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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Come to admire the beautiful photo, stay to read the great science behind it at academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...!

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Can mothers prepare offspring for an unpredictable future? In C. elegans, adaptive maternal plasticity evolved when a maternal cue reliably predicted the offspring’s environment. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... By Henrique Teotónio and @evoecodynamics.bsky.social

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Why are juveniles often more vulnerable to infection? A new coevolutionary model shows pathogens can drive age-specific specialization in both infection and host resistance academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

Pathogens pull hardest in the coevolutionary arms race to determine innate age-specific transmission biases

From humans to plants, juvenile individuals often represent a highly susceptible pool of hosts for infectious diseases. Surprisingly, recent work has sugge

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Why do sex ratios become biased before adulthood? In ruffs, slower male development delays fledging and increases exposure to predators, shifting the sex ratio even before sexual maturity. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... @chorlnev.bsky.social Image credit: T. R. Shankar Raman

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Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New paper out with @kaylastoy.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Can mutualists evolve stronger cooperation when partners keep changing? Experimental evolution in yeast shows that stable partnerships accelerate mutualistic benefits, even when they don't produce specialists. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

Temporal partner heterogeneity constrains the evolution of mutualistic benefits

Abstract. Evolutionary theory predicts that coevolutionary specialization between mutualistic lineages is beneficial, increasing the evolution of cooperati

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Recombination helps evolution—but it can also cause mutations. New theory shows that even small increases in mutation near crossovers can oppose the evolution of higher recombination rates. By @sarperotto.bsky.social and Bret Payseur academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

Elevated mutation near crossovers inhibits the evolution of recombination

Abstract. Recombination diversifies offspring genomes and helps ensure chromosome segregation during meiosis. Mutation rates are elevated near crossovers d

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

academic.oup.com

Elevated mutation near crossovers inhibits the evolution of recombination

Abstract. Recombination diversifies offspring genomes and helps ensure chromosome segregation during meiosis. Mutation rates are elevated near crossovers d

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

How do bumblebees determine sex—and why does it matter for conservation? A new study identifies the B. terrestris sex-determination region, with major implications for managing genetic diversity. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: M. Almbauer

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Big evolutionary events can fool phylogenetic analyses. A new approach combines phylogenetic regression with eigenvectors to reduce false positives and better account for the history written in genomes. doi.org/10.1093/evle...

doi.org

Characterizing and mitigating confounding by unreplicated evolutionary events in phylogenetic regression

Abstract. When researchers want to test for a direct effect of one attribute on another using interspecific data, they need to account for the confounding

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Can benefits echo across generations? In C. elegans, starvation boosts offspring fitness but carries hidden costs for great-grand offspring, revealing evolutionary trade-offs across generations. doi.org/10.1093/evle... @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social

doi.org

Evolutionary trade-offs between intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects

Abstract. Intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects can shape evolutionary processes. Theoretically, however, intergenerational and transgene

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

doi.org

Characterizing and mitigating confounding by unreplicated evolutionary events in phylogenetic regression

Abstract. When researchers want to test for a direct effect of one attribute on another using interspecific data, they need to account for the confounding

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Reposted by Evolution Letters

Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Are city birds genetically adapting to urban life? A common garden experiment in great tits reveals hidden evolutionary changes masked by environmental effects in the wild. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image by G. Laurent, wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Do all traits age together? A long-term study of wild Seychelles warblers shows ageing is surprisingly asynchronous, with some traits senescing while others remain unchanged. doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Alexei Maklakov @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Trade-offs Between Intergenerational and Transgenerational Effects: experimental data and demographic simulation model of multigenerational trade-offs in evolution: academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

Evolutionary trade-offs between intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects

Abstract. Intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects can shape evolutionary processes. Theoretically, however, intergenerational and transgene

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Do all traits age together? A long-term study of wild Seychelles warblers shows ageing is surprisingly asynchronous, with some traits senescing while others remain unchanged. doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Why do different butterfly species evolve the same shimmering blue wings? Morpho butterflies repeatedly converge on iridescence in sympatry, suggesting predators can drive the evolution of shared warning signals. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: Wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Can species always evolve fast enough to keep up with environmental change? A resurrection experiment in morning glory shows genetic constraints can limit adaptation—even under strong selection. doi.org/10.1093/evle... @gbaucom.bsky.social @johnstinchcombe.bsky.social Image credit:Cbaile19 Wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Does early-life stress shape ageing? A field experiment in a colonial marine Bryozoan shows stressed juveniles show lower lifetime fitness—but also surprisingly weaker senescence later in life. Image by D. Janiak at Wikimedia doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

New study from my lab! Led by prior student Sasha Bishop, along w/ co-author @johnstinchcombe.bsky.social 🌸 We performed a resurrection study on morning glory and found that within 9 years, adaptive potential declined by 96%

academic.oup.com

A resurrection experiment reveals reduced adaptive potential in a common agricultural weed

Adaptive evolution is essential for populations facing rapid anthropogenic change, yet realized evolutionary responses often fall short of expectations. Us

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Comparing reproductive isolation across species has been harder than it should be. The new Reproductive Isolation Ontology (RIO) provides a common framework to standardize RI estimates across the tree of life. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

A standardised framework for classifying estimates of reproductive isolation

Abstract. Understanding reproductive isolation (RI) between lineages is a central goal of speciation research. While the strength of RI has been estimated

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

How does group size shape social evolution? New theory shows that living in smaller versus larger groups changes kinship dynamics, shifting when natural selection favors helping—or harming—others. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

academic.oup.com

Group size modulates kinship dynamics and selection on social traits

Abstract. An individual’s relatedness to its group may change with age due to demographic processes, and such kinship dynamics can shape age-linked social

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Why do habits evolve? New theory suggests forming and breaking habits can free cognitive resources for other tasks—like staying alert to predators—making behavior more flexible, not less academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

doi.org

Evolution of behavioral flexibility and the forming and breaking of habits

The forming and breaking of habits has long been a focus of study in psychology, as well as appearing in many discussions about human behavior. Surprisingl

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

academic.oup.com

A standardised framework for classifying estimates of reproductive isolation

Abstract. Understanding reproductive isolation (RI) between lineages is a central goal of speciation research. While the strength of RI has been estimated

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

academic.oup.com

Group size modulates kinship dynamics and selection on social traits

Abstract. An individual’s relatedness to its group may change with age due to demographic processes, and such kinship dynamics can shape age-linked social

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

doi.org

Evolution of behavioral flexibility and the forming and breaking of habits

The forming and breaking of habits has long been a focus of study in psychology, as well as appearing in many discussions about human behavior. Surprisingl

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Reposted by Evolution Letters

jacelyn @jacejostles.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

if you're coming to #Evol2026 in cleveland next week, bring your knitting or portable crafting and join our crafting circle! mon june 22, 1-2:30, room 26C! all welcome, eat your lunch then join us for crafting 🧶🖌️🎨

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Benjamin Freeman @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Well done Farshad on this project! I thought that if individuals can choose habitats based on their traits that it would prevent competition from forming range limits but I was wrong - it actually makes competitively-formed range limits SHARPER and Farshad can cogently explain why

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Did you know that Evolution Letters now publishes reviews?! Our inaugural one is fantastic! Deep learning is opening new doors for evolutionary genomics, especially for nonmodel organisms with sparse or uncertain genomic data. doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

How predictable is evolution? Replicated C. elegans experiments show environmental differences and population bottlenecks jointly shape the repeatability of adaptation doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit: Wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Check out our new issue - including the Editor's Choice article by @jeromeburkiewicz.bsky.social et al! They show that despite phenotypic plasticity, flower morphology of the spotted jewelweed has evolved in urban habitats to better suit bumblebees, their main pollinators doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Lynda Delph @ldelph.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Okay, I have now read through this (and will need to go through it again...and again), and it is amazingly comprehensive and insightful. Terrific stuff.

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

How do migratory birds navigate massive barriers like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau? Asian stonechats reveal migratory divides, hybridization, and evolving routes across extreme landscapes. doi.org/10.1093/evle... Image credit Wikimedia.

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Rear-edge populations may not be evolutionary dead ends after all. Campanula americana shows strong local adaptation to warming climates despite reduced genetic diversity. doi.org/10.1093/evle... @perrierecoevo.bsky.social Image credit Wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

How do generalist parasites stay adaptable across many hosts? Root-knot nematodes show balancing selection maintaining host-specific variation in key pathogenicity genes. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... Image Wikimedia

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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Charles Mullon @charlesmullon.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

New paper with the brilliant @ewanflintham.bsky.social How fast does recombination suppression evolve among sex chromosomes? We show that even weak sexual antagonism (so hard to detect) makes this fast, often via inversions fixing on X/Z depending on mating system: doi.org/10.1093/evle...

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Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

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