Szymek Drobniak

A mosaic of modular variation at a single gene underpins convergent plumage coloration The reshuffling of genomic variation from multiple origins is an important contributor to phenotypic diversification, yet insights into the evolutionary trajectories of this combinatorial process and ...

Wow! A paper on Wheatear plumage evolution in @science.org - unforeseen collision of interests here

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Upcoming events Upcoming conference by Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology (SORTEE)

#sortee2025 conference is on! Excited to see all amazing talks :) sortee.org/upcoming/

As always with priceless support from @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social @ioes-ju.bsky.social @unsw.edu.au , with amazing @itchyshin.bsky.social and other non-bsky-ers ;)

data structure (make sure your categorical data is sufficiently balanced and all categories are represented at the key intersection of predictors’ values); data complexity: collapse/merge levels if it’s reasonable to increase parameters identifiability.

unordered ordinal. Categorical data pose many challenges but they are as tractable with comparative methods as more well-behaved Gaussian models. The most important issues to keep in mind are: data availability (attempting to fit multinomial models with small datasets may lead to spurious results);

Promoting the use of phylogenetic multinomial generalised mixed-effects model to understand the evolution of discrete traits Abstract. Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) are fundamental tools for understanding trait evolution across species. While linear models are widely us

Continuing our series on difficult comparative models - and how to address them properly - we’re happy to showcase another study, this time in @jevbio.bsky.social academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-... We will guide you through a series of increasingly complex models, from binary, through ordered to

2025 #NobelPrize in physics for macroscopic quantum tunnelling phenomena in electric circuits :) suiting for the year of the centennial anniversary of quantum physics!

Follow us (incl @itchyshin.bsky.social and other co-authors not yet on Bsky ;)) for more useful methodological tips applicable to synthetic data. With support of @unsw.edu.au @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social @ioes-ju.bsky.social @ncn.gov.pl @ualberta.bsky.social )

of heteroscedastic variance to meta-analytical heterogeneity can uncover hidden patterns in variability, including systematic trends in between-study variation. Stay tuned for our future papers where we will keep convincing y’all to adopting location-scale modelling as your default approach to data.

Location‐Scale Meta‐Analysis and Meta‐Regression as a Tool to Capture Large‐Scale Changes in Biological and Methodological Heterogeneity: A Spotlight on Heteroscedasticity Meta-analyses are widely used to understand how species and ecosystems respond to global change, but most assume that variability among studies is constant. This assumption can hide important biologi....

Our recent paper looks at location-scale interfaces in comparative data. But predicting variance in variance extends much further - if you still have not have a look here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... (another recent paper in @globalchangebio.bsky.social). We show how extending the idea

Figure 5. Time series showing cumulative number of cases averted at each time caused by the intervention calculated using our method (single-world) and a standard method. Shaded regions denote 90% confidence intervals. Note that there is more variation in the middle of the epidemic, so it may seem as though the number of cases averted is large during those times. (Online version in colour.)

Are we doing simulations wrong? This paper convinced me we are. doi.org/10.1098/rstb... Usually we run 2 sets of "worlds" w and w-out intervention. Gives large uncertainties that include negative (harm) effects of interventions that are actually always positive (beneficial)!

I’m sad to hear the news that the wonderful Jane Goodall is no longer in the world. Her work with chimpanzees at Gombe in Tanzania taught us to look at other apes - and ourselves - differently. I was privileged to meet her later in life and tell her what an inspiration she was to me.

As always with invaluable support from @unsw.edu.au @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social @ioes-ju.bsky.social @ncn.gov.pl

The models are notably more complex but fittable with modern Bayesian GLMM routines. Think of them as looking at mean and scale (usually variance) evolution along the tree, here in an example of two concurrent Brownian Motion dynamics driving diversification of both variance and means.

By extending the comparative model we can assay the evolutionary signal in evolvability itself and test a number of biologically interesting trait configurations (codivergence, contra-divergence, ceiling effects, phenotypic integrations and more!)

Our newest paper is out in Methods in Ecol Evol @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social :) amazing team effort - we show that the traditional way of analyzing comparative data lacks finesse. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/oidcS... w/ @itchyshin.bsky.social Yefeng Yang, Losia Lagisz & Ayumi Mizuno

#maltese geometry

Unfolding the folded streets of La Valletta #Malta #holidays #relaxatlast

I’ve recently had my Swarovski cleaned, adjusted and resleeved free of charge. I request the front lens covers almost yearly (their rubber attachments break easily) - wondering when they’ll lose patience…

I am just back from a wonderful few days in Sweden where I visited the incredible Lars Jonsson exhibition in Stockholm, and then his museum on Gotland. Absolutely mind blowing, the selection and range of work was just unbelievable!

The impact of weather conditions on avian breeding performance: insights from a long-term study - Frontiers in Zoology Understanding how weather conditions during early development influence reproductive success is essential for predicting avian responses to climate change. We used a 40-year dataset from a nest-box po...

Our recent paper now live in Frontiers in Zoology @springernature.com - we show how climatic trends affect reproductive success of flycatchers in the Gotland population (nearing 50 yrs of continued monitoring ;)) link.springer.com/article/10.1... @ioes-ju.bsky.social @jagiellonskiuni.bsky.social

It's been a busy summer for our scientists. Several of them attended the #ESEB2025 conference in Barcelona.

With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

EvoKE2025 Athens 6th-8th November Steve Swayne – File:O Partenon de Atenas.jpg, originally posted to Flickr as The Parthenon Athens It is our great pleasure to announce that the EvoKE2025 meeting will take place in Athens, Gr…

like to contribute to a potential art&sci symposium at some next meeting (eseb or other) - let me know, I’m always happy to chat with art-inclined folk. Also don’t miss EvoKE conference in Athens! evokeproject.org/evoke2025-at... and join @evokeproject.bsky.social if outreach is ur thing;)

I keep saying scientists are amazing artists and again this tuned out to be true :) the art corner at @eseb2025.bsky.social organised by @evokeproject.bsky.social went great, I’m thrilled to see all your amazing pieces! If you’re interested in discussing art&sci in science communication or would

@eseb2025.bsky.social art corner goes well, it will be available throughout the conference. Join us, draw your science :) @evokeproject.bsky.social I get asked - what if I can’t draw? That’s even better! Trust me - your art will be more honest, and awesome. And we want to see it:)

At @eseb2025.bsky.social please go and visit the art corner organised by @evokeproject.bsky.social (6th Eseb art&sci corner!:)) It’s in the far back-right of the poster area. You don’t have to be an artist! No prior art knowledge required ;) just go there & draw/paint whatever portrays your science!

The art corner has been present at Eseb congresses since the 2015 Lausanne meeting, always receiving positive and lively feedback from all of you:) below some artworks from the Prague 2022 meeting. @eseb.bsky.social As always done with the amazing @evokeproject.bsky.social

At @eseb2025.bsky.social - as during previous eseb conferences, we will try to express our artistic selves. The art&science corner available to all and ready to take your artistic visions of science will be live starting from Tuesday morning. More details soon, here and in the conference app.