Sign in

Jordan S. Martin

@jsmartin.bsky.social
856 followers 204 following 35 posts

Evolutionary biologist, behavioral ecologist, data scientist. Interested in how plasticity and sociality shape adaptation to changing environments. Socio-Eco-Evo group leader @ University of Bern

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Devi Satarkar @devisatarkar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We use the covariance reaction norm method (by @jsmartin.bsky.social) on 40 years of great tit data from Wytham Woods. The natal-to-adult body mass correlation in this population is high on average (r ≈ 0.7) but appears to vary with temperature, rainfall, and density, particularly during breeding
(A,B) Illustrative plots of strong versus weak among-individual correlation between nestling mass and adult mass; each point represents an individual and the grey line is a linear fit shown for visual reference. (C) A schematic correlation reaction norm translating these two scenarios (A,B) onto a correlation-versus-environment axis; the y-axis
tracks how consistently natal body mass predicts adult mass. Curve shape is illustrative, and does not represent real data.Among-individual correlations between nestling mass and adult body mass of great tits from Wytham Woods, UK as functions of (A) adult population density (number of pairs of great tits and blue tits in the breeding year), (B) natal population density (number of pairs of great and blue tits in the hatch year), (C) adult temperature (average daily temperature in ºC during breeding), (D) natal temperature (average daily temperature in ºC during development i.e. 0–15 days post hatching), (E) adult rainfall (average daily rainfall in mm during breeding), (F) natal rainfall (average daily rainfall in mm during development i.e. 0–15 days post hatching); Lines show the posterior median effect sizes; shaded bands show 25–75%, 10–90%, and 5–95% credible intervals. Insets show the posterior distribution of the corresponding slope (point = posterior median; thick bar = 50% CI; thin bar = 90% CI; dashed line = zero).
221
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
🚨FULLY FUNDED PHD POSITION!🚨 If you are interested in trying to answer the question of "How did climate shape the movements, interactions, and evolution of hominin populations?" Come join my lab at @humanorigins.bsky.social 🧬🧪 deadline 7th of June ⬇️ uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...
15757
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Our paper on generalized dynamic phylogenetic models is finally out in MEE 🥳 The brainchild of @err-ring.bsky.social, GDPMs open up a vast new space for comparative studies on complex, coevolving traits, greatly aided by @scottclaessens.bsky.social's work on the accompanying R package. Check it out!
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Trait coevolution and causal inference using generalized dynamic phylogenetic models
Phylogenetic comparative methods are widely used to study trait coevolution across biological and cultural domains. The most common methods are phylogenetic generalized linear (mixed) models, phyl...
03212
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅 In his paper, @jsmartin.bsky.social proposes a statistical model for detecting how complex, continuously varying environments shape the expression of and association among multiple organismal traits 🌍 Read more here 👇
buff.ly
0144
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Ben Sheldon @sheldonbirds.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Enjoyed collaborating with @lbliard.bsky.social et al on new paper using Wytham long term great tit data, particularly deploying @jsmartin.bsky.social's powerful Covariance Reaction Norm approach to investigate how stable trade-offs are across environmental gradients academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Ecological harshness has a weak influence on reproductive trade-offs in a great tit population
Abstract. Lack’s seminal work on bird clutch sizes has spurred expansive research on reproductive trade-offs, especially focusing on offspring quantity–qua
0151
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Edward Grey Institute @egioxford.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
New research just out in J Evol Biol: led by @lbliard.bsky.social with @jsmartin.bsky.social @dzchilds.bsky.social @paniw.bsky.social & Arpat Ozgul using the very cool Covariance Reaction Norm approach to test environmental dependence of trade-offs in great tits academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
Figure showing how the correlation between mass and recruitment in Wytham Great Tits depends on environmental conditions - in particular note switch from almost none to very strong with increasing population density
0107
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Louis Bliard @lbliard.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
New paper out in @jevbio.bsky.social Using 58 years of data, we look at the effect of environmental variation on reproductive trade-offs in great tits. With @jsmartin.bsky.social, @dzchilds.bsky.social, Ella Cole, @sheldonbirds.bsky.social, @paniw.bsky.social & Arpat Ozgul doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
doi.org
Ecological harshness has a weak influence on reproductive trade-offs in a great tit population
Abstract. Lack’s seminal work on bird clutch sizes has spurred expansive research on reproductive trade-offs, especially focusing on offspring quantity–qua
04521
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Duncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
📢 New Paper 🚨 Hadza food-sharing is egalitarian, yet offers in giving games have never matched the equitable redistribution seen in real life. In this study, we allowed people to give *or* take. Lifelike equitable distributions only appeared when people took from peers in surplus. bit.ly/4kvLOwA
academic.oup.com
The “I” in egalitarianism: Hadza hunter-gatherers averse to inequality primarily when personally unfavorable
Abstract. Many economists contend that humans have strong, universal, other-regarding equality preferences with deep evolutionary roots. Indeed, many hunte
19537
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I hope to see some of you in Bielefeld for this upcoming workshop on measuring and modeling plasticity. ECRs in and around Germany with a penchant for statistics should consider applying while spots remain available!
01516
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I am looking for a PhD student to join my new Socio-Eco-Evo group, hosted in Katie Peichel's Evolutionary Ecology Division @ University of Bern. We're offering a fully funded 4-year position, studying social plasticity and behavioral adaptation among stickleback in Greenland. Please share around!
17895
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Tom Ratz @tomratz.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
New paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Biology Letters. We show that variability in contest behaviour can emerge from plastic responses to modest size differences between focal males and their rivals. #Drosophila #Diptera royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Social plasticity and individuality shape variation in contest behaviour
Abstract. Physical contests are critical in most animals in determining access to limited resources such as territories, food and sexual partners. Individu
0206
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
New paper out now in Ecology & Evolution: "Estimating (non)linear selection on reaction norms: A general framework for labile traits" Work done in collaboration with Yimen Araya-Ajoy, Niels Dingemanse, @ali--wilson.bsky.social, and David Westneat. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Estimating (Non)Linear Selection on Reaction Norms: A General Framework for Labile Traits
It remains difficult to empirically estimate nonlinear selection on individual reaction norms, inhibiting robust tests of adaptive theory and accurate predictions of phenotypic evolution for labile t...
0106
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Jocelyn Poissant @jocelynpoissant.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Myself and Alastair Wilson wrote an updated version of our 2016 primer to quantitative genetics in the wild: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... Happy to share a copy if interested. It is also on research gate
sciencedirect.com
Quantitative Genetics in Natural Populations
Phenotypes evolve under natural selection if, and only if, they are genetically variable. While evolutionary ecologists have long studied natural sele…
36937
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
New paper out now in Evolution, co-led with Dave Westneat! Using long-term data on house sparrows, we find that quantity-quality tradeoffs near a local fitness ridge favor more or less canalized clutch size distributions in response to environmental variability. academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
academic.oup.com
Measuring selection on reaction norms: Lack’s principle and plasticity in clutch size
We applied a novel multivariate analysis to measure linear and nonlinear selection on components of a complex reaction norm that was expected to be shaped
13718
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Erik Postma @erikpostma.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
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!
112176
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
A landmark paper for the evolutionary biology of behavior. Fascinating work on how manipulating cell type-specific gene expression can rewire the brain to produce a key mating behavior observed in a sister species that diverged ~35 mya. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Cross-species implementation of an innate courtship behavior by manipulation of the sex-determinant gene
In accepting a courting male, Drosophila subobscura females require nuptial gift giving in which a male gives regurgitated crop contents to her mouth to mouth. No similar behavior is found in D. melan...
051
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
My first solo author paper is now available in early view at Methods in Ecology and Evolution! I develop a covariance reaction norm (CRN) model for estimating continuous, multivariate, and nonlinear environmental effects on G and P matrices. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Covariance reaction norms: A flexible method for estimating complex environmental effects on trait (co)variances
Estimating quantitative genetic and phenotypic (co)variances is crucial for investigating evolutionary ecological phenomena such as developmental integration, life history trade-offs and niche spe...
13315
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Hot on the tail of our Tsimane IGE study comes the theory paper that motivated it! What are the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of social plasticity in dynamic environments? See our new Functional Ecology paper to find out more besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Frequency dependence favours social plasticity and facilitates socio‐eco‐evolutionary feedback in fluctuating environments
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
1135
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Hot on the tail of our Tsimane IGE study comes the theory paper that motivated it! What are the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of social plasticity in dynamic environments? See our new Functional Ecology paper to find out more besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Frequency dependence favours social plasticity and facilitates socio‐eco‐evolutionary feedback in fluctuating environments
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
1135
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
I'm very excited to share the central paper from my PhD out now in Science Advances. We investigated how social effects among neighbors shape the evolution of reproductive cooperation and the pace of adaptive population growth among the Indigenous Tsimane of Bolivia. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Indirect genetic effects among neighbors promote cooperation and accelerate adaptation in a small-scale human society
Social effects on fertility promote population growth and the evolution of flexible cooperation in a small-scale human society.
13116
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
I'm very excited to share the central paper from my PhD out now in Science Advances. We investigated how social effects among neighbors shape the evolution of reproductive cooperation and the pace of adaptive population growth among the Indigenous Tsimane of Bolivia. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Indirect genetic effects among neighbors promote cooperation and accelerate adaptation in a small-scale human society
Social effects on fertility promote population growth and the evolution of flexible cooperation in a small-scale human society.
13116
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
@barbaraclass.bsky.social et al. assess how well different statistical models estimate indirect genetic effects and assortative mating when partner similarity is caused by multiple co-occurring processes @jsmartin.bsky.social @mmoiron.bsky.social academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Disentangling nonrandom assortment, indirect effects, and joint plasticity as causes of phenotypic (dis)similarity between social partners
Abstract. Social partners frequently resemble each other. These correlations between the phenotypes of interacting individuals (e.g., social partners, grou
056
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Nothing quite lifts your spirits like having R2 thank you for giving them the chance to read "an insightful piece of work" that they "really liked". Thanks to you, anonymous colleague, for a little sunshine on this overcast day 🌻
030
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar @asanchez-tojar.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Four years ago we showed that only 27% of articles published in ecological journals WITH a code-sharing policy made their code available, leading to a 21% reproducibility potential. 📰 doi.org/10.1371/jour... We've looked into journals WITHOUT a code-sharing policy. Results coming soon...
13410
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
One of the most fascinating papers of the year... "...infanticide occurred in multiple contexts due to multiple drivers. Nevertheless, 48% of stepparents of both sexes adopted offspring, and another 23% of stepfathers exhibited both infanticide and long-term care." www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Eviction-driven infanticide and sexually selected adoption and infanticide in a neotropical parrot | PNAS
Infanticide and adoption have been attributed to sexual selection, where an individual later reproduces with the parent whose offspring it killed o...
141
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Jessie E.C. Adriaense @drjessieadriaense.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
To get this new social media account going, I'm sharing a little celebration: our 2019 animal empathy review got its 100th citation today 🥳. This work represents the bulk of my research: investigating empirical evidence of "human uniqueness" in animals, with a firm grip on its theoretical foundation
172
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
We had heard about the challenges posed by motherhood within academia, but what about the previous stage? @ecfreewoman.bsky.social & I wrote our story for @science.org on how the academic system makes it almost impossible for women to even plan for a family ❤️‍🩹: www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
As women in academia, having children can feel impossible. Talking about it makes us feel less alone
The struggle is “balancing their careers not just with motherhood, but with what comes before: relationships and planning for a family,” these postdocs write
721890
Reposted by Jordan S. Martin
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 26/06/2024
Four years ago, Psychological Science published a paper which used a ludicrously poor quality dataset. That paper was retracted, partly in order to avoid “prolonging the use” of the data but the dataset still thrives in the academic literature. Read our article & 🧵 for examples
statnews.com
Journals that published Richard Lynn's racist 'research' articles should retract them
Richard Lynn's work has been repeatedly condemned for using flawed methodology and deceptively collated data to support racism. It's past time to retract the studies.
26224
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Our updated EcoEvoRxiv preprint "Estimating (non)linear selection on reaction norms: A general framework for labile traits" is now live. Work done in collaboration with Yimen Araya-Ajoy, Niels Dingemanse, @ali--wilson.bsky.social, and David Westneat. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
03012
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
When and why does social plasticity evolve, and what are its consequences for the pace of phenotypic evolution in fluctuating environments? Check out our new preprint where we use evolutionary quantitative genetic theory to develop general answers to these questions. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
0137
Jordan S. Martin @jsmartin.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
Are you interested in understanding plasticity and GxE in multivariate traits across complex environments? If so, please check out my new EcoEvoRxiv preprint where I propose "covariance reaction norm" models for detecting and quantifying these processes. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
0199