Reposted by Yichao ZengMichael Hickerson @hickerlab.bsky.social · 01/10/2026How much of the tree of life did you eat? Phylodiet scores a meal by phylogenetic diversity: type what you ate and it builds the dated tree of the organisms in it, from ~3,300 edible eukaryotes, back 2 billion years. Last night's dinner, below. 🧵 mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/app/phylodiet.html 69439
Reposted by Yichao ZengProf. Jeff Ollerton @jeffollerton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Want to conserve #birds, #mammals and other vertebrates? Then don’t forget their #insects. Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity paper explores the many ways vertebrates depend on insects — for food, shelter, protection and much more. I’ve written about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2026/09/30/w...jeffollerton.co.ukWant to conserve birds and mammals? Then conserve their insects – our new paper in Nature Reviews Biodiversity sets out the detailsIt’s sometimes easy to forget quite how much of the living world depends upon insects. That might seem an odd thing for someone who has spent much of his career studying insects and their relations… 19657
Reposted by Yichao ZengCatherine Sheard @sheardcat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I cannot even begin to stress how important mentors have been for my career thus far, especially informal and/or peer mentorship. Sometimes mentoring is from your supervisor, or a formal programme, but more often it's a diffuse network of people in your corner. www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comSuccessful early-career scientists rely on network of mentorsLarge networks are particularly beneficial to researchers in under-represented groups. 1127
Reposted by Yichao Zengheerens.bsky.social @heerens.bsky.social · 03/09/2026👀📄 Happy to share a major effort, by +50 (early) career scientists, arguing that todays academia is holding back scientific creativity and the development/pursuit of high risk and bold ideas! Those particularly burdend? Early-career researchers! 0135
Reposted by Yichao ZengNature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com · 14/09/2026Obituary: Robert Ricklefs (1943–2026) www.nature.com/articles/s41... Polymath ecologist whose research and textbooks integrating ecology and evolution have inspired generations of students. Free to read: rdcu.be/D33fLgYcv4Banature.comRobert Ricklefs (1943–2026) - Nature Ecology & EvolutionPolymath ecologist whose research and textbooks integrating ecology and evolution have inspired generations of students. 16743
Reposted by Yichao ZengCristian Román-Palacios @cromanpa.bsky.social · 09/09/2026When two clades evolve together, can the trees alone tell you how often they cospeciated, and how often the symbiont switched hosts? We think so! Our paper, led by @yichaozeng.bsky.social, shows that branch length differences in the cophylogeny are informative enough to estimate six rates at once 03312
Yichao Zeng @yichaozeng.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Just out in Syst Biol! What are the macroevolutionary rates of species interactions such as mutualisms and antagonisms? @cromanpa.bsky.social We developed a new Approximate Bayesian Computation approach to estimating speciation and extinction rates from cophylogenies. doi.org/10.1093/sysb... 0157
Yichao Zeng @yichaozeng.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Congratulations!! 🎉 Celebrations have begun in China, France, and the US 020
Reposted by Yichao ZengPeter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 31/05/2025There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd. It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation. 449151517827
Reposted by Yichao ZengBenoît Perez-Lamarque @bperezlamarque.bsky.social · 16/05/2025New preprint reexamining codiversification in mycorrhizal symbioses! 🌱🍄 Spoiler: We found evidence of coevolution, but not cospeciation/codiversification. Congrats Fantine for your great work! 😁 072
Reposted by Yichao ZengAdam Hasik @hasikadam.bsky.social · 24/04/2025It is with SUPREME pleasure that I can finally share my most recently-published paper in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com ! www.nature.com/articles/s44... We outline a framework for linking the microevolutionary effects of parasites to the macroevolutionary dynamics of their hosts (1/2).nature.comParasitism as a driver of host diversification - Nature Reviews BiodiversityParasites and their hosts can have complex ecological interactions and evolutionary histories. This Perspective argues that parasites are a major driver of host speciation and outlines an empirical fr... 1167
Reposted by Yichao ZengDr. Elizabeth Santos @lizmillermacroevo.bsky.social · 14/04/2025I am pleased to announce The Macroevolution Lab at Ohio State opens this August! We will be housed in the Museum of Biological Diversity 🐟🐠🐡 1912010
Reposted by Yichao ZengNiles Eldredge @nilese.bsky.social · 12/03/2025My Obituary of Elisabeth Vrba—out today in Nature in read-only format: rdcu.be/ediyOrdcu.beElisabeth Vrba obituary: palaeontologist who solved a problem that vexed Darwin | NatureThe biologist’s theories about how environments prompt rapid species evolution and extinction propelled her onto the world stage. The biologist’s theories about how environments prompt rapid species evolution and extinction propelled her onto the world stage. 7241110
Reposted by Yichao ZengStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 12/02/2025Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence 289114555402
Reposted by Yichao ZengLisa Grossman @astrolisa.bsky.social · 15/02/2025I went to AAAS this weekend and talked to lots of scientists about how they're feeling In These Times www.sciencenews.org/article/defu...sciencenews.orgThe mood is ‘uncertain, anxious’ at 2025’s first big U.S. science meetingScientists are losing funding and even their jobs under the new Trump administration. Researchers at the AAAS meeting shared fears and coping strategies. 813552
Reposted by Yichao ZengWayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · 05/12/2024A careful dose of ignorance — a story of how my not reading two papers, many years ago, was vital to my career's path. waynemaddison.wordpress.com/2024/12/05/a... 24022
Yichao Zeng @yichaozeng.bsky.social · 04/12/2024I'm excited to see our paper being part of this special issue! 192
Reposted by Yichao ZengEuropean Society for Evolutionary Biology @eseb.bsky.social · 03/12/2024New Special Issue from our flagship journal @jevbio.bsky.social! This arose from a symposium at ESEB2022 in Prague - we are delighted to see it come to fruition! Well done to the Guest Eds and all contributing authors 👏 #macroevolution #microevolution #speciation #evolution #diversification 0137
Reposted by Yichao ZengMasahito Tsuboi @masahitotsuboi.bsky.social · 03/12/2024Now our special issue on the relationship between microevolution and macroevolution is online @jevbio.bsky.social! We hope that it marks the beginning of a new era of exciting discoveries. link to the issue: ow.ly/LHol50UjJql link to the editorial: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...ow.lyVolume 37 Issue 12 | Journal of Evolutionary Biology | Oxford AcademicJournal of Evolutionary Biology 288
Reposted by Yichao ZengUniversity of Arizona EEB @uofa-eeb.bsky.social · 14/11/2024If you are looking for a graduate program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, please considering joining us in Tucson, AZ! Our deadline is December 2 this year for admission to our Fall 2025 cohort. You can find out more about EEB and applying to our program here: eeb.arizona.edu/graduate/pro... 12916
Yichao Zeng @yichaozeng.bsky.social · 20/11/2024Symbionts, whether mutualistic or antagonistic, rely on their hosts for survival. In this paper with David Hembry, I show how the distinction between host and symbiont lifestyles could impact diversification through selection for & against phenotypic novelty. doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... 2123