Imputation in the Wild: Genome-Wide Robustness and Fine-Scale Limitations of Low-Coverage Genomes in Endangered Species onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Imputation in the Wild: Genome‐Wide Robustness and Fine‐Scale Limitations of Low‐Coverage Genomes in Endangered Species

Low-coverage whole-genome sequencing (lcWGS) combined with genotype imputation is increasingly being used to generate large genomic datasets at reduced cost, offering a promising alternative for cons...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Call for abstracts 🚨 Submissions for the joint NZ Ecological Society + @scboceania.org conference close 12 Aug (no extensions!). 📅 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2027📍AUT, Auckland 💡 "Changing the Conversation – Ecology in a Shifting Political Landscape" confer.eventsair.com/2026-nzes-sc... #ecology #conservation

How do birds cope with bright and noisy nights?🐦🌃 In our study, after just one night of experimental light or noise, common mynas slept ~50% less and sang ~20% fewer songs, yet their contact calls remained unchanged. doi.org/10.1016/j.an... 🌏🧪 @asab.org @ecostanley.bsky.social @kecain.bsky.social

Rapid expansion overcomes inbreeding in cross-hemisphere colonization of Barn Swallows https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.13.738246v1

Genomic quantification of inbreeding depression in wild vertebrate populations https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.16.737952v1

Want to see what genes change their copy number with your favourite complex trait while controlling for phylogeny? Try this. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

OrthoGLMM: Phylogenetic Association Testing for Gene Content and Trait Evolution

Motivation Comparative genome projects can now assemble and annotate hundreds of species, creating an opportunity to test whether species-level traits are associated with repeated changes in gene cont...

biorxiv.org

On the cover 🐧 @josephguhlin.bsky.social @annasanture.bsky.social @peterkdearden.bsky.social

🐦 Why are bird genomes so difficult to assemble? Birds have dozens of tiny, gene-rich microchromosomes that are frequently fragmented, misplaced, or missing from genome assemblies despite containing important genetic information. 📖 Read the publication: lnkd.in/gar-GrKZ #BirdGenomics #Biodiversity

#GSA2026 will be kicking off very soon ✨ We are looking forward to an amazing line up of talks over the next week! Please post your conference updates & photos and tag @geneticsaus.bsky.social to have them reposted by the official GSA account🚨

Here in Brisbane at the Genetics Society of Australia conference - off to a cracking start with an inspiring presentation from our MJD White prize winner Peter Dearden, reminding us to step back from data and seek functional evidence #GSA2026 @geneticsaus.bsky.social

Just in time for #SMBE2026, our new preprint is out: using 130 genomes spanning ~200 years, fitness data and simulations, we show that conservation rescued the Mauritius kestrel from extinction, but not from genomic erosion. 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #popgen #consgen #conservation

Our lab is at #SMBE2026 🧬🤩 🎤 Gina Henderson: maternal genetics of immunity 🐑 (Mon 11.45 Main) 📊 Marie Raynaud: recombination hotspots & function🐦 (Mon A294) 🎤 Susan Johnston: selection on crossovers 🐦 (Tue 14.30 Main) 📊 Lisa Ammer: sex-differences in CO landscapes 🐦 (Tue B196) And we are hiring 👇🏻

The work we did with kākāpō is now not possible because the govt has said that our funding should go to science that makes money. Members of our current govt have said that if an endangered species is in the way of a mine or a new road then it’s goodbye #nzpol peterkdearden.substack.com/p/on-kakapo

on Kākāpō

and extinction

peterkdearden.substack.com

Poster | Tuesday, Jun 30 • 6:00 pm | Room: 2nd floor: Arkaden 6 Audald Lloret-Villas Genomic determinants of reproductive success in a critically bottlenecked parrot #SMBE2026

on the destruction of New Zealand Science open.substack.com/pub/peterkde...

on the destruction of New Zealand Science

and earthquakes

open.substack.com

Absolutely brilliant, scathing words from Peter here. A must read but suggest hugging a tree after

Peter Dearden@peterkdearden.bsky.social · last mo.

on the destruction of New Zealand Science open.substack.com/pub/peterkde...

🚨Upcoming Asia-Pacific Genetics Seminar Tuesday 7 July (12pm AEST / 2pm NZST) Dr Joanna Achinger-Kawecka from Adelaide University, and SAiGENCI will present a seminar titled "3D chromatin rewiring governs lineage identity in prostate cancer".🧬 Please see the below poster for signup details.

It's Tree of the Year time Aotearoa! There are some beauties in the finalist list. Vote for rākau o te tau by the end of June. 🌳🌳 www.treeoftheyear.co.nz

Home | Tree of the year / Rākau o te tau | New Zealand

We want you, New Zealand, to nominate and vote for the greatest trees in the country. It’s not about the biggest or oldest, it’s about trees that play a part in our lives, our history and our future.

treeoftheyear.co.nz

I have a 12-month (0.8FTE) postdoc available to work on my Tāwhia Te Mana Fellowship on "Decoding Invasion Success"! The successful applicant should have skills in evolutionary genomic data analysis, with a focus on or interest in invasive insects. Apply via my LinkedIn post: shorturl.at/Ithak

I have a 12-month part-time (0.8FTE) postdoc position available to work on my Tāwhia Te Mana Fellowship on "Decoding Invasion Success"! The successful applicant should have skills in evolu...

I have a 12-month part-time (0.8FTE) postdoc position available to work on my Tāwhia Te Mana Fellowship on "Decoding Invasion Success"! The successful applicant should have skills in evolutionary ge...

shorturl.at

Amazing turn out in Kirikiriroa today in support of our transgender & intersex whānau. Don't forget to make your submission against the Definition Woman Man Bill.

📣 New paper out in ProcB📣 ... and we're on the cover! (Perks of having a beautiful study species) Find it here: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Inbreeding depression in morphological and growth traits of wild barn owls (Tyto alba)

Abstract. Despite its detrimental effects, inbreeding depression in wild populations is relatively under-explored. Here, we use whole-genome sequence data

royalsocietypublishing.org

Brault et al. propose guidelines for standardized π estimation, systematic reporting of summary statistics, and the adoption of richer metadata to ensure that population genomic data remain comparable and reusable across a wide range of systems. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #genome #evolution

Kia ora folks! I'm a week into Sweat with Pride, my 3rd year raising $ in June for rainbow charities. I've already clocked up over 560 mins exercise in 7 days - despite a back injury 🙃 If you have the means, please consider sponsoring me below! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ www.sweatwithpride.com/fundraisers/...

This is why Indigenous communities, incl. Maori, don't support de-extinction or public release of taonga genomes (the entire genetic blueprint of an individual) without proper engagement due to very valid concerns about monetising IP, biopiracy, & trademarking www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 1/3 🧵

Inbreeding depression by polygenic load following a severe population bottleneck https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.03.729877v1

Day 4 of Sweat with Pride - have hurt my back so taking a break from lifting today, but still managed over 15,000 steps. I know people are finding it tough atm but if you can support me, I'd appreciate a donation for a special cause close to my heart 🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ www.sweatwithpride.com/fundraisers/...

Chrissie Painting • Sweat with Pride

I’m taking on Sweat with Pride this June to raise money for our Rainbow communities! 💦🌈 Our schools, workplaces, and doctors’ offices are still not safe places for many Rainbow New Zealanders and it’s...

sweatwithpride.com

This research was conducted with an awesome team of co-authors: @annasanture.bsky.social my amazing PhD supervisor, @katarinastuart.bsky.social, @josephguhlin.bsky.social, @vbtram.bsky.social, Selina Patel, Laura Duntsch, John G. Ewen, and @pbrekke.bsky.social 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 @wiley.com 3/3

We found moderate inbreeding levels in the Tiritiri Matangi population that is associated with lower reproductive success, indicating inbreeding depression (ID). ID in the hihi is likely polygenic in nature including two potential regions harbouring genes related to reproduction in other birds. 2/3

New study 🧬 Inbreeding depression is a concern in small populations, and evaluating its genomic proxies is important for #ConservationGenomics. In hihi, genome-wide homozygosity best predicts lifetime reproductive success, compared to genetic load and FROH. Publication: doi.org/10.1111/eva.... 1/3

Genome‐Wide Homozygosity Predicts Inbreeding Depression in the Hihi/Stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) Better Than Realised Load

Population declines result in increasingly small populations, which often experience an increase in inbreeding. Inbreeding may be negatively associated with fitness traits like survival and reproduct...

doi.org

📣🧬 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...