iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The best band in the world has a new album out. After a week of playing it over and over, I can now give my confident (and completely unbiased) assessment: it's great and you should all hear it. Here's the lead single; album available in streaming services and record stores. youtu.be/Kr0xeCPwzMc?...

youtu.be

Keeping Our Heads Above Water

YouTube video by The Jayhawks - Topic

001

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

New paper! Insects commonly time dormancy based on daylength, and responses to daylength have evolved in range-expanding populations facing novel daylength calendars. But how crucial is this for expanding species tracking climate niches? Maybe less than you’d think. (1/6) doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

doi.org

Fitness effects of local seasonal adaptation depend on the timing of reproduction in a range-expanding butterfly

Abstract. Local seasonal adaptation across latitudes is ubiquitous, but its fitness consequences are rarely estimated in the field. Using a common-garden f

175

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

This is one of my favorite pieces of footage from space. Remember the early Macs had a motorized floppy drive that would eject the disk?

6854196

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Jitka Polechová @polejit.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Are you looking for a PhD on the intersection between evolutionary and ecological theory? Join us @univie. Fully funded PhD position in fundamental eco-evolutionary theory, open to international students. Apply by 13.7.2026: ecoevo.owlstown.net/search Reposting appreciated. #evolbio #evoeco #ecology

ecoevo.owlstown.net

Jitka's EcoEvo Lab - Jobs

02140

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

3st0n14n defence forces replacing the letter õ with 6 (common in slang) in official air threat message is simply beautiful!

110

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

New review: we discuss how the continuous nature of insect diapause induction and termination responses (which are often seen as binary threshold decisions) offers phenological robustness and evolutionary flexibility that can reduce vulnerability to climate change–driven seasonal timing mismatches.

sciencedirect.com

Rethinking diapause timing thresholds in a warming world

Diapause lets insects synchronize their life cycles with seasonal environments, but climate change challenges its effectiveness by reshaping thermal r…

053

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

However great #TIBS2026 has been, I can't endure three full days of talks. So I took a few hours off to visit Den gamle byn, and what an impressive museum (or collection of museums) it turned out to be! Go there if you can find the time while in Aarhus!

130

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

The park next to the #TIBS2026 venue offers unexpected birding fun – I'm not used to aggregations of 15 or so moorhens casually hanging around with gulls, mallards and jackdaws.

001

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

I spent a wonderful family holiday in our beautifully snowy former hometown, Uppsala! Now it's time for work again, but not quite the usual kind of work – #TIBS2026 and Aarhus, here I come!

130

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

I finally finished reading Walden! In many places a frustrating, but also an interesting, occasionally funny, and often beautiful read. A few favourites of mine: the excited ant war report, the excessively detailed description of different kinds of ice, and this pictured passage... (1/2)

100

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

martinswarren.bsky.social @martinswarren.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...

Front cover of the European Butterfly Red List, showing Polyommatus humedasae. The report can be downloaded at https://www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?name=red-list-butterflies-2025

3178112

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Luonnonsuojeluliitto @luonnonsuojelu.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Kaivosala on käynnistänyt mediakampanjan, jonka tavoitteena on saada hallitus perumaan maltillisen kaivosveron maltillinen korotus. Luonnonsuojeluliitto antaa hallitukselle ruusuja & kehottaa kaivosteollisuutta keskittymään toimintansa kestävyyden parantamiseen. #kaivokset www.sll.fi/ajankohtaist...

sll.fi

Ei ole niin pientä veronkorotusta, etteikö kaivosala sitä vastaan pullikoisi – kaivosveroa on välttämätöntä korottaa

Kaivostoimijat ovat joukolla nousseet vastustamaan hallituksen esittämää maltillista kaivosveron korotusta valtakunnallisella mediakampanjalla. Vuonna 2024 Suomessa otettiin vuosien vaikuttamistyön…

05814

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Luonnonsuojeluliitto @luonnonsuojelu.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Ympäristöpäällikkömme @heiantti.bsky.social kirjoittaa, että kaivosveron korotus on välttämätöntä ja oikein. Se ohjaa kaivosyhtiöitä muuttamaan toimintaansa kestävämmäksi ja jättämään matalapitoisimmat esiintymät rauhaan. Suomen #kaivosvero on korotuksenkin jälkeen matala. www.hs.fi/mielipide/ar...

hs.fi

Lukijan mielipide | Hallitus esitys kaivosverosta ansaitsee kiitoksen

Ilman riittävää kaivosverotusta uhkana on, että myös hyvin matalapitoiset ja heikot mineraaliesiintymät avataan.

05612

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Remarkable & important Finnish court decision. Activists stopped logging in Helsinki & didn't follow police's orders to leave. The court ruled activists had the right to break the law (disobedience towards police) because they had to; it was the only way to save a legally protected stream habitat!

yle.fi

Helsingin Stansvikin metsän suojelijoille ei niskoittelutuomioita – käräjäoikeus pohti päätöksenteossa Koijärvi-liikettä

Viittä mielenosoittajaa syytettiin niskoittelusta poliisia vastaan Stansvikin metsässä kaksi vuotta sitten.

100

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Tuomas Kankaanpää @bugwebs.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Bookmarking for later.

031

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

German minister of culture criticized countries that boycott the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates for "cancel culture". The willingness of leading German politicians to approve genocide is quite baffling. I mean, they were supposed to have learned something from their country's past...

000

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

I don't know what to really think of this, but it was an interesting late-night read for sure!

000

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Kári Tulinius @kattullus.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

News from Finland. A 9-year-old lost an especially good stick he’d had since he was 2. He hung up 20 posters. A few days later it was returned. It had been found by a 2-year-old, who wanted to keep it for herself, but her mother made her return it. She got toys, flowers and candy as a reward.

451890453

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

🚨🚨🚨 In the worst tradition of the McCarthy-era anti-communist House Un-American Activities Committee, the GOP House Oversight Committee has just launch a massive, grotesque, ad hominem, partisan assault on the US National Academy of Sciences. oversight.house.gov/wp-content/u...

oversight.house.gov

10332148

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Map of areas meeting thresholds for butterfly observation count & species sampling coverage in 2001–2010. I find this fascinating. I expected the good coverage in western and parts of northern Europe, but, knowing little about south-eastern Europe, I didn't expect Serbia to be a data hotspot. (1/3)

140

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Enviously peeking in on all the #ESEB2025 content posted here. I've always wanted to go, but never did because ESEB always overlaps with my daughter's birthday! 🙁Well, I currently don't do much evolution anyway, but this year I was at least lucky to have Matthew Nielsen present our recent paper!

110

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Interesting paper using @ukbms.bsky.social data to examine extreme weather impacts on butterfly populations. Winter heatwaves and periods of high rainfall appear bad for many species. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🌍

sciencedirect.com

Butterfly abundance changes in England are well associated with extreme climate events

Climate change exerts significant impacts on ecosystems through extreme climate events (ECEs), which are linked to various climate variables and can o…

06935

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Barely an hour ago, Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif warned us all: “If this madness doesn’t end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins, its people’s voices silenced, their faces erased — and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop.” Israel just killed him.

7062824709

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Finns are proudly rule-abiding, but living abroad has taught me that we really could sometimes relax a bit. A popular train route can't be run with longer trains because some platforms are too short. In Sweden, they do use the long trains; you just can't exit from the last few cars – problem solved.

hs.fi

VR | Junat Riihimäeltä Hankoon tulivat tupaten täyteen, osa joutunut matkustamaan seisten

Uusi junayhteys on osoittautunut erittäin suosituksi.

010

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 11/07/2025

As the climate warms, species are heading uphill and poleward, but such moves may require evolutionary adaptations. A study of butterflies finds evolution for the timing of life events, but winter cold still limits range expansion. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A wall brown butterfly (Lasiommata megera).
CREDIT: Mats Ittonen

0316

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Outoa tosiaankin. Myös "avoimesti saatavissa olevien julkaisujen osuus" laatuindikaattorina pistää silmään, kun olen ymmärtänyt että hallitus haluaisi säästää rahaa; indikaattorihan kuvaa pitkälti sitä, kuinka paljon rahaa syydetään kankkulan kaivoon maksamalla julkaisijoille tuplana.

010

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Christopher Wheat @chriswheat.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

🚨Postdoc opportunity🚨: LepEU postdoc: comparative population genomics of European scale adaptation in butterflies 2 year, full-time PD in my group, Stockholm Univ. Applications assed on rolling basis, deadline: 23 August 2025. Planned start 1 Oct. Details: christopherwheatlab.wordpress.com

The aim of this proposal is to place population genomic insights into a comparative framework to gain fundamental insights into the determinants of evolutionary outcomes. The project will work within LepEU, the European Lepidopteran Population Genomics Consortium (https://lepeu.github.io/). LepEU provides access to field samples from European populations of diverse species. Chromosome-scale reference genomes are provided by Project Psyche (https://www.projectpsyche.org/). Networking during the postdoc will be facilitated by participation in the 10kLepGenomes COST Action (https://10klepgenomes.eu/). Existing datasets await analysis, while additional samples need DNA extraction and submission for sequencing. Functional validation capability (CRISPR/Cas9 gene manipulations) is also available to test emergent hypotheses of allele-to-phenotype impacts. Personal research interests of the postdoc will be important to determine the exact project, as the project has a generous sequencing budget.

The successful applicant should have a PhD (obtained within 6 years of the application deadline) in a suitable subject area, such as evolutionary biology or population genomics. A strong interest in population genomics, local adaptation, comparative analyses, and experience working with genomic-scale data is essential. The candidate must have a documented publication record demonstrating relevant skills. Experience working with bioinformatic pipelines (e.g., Snakemake), or working with butterflies is welcome but not essential. The net salary is 28,000 SEK/month (~2,430 Euro, not subject to Swedish income tax) and comes directly from the Carl-Trygger Foundation stipend, which is paid out directly to the postdoc. Only PhD candidates acquired outside of the host department can apply. Currently, the lab of Prof. Wheat consists of 3 postdoctoral researchers, while the Dept. of Zoology provides a vibrant and excellent research environment of active, dynamic researchers.

Applications should include: i) a succinct description of research interests and experience, detailing your contribution to any relevant publications (max 1 page), ii) why you are the ideal candidate for this position in the lab (max 1 page); iii) a CV including a list of publications, and iv) the name and contact information of two personal references.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with a deadline of 23 August 2025. The project is planned to start on 1 October, but flexibility in the starting date can be provided for a suitable candidate. Please contact Prof. Wheat for additional information.

06471

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

New paper in @pnas.org — and this is my favourite one out of my PhD thesis! Field transplants of wall brown butterflies show life history evolution during climate change-driven range expansion, BUT non-evolving winter tolerance still sets the range limit.🧵1/12. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

doi.org

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

21810

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

I finally managed to find a copy of this crucial, but out of print, Estonian language learning material! 🤩 Brilliant folk/bluegrass band & special guest's children's album – released together with a song- and colouring book! Lovely idea & great music.

020

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Ever seen an entomologist at a conference about soil microorganisms? Now's your chance! And, yeah, there's a poster about stuff I've been doing this spring. #ESM2025

360

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Burr Ito @ututuy.org · 16/06/2025

🧪

094

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

But I'd also like to blame the editors (a small subset of the yous): stop sending really bad or unfinished manuscripts out for review. And please do your job (=decide) instead of sending minor revisions out for review!

110

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

This looks like essential reading for anybody interested in how climate change affects species distribution. I only had time to skim this right now, but it's definitely high on my reading list.

010

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

I just revolutionized the my scientific paper reading habits. Zotero's "open pdf in new window" feature gives me the reference list on my second screen with just a couple of clicks – goodbye to distracting scrolling to the reference list and back. I feel stupid for not realizing this earlier.

000

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Blind-tasting Estonian alcohol-free beers! We started with lagers, and only four kinds so we'd be able to actually finish them. We chose three from A.LeCoq because they're brewed 500 metres from our home. Saku (near Tallin) is another big brewery.

110

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Lari Lohikoski @larilohikoski.fi · 19/02/2025

Fellow Europeans, it's time to move away from using American technology and software. Using European and open source alternatives makes us more sovereign and safe, and reduces the influence of Trump-supporting technology oligarchy. Here's a good guide for finding European alternatives.

european-alternatives.eu

Homepage | European Alternatives

We help you find European alternatives for digital service and products, like cloud services and SaaS products.

317274

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Aapo Salmela @aasalmela.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Allekirjoita 👇

021

Reposted by Mats Ittonen

Rebecca McMackin @rebeccalovesplants.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

A long-running study out of England has found that, as you use fertilizers on landscapes, you lose pollinators. The mechanism is that fertilizers encourages grasses, which outcompete insect pollinated flowers and reduce floral resources. 🌿🌱🧪🌎

theguardian.com

High fertiliser use halves numbers of pollinators, world’s longest study finds

Even average use of nitrogen fertilisers cut flower numbers fivefold and halved pollinating insects

15923

Mats Ittonen @matsittonen.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Looking for a useful way to procrastinate? Take this quick survey on your opinions about good supervision and experiences with former or current supervisors.

021