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

📢 Please repost! Want to do a Masters by Research at the University of Bristol? If you're interested in phylogenetics, morphology, macroevolution or vertebrate palaeobiology, please get in touch! More information: tinyurl.com/4h6v3s99 ⏰ Deadlines: • International: 30th June • Home: 31st July

Biological Sciences | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol

Find out about the University of Bristol's PhD in Biological Sciences, including entry requirements, supervisors and research groups.

bristol.ac.uk

📣 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

Oh, this looks quite convenient, especially the filtering and mimicking empirical matrices.

Tiago Simões@trsimoes.bsky.social · 2mo ago

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

🚨🚨 Last 2 days to apply for our workshop! Get those applications in 📝✨

Laura Mulvey@lauramulvey.bsky.social · 3mo ago

📣 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...

Happy to announce our new MSc in Earth System Dynamics and Evolution beginning this Oct 2026 at FAU Germany. We provide interdisciplinary training in Earth systems and science diplomacy 🌍🧪📈👩‍💻 📝 Funding provided by the Elite Network of Bavaria. Application deadline: July 15. More info below👇

📣 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...

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/...

🪸🦕 📈 🪨 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 preprint🚨happy to share work from my first PhD chapter, evaluating the ways in which we can integrate ancestral state estimations into disparity workflows, completed alongside @tguillerme.bsky.social , Gavin Thomas & @nhcooper123.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧪

I’m looking for a post doc (up to five years) interested in phylogenetics and earth systems - please spread the word!

Barbara Kleine-Marshall@barbaraikm.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We are looking for 6 motivated Postdocs interested in various aspects of Earth system sciences. More information here: fau-earth-system-science.github.io #geochemistry

Applications to join the Computational Approaches to Early Evolution workshop are still accepted! Do not miss your chance to attend this event full of discussions on the computational methods for studying early life! 🦠💻🧬 forms.oist.jp/form/computa...

Sandra Álvarez@sabifo4.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Join us for interesting discussions at the Computational Approaches to Early Evolution workshop next year in April at OIST in Onna, Okinawa! 🦠💻🧬 Registrations open until January 2nd '26, do not miss it! More info & registration details in the link below! 🔽 www.oist.jp/conference/c...

PGRs Amy Shipley (@sauropodlets.bsky.social) & Lydia Woods recently published a review in @globalchangebio.bsky.social showing that while today’s extinction rates aren't yet at "Big Five" mass extinction levels, they’re likely the highest seen in the last 66myrs. amdunhill.co.uk/2025/11/17/n...

New paper by Amy Shipley and Lydia Woods

DeepBio@Leeds PGRs Amy Shipley and Lydia have published a review on the sixth mass extinction, as part of a working group on Cenozoic extinctions led out of the Anthropocene Biodiversity Centre at …

amdunhill.co.uk

Applications for the London TREES DTP programme are now open: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/news/applica... We have a project on Bayesian phylogenetics! 😀 www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/int...

Out now in Biology Letters, my latest paper tackles an apparently simple question: how many characters are needed to reconstruct a phylogeny? TL;DR: in most cases between 100 and 500, more than a substantial portion of morphological datasets, but the story is more complex... doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

Bacteria 🦠 🧫 play a crucial role in how animals become fossils! Read about how decay experiments demonstrate that bacteria from the gut dominate the thanatomicrobiome (the internal microbiome of decay) and probably control fossilisation in our new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The relationship between microbial community succession, decay, and anatomical character loss in non‐biomineralized animals

A fundamental assumption of hypothesis-driven decay experiments is that, during decay, the loss of anatomy follows a sequence broadly controlled by the intrinsic compositional properties of tissues. ...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Really happy to see chapter 2 of my PhD published today in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. DeepDiveR is an R package to assist with deep learning inference of biodiversity change through time 🤿🦊 Thanks to @bethanyjallen.bsky.social & Daniele Silvestro for the collaboration doi.org/10.1111/2041...

A covarion model for phylogenetic estimation using discrete morphological datasets https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.20.660793v1

@lauramulvey.bsky.social absolutely killing it talking about the difference between model adequacy and model selection and describing lightweight methods to assess adequacy. #evol2025 Paper here academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic...

Sometimes in a fossil policy workshop you have to take a strong stand. @thepalass.bsky.social

Interested in Developmental biology? Imaging? Marine invertebrate body plans? Then this three year postdoc in my group @sotonbiosciences.bsky.social is for you! Join our team to decypher how signalling molecules shape skeletal phenotype in juvenile sea urchins. jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

"...simulation studies demonstrate that empirical expertise is key to obtaining reliable results when using FBD models. It is therefore crucial that fundamental stratigraphic and taxonomic research remain well supported" 👏👏👏

Delighted to share our paper on data equity in #palaeobiology as part of Paleobiology's 50th anniversary issue 🥳 We look at how palaeo data is collected, stored, curated & shared, and how equity in these processes is crucial for our field's future (1/n) 🧪⚒️ doi.org/10.1017/pab....

📢 Tired of choosing between fossils to incorporate into your phylogenetic analysis? Us too. 💥 Check out our new preprint on incorporating stratigraphic ranges into the FBD model, implemented in BEAST2. We explore how using ranges affects the inference of dog 🐶 and penguin 🐧 trees 🌳

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

Enhancing Evolutionary Timelines: The Impact of Stratigraphic Range Information on Phylogenetic Inference https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.17.649084v1

🎂 Happy 10th birthday to the fossilised birth-death model, and happy 50th birthday to Paleobiology 🎂 I had a lot of fun working on this review, led by @lauramulvey.bsky.social, in which we celebrate how the FBD has been applied and give pointers to those interested in giving it a go! 🌳

Combining fossil taxa with and without morphological data improves dated phylogenetic analyses https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.07.646048v1

Very proud to be featured alongside other excellent early career scientists in a new video by @thepalass.bsky.social! We talk about how fossils form and how rare they are! youtu.be/LwF7qnYFde8?...

Palaeontologists Explain: How do fossils form? Palaeontologists explain: How do fossils form?

YouTube video by The Palaeontological Association

youtu.be

The clock is ticking 🕔! Pre-registration will close today March 14th (17:00h GMT+0), do not miss your chance to join us at the SystAssn-SRUK/CERU Bayesian Phylogenetics Workshop! 💻🧬

Sandra Álvarez@sabifo4.bsky.social · last yr.

The deadline to apply for student travel bursaries to attend the SystAssn-SRUK/CERU Bayesian Phylogenetics Workshop 💻🧬 is approaching: March 3rd! Pre-registration will be open until March 14th. Do not miss the deadlines, submit your application before it is too late! sruk.org.uk/ceru-events/...

Like morphometrics, micro-CT scanning, and morphological evolution? Then please consider applying for our 18 month postdoc position at the university of Southampton! Details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMF402/r...

And finally have it in preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... In it, we (@basantakhakurel.bsky.social, @brenenwynd.bsky.social, @peterjwagner3.bsky.social, and Christian Kammerer) took a look at estimating a phylogenetic tree of dicynodonts using both discrete and continuous characters.

Incorporating continuous characters in joint estimation of dicynodont phylogeny

Continuous characters have received comparatively little attention in Bayesian phylogenetic estima- tion. This is predominantly because they cannot be modeled by a standard phylogenetic Q-matrix appro...

biorxiv.org

April Wright@wrightam.bsky.social · last yr.

Finally submitted the big manuscript that's been around too long