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Milton Tan

@mtanichthys.bsky.social
1.5K followers 378 following 1.1K posts

Fish biodiversity, genomics. Illinois Natural History Survey Asst Research Scientist. Also aquarium fish hobbyist and plant parent. Profile pic: With a tamandua knifefish. He/him

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Reposted by Milton Tan
phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 10h
D-plus: Beyond the D-statistic -- Accurate Detection and Characterization of Introgression Despite Among-Lineage Rate Variation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Reposted by Milton Tan
phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 9h
CRAIC: interactive interrogation of multiple sequence alignment uncertainty www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Reposted by Milton Tan
phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 9h
A unified framework reveals how evolutionary scale and abundance weighting shape phylogenetic community structure www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Hengxing Zou @hengxingzou.bsky.social · 11h
In our new perspective paper @pnas.org, we show how the comments you put in eBird/iNaturalist can help ecologist with collecting much-needed data on species interactions: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Large language models unlock the ecology of species interactions | PNAS
Species interactions shape population dynamics, geographic distributions, evolutionary trajectories, and responses to environmental change. Yet dat...
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 11h
Feel bad for the arachnologists
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Joe Hanly @hanliconius.bsky.social · 11h
genome sizes in animal and fungal orders. (note different scales). hanliconius.github.io/genome-obser...
animal genome sizes by orderfungal genome sizes by order
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Joel McGlothlin @joelmcglothlin.bsky.social · 20h
What do you think about the use of LLMs in scientific writing? Whenever I see a disclosure stating the authors used ChatGPT to help "improve clarity", etc., I worry about how much of the work it has done--particularly in reviews, which are what come across my editorial desk.
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Nathan Alexander @smammalbio.bsky.social · 19h
Introduced to New Mexico in the 1960s-70s, these antelope have expanded their range in the United States >100km. With increasing drought and dry conditions in the southwest, Gemsbok are poised to continue that spread. Thank you Lauren Quinn for the write up! aces.illinois.edu/news/african...
aces.illinois.edu
African gemsbok spreading in New Mexico: How far could they go under climate change? | College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences | Illinois
Majestic African antelopes known as gemsbok have been roaming the U.S. southwest since their introduction in the 1960s and 1970s. Brought to New Mexico as game species for hunting, gemsbok quickly set...
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Dr Craig R McClain @drcraigmc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Some glass sponges may be the oldest animals on Earth. Individuals of Monorhaphis chuni are estimated at over 11,000 years old, and they build a single skeletal spike up to 3m long, the largest natural glass structure any animal makes. 🧪 #SpongeThursday #HowToBuildAGiant #marinelife
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TaxonWorks @taxonworks.bsky.social · 15h
Released v0.66.0. github.com/SpeciesFileG... Quality of life improvements, and a new concept AssertedEnvironment. Describe Taxa, CollectingEvents, or entries in a spatial Gazeteer with the ENVO Ontology. We hope this drives interest in the potential behind ENVO, it needs, let's say, some love.
github.com
Release Version 0.66.0 release · SpeciesFileGroup/taxonworks
Added Autocomplete for Organization /api/v1/alternate_values and /api/v1/alternate_values/<id> endpoints Adds extend[]=citations to /api/v1/common_names endpoint Asserted Environments (with terms ...
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Reposted by Milton Tan
Journal of Systematics and Evolution @journalsysevo.bsky.social · 16h
APG V, the 5th community-based classification of flowering #plants, is now available! This revision of the APG #classification marks a shift from mainly #plastid-based classification to nuclear-#genome-informed #systematics. 🆓 doi.org/10.1111/jse.... @wileyecology.bsky.social
doi.org
Large‐scale nuclear and plastid phylogenomic analyses inform an updated Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification: APG V
This revision of the APG classification considers the extensive recent analyses of hundreds of nuclear and plastid genes for many angiosperm species. Although previous versions of the APG classificat...
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Reposted by Milton Tan
phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 12h
Encoding level-3 semi-directed phylogenetic networks by quarnets and quinnets arxiv.org/abs/2610.07855v1
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Pravrutha Raman @pravrutharaman.bsky.social · 14h
Now that we have moved coasts, I am thrilled to share that the ChromEvo (Raman) lab is officially open at UMass Boston 🎉 We ask how CHROMatin EVOlution leads to functional innovation and we are hiring at multiple levels. Read on and share with folks who maybe interested chromevoramanlab.github.io
The logo with a phylogenetic tree, a budding yeast, a fly and a nucleosome that has Raman lab Chrom Evo written in the middle
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 11h
I s o m e t r y
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Reposted by Milton Tan
Dr Craig R McClain @drcraigmc.bsky.social · 20h
Most animals change proportions as they grow. A coiled shell doesn't have to. Add one turn and the whole shell is just 2.2x bigger, same shape. Watch this one grow forever without changing at all. 🧪🐌 #HowToBuildAGiant #MarineLife
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 18h
Flabbergasted that someone's conversion script to convert the file format they came up with to a standard format is apparently not working properly, definitely explaining some of our weird results... Didn't think to check that for some reason...
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Butlerian Jihadist of House Dornick @shimminykricket.blacksky.app · 08/10/2026
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
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Andrew Rypel @andrewrypel.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🚨 New paper led by grad student Alex Ginez! So many native fishes are still labeled as “rough fish” and given no management attention, and often unlimited harvest - still! But are these fishes actually capable of sustaining high harvest? academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad... A thread on the study 🧵👇
academic.oup.com
Smoothing over “rough” mismanagement: Establishing protective harvest limits for native nongame fishes
Abstract. There is growing interest in establishing more protective regulations for native fishes that historically have been classified as “rough fish,” a
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yeah, not quite the same thing but in genomics people can embargo data that's public on NCBI but not yet published in a journal, but TBH life's too short and there's tons of data, I just stay out of people's way and keep doing science regardless even if I'm not using all "available" data
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Reposted by Milton Tan
Brian O'Meara @omearabrian.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I'm always curious if people who require co-authorship to use their published data (so they get a veto on later use) extend the same policies to hard-earned discoveries they use themselves. Are the taxonomists who described their species, the software developers, DNA sequencers, etc. also coauthors?
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Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
How might scientific writing change in the years to come - and thus, when and why might my writing book need a fourth edition? scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/10/06/w...
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
When will my book’s third edition be out of date?
The third edition of The Scientist’s Guide to Writing has been out for two months now. Just two months – and I’ve already been asked when I’ll write a fourth edition! It’s a fair question, I guess;…
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Madhusudan 🦉 Katti @leafwarbler.myatproto.social · 06/10/2026
Designed to be Forgotten: Visual Anonymization in Ecological Publishing. Bring back the unique personalities of journals. bring back diversity in design, argues @emoqanaki.bsky.social Happy to have published this in the latest Bulletin of the ESA @esajournals.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1002/bes2...
White background with the following text:

BULLETIN
ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Communicating Science
• Open Access

Designed to be Forgotten: Visual Anonymization in Ecological Publishing
Ehsan Moganaki

First published: 08 September 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70102 |
Abstract 

For over three centuries, the visual identity of scientific journals served as a mark of institutional and disciplinary heritage. In recent years, however, an industry-wide consolidation of journal publishing has been accompanied by a convergence toward standardized, interchangeable layouts. I argue that the transition to homogeneous designs is not a technical inevitability but a production optimization, one that often subordinates reader engagement and disciplinary identity to production efficiency. Layout functions as an access structure, shaping how readers navigate and interpret the scientific record. Therefore, its impoverishment is a communicative loss, not merely an aesthetic one. I contend that ecology, a field defined by diversity at every scale, has particular reason to resist the visual anonymization of its journals and to treat layout as a meaningful dimension of scientific communication.
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New Scientist @newscientist.com · 07/10/2026
The genome of Jonathan the giant tortoise, a 194-year-old resident of St Helena island, has been probed to understand how he has been alive for more than double his species’ average life expectancy
newscientist.com
194-year-old tortoise has exceptional DNA repair systems that fight off ageing | New Scientist
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Recruiting students to your Ecology and Evolutionary Biology PhD program? Make sure your stipend information is up-to-date in the Biology PhD Stipend database: mlgaynor.com/BiologyPhDSt...
mlgaynor.com
Biology PhD Stipends
Biology Ph.D. stipend database with live summaries from the shared Google Sheet.
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Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
#SpookySeason Science 🐠 Online Exhibit Ichthyologists use two main techniques to prepare skeletons from preserved specimens of all shapes and sizes without losing their skeletal positions. Inner Beauty 🩻 Skeletons Revealed from the Museum’s Fish Collection www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/onl...
a large wedge-shaped fish skeleton is highlighted in light blue in high detail against a black background. It has a flat profile with a heavy jaw and a very short body that angles up to a short tail high in the back
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Laura Bertola @lauradbertola.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Biodiversity safeguards ecosystem services and functions worldwide www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Biodiversity safeguards ecosystem services and functions worldwide - Nature Ecology & Evolution
An analysis of a global database of 423 studies and &gt;200,000 data points outlines the strength and generality of biodiversity relationships with ecosystem functioning and services.
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Reposted by Milton Tan
Fabio A. Machado @fmachado.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Fresh out of the oven: a little provocation about the conclusion that macroevolution rates are slower than we would expect. Feedback and rebuttals are welcome academic.oup.com/evlett/advan... with @damelo.net @apenna.bsky.social @agporto.bsky.social and others
academic.oup.com
Invasion of new adaptive zones retains telltale signs of directional selection at macroevolutionary scales in mammals
Abstract. Directional selection is often viewed as a transient force in macroevolution, with its signal eroded over time by stabilizing and fluctuating sel
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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 06/10/2026
The gentoo penguin complex is historically treated as a single species, but a study in Communications Biology shows the existence of four divergent evolutionary lineages. The authors propose treating the lineages as four distinct species. go.nature.com/4iVxVZQ #evosky 🧬🌎🧪
A Gentoo penguin with a black head, white eye patch, and bright orange beak and feet walks on a sandy beach. Its white chest contrasts with its black back. The ocean with gentle waves is blurred in the background. Adobe stock image. This is figure 7, which shows synonymy and divergence of gentoo penguins.
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Joel Pick @joelpick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🚨Exciting project alert!!🚨 Are you interested in data and code sharing in Ecology and Evolution? @eivimeycook.bsky.social and I are running a hackathon to quantify data and code availability and sharing quality across 90 society journals, and looking for people who want to be involved.
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Bruce Stallsmith @laimosemion.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Poecilia sarrafae Pair collected in the Mearim River, Maranhão, Brazil. Photo a friend of Rodrigo Rodrigues sent him. There are many Poecilia species, this is one I'm unfamiliar with. 🌍🐟 #TeamFish
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Bruce Stallsmith @laimosemion.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Good news on the status of the Spanish Toothcarp, Aphanius iberus. The species is hanging on in the face of habitat degradation and interference from introduced Eastern Gambusia, Gambusia holbrooki. 🌍🐟🦑 #TeamFish
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Rediscovering the Endangered Mediterranean Killifish <fi>Aphanius iberus</fi>: Environmental <fc>DNA</fc> Reveals Updated Distribution and Conservation Implications in Coastal Habitats
Key strongholds and successful reintroductions of the endangered Spanish toothcarp, as well as the discovery of remnant populations at some historical sites, were identified through environmental DNA...
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Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
As Terence Tao told New Scientist recently, this is not ok
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW: In March the White House released an FY27 budget request that zeroed out the National Science Foundation's directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). For months it was unclear what would happen. Now, with FY26 over, the damage to SBE is coming to light. My reporting:
science.org
‘Complete devastation’: How NSF gutted its social sciences research
Agency body that funds sociology, linguistics, and archaeology studies in U.S. gave 90% fewer new grants this year
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Association of Applied Biologists @aabiologists.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
#auxin2026 D2 progressing nicely. Great talk from @minyaaa.bsky.social about floral and leave development in Monkey-flower….
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In our discipline (eco/evo), rotations are quite rare, so there's a lot more emphasis on fit between a student and a specific lab. This makes this a bit trickier than if rotations were expected...
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Joe Hanly @hanliconius.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
according to Genome Observatory, we have 6 chromosomal genomes from extinct species. That includes one of the only genomes from a named and famous individual, Lonesome George the Giant Tortoise hanliconius.github.io/genome-obser...
A table showing the 6 chromosomal genomes of extinct species. a picture of the Abingdon Island Giant Tortoise, "Lonesome George".
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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I saw my first ever green flash out at La Jolla last week! I was heading back to the car, SURE I would not be seeing it, and turned around in time and zoomed in just in case - and saw it! Whole thing lasted maybe 5-6 seconds. Also bonus photobombing by a blackhawk helicopter.
A photo of the sun setting over the pacific ocean with a chain link fence and silhouettes of four people in the foreground - a single helicopter is hovering over the sun. About 1/3 of the disk is visible and the topmost part is about to separate and already has green marginsA photo of the sun setting over the pacific ocean with a chain link fence and silhouettes of four people in the foreground. About 1/3 of the disk is visible and the topmost part is has separated into a small green ovalA photo of the sun setting over the pacific ocean with a chain link fence and silhouettes of four people in the foreground. About 1/3 of the disk is visible and the topmost part is has separated into a small green oval
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Caitlin Curry @thatlionlady.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Out today! Future Challenges and Opportunities for the Viability of Animal Populations in Zoos and Aquariums. Check out section 3! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Future Challenges and Opportunities for the Viability of Animal Populations in Zoos and Aquariums
Maintaining sustainable animal populations is fundamental to zoo and aquarium missions in education, visitor engagement, entertainment, scientific advancement, public health and wellbeing, advocacy, ...
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
for a few universities local to them. How should a student apply to a grad program yet also try to hedge their bets since professors might be interviewing multiple students, so they can get a PhD?
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
So, I've always had the idea that when someone applies for grad school, they should have a specific idea about what lab they want to go in so they want to do research. However, I just chatted with a previous undergrad now exploring grad school. They're geographically constrained and want to apply
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Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Hot off the presses! I reviewed the history of early ray-finned fishes, with a focus on their morphology, fossil record, and taxonomy. My principal goal is a guide for other workers to make the rich record of early actinopterygian evolution more broadly available. dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor...
dx.doi.org
The Evolutionary History of Early Ray‐Finned Fishes (Pan‐Actinopterygii)
Ray-finned fishes, the most diverse living vertebrate clade, include over 600 extinct early actinopterygian species whose evolution is an enigma.
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Prairie Research Institute @prairieresearch.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
👷We're hiring! Assistant Director for Facilities and Safety at Prairie Research Institute. Lead facilities, environmental health and safety, emergency preparedness, and risk management. Apply by Oct. 26! 🔗 Apply now: loom.ly/yCidoYI
An atrium of a building with text that says, "we're hiring," and, "go.illinois.edu/pri-careers"
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Aide Macias-Muñoz @aidemm.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Please share! My lab is recruiting a postdoctoral scholar in evolutionary development. For more details feel free to email me.
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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Sociality has evolved repeatedly across the tree of life. @meganbarkdull.bsky.social & @corriemoreau.bsky.social review how insect sociality both arises from and influences genome evolution. 🔗 academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... 📷 Philipp Hoenle #societyjournal
GBE | Genome Evolution in Social Insects 

Tetramorium fulviceps. Photo: Philipp Hoenle
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Andy Farke @andyfarke.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
MorphoSource has a funding drive - if you use this resource, consider supporting! (I just did!)
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franz @franzanth.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
over the years I swear I've had 10+ people ask my permission to get this pic as a tattoo, but not a single person has followed up with the actual tattoo photo surely one of you is out there? you actually did it, yeah? not just a bluff?
painting of two squid, one in bottom left corner, one in top right corner, touching appendages in the middle, a parody of the creation of adam
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Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
*first ever for me, not for the world, in case that wasn't clear
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Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
New paper on some very large ray-finned fish fossils! Thank you to Elizabeth Furman this awesome illustration. TLDR: Large early ray-finned fishes are rare, but show very different morphologies to the point that big body size is associated with distinct ecomorphologies. mapress.com/zt/article/v...
mapress.com
Fossils of an over 1-meter-long Permian ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) from the western USA highlight multiple origins of large body size in stem-group actinopterygians | Zootaxa
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Cathy Newman ⚜️🐘 @cenewman0.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Great article explaining optogenetics in neuro research for those who, like me, had no clue what optogenetics actually is despite hearing about it all the time www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/h...
nytimes.com
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Is Awarded for Discoveries in Neuroscience (Gift Article)
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were recognized for their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, a technique that uses pulses of light to activate neurons in the brain.
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Maitreya Dunham @maitreya.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Here's the ad for the Genome Sciences faculty positions ap.washington.edu/ahr/position...
ap.washington.edu
Position Details - Academic Personnel & Faculty
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