iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kees van Oers

the Hoffman Lab @thehoffmanlab.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Co-authored by @rebeccachen.bsky.social, Bernice, @keesvanoers.bsky.social and Joe! The article is part of a special issue on ecological epigenetics, make sure to check it out!

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NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

New publication: Ecological #epigenetics at the intersection of #behaviour and life history variation in non-model #animals, by @keesvanoers.bsky.social and others. doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Figure 1 in Jimeno et al. (2026): "Conceptual overview of how epigenetic mechanisms, interacting with genetic background and environmental conditions, shape behavioural and physiological responses and life history strategies across life in non-model animals. The figure integrates the main themes of this theme issue, highlighting how contributions collectively address key stages from early development to population responses under environmental change, and emphasizing the role of epigenetic processes in linking behaviour, life history variation and ecological dynamics. Numbers correspond to the thematic sections of this special issue."

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

New publication: #Fishing pressure induces changes in #DNA methylation in genetically homogeneous marine metapopulations, by @keesvanoers.bsky.social and others. #DNAmethylation #fisheries #geneticdiversity doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Figure 2 in Barcelo-Serra et al. (2026): "Volcano plot showing the distribution of CpG sites after removing age-associated sites. In red, sites that had a difference in DNA methylation between fisheries and no-take marine protected areas larger than 15% and a q-value < 0.05. The labels correspond to the gene annotation that includes the CpG site. One of the CpGs was not included within any known genetic boundary and was annotated as intergenic."

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NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

New publication: The interplay between epigenetic mechanisms and deleterious mutations: implications for #fitness, #evolution and #conservation, by @keesvanoers.bsky.social and others. #epigenetics #genes doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Figure 2 in Chen et al. (2026): "Examples of wild vertebrate species in which one or two aspects of the interplay between genetic variation, epigenetic variation and/or fitness have been empirically investigated, but never all three simultaneously."

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

Lynda Donaldson @lyndadonaldson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Nominations for this years @bou.org.uk awards are OPEN! 🏆 Godman Salvin Prize 🎤 Alfred Newton Lecture to present at #BOU2028 on Bird Demography 🎖️ Janet Kear Union Medal 🌱 Early Professional Award For full details and to nominate: bou.org.uk/about-the-bo... 📆 Deadline 15th Sept 26 #ornithology ⭐

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

the Hoffman Lab @thehoffmanlab.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Both genetic variation and epigenetics can affect fitness, but how are the two expected to interplay? Can epigenetics buffer against the effects of deleterious mutations, or do they make their effects worse? Our latest Opinion Piece on this topic is now published! doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

doi.org

The interplay between epigenetic mechanisms and deleterious mutations: implications for fitness, evolution and conservation

Abstract. Understanding the causal effects of genetic mutations is essential for explaining fitness variation, forecasting evolutionary trajectories and as

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Urban Vervet Project @urbanvervetproject.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

🚨🐒Join the Urban Vervet Project! We are currently looking for a research assistant to strengthen our on-site team at the beautiful Simbithi Eco Estate in South Africa. More info below 👇 @sofiaforss.bsky.social

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liedvogel lab @genmig.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

how does seasonal migration evolve? this question is to the heart of our focus and here we use common garden approach to characterise the amount of seasonal change in chromatin accessibility in ancestral migratory and derived resident populations of the Eurasian blackcap doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Spanisch blackcap male sitting on a rocky structure, curiously looking to the left in front of a green background (c) Benehar Rodrigues

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 25/07/2026

New issue of #PhilTransB: Ecological #epigenetics at the intersection of behaviour and life history variation in non-model animals. Read #OA: buff.ly/6v4pqCo

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Big shout out to @bjimeno.bsky.social who was the driving force behind this. Many thanks to the fellow co-editors and all authors!!

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Barbara Tschirren @btschirren.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Interested in the evolutionary genomics of host-pathogen interactions or the evolutionary ecology of senescence? 1 week left to apply for the two postdoc positions in our badger - bovine TB project🦡🦠🧪🧬👇

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

Barbara Klump @barbaraklump.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Join us in Vienna! We are looking for a PhD student and a Postdoc to investigate innovation in corvids within the “Comparative ecological innovation styles” project funded by @fwf-at.bsky.social. More info: barbaraklump.com Application deadline July 24th. Please share widely!

A carrion crow holding a walnut. Photo: @valentine-comin.bsky.social

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Very good story from a high-quality journalist @timvernimmen.bsky.social in National Graphic on our paper in the @royalsociety.org special issue.

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Again another case showing it is not the numbers of birds that are killed by turbines but the specific vulnerable birds that make these giant shredders not a sustainable solution for generating renewable energy

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

British Ecological Society @britishecologicalsociety.org · 22/07/2026

What does it mean to be an ecologist? 🔎🔬📸 The Ecologists in Action category of our Capturing Ecology competition celebrates the people behind ecology, working to understand and protect our natural world. Submit your photos by 31 August 👇 BES members enter for free.

f.mtr.cool

Ecology Photo Competition | Capturing Ecology 2026 | BES

Enter the BES 2026 annual ecology photo competition and submit pictures of ecology that showcase nature, wildlife and research for a chance to win prizes.

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Wonderful new initiative at ESEB! If you have ideas how to make Evolutionary Biology Research more impactful: your ideas are wanted!!

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Gabriella E. Smith, PhD @explanimals.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Dream PhD opening! Innovation in wild falcons! Application deadline Aug 1🦅

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

Bob Wong @bbmwong.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Do you have a background in behavioural ecology and are you interested in doing a PhD in Australia? I’m looking for new grad students so check out our website (BobWongLab.org) or come find me in Torino at #ISBE2026. 🐟🐠

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Behaviour 2027 @behaviour2027.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We are excited to announce that #Behaviour2027 (XXXIX International Ethological Congress) will be taking place in Vienna, Austria! We are looking forward to having you all join us next year from August 23-27. Please follow and share!

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EMPSEB 31 @empseb.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

A huge thank you to Wiley Ecology and Evolution for sponsoring four €100 poster awards, and to @physaliacourses.bsky.social for providing the Best Overall Poster presenter, Tim David, with a free course! Congratulations to all our winners and everyone who presented at #EMPSEB31! 👏🧬

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Sarah Jose (JoseSci) @sarahjose.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

My #ExE2026 conference post is now live! It was great chatting with attendees about their research and learning more about the field. Thanks again to the organisers @erikpostma.bsky.social, @btschirren.bsky.social, @blongdon.bsky.social, @ali--wilson.bsky.social, and @hansonmark.bsky.social!

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Reposted by Kees van Oers

Cesare Pacioni @cesarepacioni.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

New paper out! 🎉 Common waxbills (Estrilda astrild) have spread far beyond their native African range, reaching cooler regions - so how do they cope when temperatures drop? doi.org/10.1016/j.cb... @ecobird.bsky.social

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Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids @jenteo.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

✍ New blog post! All Popular Science Articles Are Wrong, But Some Are Useful jenteottenburghs.wordpress.com/2026/07/22/a... These pieces can spark your curiosity and point you in the right direction. But genuine understanding requires time, effort, and more reading.

jenteottenburghs.wordpress.com

These articles should be seen as a starting point for further reading.

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Pablo Salmón @pablosalmon.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

🔈New study! Microplastics found in 62% of White-throated Dipper broods in Scotland & Basque Country. No body condition effects detected. Led by @cmartin3.bsky.social @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @aranzadiornito.bsky.social 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Ornithology🐦 #Microplastics #Freshwater💧

Left: Adult and nestling White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus; adult on top, chick below). Right: Microscopy images showing microplastics from nestling faecal samples. Birds were handled under license.

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Xinrui Wang 王心蕊 @xinruiwang1014.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

#ISBE2026 Had a great experience presenting my PhD project, supervised by Prof. Kees van Oers (@keesvanoers.bsky.social) and Dr Eva Serrano-Davies. Thank you to everyone who attended my talk and the inspiring chats afterwards :D @isbe2026.bsky.social

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Marc Gilles @marcgilles.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Excited to present my new study on great tits tomorrow (Tuesday) at 16:30 at @isbe2026.bsky.social ✨

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Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar @asanchez-tojar.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

There are still free spots for the 2nd edition of the 5-day course: "Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis in R", run in collaboration with the @eco-aeet.bsky.social This year we are running the event at beautiful and historic @ucoimbra.bsky.social (Portugal) Info: aeet.org/events/2026/... #rstats

aeet.org

Course Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis in R, 2ed

This course provides a practical introduction to modern methods of evidence synthesis, with a focus on systematic review and meta-analysis in ecology and evolution.

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Definitely go here!! Not only because it is such an important topic, but also because @katelaskowski.bsky.social initiated a new section in our own @isbe2026.bsky.social journal where you can publish these results!!! 🥳👍🏻💪🏻

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Such a pity I am not able to attend #isbe2026 in person. However, extremely happy that my PhD students @xiaomeichi.bsky.social (poster) and Xinrui Wang (presentation) are presenting parts of their research. Make sure to chat to them @isbe2026.bsky.social

isbe2026.bsky.social

ISBE2026 (@isbe2026.bsky.social)

International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress, Turin (Italy) 20-24 July 2026 www.isbe2026.com

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Jess Stephenson @jfstep.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Hey @isbe2026.bsky.social - I’ll be in Turin from tomorrow, and looking to recruit PhD student and postdoc to my lab in Stockholm soon… anyone interested in parasites, sexual selection, transgen effects, fish (guppy) tracking - let’s meet up!

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

This was such an amazing conference!! So well-organized and amazing speakers and venue! Looking forward to the next edition in Edinburgh!

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NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

New publication: Reactions of captive adult #greattits toward aposematic #prey: effects of #personality by @keesvanoers.bsky.social and others. doi.org/10.1093/behe...

Great tit, Branch, Feed image. Free for use. (jggrz, Pixabay, CC0)

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NL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Waarom krijgen dieren jonkies in de #lente? ‘Dieren timen hun voortplantingsgedrag op basis van het beschikbare voedsel’, vertelt NIOO-onderzoeker @keesvanoers.bsky.social aan Quest. In Nederland is het meeste eten er in het #voorjaar. Lees het artikel: www.quest.nl/natuur/diere...

quest.nl

Waarom krijgen dieren jonkies in de lente?

De lammetjes dartelen in de wei en de vogels broeden op hun ei. De lente brengt niet alleen hogere temperaturen, maar verwelkomt ook een boel jonge diertjes. Waarom valt die geboortegolf precies in di...

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Kees van Oers @keesvanoers.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Check out this amazing special issue in @avianbiology.bsky.social edited by @rebeccachen.bsky.social Bernice Sepers Caroline Isakson and myself. A beautiful set op papers showcasing the recent status of avian studies on epigenetic mechanisms. Thanks to all contributors and @toblermichi.bsky.social

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

✨ Special issue contribution Circulating miRNAs in wild ruddy turnstones show sex- and age-related responses to low pathogenic avian influenza virus infection, highlighting their potential as non-invasive markers for avian health and infection dynamics ➡️ vist.ly/59iaq #ornithology

Fig. 5 from the article: Distributions of normalised log2-transformed miRNA abundance across AIV status and sex for three selected miRNAs quantified with qPCR: (a) ain-miR-novel-1-3p, (b) ain-miR-122-5p, and (c) ain-miR-2954-3p.

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

✨ Special issue contribution House sparrows from native ranges and stable climates show higher expression levels of key DNA methylation enzymes across tissues, suggesting these enzymes may help birds adjust traits during range expansions ➡️ vist.ly/59k44 #ornithology #birds #epigenetics

House sparrow. Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, Wkimedia commons.

Fig. 2 from the article: Factors that predict DNMT1 (A), DNMT3 (B) and TET2 (C) gene expression in house sparrows from across the globe. Visual summary of intercepts and fixed-effects estimates from model selection results.

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

✨ Special issue contribution Vitellogenin expression and DNA methylation in the VTG2 promoter changed between pre- and early breeding in dark-eyed juncos, indicating that liver epigenetic regulation may contribute to seasonal timing of reproduction ➡️ vist.ly/59nku #ornithology #birds 🪶

Dark-eyed junco. Photo: Wikimedia commons, Cephas.

Fig. 1 from the article: Liver expression of the vitellogenin gene (VTG2) was greater in birds sampled during the early-breeding period compared with the pre-breeding period.

Fig. 3 from the article: Percent DNA methylation in liver tissue of each of three CpG sites located 900–990 bp upstream from the start codon of VTG2 from individuals sampled during the pre-breeding or during the early-breeding period.

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

✨ Special issue contribution Comparing two DNA methylation methods for building epigenetic clocks in chestnut-crowned babblers. Whole-genome enzymatic methyl sequencing yield highly accurate age estimates, outperforming fragment-based approaches. ➡️ vist.ly/59psq #ornithology #birds

Chestnut-crowned babbler. Photo: JJ Harrison, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 1 from the article: Epigenetic (predicted) versus chronological (known) age in the train (A) and test (B) datasets using WGEM-seq data as input using a 10-fold CV. The solid line shows the regression line. The dashed line indicates a perfect correlation (r = 1) between epigenetic and chronological age.

Fig. 2 from the article: Epigenetic (predicted) versus chronological (known) age in the train (A) and test (B) datasets using epiRADseq data as input using a 10-fold CV.

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

✨ Special issue contribution In urban great tits, epigenetic changes in the DRD4 gene help explain tolerance to human disturbance, influencing vigilance and return behavior after disruption ➡️ vist.ly/59tvs #ornithology #birds #urbanization #epigenetics #behaviour

Great tit. Photo: Sławek Staszczuk, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 2 from the article: association between return latency of the parent birds and the level of methylation (%) of six CpG sites.

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Blanca Jimeno @bjimeno.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Excited to share that our special issue "Ecological epigenetics at the intersection of behaviour and life history variation in non-model animals", will be coming out in about a week. It's been great to co-edit it with @markravinet.bsky.social @keesvanoers.bsky.social &J.Martínez-Padilla. Stay tuned!

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Common Tern Project @commonternproject.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Out in @natcomms.nature.com, a collaborative paper showing that, across 73 species (including common terns), warmer years are associated with earlier phenology, and that populations in which such an association was observed have often been stable or increasing: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

📢 We're looking for a PhD student to focus on habitat use of wintering Curlew in and around coastal SPAs. Apply now ➡️ bit.ly/CurlewPhD The student will be based at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social and BTO, starting in October 2026 for four years. 📆 Deadline to apply: Wednesday 18 February #Ornithology

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Clàudia Fontserè @claudiafontsere.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Just a few more days to submit abstracts to #SMBE2026 in beautiful Copenhagen. 🗓️Deadline 3nd February We are organizing S01: Evolutionary-informed management of vulnerable populations in a rapidly changing world. Hope to see many of you there!

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Madlen Stange @mstange.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Are you working on biodiversity monitoring using genomics? Are you developing (AI)tools to track molecular change in declining populations? Are you employing novel methods to track molecular change during or after genetic decline? We would be happy to receive your submissions for #SMBE2026!

SMBE2026 Symposium 5 | Molecular evolution in the era of genetic diversity decline

smbe2026.org/programme

Organisers
- Madlen Stange — Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Germany
- Deborah M Leigh — Senckenberg Nature Research and Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

Loss of genetic diversity is now recognised as a critical component of the global biodiversity crisis, with direct implications for species’ adaptive potential, population persistence, and long-term evolutionary trajectories. For molecular evolutionists, this represents both an urgent challenge and a unique opportunity: unprecedented genomic resources and analytical methods allow us to quantify genetic erosion, reconstruct historical baselines, and model future outcomes at scales unimaginable a decade ago. We are now able to directly study evolutionary processes in declining, newly formed, or eroded populations, which offer unique insights into the evolutionary past and future. This symposium aims to highlight research at the interface of molecular evolution, population genomics, and biodiversity monitoring. We will showcase cutting-edge genomic methods—ranging from ancient and historical genomics, whole genome-based analyses, and multispecies genomic syntheses, to entirely novel AI and synthetic biology frameworks—that track population-level molecular change over time and space. How these methods have been used to identify evolutionary patterns or changes in the face of loss or restorative action. As well as, how these methods can be used to support transformative change. By bringing together researchers working on evolutionary theory, genomic inference of diversity loss, temporal monitoring of populations, and large-scale data integration, this symposium will provide a forum to identify common conceptual ground, share methodological innovations, and explore the methods needed for future advances.

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Journal of Avian Biology @avianbiology.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

NEW PAPER: vitellogenin expression and DNA methylation in the VTG2 promoter changed between pre- and early breeding in dark-eyed juncos, indicating that liver epigenetic regulation may contribute to seasonal timing of reproduction. ➡️ vist.ly/4nzre #ornithology #birds #epigenetics 🪶

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