Joe Brennan
@biologyjoe87.bsky.social
Community ecology & theoretical population biology 🪴🧬 🧮
Ecological & evolutionary mechanisms of coexistence 🤝, community assembly ⬆️ , and community disassembly ⬇️
UC Davis Population Biology PhD Candidate 🐄
https://biologyjoe87.github.io/
Ecological & evolutionary mechanisms of coexistence 🤝, community assembly ⬆️ , and community disassembly ⬇️
UC Davis Population Biology PhD Candidate 🐄
https://biologyjoe87.github.io/
Pinned
Joe Brennan
@biologyjoe87.bsky.social
· Oct 2
Using modern coexistence theory to understand community disassembly
Community disassembly examines how species extinction alters ecological communities. Sometimes, the extinction of one species can trigger the loss of others, known as secondary extinction. These secon...
www.biorxiv.org
Excited to share a new pre-print in collaboration with @sebastianschreiber.bsky.social, "Using Modern Coexistence Theory to understand community disassembly"! We set out to understand how techniques used to study coexistence can be extended to understand community disassembly. (1/X)
November 15, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Leave it to TEs to mediate a trait with whimsy ✨✨✨
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 13, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Leave it to TEs to mediate a trait with whimsy ✨✨✨
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Another year without any progress on this important topic. What is the deal with Neanderthal lice? Where & who are they & how many & did we share lice with them & did they share lice with us & was there lice hybridization with human-neanderthal hybridization? Plz help. @reginafairbanks.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Another year without any progress on this important topic. What is the deal with Neanderthal lice? Where & who are they & how many & did we share lice with them & did they share lice with us & was there lice hybridization with human-neanderthal hybridization? Plz help. @reginafairbanks.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Brennan
remembering my most epic wildlife photo ever. this was not staged, we came across this on a trail. just bananas.
October 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
remembering my most epic wildlife photo ever. this was not staged, we came across this on a trail. just bananas.
Reposted by Joe Brennan
📣Our line-up for our next theoretical ecology series (crossing three continents!),
It will have been 5 years since we started, and still all our seminars are fully open on Zoom (iite.info/seminar/).
There is no need to register, but you can sign up to email updates here iite.info/seminar-emai...
It will have been 5 years since we started, and still all our seminars are fully open on Zoom (iite.info/seminar/).
There is no need to register, but you can sign up to email updates here iite.info/seminar-emai...
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
📣Our line-up for our next theoretical ecology series (crossing three continents!),
It will have been 5 years since we started, and still all our seminars are fully open on Zoom (iite.info/seminar/).
There is no need to register, but you can sign up to email updates here iite.info/seminar-emai...
It will have been 5 years since we started, and still all our seminars are fully open on Zoom (iite.info/seminar/).
There is no need to register, but you can sign up to email updates here iite.info/seminar-emai...
Reposted by Joe Brennan
I made a flyer! Know anyone in CA, OR, WA, or BC who might be interested in collecting mushrooms for research purposes? #mycology #citizenscience
Please share widely! 🧪 🍄🟫 🌲
A PDF version can be found here: drive.proton.me/urls/W1MM4FG...
Please share widely! 🧪 🍄🟫 🌲
A PDF version can be found here: drive.proton.me/urls/W1MM4FG...
October 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I made a flyer! Know anyone in CA, OR, WA, or BC who might be interested in collecting mushrooms for research purposes? #mycology #citizenscience
Please share widely! 🧪 🍄🟫 🌲
A PDF version can be found here: drive.proton.me/urls/W1MM4FG...
Please share widely! 🧪 🍄🟫 🌲
A PDF version can be found here: drive.proton.me/urls/W1MM4FG...
Excited to share a new pre-print in collaboration with @sebastianschreiber.bsky.social, "Using Modern Coexistence Theory to understand community disassembly"! We set out to understand how techniques used to study coexistence can be extended to understand community disassembly. (1/X)
Using modern coexistence theory to understand community disassembly
Community disassembly examines how species extinction alters ecological communities. Sometimes, the extinction of one species can trigger the loss of others, known as secondary extinction. These secon...
www.biorxiv.org
October 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Excited to share a new pre-print in collaboration with @sebastianschreiber.bsky.social, "Using Modern Coexistence Theory to understand community disassembly"! We set out to understand how techniques used to study coexistence can be extended to understand community disassembly. (1/X)
"Every dollar spent resurrecting the past is a dollar not spent to protect the present"
De‐Extinction at a Crossroads: Ecology, Ethics, and the Future of Conservation in the Biotech Age
This paper critically examines the growing interest in de-extinction, sparked by recent advances in biotechnology, such as the creation of an organism partially resembling the extinct dire wolf. Whil....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"Every dollar spent resurrecting the past is a dollar not spent to protect the present"
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Sanaa Khan from @katelaskowski.bsky.social lab talks about when males of Atlantic mollies transfer their sperm to sperm parasites Amazon mollies. An amazing talk with incredibly cool results!
#Behaviour2025
@behaviour2025.bsky.social
#Behaviour2025
@behaviour2025.bsky.social
August 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Sanaa Khan from @katelaskowski.bsky.social lab talks about when males of Atlantic mollies transfer their sperm to sperm parasites Amazon mollies. An amazing talk with incredibly cool results!
#Behaviour2025
@behaviour2025.bsky.social
#Behaviour2025
@behaviour2025.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Excited to share our new preprint for the tskit_arg_visualizer Python package! ARGs can sometimes feel like a black box, so
@yanwong.bsky.social and I have been developing a method to programmatically drawing these graphs.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2508.03958
1/6
@yanwong.bsky.social and I have been developing a method to programmatically drawing these graphs.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2508.03958
1/6
tskit_arg_visualizer: interactive plotting of ancestral recombination graphs
Summary: Ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs) are a complete representation of the genetic relationships between recombining lineages and are of central importance in population genetics. Recent brea...
arxiv.org
August 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Excited to share our new preprint for the tskit_arg_visualizer Python package! ARGs can sometimes feel like a black box, so
@yanwong.bsky.social and I have been developing a method to programmatically drawing these graphs.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2508.03958
1/6
@yanwong.bsky.social and I have been developing a method to programmatically drawing these graphs.
🔗 arxiv.org/abs/2508.03958
1/6
Excited to be at the ESA Annual Meeting! I am presenting Tuesday morning on understanding processes of community disassembly and secondary extinctions using modern coexistence theory. Also would love to chat with folks at the conference so feel free to message if you’d like to chat!
August 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Excited to be at the ESA Annual Meeting! I am presenting Tuesday morning on understanding processes of community disassembly and secondary extinctions using modern coexistence theory. Also would love to chat with folks at the conference so feel free to message if you’d like to chat!
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Join us in the evolution tri-societies Week of Action for NSF!
Call/write congress, engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding!
Scan the QR code on the attached image for instructions and scripts.
We must make noise! Pls RT!!!!
#WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF
Call/write congress, engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding!
Scan the QR code on the attached image for instructions and scripts.
We must make noise! Pls RT!!!!
#WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF
May 5, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Join us in the evolution tri-societies Week of Action for NSF!
Call/write congress, engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding!
Scan the QR code on the attached image for instructions and scripts.
We must make noise! Pls RT!!!!
#WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF
Call/write congress, engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding!
Scan the QR code on the attached image for instructions and scripts.
We must make noise! Pls RT!!!!
#WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF
Reposted by Joe Brennan
#MarineEcology #PhDOpportunity #ecologicalnetworks
www.biodiversitydatascience.com
Biodiversity Data Science.
We use machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to aid biodiversity conservation and management, in support of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
www.biodiversitydatascience.com
Biodiversity Data Science.
We use machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to aid biodiversity conservation and management, in support of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
March 19, 2025 at 10:58 AM
#MarineEcology #PhDOpportunity #ecologicalnetworks
www.biodiversitydatascience.com
Biodiversity Data Science.
We use machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to aid biodiversity conservation and management, in support of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
www.biodiversitydatascience.com
Biodiversity Data Science.
We use machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to aid biodiversity conservation and management, in support of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Reposted by Joe Brennan
It wasnt easy for #phylosymbiosis to get off the ground, but it is now. Here is the first study to suggest that phytoplankton have phylosymbiotic microbiomes. On a personal note, it’s fulfilling to watch the term, the concepts, and approaches broadly take flight.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Phytoplankton recruitment of specific microbial assemblages and phylosymbiotic patterns
Phytoplankton and bacteria represent two major pillars of the carbon cycle in marine ecosystems. While their interactions are known to be tightly linked, the specific mechanisms underlying these inter...
www.biorxiv.org
February 24, 2025 at 12:33 AM
It wasnt easy for #phylosymbiosis to get off the ground, but it is now. Here is the first study to suggest that phytoplankton have phylosymbiotic microbiomes. On a personal note, it’s fulfilling to watch the term, the concepts, and approaches broadly take flight.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Joe Brennan
New preprint!
Where we construct a model to explore how body size and predator-prey interactions determine macroevolutionary constraints on mammalian size and diet throughout the Cenozoic…
arxiv.org/abs/2410.18849
Where we construct a model to explore how body size and predator-prey interactions determine macroevolutionary constraints on mammalian size and diet throughout the Cenozoic…
arxiv.org/abs/2410.18849
Bioenergetic trophic trade-offs determine mass-dependent extinction thresholds across the Cenozoic
Body size drives the energetic demands of organisms, constraining trophic interactions between species and playing a significant role in shaping the feasibility of species' populations in a community....
arxiv.org
February 20, 2025 at 4:06 AM
New preprint!
Where we construct a model to explore how body size and predator-prey interactions determine macroevolutionary constraints on mammalian size and diet throughout the Cenozoic…
arxiv.org/abs/2410.18849
Where we construct a model to explore how body size and predator-prey interactions determine macroevolutionary constraints on mammalian size and diet throughout the Cenozoic…
arxiv.org/abs/2410.18849
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Well that's one way to get the best seed for breeding giant sweet corn! This early 20th century seed catalog advertised a $50 prize for the largest ear grown that season. And if you don't win the prize, at least this variety will "excite the admiration of your friends". #SeedsOfHistory
February 20, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Well that's one way to get the best seed for breeding giant sweet corn! This early 20th century seed catalog advertised a $50 prize for the largest ear grown that season. And if you don't win the prize, at least this variety will "excite the admiration of your friends". #SeedsOfHistory
Spotted in the UC Davis arboretum. Unsure what it is. Maybe a northern shrike? @phylogenomics.bsky.social
February 9, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Spotted in the UC Davis arboretum. Unsure what it is. Maybe a northern shrike? @phylogenomics.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Brennan
📆We are back and excited to announce our all-star lineup for next series of online seminars! Add the dates to your diaries and join theoretical ecologists from across the world - it's free and open to all via Zoom. Details here iite.info/seminar/, including email list signup.
See you in March!
See you in March!
January 31, 2025 at 10:27 AM
📆We are back and excited to announce our all-star lineup for next series of online seminars! Add the dates to your diaries and join theoretical ecologists from across the world - it's free and open to all via Zoom. Details here iite.info/seminar/, including email list signup.
See you in March!
See you in March!
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Why does one metapopulation decline while another grows? Differences in habitat quality? Movement patterns? Schreiber quantifies the relative contributions of spatial & temporal variation in demography & dispersal to metapopulation growth rates.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Partitioning the Impacts of Spatial-Temporal Variation in Demography and Dispersal on Metapopulation Growth Rates | The American Naturalist
Abstract Spatial-temporal variation in environmental conditions is ubiquitous in nature. This variation simultaneously impacts survival, reproduction, and movement of individuals and thereby the rate ...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
January 30, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Why does one metapopulation decline while another grows? Differences in habitat quality? Movement patterns? Schreiber quantifies the relative contributions of spatial & temporal variation in demography & dispersal to metapopulation growth rates.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Reposted by Joe Brennan
To understand how climate change affects natural ecosystems we need to know how warming influences species interactions. In our newest paper we show that predator-prey interactions fundamentally change across latitude leading to context dependent effects of warming. 🧪
doi.org/10.1111/oik....
doi.org/10.1111/oik....
January 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
To understand how climate change affects natural ecosystems we need to know how warming influences species interactions. In our newest paper we show that predator-prey interactions fundamentally change across latitude leading to context dependent effects of warming. 🧪
doi.org/10.1111/oik....
doi.org/10.1111/oik....
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Poll shows voters agree next U.S. President must do more for wildlife and conservation (commentary)
Poll shows voters agree next U.S. President must do more for wildlife and conservation (commentary)
America’s Endangered Species Act was weakened in 2019 through a series of sweeping changes. In March, previous protections were put back in place, and now a new poll shows conservatives and liberals…
buff.ly
January 6, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Poll shows voters agree next U.S. President must do more for wildlife and conservation (commentary)
Reposted by Joe Brennan
Started a Theoretical Ecology starter pack. For from complete. Respond if you want to be added or removed.
go.bsky.app/PwpvZLb
go.bsky.app/PwpvZLb
December 27, 2024 at 12:30 AM
Started a Theoretical Ecology starter pack. For from complete. Respond if you want to be added or removed.
go.bsky.app/PwpvZLb
go.bsky.app/PwpvZLb
Reposted by Joe Brennan
A little deep dive we did on everyone's favorite domestication gene!
another new preprint from the lab! Regina Fairbanks tackles the popgen of teosinte glume architecture 1 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... A 🧵
An ancient origin of the naked grains of maize
Adaptation to novel environments requires genetic variation, which may either predate the novel environment or arise as new mutations. The relative importance of standing genetic variation vs. de novo...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2024 at 1:12 AM
A little deep dive we did on everyone's favorite domestication gene!