Also check out the link below for a tutorial on how to use our model! revbayes.github.io/tutorials/co...

Our paper (also, my first first-author paper) is now available in MEE early view! In this study, we introduced a state-dependent Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model we implemented in RevBayes to test adaptive hypotheses in macroevolution. (1/3) besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

An efficient Bayesian phylogenetic approach for joint inference of continuous and discrete trait evolution under a state‐dependent Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model

Macroevolutionary adaptation of a continuous trait to different discrete states across species can be modelled using a phylogenetic state-dependent Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process. Existing infere...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Happy to share this 'capstone' project from my time as a postdoc @umich.edu, where we show that hierarchically nested bursts of body-shape evolution may underlie much of perching-bird diversification over ~50 million years. Free access link here: rdcu.be/fuxB1

Rates of passerine body plan evolution in time and space

Nature Ecology & Evolution - A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major...

rdcu.be

Hope to see y'all at #Evol2026! I'll be talking about my simulation tests of cutting-edge fossilized birth-death models, and what we can learn from the Canidae phylogeny using these models. Come through! It'll be on Sunday (June 21st) at 5:15PM, room 22. Last talk first day 🤙

Don't forget to submit a proposal for our latest special feature 👉 Time-dependency in Micro- and Macroevolutionary Rates 🌍 🧪 Deadline for proposals is the 10th July, and paper submission will be due in February 2027⏰️ Find out more and submit a proposal 👇 buff.ly/2yt4RLt

Professor Joe Felsenstein FRS is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. After initially working on population genetics theory of recombination, of migration, and of speciation, his main focus has been on phylogenetic inference. #RSFellows https://royalsociety.org/people/joseph-felsenstein-38106/

Absolutely overjoyed to share our new paper describing the oldest occurrence of soft-tissue preservation in crinoid echinoderms and their ecological significance 🧪

Exceptional soft-tissue preservation reveals the oldest evidence for tube feet and their ecological significance in crinoids

Abstract. Tube feet are extensions of the echinoderm water vascular system that play essential roles in feeding and ecology in living crinoids. However, on

royalsocietypublishing.org

And finally it was published! Massive thanks to my coauthors, the editor and reviewers, and the institutions that supported our research. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

What did the dove sing to Pope Gregory? Ancestral melody reconstruction in Gregorian chant using Bayesian phylogenetics

An attractive goal in the study of Gregorian chant melodies is reconstructing unobserved melodies as they may have been transmitted along their history, especially as early chant notation does not cap...

journals.plos.org

Gustavo A. Ballen@gaballench.bsky.social · 2y ago

What did the dove sing to Pope Gregory? A thread on phylogenetics and cultural evolution featuring our new preprint with Jan Hajic jr. and Klára Mühlova (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) and previous contributions to the field.

The @systbiol.bsky.social Mentorship Program is back for 2026-2027! The program pairs off mentees with mentors based on shared interests in systematics and biodiversity research. Low effort, high reward! 12 virtual monthly meetings. More info: www.systbio.org/mentorship-p... Apply by June 12th!

Mentorship Program

Last updated May 14, 2025

systbio.org

📣 Introducing MorphSim: an R package for simulating discrete morphological data along phylogenetic trees, built for fossil-inclusive phylogenetics, with all the complexity of real morphological data baked in 🪨🌿 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

MorphSim: An R package for simulating discrete morphological data

Morphological data are essential for reconstructing evolutionary histories, particularly for fossil taxa, as they represent the primary source of information for integrating extinct lineages into ...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

This will make my life easier! Nice work! "MorphSim: An R package for simulating discrete morphological data" besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

MorphSim: An R package for simulating discrete morphological data

Morphological data are essential for reconstructing evolutionary histories, particularly for fossil taxa, as they represent the primary source of information for integrating extinct lineages into ...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

New MSc in Earth System Dynamics & Evolution at FAU Germany! 🌍🧪 Starts Oct 2026. Interdisciplinary + Science Diplomacy. No tuition fees worldwide! 🎓 Funding: Elite Network of Bavaria. 🗓️ Deadline: July 15 💻 Webinars: May 26 (9:00/18:00 CEST) Info & Reg: earthsystem-master.nat.fau.eu

Preprint from Feburary by the talented @albertchristian.bsky.social on modeling diversity-dependent speciation, extinction, and dispersal in a GeoSSE framework while using deep learning for inference: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New preprint with Sarah Swiston (sswiston.com) and Sean McHugh (@phyllurus.bsky.social) modeling species range evolution in continuous space using ellipses to represent ranges, applied to Australian skinks www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New work by methods-maven Anna Nagel (nage0178.github.io) on adapting likelihood-free deep-learning approaches for ancestral state estimation problems. Anna assessed how DL and Bayesian estimates compare (when possible) under various CTMC, SSE, and SIR models www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I should mention Sarah graduated last Tuesday, so that should read Dr. Swiston! 🥳

Michael Landis@landismj.bsky.social · 3mo ago

New preprint with Sarah Swiston (sswiston.com) and Sean McHugh (@phyllurus.bsky.social) modeling species range evolution in continuous space using ellipses to represent ranges, applied to Australian skinks www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📣 10 days left to register for our workshop: Bridging Stratigraphic Palaeobiology and Phylogenetics Questions? Reach out to any of the organisers: @rachelwarnock.bsky.social @niklashohmann.bsky.social More information and registration 👉 www.lorentzcenter.nl/site/index.p...

My new paper with @gdarlim.bsky.social and @hoehna.bsky.social is now out in Proceedings B! We set out to compare two different approaches to time-calibrate a molecular phylogeny: traditional node calibrations, and unresolved FBD... @royalsocietypublishing.org doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

How to date a molecular phylogeny: comparison of effective priors between node calibration and fossilized birth–death

Abstract. Time-calibrating a phylogenetic tree is a fundamental step in phylogenetic inference, as it allows the study of macroevolutionary processes such

doi.org

As of last month, I’ve joined the editorial board of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology @jvertpaleo.bsky.social as the new Phylogenetics Editor! I’m responsible for evaluating reproducibility of phylogenetic analyses submitted to the journal. 💻⚒️

‘The greatest ambassador for life on Earth’: Tributes paid to David Attenborough on his 100th birthday

‘The greatest ambassador for life on Earth’: Tributes paid to David Attenborough on his 100th birthday

Naturalist says he has been ‘overwhelmed by greetings’ as milestone is marked with event at Royal Albert Hall David Attenborough said he had been “completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings” for his centenary on Friday and thanked wellwishers “most sincerely”. The naturalist said he had hoped to celebrate his 100th birthday quietly. Instead, the milestone will be marked with a live event at the Royal Albert Hall broadcast on BBC One, featuring music from his programmes as well as stories and reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world. In a recorded audio message shared on Thursday night, Attenborough said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

IQ-TREE 3 is now integrated with MCMCTree: That is, IQ-TREE's sophisticated substitution models can now be used for Bayesian molecular-clock dating analyses!

Andrew Roger@andrewjroger.bsky.social · 3mo ago

IQ-TREE 3: Phylogenomic Inference Software using Complex Evolutionary Models academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...

🪸🦕 📈 🪨 Excited to announce our upcoming workshop: Bridging Stratigraphic Palaeobiology & Phylogenetics, with Emilia Jarochowska, @niklashohmann.bsky.social, @rachelwarnock.bsky.social, and Johan Hidding 📍 Lorentz Centre, Leiden 📅 28 Sep – 2 Oct 2026 Applications open - details below 👇

📣New paper from DeepBio@Leeds researcher @barankarapunar.bsky.social 📣 "The Permian-Triassic Transition in Türkiye: New Insights and 3D Outcrop Models for Accessible, Reproducible and Sustainable Fieldwork" in The Depositional Record onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The Permian–Triassic transition in Türkiye: New insights and 3D outcrop models for accessible, reproducible and sustainable fieldwork

We studied the Permian–Triassic successions of south-western Türkiye at five locations, synthesised sedimentological and palaeontological data, putting it into a consistent stratigraphic framework an...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🚨 Out today: our Editorial in @jvertpaleo.bsky.social on an important issue in science - the reproducibility crisis in phylogenetic analyses. In it, we analyze several years of editorial data to ask a simple question: are things improving? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New study led by Sean McHugh (@phyllurus.bsky.social) now out in @systbiol.bsky.social! Sean's approach models how species gain and lose biome affinities over time, both in terms of where they *do* live (e.g. movement) and where they *could* live (e.g. adaptation) doi.org/10.1093/sysb...

A Phylogenetic Model of Established and Enabled Biome Shifts

Abstract. Where each species actually lives is distinct from where it could potentially survive and persist. This suggests it is important to distinguish e

academic.oup.com

New preprint on the recent history of phylogenetic biogeography, with co-authors Isabel Sanmartín and Joel Cracraft, now up on EcoEvoRxiv: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

How much information is there for inferring species trees? https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.01.715836v1

Postdoc in Macroevolution - Deadline April 12th - Join a team of Stuttgart botanists & myself to test drivers of Angiosperm diversification! Fully open process Submit cover letter, CV, 3 referees & publication list in a single PDF to postdoc-botany@smns-bw.de + 3 key papers (if possible) as PDF

Jobs | Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart

Offene Stellen

naturkundemuseum-bw.de

Postdoc position available at SMNS in Stuttgart focusing on macroevolution and angiosperm traits. Applications are open until April 12, 2026. More info: https://bsky.app/profile/jclarkepaleo.bsky.social #postdoc

Dr John Clarke (@jclarkepaleo.bsky.social)

Evolutionary biologist & paleontologist. https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=nm06iU8AAAAJ&hl=en Macroevolution, phylogenetic comparative methods, diversification, phenotypic evolution of 🐠🌿🦋 Postdoc @iDiv in Leipzig

bsky.app