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Devon DeRaad

@devonderaad.bsky.social

218 followers 234 following 16 posts

La Kretz Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. Incoming curator of ornithology at AMNH. Evolutionary genomics (usually) of birds! devonderaad.github.io

Posts Replies Media

Devon DeRaad @devonderaad.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

This December (2026) I'll be starting my own research lab as a curator of ornithology at @amnh.org. We will seek to understand global avian biodiversity using evolutionary and conservation genetics, with the backing of the incredible AMNH ornithology collection. devonderaad.github.io

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Devon DeRaad @devonderaad.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Ultimately, the best demographic model was a polytomy, yet a model of rapid divergence with gene flow provided a nearly identical fit to the empirical data. Even though we think true "hard polytomies" are rare in nature, rapid divergence with gene flow is becoming recognized as relatively common.

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Devon DeRaad @devonderaad.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

The main conclusion is in the title "Rapid divergence with gene flow creates intractable nodes in the tree of life". One favorite result was that random downsampling of the tips resulted in conflicting species trees, at times with high support! Concerning implications for higher-level phylogenetics!

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Devon DeRaad @devonderaad.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

My 2nd dissertation chapter, entitled "Rapid divergence with gene flow creates intractable nodes in the tree of life: An empirical demonstration in the Buzzing Flowerpecker" will be in the forthcoming special issue of EJLS focused on phylogenomic discordance. Link: academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

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