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Judith Mank

@judithmank.bsky.social
4.2K followers 531 following 331 posts

🧬 Professor of Evolutionary Genomics at @zoology.ubc.ca and @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social.‬ Editor-in-Chief of @evolletters.bsky.social. Science with a sprinkling of dachshund pictures. www.zoology.ubc.ca/mank-lab

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Reposted by Judith Mank
Alexei Maklakov @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Why do some animals continue to live long after they have stopped reproducing? And what about sex differences in lifespan? Apply here to find out 😀: I have ARIES DTP PhD position together with Tracey Chapman, Simone Immler, see below! aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...
aries-dtp.ac.uk
Postreproductive Maternal Care and the Evolution of Sex Differences in Lifespan | Aries
Professor Alexei Maklakov, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia – contact me Professor Tracey Chapman, UEA/BIO Professor Simone Immler, UEA/BIO Why do some animals continue to live...
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not sure how many more warm Autumn mornings we'll have this year. Enjoying every one like it might be the last.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We should compare notes sometime - would be a hoot!
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As someone who lived and worked across four countries (🇺🇲 ->🇸🇪 ->🇬🇧 ->🇨🇦) and counting, a lot of this really resonates.
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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Woo-hoo! @gmzhang.bsky.social's photo of a morning glory being visited by a bee is on the front cover of Evolution Letters! (Image accompanying Sasha Bishop's paper, with co-author @johnstinchcombe.bsky.social)
A bumblebee visiting Ipomoea purpurea, the common morning glory. Also visible on the purple-pink corolla are rain drops.
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Reposted by Judith Mank
Dr. Wen-Juan Ma | 马文娟 @wenjuanma84.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A warm welcome to Dr. Lydia Fong @squarehare.bsky.social joining our lab at @vubrussel.bsky.social as a postdoc after completing her PhD in @judithmank.bsky.social ’s lab at UBC! She’ll introduce her work at our next DBIO #Seminar👉 Welcome to the lab and to #Brussels, Lydia 😃! #SexChromosomes 🐸🐠
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Reposted by Judith Mank
Jolyon Troscianko @jtroscianko.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🦋 Butterfly wing patterns create motion illusions that protect them from predators! Our new study (8 years in the making) is out in Nature today doi.org/10.1038/s415... @grahancock.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social @scienceanna.bsky.social @lauraakelley.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Delighted to see that @plosbiology.org has a feature of our guppy paper on their landing page. The real star is the guppy photo by @vdbijl.bsky.social, and I am at peace with this. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 24/09/2026
Some genomic inversions can persist for millions of years. This study by @judithmank.bsky.social @vdbijl.bsky.social & Yuying Lin reveals how ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden layer of #genomic diversity in guppies. 🧪#evolution #academicSky buff.ly/6sEgmgT
Male wild type guppies. Image credit Wouter van der Bijl.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
All this suggests female preference for rare male patterns maintains inversion variants and shows how sexual selection can profoundly shape genome diversity. I hope you enjoy reading it! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... Fin/
doi.org
Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Genomic inversions spanning many genes can persist for millions of years. This study of Trinidadian guppy populations reveals how both ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden l...
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Building on Wouter's work on male colour pattern architecture (doi.org/10.1038/s415...), Yuying found that autosomal inversions capture male colour pattern loci far more often than chance, and that these inversions account for a disproportionate share of total pattern variation. 3/
doi.org
Deep learning reveals the complex genetic architecture of male guppy colouration - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Guppy colouration is a very diverse trait under natural and sexual selection. Using a combination of high-resolution phenotyping and genomic analysis, the authors reveal the genetic architecture of th...
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We found lots of inversions in Trinidad populations — they are ancient and highly polymorphic within populations. Neither drift nor natural selection can explain the persistence of this remarkable inversion variation. What is maintaining these variants? 2/
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
So very, very happy to see this out @plosbiology.org : Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations. Beautiful work by two very clever and talented coauthors, Yuying Lin and @vdbijl.bsky.social . journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 1/
journals.plos.org
Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Genomic inversions spanning many genes can persist for millions of years. This study of Trinidadian guppy populations reveals how both ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden l...
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Reposted by Judith Mank
Sam Yeaman @samyeaman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I'm looking to hire a postdoc to work on the RepAdapt + MacroMar projects, analysing genomic data from >130 species of plants, animals, and fungi (VCFs are processed, ready to go). Lots of potential for creativity and collaboration! yeamanlab.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/...
Picture shows fireweed in foreground and Mt. Lougheed in background
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Early morning beach walk.
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liedvogel lab @genmig.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
please share widely and get in touch to help us recover this tag and learn about the cause of death #conservation #migration #redshank #GPS
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Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Come and work with us (the Kokkonuts) as a postdoc! Our research within (theory-evo-eco) is broad; let's say it's implicitly defined by the journal club papers we read. Which is why the application process includes a JC-related task, I hope it'll be a fun one for you! www.evoldir.net/brian/evoldi...
evoldir.net
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 25/08/2026
What are the genetic mechanisms for the #evolution of novel traits? This study by @brhopkins92.bsky.social &co links #Drosophila sex comb teeth to expression changes within ancestral cells, leading to diverged metabolic/developmental rates, and a novel structure. 🧪 #AcademicSky plos.io/4gQOnZK
Graphical abstract on the gain of a novel trait in Drosophila. The teeth of the recently evolved, male-specific Drosophila sex comb evolved from a more ancient organ, the mechanosensory bristle. We show that changes in the expression of genes that are shared between mechanosensory bristle and sex comb teeth cells lead to changes in a variety of fundamental cellular processes that together enable the morphological transformation.

The photo, phylogeny, general design are those of the corresponding author(s). They made the bristle schematics in biorender and the fly silhouette is their modified drawing of D. melanogaster from SciDraw (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3925939).
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Latest from the lab: Conserved sex-biased DNA methylation patterns target key developmental genes and reproductive function in two Poeciliid species. This one took a while to get there, but well worth the wait! Led by Dave Metzger. academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...
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Charles Mullon @charlesmullon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
With @ewanflintham.bsky.social @thomaslesaffre.bsky.social and @sarperotto.bsky.social we've been thinking about what theory tells us about sexual antagonism (SA = when selection favours different trait values in females and males). Our review is here: tinyurl.com/ct5mk8mv
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Long-reads reveal 6X more guppy genes are sex-biased for splicing compared to short-reads. But male isoform richness mostly reflects transcriptional noise, not proteomic expansion. Beautiful analysis by @linley-sherin.bsky.social out now doi.org/10.64898/202...
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Linley Sherin @linley-sherin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
🚨My first PhD chapter is now out on bioRxiv ! A 🧵 1/n
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bioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Elevated isoform richness in males largely reflects transcriptional noise rather than proteomic complexity www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Reposted by Judith Mank
Anonymous Potato @anonymouspotato.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
EcoEvoJobs 2026-27 just opened for business and we've already got 79 faculty / permanent jobs listed. Please repost! ecoevojobs.net
ecoevojobs.net
ecoevojobs.net 2026-27
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I didn't realize they just did it again! www.cbc.ca/news/politic.... I'm not sure the tone of the letter really helps, but I am sorry about the smoke!
cbc.ca
4 Republicans in U.S. Congress accuse Canada of failing to do enough to prevent wildfires | CBC News
Republican members of U.S. Congress are slamming Canada's federal and provincial governments over what they claim is inaction in preventing the wildfires currently spreading smoke and poor air quality...
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Sorry, I think the air issues are our fault. Your Representatives write a note to our Prime Minister last year about it, but it didn't go down all that well www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
US lawmakers write to Canada to complain that its wildfire smoke is spoiling summer
The politicians say their constituents are "limited in their ability to go outside" because of the air quality.
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Darren J. Parker @darrenjparker.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Our new paper is out! Congrats to all involved. Dosage compensation and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation are maintained under relaxed selection | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Dosage compensation and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation are maintained under relaxed selection | PNAS
Dosage compensation and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) are key mechanisms regulating gene expression from the X chromosome in male-hete...
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Emília Santos @emiliapsantos.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
🎨 job alert 🐠 Come join us! We have two positions open! These are part of our @erc.europa.eu funded project on the mechanisms underpinning convergence of colour patterns in cichlid fishes! Closing date: 16th August. Postdoc: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc... Technician: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
static.klipy.com
Callipterus Cichlid Collecting Shell
ALT: Callipterus Cichlid Collecting Shell
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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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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Very unhappy to lose his hard-earned aroma in a bath.
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John Wares @johnwares.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Sad to report that my colleague Dr. Jim Hamrick - a giant in the early study of plant population genetics, though in these 2017 photos he was contributing to the understanding of *barnacle* diversity - has passed.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
If you are working on your #evol2026 schedule
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
So great to see @gbaucom.bsky.social 's SSE Presidential address on long- term weed evolution research program at #evol2026. She's had weeds in her sights since we were grad students together and has made such cool progress since.
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Jeremy Yoder says no war @jbyoder.org · 21/06/2026
"I know there's a lot of concern about the proliferation of journals, slop in the in the literature — the best way to combat this is to publish in society-owned journals." — @asn-amnat.bsky.social President @beckyfuller82.bsky.social preaching the Gospel #Evol2026
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
For all the crafters coming to #Evol2026👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Mankees are headed to #Evol2026! Come see my talk- Sexual Selection Maintains Ancient Structural Polymorphisms- by Y Lin & @vdbijl.bsky.social, Tues 12PM in Sexual Selection & Recomb (Room 25A) and @jacejostles.bsky.social 's poster about Sam Snow's work on Mate Choice in the Age of AI.
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Two melanic pigment patterns are associated with a sex chromosome-linked oncogene in the mountain swordtail Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Thanks! I knocked it together with a bit of assistance.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
And the press release is at www.su.se/english/news...
su.se
Social contact gives young fish larger brains - Stockholms universitet
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
It turns out all that screen time disrupts brain development...in guppies. Now out @royalsocietypublishing.org royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article....
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Susan Johnston @susanjohnston.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
📣🧬 Postdoc Alert🧬📣 We are hiring a 2+ year NERC-funded postdoc at Edinburgh Uni investigating causes and consequences of sex differences in recombination in house sparrows in Norway. Informal enquiries welcome at Susan.Johnston@ed.ac.uk 🙂 Details here: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
A female and male sparrow stand on a wooden post. Photo by Peter S. Ranke.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Congrats to Dr. Yuying Lin who defended her PhD today!
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Noooooooo! Though come to think of it, Thom Yorke was my neighbor 10+ years ago and he looked like an old geezer then, so it sort of does fit.
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Lydia Fong @squarehare.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Come see my talk on guppy sex chromosome evolution at the Fish 3 session on Tuesday at #CSEE2026! Back-to-back with @joellelafond.bsky.social !
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Mankees are headed to #CSEE2026! Check out @squarehare.bsky.social's and @joellelafond.bsky.social's talks about Poecilia sex chromosomes, and @vdbijl.bsky.social's talk about evolutionary repeatability of male colour.
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Alberto Corral-Lopez @corrallopeza.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
We are recruiting a PhD student in my recently established lab at the Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala! Come work with us on the evolution of alternative mating tactics in water striders!
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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
I had the best time at @zoology.ubc.ca's annual Debbie and Justin Wragg-Schmidt Zoology Spring Symposium! What a privilege to be invited as their plenary speaker and I got to nerd out with so many cool people! Was lovely being back in the motherland 🇨🇦 talking about corals 🪸
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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
We're recruiting! We're looking for two graduate students to join us at UBC in Vancouver. Fully funded and open to global applicants, with flexible start-date. Topics include theory, bioinformatics, and microbiology. More details: asherleeks.com/apply #socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
Leeks Lab is recruiting. We study social evolution in viruses. We're recruiting for two fully funded PhD or MSc positions, starting from September 2026. Evolutionary theory / experimental microbiology / viral bioinformatics. Experience optional / enthusiasm essential. asherleeks.com/apply
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Molecular Ecology @molecology.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
New MEC study led by @joellelafond.bsky.social shows that proliferation of transposable elements drives Y-chromosome degradation and facilitates dosage compensation in Poecilia picta, a guppy species 🐠 with young sex chromosomes 🧬. @wileyecology.bsky.social 🔗: doi.org/10.1111/mec.... 📷: J. Lafond
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Joelle Lafond, PhD @joellelafond.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
🚨 My very first postdoc paper is out! 🐠 We show that the Y chromosome of the swamp guppy (Poecilia picta) has rapidly degenerated, losing genes, shrinking, and filling up with transposable elements, while the X responds by exporting key male genes to autosomes. 🧵⬇️ 1/6 📷Joëlle Lafond
Figure showing the paper's title: Structural and Functional Divergence of the Poecilia picta Sex Chromosomes.

It includes artistic drawing of the male fish of this study, Poecilia picta, on a background with DNA helixes.
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