New paper: Antarctic fur seals are Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, but 47 yrs of data show South Georgia's population (96% of global total) has declined ~1.5M since 2007. Time for a global status reassessment! 🦭📉🧪 🔗https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0006-3207(26)00317-4 📷: Oliver Krüger

A decade of dedication deserves a sweet celebration! 🍫👕 We recently surprised @annekep.bsky.social to celebrate her incredible 10-year anniversary with our research group. Thank you for your hard work and being an amazing colleague, Anneke! #Milestone #ResearchTeam #EmployeeAppreciation #10Years

Our Special Issue co-edited by @rebeccachen.bsky.social and Bernice is out now in JAB! Seven papers about a variety of topics, all addressing several knowledge gaps in avian epigenetics. Read the editorial here! nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We conquered the heat at our lab retreat yesterday! 😎 Talked feedback, funding for PhDs/postdocs, growing the group, and plans for pursuing #MyGreenLab certification 🌱 Great energy all around! 🧪 #LabLife

A massive congratulations to @anelivb.bsky.social who successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Effects of density on Antarctic fur seals“! 🥳🎓🦭🧪

Have you considered the role of epigenetic variation in niche individualization? We explored the interplay between interindividual phenotypic variation and epigenetic processes in a paper recently published in Trends of Ecology and Evolution 🧪 Read more here: www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Have you ever wondered about fine-scale predator-prey dynamics? 🧪 I used image data and a neural network to investigate this in Antarctic fur seals. Read more: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article... #Ecology #AntarcticResearch Giant petrel stalking Antarctic fur seal pup, watercolour, ALB.

Our PhD candidate @anelivb.bsky.social just published new research on Antarctic fur seal predator–prey dynamics using image data and a YOLO neural network to generate automatic detections. 🧪 Read more: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article... #Ecology #AntarcticResearch

Fine-scale spatiotemporal predator–prey interactions in an Antarctic fur seal colony

Abstract. Density is a major determinant of population dynamics, with high densities exacerbating intraspecific competition and disease transmission while

royalsocietypublishing.org

Have you considered whether animals differ in their perception of density? We explored how differences in our senses, interpretation and past experiences shapes density perception, causing behavioral differences and affecting fitness outcomes. 🧪 nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A massive milestone deserves a massive shoutout! 🎓 @rebeccachen.bsky.social has successfully defended her PhD with a Summa cum laude! 🎉 We're thrilled to congratulate her and even more thrilled that she'll be staying with the group a little longer!🙏 #PhD #Congratulations #Academia

What is responsible and rigorous science? @anelivb.bsky.social and @rebeccachen.bsky.social spent the last two days discussing this question at the #iScienceTBD workshop at @idiv-research.bsky.social. From EDI and science communication to HARKing, p-hacking, DAGs – lots of food for thought! 🌱🧠

Looking for a MSc thesis or a recent graduate project? The Hoffman Lab is looking for a motivated student to work on mutation load dynamics and inbreeding depression in female black grouse! We'll investigate how deleterious mutations affect key fitness traits. Check out our website for more info! 🧬

Looking for a PhD opportunity in molecular ecology or know of someone? We are hiring a new PhD candidate who will be working on mutation load dynamics in banded mongoose! 🧬Read more here: thehoffmanlab.com/opportunities/. Deadline for applications is January 30th! #phd #jobs #genetics #mutationload

Join The Lab!

We warmly welcome applications from students or postdocs who would like to work in our group. If you are interested in any of the research topics described on our website or have your own ideas for…

thehoffmanlab.com

Massive congratulations to @ramonammm.bsky.social for successfully defending her PhD thesis last December! 🎓🥳 We wish you all the best in your new job and adventures Down Under! 🦘 🐨 🐋

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Hoffman lab! 🎄 May 2026 be a great year for science ✨ Illustrations made by Ane Liv Berthelsen

Publication alert! ❗ Do predicted deleterious mutations reduce survival? In our latest paper lead by @rebeccachen.bsky.social published in @currentbiology.bsky.social, we compared mutation load across different age classes in black grouse.

How can we make scientific events such as #conferences more #inclusive? Read about the study we conducted during #Behaviour2023 as a nice and concise summary in the press-release here 👉 aktuell.uni-bielefeld.de/2025/10/06/r...

Last week a very happy (and presumably very tired 😁) @ramonammm.bsky.social handed in her PhD thesis titled "Comparing Polar Ocean Soundscapes" 🥳🥳 🥳 Congratulations with this huge milestone! Looking forward to the defence and of course the celebrations afterwards!

Do predicted deleterious mutations explain fitness variation in wild populations? Our recent publication addresses exactly this question in black grouse, a lekking Galliform. 1/6

We have a brand new genome for porcini mushroom! First chromosome-scale, haplotype-resolved reference genome for Boletus edulis. A great resource for fungal genetics, and the rest of Etienne's PhD!

Etienne BREJON@etiennebrejonl.bsky.social · last yr.

The paper is now published in #G3journal !🧬🍄 you can learn more about this weird fungal genome here 👉 doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...

DNA as street decoration? Of course! Our very own @k-hench.bsky.social made some beautiful pictures of the @eseb2025.bsky.social street decorations at the “Festes de Gràcia”. Check out some of his pictures and read more about why we were there: thehoffmanlab.com/2025/09/05/e...

ESEB 2025

Four of our lab members presented their work at the Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB 2025) in Barcelona in August. Beril presented a pilot study linked to her multi-p…

thehoffmanlab.com

The genome and epigenome are not independent, so why analyse them separately? 🤔 Come and discuss our hypotheses on the interplay between deleterious mutations and epigenetic mechanisms today with @rebeccachen.bsky.social at #ESEB2025 poster number 85! 🧪🧬

@annekep.bsky.social shows us a super impressive long term study in Antarctica fur seals to explore interactions between inbreeding and climate change 🦭

Do inbred females suffer disproportionately from climate change induced changes in selection pressure? Come and find out in @annekep.bsky.social's talk today at the @eseb2025.bsky.social conference 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM in meeting room 115 #ESEB2025

Interested in the temporal and spatial dynamics of mutation load? Come find @k-hench.bsky.social who is investigating this in Antarctic fur seals! Poster session 2, S44 355 5-7PM tonight @eseb2025.bsky.social #eseb2025

How do deleterious mutations affect male black grouse fitness? Find out at @rebeccachen.bsky.social's presentation today at @eseb2025.bsky.social 2:00 PM-2:15 PM, meeting room 131 🧬

Interested in the genomic consequences of commercial sealing? Check out Beril's poster (number 266) tonight at #ESEB2025 where she presents her study on differences in genomic inbreeding levels, bottleneck strength, and genetic load in two populations of South American fur seals 🦭🧬🧪

Working on mutation load, inbreeding or bottlenecks and attending ESEB2025 Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology next week? Check out our lab's talks and posters 😁 Looking forward to chat with you!

Our very own Ramona Mattmueller @ramonammm.bsky.social and her colleague Karolin Thomisch from AWI wrote an article for the Circle Stories of the WWF Global Arctic Program.

Check out our new publication on mutation load dynamics in black grouse! Published today in Nature E&E 👇

Rebecca Chen@rebeccachen.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The core chapter of my PhD has now been published in Nature E&E! 🧬🥳 In this paper, we investigate whether predicted deleterious mutations reduce fitness and if so, how? Do heterozygous mutations also contribute? And are non-coding mutations more deleterious? Read all about it here: rdcu.be/eAcM5