undervalued."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Happy Friday everyone! I just posted what I think is an important blog post on my website. It is a critique of meta-meta-analyses: meta-analyses of meta-analyses.

Link: matthewbjane.github.io/blog-posts/b...

#stats #metascience

Drivers and impacts of global seed disperser decline Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of...

Pollinator decline has captured global attention, but another plant-animal mutualism is quietly unraveling.

Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity article synthesizes global evidence on seed disperser decline and what it means for plant biodiversity, ecosystem recovery, and climate adaptation. 🧵

Today sees the close of the REID - IMMUNINV conference (reid2025.sciencesconf.org) at @insa-lyon.fr Many members of @inrae-umr-bf2i.bsky.social were involved in organizing the congress, and some of our PhD and post-doctoral students were able to present their research work brilliantly 👏

Why did Finland's forests change from a carbon sink to a permanent source of emissions in a few years? The reason is simple: emissions from the soil increased exponentially.

But what caused this explosion? There are at least three reasons for this, which I will explain in the thread below.
1/9

Meta-synthesis reveals interconnections among apparent drivers of insect biodiversity loss Abstract. Scientific and public interest in the global status of insects has surged recently; however, understanding the relative importance of different s

🦋📉 Insect populations down 75% in <30 years

A new study maps 3,385 connections between stressors behind insect decline. Agricultural intensification tops the list – but many impacts remain overlooked.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bios...

#SciComm #Biodiversity #Insects 🧪

YouTube video by Life in academia Toxic labs: how to spot them during the interview or afterwards. #phdlife #academia #toxicworkplace

Second video in the series: how to spot toxic labs, for example during an interview

youtu.be/TVXk2hUo5qA

🌊 Calling all MSc & PhD students!
Apply now for our #Summerschool on #Host-Microbe Symbioses in Aquatic Environments
Dive into 5 days of field, lab & computational activities in the stunning Venetian Lagoon + amazing invited speakers!
www.unipd.it/en/animals-c...

🗓️ Deadline: May 20

YouTube video by Harvard Medical School The Evolution of Bacteria on a “Mega-Plate” Petri Dish (Kishony Lab)

In 2016, the Kishony Lab at Harvard Medical School put together this demonstration of acquired antibiotic resistance in E. coli bacteria, creating a mega-Petri dish (2' x 4') with a stepped gradient of antibiotic.

Seeing the mutants emerge & spread is an elegant demo of evolutionary change.

Evolution of Wolbachia male-killing mechanism within a host species Male-killing bacterial symbionts, prevalent in arthropods, skew population sex ratios by selectively killing male progeny, profoundly impacting ecolog…

@haraipapilio.bsky.social paper on evolution of Wolbachia MK mechanism through prophage acquisition in molina butterflies - avoiding suppression by the host. Now out! #symbiosky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... With @daisukekageyama.bsky.social @bolinabug.bsky.social and others

Striving for Gender Equity in Academia Insights from the iDiv Female Scientists Initiative

Our article is out. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Improving gender equity in academia depends on the workplace environment.
www.idiv.de/striving-for...
The Female Scientists initiative at iDiv is connecting women in science. We learned so much from each other and our community along the way.

Embedding information flows within ecological networks - Nature Ecology & Evolution Ecological network research has typically focused on flows of matter and energy, but species also exchange information signals and cues that influence behaviour and movement. This Perspective argues t...

New Perspective:

Ecological network research typically focuses on flows of matter and energy, but species also exchange information signals and cues that influence behaviour and movement. Here, Brose et al argue that the information network of nature is a crucial aspect of community organization.

Video footage appears to contradict Israeli account of Gaza medic killings The footage was reportedly filmed by a Palestinian paramedic who was killed by Israeli forces along with 14 others in March.

Video footage appears to contradict Israeli account of Gaza medic killings

It is with great pleasure that we announce the release of our special section in Current Opinion in Insect Science. www.sciencedirect.com/journal/curr...

Code-sharing policies are associated with increased reproducibility potential of ecological findings Sánchez-Tójar, Alfredo1  ; Bezine, Aya1 ; Purgar, Marija2, 3 ; Culina, Antica2, 4 1 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany 2 Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb,…

Now published in Peer Community Journal, #ecology section: Code-sharing policies are associated with increased reproducibility potential of ecological findings

Elevated extinction risk in over one-fifth of native North American pollinators | PNAS Pollinators are critical for food production and ecosystem function. Although native pollinators are thought to be declining, the evidence is limit...

Elevated extinction risk in over one-fifth of native North American pollinators. 1,600 spp of vertebrate & insect pollinators assessed - one in five at risk of extinction. major threats - climate, agriculture, hydrological & fire regimes, & urban development. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Novel Fungus-Cyanobacterium Symbiosis Noteworthy — Fungi are wonderfully diverse and versatile microorganisms. And it is perhaps this versatility that makes them so adept at forming symbiotic relationships with other organisms. Mycorrhiza...

schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2...
#MicroSky #FungiFriends

subscribe to the blog > tinyurl.com/422rctt2

Voltinism Shifts in Response to Climate Warming Generally Benefit Populations of Multivoltine Butterflies Insects may respond to climate warming by advancing phenology and increasing the number of generations each year (voltinism). However, one concern is that earlier phenology changes cue-response relat...

New paper with Erica Henry & @nickhaddad.bsky.social
Q: What happens when butterflies, responding to climate warming, attempt an extra generation as summers get longer?
A: Long-term monitoring shows overwinter population growth increases! 🧪🦋🐛https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70018

Our paper investigating reproducibility potential in ecological journals without a code-sharing policy is now @peercomjournal.bsky.social

📰 doi.org/10.24072/pcj...
💻 github.com/ASanchez-Toj...

We've shared our results already (bsky.app/profile/asan...), so we won't bother you again.

Instead...👇

... or, how bears impact minute collembolans feeding on fungi!

We made the cover of TREE!

🌿 The first article of our DarkDivNet consortium, led by Meelis Pärtel, has been published in Nature. Our dataset from 5500 sites in 119 world regions, collected specially for this purpose, shows that plant diversity is negatively affected not only by direct human impact such as local disturbance.