I’m defending my dissertation at 10am Eastern tomorrow. Reach out for the zoom link if you’re interested, all are welcome!

As everyone's winding down on #evol2026 we want to share our survey link with you again. Whether you work in reproductive biology specifically or not, please take a minute to help us understand how the scientific community uses reproductive terms in research! And hope to see you at #SMBE!

Hey #Evol2026 - while I am not in Cleveland this year (hope to be in San Juan next year!), I would love to connect with folks who might be interested in this open position in my lab. DM me for deets!

Dr. Arun Sethuraman@arunsethuraman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Headed to #PEQG26 next week? The Sethuraman Lab will be presenting a buncha recent work! Come find us at both poster sessions, and DM/message me if you'd like to chat about the open postdoc position in my lab.

So begins the year of the spotted turtle! Next up is my defense on the 26th. All are welcome, just let me know if you want the zoom link!

Dr. Arun Sethuraman@arunsethuraman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

~15 years after we published the first chelonian genome (Chrysemys picta), I'm going back to my turtle roots! We now have an excellent assembly, annotation, & evo-history study for the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), led by the amazing @cheloevo.bsky.social, out in JOH: doi.org/10.1093/jher...

~15 years after we published the first chelonian genome (Chrysemys picta), I'm going back to my turtle roots! We now have an excellent assembly, annotation, & evo-history study for the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), led by the amazing @cheloevo.bsky.social, out in JOH: doi.org/10.1093/jher...

An annotated, chromosome-level genome for the spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata

Abstract. The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is the sole extant member of the genus Clemmys and can be found in shallow wetlands across eastern North Ame

doi.org

Walter was displeased that I asked him to sit so close to this big lady map turtle

postdoc alert 🚨! NIH-funded postdoc in my lab to work on Ancestral Recombination Graphs in space. Please spread the word widely in your networks, and please reach out if you're interested! (2-3yr position, start date flexible, pay/benefits good!). details here: careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

recruitment

Multiple positions available: ​ Postdoc PhD students

genescape.org

Our paper on turtle origins is finally out in Current Biology, with two major implications for our understanding of reptile evolution 🐢 #Paleontology #Turtles #Evolution www.cell.com/current-biol...

Reptiles with longer Wikipedia pages tend to be bigger. The relationship is a power law with exponent = 0.85. I guess humans really like writing about big lizards? The longest article is the Komodo Dragon.

Such a perfect little creature. I rarely get to see musk turtles in Michigan. They spend most of their time walking along the bottom of vegetated ponds and lakes, but sometimes I get lucky this time of year and find one warming up and foraging in shallow water like this lady.

Today’s running buddies:

Beautiful. Big news if you’re interested in identifying and compiling sex-determining mechanisms like me!

Dr. Brendan "Doesn't-go-to-Ravenholm" Pinto@drpintothe2nd.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Happy to announce two-fold news! 1) The SCINKD paper is now published in @molbioevol.bsky.social - doi.org/10.1093/molb... 2) SCINKD [v2.2.4] release has reduced runtimes (about 2x) and the revitalized mode for genomes >5Gb is now live and tested on genomes up to 21Gb! 🐸 github.com/DrPintoThe2n...

How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology

Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d

academic.oup.com

There’s something special about small animals older than you are

The Orianne Society@oriannesociety.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We have some exciting #SpottedTurtle news to share! While on a recent survey, Andrea, Emma, and Houston caught two turtles that were originally marked by Dr. Jackie Litzgus in 1999 and 2000!

🐍 Seasonal Herpetological Technician – Join Illinois Natural History Survey! Assist with reptile and amphibian surveys throughout northern Illinois! Apps due Apr. 10, 2026 👉 Apply now: https://loom.ly/nyKlxKU

Presenting our latest turtle sex determination preprint at the @biol-vsd.bsky.social meeting in beautiful Crete 😊. Check it out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I hear you want novelty🦎->🐢, chromosome evolution 🧬, sex determination🩷, link population history📈 & climate🌏🌡️? Or you share my love for wonderfully weird animals? Side-necked turtle genomes reveal chromosomal dynamics, skeletal innovation and cancer resistance www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... A 🧵

We’re cooking up something big with all this spotted turtle telemetry data 🧪

Sexually antagonistic environments and the stability of environmental sex determination https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.08.710415v1

So I did something a bit different :). Thrilled to see this fun project out! 🐟 #genomics "Female-biased sex ratios despite stable genetic sex determination across a climatic gradient in a marine fish" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Oh boy, sex-determining mechanisms for a few dozen reptile species just dropped! It feels like getting a present when folks publish data like this. Looks like sex chromosome systems have been described for almost 100 anole species now! academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Exploring the stability of sex chromosome systems in Anolis and other iguanas

Abstract. Sex determination was once thought to be unstable in ectothermic vertebrates, but several highly diversified groups of non-avian reptiles, such a

academic.oup.com

New preprint!! 🚨 Did you know that many vertebrate species determine sex based on environmental conditions rather than chromosomes? Some turtles, like Trachemys scripta, rely on temperature. We learned more about how this happen molecularly.👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Join us in congratulating the students, staff and faculty who garnered accolades for their excellent work from July 2024 through June 2025: bit.ly/4pUmdiR

A study in Science reveals an extensive precolonial agricultural landscape in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, suggesting Indigenous American communities cultivated maize intensively between 1000 and 1600 CE, despite a cold climate and marginal growing conditions. https://scim.ag/49voBGO

Archaeological evidence of intensive indigenous farming in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, USA

We describe archaeological evidence of intensive ancestral Native American agriculture in the now heavily forested Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Recent LIDAR (light detection and ranging) and excavatio...

scim.ag

We’ve started the Thermal Ecology Alliance! Go grab a cup of TEA and join the movement www.thermalecologyalliance.org/participation

Graduate students, have you heard the news? The Orianne Society’s Grant Program for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation in the Southeast is now accepting applications! Application deadline: 5PM EST, 21 November 2025 Scan QR code or follow link for details: www.oriannesociety.org/science-init...

Dr. Jenkins sits down with Drs. Eric Hileman and Meaghan Clark for an in-depth look at the Eastern Massasauga. Their studies reveal concerning levels of inbreeding, which are linked to reduced survival and lower breeding rates.

Now out in the September issue of @journal-evo.bsky.social! - Pop-level thresholds between male/female development (Tpiv) correlate with mean incubation temps among species, but temp variability within species - Threshold variation within pops (TRT) is more complex and confounded by study design

Caleb Krueger@cheloevo.bsky.social · last yr.

Proofs are up for my latest pub in @journal-evo.bsky.social! It’s a big ol’ analysis of how sex-ratio reaction norms vary with local climates within and among turtle species with TSD. Check it out here: doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Attention graduate students! The Orianne Society’s Grant Program for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation in the Southeast is now accepting applications. Application deadline: 5PM EST, 21 November 2025 Scan QR code or follow this link for details: www.oriannesociety.org/science-init...

Despite how often I’ve had a spotted turtle retract its head and thought “Wow, that thing is really tucked away!”, I somehow don’t have a picture of it to share. But apparently that neck skin has evolved to be thick and protective and now it has a name: the clemmysian fold! doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Anatomical and histological analysis of an undescribed cervical skin fold structure in spotted turtles (Clemmys gutatta) - Scientific Reports

Turtles evolved over 230 million years ago during the Triassic period, and are a group of ectothermic reptiles that can be found everywhere in the world except Antarctica. There are approximately...

doi.org