🎉🐬 Very excited to share the publication of my second PhD chapter in Molecular Ecology: Check it out here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... (& hit me up if you wanna talk seascape genomics!) Very briefly:

Whole‐Genome‐Sequencing Reveals Demographic History and Patterns of Parallel Adaptive Evolution in Indo‐Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) Across Coastal Australian Seascapes

Understanding how demographic dynamics interact with environmental heterogeneity is central to explaining patterns of genomic variation in the marine realm. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

New TREE paper led by Jana Nickel on 'Hitchhiking of deleterious mutations within chromosomal inversions' doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... Broadly, if inversions are linked to an adaptive trait, homokaryotypes are at high frequency, and purging can reduce deleterious mutation load.....

Are white sharks really fleeing every time killer whales show up? 🦈 New research from @flindersuniversity.bsky.social, published in @wildliferesearchj.bsky.social suggests the story isn’t so simple. www.scimex.org/newsfeed/whi... #WildlifeResearch @bellareeves.bsky.social 1/4

White sharks vs. killer whales: white sharks not always fearful of kil

White sharks vs. killer whales: white sharks not always fearful of killer whales While killer whales (Orcinus orca) can trigger immediate departure of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

scimex.org

At the Neptune Islands, 12 years of observational + acoustic data show white sharks respond to killer whale presence with short-term avoidance, not long-term disappearance. Context matters. Killer whales aren’t always a driver of shark absence. 🔗 connectsci.au/wr/article/5...

New special issue in Molecular Ecology on Conservation Genomics #popGen #evolution 🧪🧬🖥️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1365294x...

Special Issue: CONSERVATION GENOMICS ‐ MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Molecular Ecology: Vol 34, No 23

Molecular Ecology is an international journal for research using molecular genetic techniques to address questions in ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🌊 🐟🦭🐋🐧 I have a PhD position available (4 years, start Mid-2026) at NRM Stockholm to work on the macrogenomics of sea warming. Apply here: recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a... #PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics

Wonder about shark-bite mitigation? Check out our new paper reviewing all previous scientific studies assessing the efficacy of mitigation measures doi.org/10.1016/j.ma... @conservbytes.bsky.social @flindersuniversity.bsky.social

New paper out in Heredity: 'Evidence of long-term purging of mutation burden in killer whale genomes'. Time calibration of purging was through inclusion of an ancient (7.5Kyr) genome which was close to directly ancestral to the present-day population with signature of purging. rdcu.be/eM25j

Postdoc position in eDNA/eRNA based in beautiful Faroe Islands, with some time in Greenland for fieldwork and research visit. “Tracking spatial and temporal distribution of marine mammals in the Atlantic Arctic with environmental DNA” setur.totalview.cloud/recruitment/... 🐋🐬🧬🧪🛥️

🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨 We show that during warm, low-ice years in the Canadian Arctic, ringed seals exhibit thinner blubber, depleted fatty acids, and elevated metabolic stress. We also show that high PCB and mercury levels contribute to oxidative damage in the liver.

Climate variations and a local PCB hotspot have altered metabolomic profiles in ringed seals

Environmental contaminants and climate change pose ongoing threats to Arctic marine mammals, yet their combined physiological impacts remain poorly un…

sciencedirect.com

I am pleased to share our new review paper detailing killer whale interactions with commercial fisheries in Frontiers in Marine Science! www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

'Ancient stickleback genomes reveal the early stages of parallel adaptation' - now published online in Evolution @journal-evo.bsky.social‬

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · last yr.

Ancient stickleback genomes reveal the chronology of parallel adaptation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.14.648705v1

My first-first author paper is out! We found that overall healing in sharks was comparable between sutured and non-sutured incisions. But sutured incisions had significantly more bacteria present. www.publish.csiro.au/wr/pdf/WR25009 Forever thankful to Jordan Matley & @charlie-huveneers.bsky.social

New lab preprint led by Jana Nickel (not on BS): doi.org/10.1101/2025... Investigating hitchhiking mutation load in threespine sticklebacks. I'll be presenting this work in a few hours at #Stickleback2025 here in beautiful Bamfield

New paper out! We found that a climate change-driven warming off Sydney has increased the amount of time bull sharks spend around Australia's biggest city. #sharks #climatechange #sydney #bullsharks @jcuofficial.bsky.social @drrossdwyer.bsky.social @imos-aus.bsky.social @saveourseas.bsky.social

New orca tool use alert!! @drwhale.bsky.social and colleagues introduce ‘allokelping’. Pairs of killer whales collect kelp strands and then together roll them along their bodies, keeping the kelp between them. The longest bout lasted over 12 minutes. It’s not play, and may be linked to molting 🧪🛠️🌊

Manufacture and use of allogrooming tools by wild killer whales

Michael Weiss and colleagues report on wild orcas using kelp as a tool for social grooming.

cell.com

The most commonly sighted shark species in Norfolk Marine Park use the region in different ways: doi.org/10.1002/ece3... New study led by Jordan Matley @parksaustralia.bsky.social @imos-aus.bsky.social

‼️ Dear MARMAM community, We, at the DEI Committee of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, are beginning the process of establishing an Indigenous Representation Subcommittee, the idea of which came out of an ad hoc meeting held at the SMM conference in Boorloo (Perth) in the Whajuk region of WA (1/n)

New Science paper: 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species to identify spatial conservation targets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social

Interested in measuring genetic load? We have a new paper out providing a modified version of GERP which is more user friendly in wildlife species and with scripts to automate making input files and pulling out derived alleles in your species #consgen #popgen star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4202

Cell Press: STAR Protocols

STAR Protocols is an open access, peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press. We offer structured, transparent, accessible, and repeatable step-by-step experimental and computational protocols from all are...

star-protocols.cell.com

Last call ⏳🚨 If you have any elasmobranch and killer whale interaction records we want to hear about it! Please reach our team with the email below, would love to include them in our global review!

New paper about unusual encounters in Icelandic waters… In June 2022 and 2023, neonate pilot whales were observed swimming alone among groups of killer whales off south Iceland - with no other pilot whales in sight. 🧶⬇️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interactions Between Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Neonate Long‐Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) off South Iceland

This study documents two encounters off south Iceland where neonate pilot whales were observed in the company of killer whale groups, with no other pilot whales in the vicinity. The interactions invo...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The first paper from my PhD is out 🧬🐬 Thanks to all the co-authors of this project and my amazing supervisor @laninsky.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Leveraging Synteny to Generate Reference Genomes for Conservation: Assembling the Genomes of Hector's and Māui Dolphins

Escalating concern regarding the impacts of reduced genetic diversity on the conservation of endangered species has spurred efforts to obtain chromosome-level genomes through consortia such as the Ve...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Out now in Animal Conservation: our Special Issue on #conservation #translocations, following #ICTC2023, showcasing 12 awesome studies on the complexities of translocations. Feat. #birds, #marsupials, #lizards and #genetics, check it out here: zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1469...

Ever thought about using shark jaws for stable isotopes from teeth? This is a must read: doi.org/10.1016/j.ma... #StableIsotopes @meyer-sci.bsky.social @sawsharkman.bsky.social

The Evolution of Cetacean Societies Edited by @darrencroft.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social and.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and myself Preorder available now press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... Will share more details closer to release date #whale #dolphin #animalbehaviour

🧬🌊 Hola! I'm Sebastian Alvarez-Costes, a Mexican PhD Candidate in Aotearoa, New Zealand. My research focuses on the evolutionary genomics of Hector's and Māui dolphins 🐬. Always happy to connect with fellow researchers in evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, and conservation genomics!

The 2nd publication from @bellareeves.bsky.social PhD thesis finds a genetic rescue effect from admixture between distinct killer whale lineages. Likely the cause of high genetic diversity in regions with low killer whale density. Open access in Mol Ecol: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

New paper from my PhD 🐬🧬 Admixture is increasing genetic diversity and adaptive potential in low latitude killer whales promoting an genetic rescue effect. See more here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... 1/n