iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Systematics Association @systassn.bsky.social · 5h

Reminder that general pre-registration for the Morphological Phylogenetics Workshop closes tomorrow, Thursday OCT 8th at 5PM GMT+1! Apply here: forms.gle/Nz2PsZZC3WFb...

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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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Amelia Cervera 🍉 @ameliacervera.eurosky.social · 05/10/2026

"Franklin’s lab notes, usually thorough and meticulous, say little about photograph 51. But in a paper published today in the Journal of the History of Biology, Sponsel & Sutton draw attention to the earlier image, photograph 49, showing she made extensive notes about it despite a cosmetic defect. >

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Megan Barkdull @meganbarkdull.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I’m really happy to share that my invited review on social insect genome evolution, co-authored with @corriemoreau.bsky.social, is out now in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social 🐝🐜 This is the paper I wish I’d had when studying for quals in grad school, and was a ton of fun to write.

Greyscale illustrations of eight social taxa: the wasp Parischnogaster nigricans; the bee Ceratina calcarata; the thrips Kladothrips; the aphid Pseudoregma bambucicola; the bee Austroplebeia cincta; the ambrosia beetle Austroplatypus incompertus; and the ants and termites.

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Systematics Association @systassn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Need a travel bursary to attend? Then register today! Bursary applications close at 5PM GMT+1 TODAY!!! Apply here: forms.gle/MckaRaz6Mcic...

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Joe Hanly @hanliconius.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

@cellpress.bsky.social has just released an.... interesting new 'short review' on pre-implantation gene editing, in which author Cathy Tie argues for the ethical imperative of pushing for this technology. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... There are, to put it mildly, a few issues here. 1/

Medicine has a responsibility to develop interventions that safely reduce human suffering. Therapeutic germline gene editing should be judged by the scientific evidence supporting it, not by the history of the field. If rigorous clinical evaluation demonstrates that it is safe and effective, continued prohibition would itself require ethical justification.

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Sandra Álvarez @sabifo4.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Character matrices, FBD, total-evidence dating... Fancy delving into all this & more over a 3-day course on morphological phylogenetics? 🧬💻🦴 📅 Pre-register by 8 Oct, 17:00 GMT: forms.gle/PwFh8zG6hrHY... ⏰ Deadline to request travel bursaries: 1 Oct, 17:00 GMT More info 👇 tinyurl.com/52c9u7dw

forms.gle

Morphological Phylogenetics Application Form

Welcome to the SystAssn-SRUK/CERU-PalAss Morphological Phylogenetics Workshop application form. The workshop will be held at University College London on November 9th-11th. We look forward to seeing ...

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Systematics Association @systassn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Want to learn about limbless amphibians, caecilians, and their cool biology? Don't forget to register to what promises to be a very interesting lecture! REGISTER: tinyurl.com/ndx5az2a The event is free but we need to ensure we book a large enough area of the pub for the post-lecture chitchat! 🍻

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Robin Hayward 🌳 🏳️‍⚧️ @canopyrobin.com · 25/09/2026

We're publishing new guidance to support trans people who do fieldwork (any work outside the office)! Now we need your help to get them seen so please share! inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk/trans/

a cartoon of three fieldworkers. One has a small trans flag. The logos of the university of leeds, research england, and canopy robin are shown, as well as the URL: InclusiveFieldwork (dot) Leeds (dot) AC (dot) UK (slash) trans

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Systematics Association @systassn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We are organising an in-person Morphological Phylogenetics Workshop, in partnership with SRUK/CERU and @thepalass.bsky.social. When: Nov 9-11, 2026 Where: University College London There are limited places, so please pre-register by October 8th!!! Find more details here: tinyurl.com/52c9u7dw

Poster containing event details and QR code to the registration form.

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Neil @uk-wildlife.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here are all the places you can find my stuff online, YouTube for the long videos and other bits on the other platforms :)

A fox head with a green background with logos and usernames of my online content locations

Youtube: Uk wildlife + Pond Lab
Facebook: Uk Wildlife + Pondmanuk

Instagram: Neil_uk_wildlife

Bluesky is the account this is on

A qr code for the link tree with this info too

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What's going on here? Is that fungus? Noodles?? No, it's bagworm moth cases! In a new article led by co-advised student David Cheng, we describe two new species and a whole new subfamily of bagworm moths: Tenuipsychinae! academic.oup.com/isd/article-... Brief explainer below!

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The results are in 🦋📢 A huge thank you to the 101,565 of you who took part in this year's #BigButterflyCount! While many widespread butterfly species had a good summer, drought and record heat could impact next year’s populations. Read the full results 👉 buff.ly/V75ZHi7

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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Are you a #NewPI in Ecology & Evolution? Would you like to meet with peers to chat about work, the future and life as a new PI? 🍪☕️ Then I have the form for you! 📋 Help us gauge interest in a new network/event by filling in this short survey: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/K4wUiuLuFn Please RT! 🙏

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Peter Mulhair @petermulhair.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It’s that time of year again! If you’re an early career researcher (anywhere) working on systematics (of anything), join us on November 13th for YSF2026 This is a friendly forum showcasing the brightest young talent globally. Abstract deadline 24 Oct.

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Casey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

My new book, Phylogenetic Biology, is now published. Available online for free at dunnlab.org/phylogenetic... . Physical copies can be purchased at shop.lightningsource.com/b/085?params... or your favorite bookstore.

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Clare Boyes @pickeletto.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It's 5 years since Douglas died. Some lovely friends organised a fundraiser for their birthdays with the proceeds going to the Diarsia fund run by @savebutterflies.bsky.social to fund research into UK lepidoptera declines. Feel free to contribute here. Thank you. www.justgiving.com/page/tom-ter...

justgiving.com

Tom & Tereza's fundraiser for Butterfly Conservation (The Diarsia Awards)

Help Tom Hayek raise money to support Butterfly Conservation

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Gemma Martínez Redondo @gemmaeling.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What a nice feeling to come back from holidays and see the last paper of my PhD finally published in its final form in @natcomms.nature.com !! www.nature.com/articles/s41... Want to learn a bit more about the genomic basis of animal terrestrialization? A thread 🧵1/14

nature.com

Convergent genomic trajectories shape adaptation to life on land across animal lineages - Nature Communications

Animals have moved from water to land many times, but whether they used the same genetic routes has remained unclear. This study shows that independent land transitions relied mostly on ancient, conse...

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Pinheiro de Castro et al. trace the evolution of cyanogenic glucosides biosynthesis in Heliconiini butterflies, providing evidence for the genetic basis of this phenotype and empirical evidence for plasticity-first evolution. 🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #societyjournal #evobio #molbio

MBE | Plasticity-first evolution via CYP405 loss shaped chemical defenses in butterflies

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Hummingbird Hawk Macroglossum stellatarum eclosing from pupa found in North Wales (slightly speeded up). Thousands more will be emerging in Britain during the next few weeks, then the moths will migrate down to the Mediterranean where they overwinter.

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Peter Mulhair @petermulhair.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Sampling brown china mark moths (Elophila nymphaeata) to study their adaptations (aquatic caterpillars) this past week. I never fully appreciated the diversity of wing patterns between individuals in this species! #moths

Collection of 6 pictures of brown china mark moths, small delicate crambid moths which have brown wings with varying degrees of white blotches.

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Palustris @palustris.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Now new generation adults are appearing, here's a quick guide to the 5 species of Great Diving Beetle found in England. This is the common one, Dytiscus marginalis, distinguished by broad pale margins on all 4 sides of the pronotum, the plain, unstriped brown underside and the rounded hind coxae.

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Reposted by Peter Mulhair

Isabel Almudi @isabelalmudi.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

What happens when evolution adds an extra pair of eyes? Male mayflies evolve an extra pair of dorsal compound eyes, the Turbanate eyes, thought to help males detect females during mating swarms. we have investigate how this remarkable evolutionary novelty develops. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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Katy Brown @thekatybrown.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Me, @emma-harding.bsky.social, @rtarlinton.bsky.social and @royalsociety.org are organising a meeting on endogenous viral elements! 8-9 Feb 2027, Birmingham UK. 2 whole days of EVEs! Many amazing researchers already agreed to speak. Invites: shorturl.at/jp9sh Provisional schedule: shorturl.at/8O5KV

royalsociety.org

Endogenous viral elements | Royal Society

Theo Murphy meeting organised by Dr Katy Brown, Dr Emma Harding and Professor Rachael Tarlinton

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Sailing in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social ready for summer, our study on the iconic Portuguese man o' war 🪼 is out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6.... We use (epi)genomics to understand a critter that fascinates me since childhood. Massive team effort with @obog.bsky.social, Cummins and Neely groups. 🧵

the indo-pacific bluebottle (Physalia utriculus)

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Pável Matos @pavelmatosm.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Please share: Full-time PhD position on Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️ The project aims to understand the evolution and adaptation of Andean white butterflies using genomics. DEADLINE: September 11, 2026 More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/

pavelmatos.wordpress.com

Join us

Opportunities Below are the positions currently open in our lab. Open PhD position (full time) Comparative and Population Genomics of Butterflies at High Elevations. The project aims to understand …

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Paula Escuer @pescuer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

New opinion piece out! Happy to see it out in @royalsociety.org Long-read sequencing for epigenomic studies in ecology and evolution🧬 Great collaboration with colleagues from the epigenomics symposia in the 3rd Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology. royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...

royalsocietypublishing.org

Long-read sequencing for epigenomic studies in the fields of ecology and evolution

Abstract. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, play crucial roles in regulating gene expression, influencing phenotypic variation and facilita

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Arif M @arf-mln.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Very excited to see the first chapter of my PhD out on bioRxiv! It began as a rotation project and became a pivotal part of my PhD on beetles, adding a complementary macroevolutionary perspective to my second chapter on early-stage speciation in Indonesian herbivorous ladybird beetles.

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Varsha Mathur @varshamathur.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

So happy to share our new paper out now in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We establish Pirsonia-Coscinodiscus as a model pathosystem and uncover how this tiny parasite infects and kills bloom-forming marine diatoms 🌊🦠 rdcu.be/fuQyF

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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Great to see this paper published, based on #BeeFlyWatch data - thank you to everyone who has ever sent in a bee-fly record 🙏 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

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Alex Mackintosh @thymelicus.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

New preprint on the effect of ancient admixture / structure on genealogical trees. I introduce a new way of summarising reconstructed genealogies that captures a clear signal of ancient gene flow into the ancestors of modern humans. Feedback welcome!

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Luis Guerra @luisguerra.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Prebilaterian Origin of Monoaminergic Signalling is out! This paper represents four years of work, not only mine, but friends and colleagues. I am particularly grateful to Tatiana Mayorova; without her help, this paper would not have been nearly as complete. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Prebilaterian origin of monoaminergic signaling

Monoamines such as serotonin, dopamine, and tyramine regulate physiological and behavioral processes in bilaterian animals, but the evolutionary origi…

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Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The @smbe-idea.bsky.social symposium at #SMBE2026 was packed with inspiring talks and thought-provoking discussion. Thank you for the opportunity to share how @projectpsyche.bsky.social & @10klepgenomes.bsky.social is making biodiversity genomics more inclusive!

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Marc Robinson-Rechavi @marcrr.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Thoughts on traveling by train to 2 international conferences a bit far: Lausanne - Glasgow for #EED2026, 13h of train to, a bit more with a night train fro. Lausanne - Copenhagen for #SMBE2026, 22h each way including a night train. #NoFlyEED #NoFlySMBE #NoFlyAcademics

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Pável Matos @pavelmatosm.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

The beautiful colours and shapes of butterfly wings are shaped by natural selection and biomechanical constraints. Huge congrats to Dani and @vincentdebat.bsky.social for this new paper on the evolution of iridescence and hindwing "tails" in Eudamina skippers Paper: doi.org/10.1093/evol... 🦋

doi.org

Repeated evolution of iridescence and hindwing tails is associated with morphometric flight proxies in skipper butterflies

Abstract. Phenotypic evolution is shaped by phylogenetic history, ecology and biomechanical constraints. Butterfly wings offer an ideal system to explore t

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10kLepGenomes @10klepgenomes.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

🦋🚀 @marcinwiorek.bsky.social from the @iseapas.bsky.social, gave a successful talk on @projectpsyche.bsky.social and @10klepgenomes.bsky.social at the 48th Symposium of the Lepidoptera Section, Polish Entomological Society held in Góra Świętej Anny, Poland, June 19–21. #10kLepGenomes #Lepidoptera

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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

New data on insect pollinators show a dramatic decline in hoverflies across Great Britain between 2017–2024. 📉 Around one third reduction in abundance & number of hoverfly species recorded as part of @pomscheme.bsky.social www.ceh.ac.uk/press/new-da... 1/ @jncc.bsky.social 🧪

Epistrophe grossulariae hoverfly and pollen beetles on hogweed, and text headline New data show dramatic decline in hoverflies across Great Britain

Meliscaeva cinctella hoverfly, and text about hoverflies and UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme results

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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 22/06/2026

Did you know? The UK lost ¾ of its ponds in just one century 💧 Yet ponds support 2/3 of our freshwater species and urban ponds could be key to reversing the decline 🌎 🧪 Join Dr Rachel Walker to learn how to create & protect them 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981358046... @barnescommon.bsky.social

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Camille Cornet @camillecornet.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

🧬🦋 New preprint out! 🦋🧬 What mechanisms underlie large-scale chromosomal rearrangements? Why do rearrangement rates vary so massively across taxa? We explored these questions in Erebia butterflies, a genus with extraordinary chromosome number diversity, from 7 to 52! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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Todd Oakley @ostratodd.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

🧵 New paper! We’re excited to release OPTICS: software that immediately predicts color sensitivity from any opsin protein sequence. In other words: give OPTICS any opsin sequence, and it predicts the wavelength of light the pigment is most sensitive to 🌈👁️ academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

academic.oup.com

Accessible and Robust Machine Learning Approaches to Improve the Opsin Genotype-Phenotype Map

Abstract. Predicting phenotypes from genetic variation is a central challenge in biology. Here, machine learning (ML) offers great promise, but its use is

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Jessica Foley @jessicafoley14.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Very excited to finally have this out in the world! The first paper from my PhD (and my first first-author publication) makes the case for a new entrant to the world of long-lived animal models: Heliconius butterflies. Out now in @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... (1/10)

nature.com

Evolution of increased longevity and slowed ageing in a genus of tropical butterfly - Nature Communications

Studying long-lived species across the animal kingdom could provide insights into healthy ageing in humans. This study reveals long lifespans and slowed ageing in Heliconius butterflies, identifying t...

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Peter Mulhair @petermulhair.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Latest paper lead by Asia Hoile with @peterhox.bsky.social is out! 🦋 Nymphalid butterflies have reduced forelegs. Gene expression patterns show support for more palp-like genes involved in sensory processes in the forelegs relative to the walking legs. doi.org/10.1111/imb....

doi.org

Distinctive gene expression in the reduced first thoracic legs of a nymphalid butterfly

Transcriptome analysis reveals that the small non-walking front legs of a butterfly have distinct gene expression to the four walking legs. Reduced front legs express a gene with putative mechanosen...

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Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · 11/06/2026

Whole genome duplications over 450 million years ago enabled the emergence of different kinds of brain cells 🧠 These cellular innovations are shared across vertebrates - from primitive fish to mammals - and form the basis of the sophisticated brains seen today 👇

bit.ly

Ancient genome duplications laid the foundations of complex brains

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Peter Mulhair @petermulhair.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

doi.org

Distinctive gene expression in the reduced first thoracic legs of a nymphalid butterfly

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Laurie Belcher @lauriebelch.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

The new OrthoFinder paper is out now! In this new work, we introduce major advances in accuracy and scalability, allowing analysis on much larger datasets www.nature.com/articles/s41... github.com/OrthoFinder/...

nature.com

OrthoFinder: improved phylogenetic orthology inference with enhanced accuracy and scalability - Nature Methods

The updated OrthoFinder v3 software boosts accuracy and scalability in phylogenetic orthology inference with massive and diverse datasets.

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KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

A big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇

Schema of three major chromosomal rearrangements leading to Muller Elements of Drosophila melanogaster since the common ancestor of Diptera.

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Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Capolavoro 🎨 alert 🚨! What is the role of gene body methylation in invertebrates? Despite extensive speculation linking it to plasticity and environmental responses, its mechanistic effects and heritability remain unclear. Our take out in @natecoevo.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/

nature.com

Gene body methylation suppresses intragenic transcription and permits epigenetic inheritance in a cnidarian - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Experiments in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis show a role of gene body methylation in transposable element suppression and that epigenetic inheritance is constrained by chromatin context and tra...

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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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