Evolution Letters
@evolletters.bsky.social
OA journal publishing the best work in evolutionary biology. Jointly owned by @eseb.bsky.social & @sse-evolution.bsky.social ,published by Oxford University Press.
Journal website: https://academic.oup.com/evlett
Mastodon: @EvolLetters@ecoevo.so
Journal website: https://academic.oup.com/evlett
Mastodon: @EvolLetters@ecoevo.so
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Talk I gave about our recent Evolution Letters paper, in which we quantified the benefits of helping at the origin of eusociality using a combination of experiment & theory, at the @iussi-nwes.bsky.social winter meeting in Leuven this week! Powerpoint here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4w3hw...
December 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Talk I gave about our recent Evolution Letters paper, in which we quantified the benefits of helping at the origin of eusociality using a combination of experiment & theory, at the @iussi-nwes.bsky.social winter meeting in Leuven this week! Powerpoint here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4w3hw...
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
Abstract. The length of gestation in eutherian mammals, which is key to their reproductive success, is closely connected to other life history traits, body
doi.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
Abstract. Fundamental traits of genes, including function, length, and Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content, all vary with gene age. Pleiotropy, where a single ge
doi.org
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Pleiotropy increases with gene age in six model multicellular eukaryotes
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Reese Martin and Ann T Tate
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Horizontal gene transfer, segregation loss, and the speed of microbial adaptation
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by David V McLeod and Sylvain Gandon
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by David V McLeod and Sylvain Gandon
Horizontal gene transfer, segregation loss, and the speed of microbial adaptation
Abstract. Microbial adaptation is driven by the circulation of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) among bacteria. On the one hand, MGEs can be viewed as selfis
doi.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Horizontal gene transfer, segregation loss, and the speed of microbial adaptation
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by David V McLeod and Sylvain Gandon
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by David V McLeod and Sylvain Gandon
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Alignment across taxonomic levels in strategies rather than in traits along elevational gradients
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Aaditya Narasimhan & Yvonne Willi
📷: Kevin Thiele
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Aaditya Narasimhan & Yvonne Willi
📷: Kevin Thiele
October 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Alignment across taxonomic levels in strategies rather than in traits along elevational gradients
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Aaditya Narasimhan & Yvonne Willi
📷: Kevin Thiele
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Aaditya Narasimhan & Yvonne Willi
📷: Kevin Thiele
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Temperature can reverse sexual conflict, facilitating population growth
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Roberto García-Roa et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Roberto García-Roa et al.
Temperature can reverse sexual conflict, facilitating population growth
Abstract. Sexual conflict frequently gives rise to adaptations that increase male reproductive success at the expense of harming females (“male harm”) and
doi.org
October 13, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Temperature can reverse sexual conflict, facilitating population growth
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Roberto García-Roa et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Roberto García-Roa et al.
Reposted by Evolution Letters
An early-life survival and reproductive trade-off shapes selection on body size
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Maria João Janeiro et al.
📷: Sam Whitfield
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Maria João Janeiro et al.
📷: Sam Whitfield
December 2, 2025 at 9:15 PM
An early-life survival and reproductive trade-off shapes selection on body size
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Maria João Janeiro et al.
📷: Sam Whitfield
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Maria João Janeiro et al.
📷: Sam Whitfield
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Temporal dynamics and adaptiveness of thermal phenotypic plasticity in a ciliate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Léonard Dupont et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Léonard Dupont et al.
Temporal dynamics and adaptiveness of thermal phenotypic plasticity in a ciliate
Abstract. Phenotypic plasticity is a widespread strategy used by organisms to cope with environmental fluctuations. Empirical studies have mostly focused o
doi.org
December 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Temporal dynamics and adaptiveness of thermal phenotypic plasticity in a ciliate
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Léonard Dupont et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Léonard Dupont et al.
Reposted by Evolution Letters
New paper alert! 📜
200 gen of strong sexual selection in beetles 🪲 causes divergent evolution of male and female traits, possibly through more divergent expression of reproductive proteins . Work by Arnqvist group. Check it out 👇
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
#evolution
200 gen of strong sexual selection in beetles 🪲 causes divergent evolution of male and female traits, possibly through more divergent expression of reproductive proteins . Work by Arnqvist group. Check it out 👇
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
#evolution
The effects of sexual selection on functional and molecular reproductive divergence during experimental evolution in seed beetles
Abstract. Sexual selection can be an engine of divergent evolution between closely related lineages, as a result of idiosyncratic coevolution of male and f
academic.oup.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:30 AM
New paper alert! 📜
200 gen of strong sexual selection in beetles 🪲 causes divergent evolution of male and female traits, possibly through more divergent expression of reproductive proteins . Work by Arnqvist group. Check it out 👇
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
#evolution
200 gen of strong sexual selection in beetles 🪲 causes divergent evolution of male and female traits, possibly through more divergent expression of reproductive proteins . Work by Arnqvist group. Check it out 👇
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
#evolution
Who really lives fast and dies young? In Drosophila, females show faster ageing and reproductive senescence than males across social environments, overturning sexual selection predictions and highlighting social effects on ageing. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
@laurenmharrison.bsky.social
@laurenmharrison.bsky.social
Fast females, slow males: accelerated ageing and reproductive senescence in Drosophila melanogaster females across diverse social environments
Abstract. Females and males typically differ in lifespan, patterns of ageing, and reproduction. General explanations for variation in the magnitude of this
academic.oup.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Who really lives fast and dies young? In Drosophila, females show faster ageing and reproductive senescence than males across social environments, overturning sexual selection predictions and highlighting social effects on ageing. academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
@laurenmharrison.bsky.social
@laurenmharrison.bsky.social
Why is phenotypic plasticity so common? Models show that even low migration between locally adapted populations can maintain costly plasticity in constant environments, revealing migration as a key driver of plastic trait evolution.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Evolution of phenotypic plasticity owing to migration
Phenotypes can change without alterations in the underlying genotype—a phenomenon known as phenotypic plasticity—the evolution of which is typically trigge
academic.oup.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Why is phenotypic plasticity so common? Models show that even low migration between locally adapted populations can maintain costly plasticity in constant environments, revealing migration as a key driver of plastic trait evolution.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Why do selfing rates vary across a species’ range? In alpine monkeyflower, self-fertilization increases away from the range center, supporting the abundant center hypothesis over historical range expansion in shaping reproductive assurance.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Photo Credit: Brewbooks
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Photo Credit: Brewbooks
December 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Why do selfing rates vary across a species’ range? In alpine monkeyflower, self-fertilization increases away from the range center, supporting the abundant center hypothesis over historical range expansion in shaping reproductive assurance.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Photo Credit: Brewbooks
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Photo Credit: Brewbooks
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Excited to see this huge experiment finally published!! 🪰
Fast females, slow males: accelerated ageing and reproductive senescence in Drosophila melanogaster females across diverse social environments url: academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Fast females, slow males: accelerated ageing and reproductive senescence in Drosophila melanogaster females across diverse social environments
Abstract. Females and males typically differ in lifespan, patterns of ageing, and reproduction. General explanations for variation in the magnitude of this
academic.oup.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Excited to see this huge experiment finally published!! 🪰
Can we predict gene expression evolution? In flour beetles, transcriptome-wide selection predicts expression change, with indirect selection acting strongest on pleiotropic, network-central genes—linking co-expression architecture to adaptation.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic... Photo: Udo Schmidt
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic... Photo: Udo Schmidt
December 18, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Can we predict gene expression evolution? In flour beetles, transcriptome-wide selection predicts expression change, with indirect selection acting strongest on pleiotropic, network-central genes—linking co-expression architecture to adaptation.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic... Photo: Udo Schmidt
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic... Photo: Udo Schmidt
How do genetic variances and covariances evolve over deep time? This paper unifies quantitative genetics and macroevolution with analytical models for G-matrix evolution on phylogenies, enabling new tests of multivariate trait evolution.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Multivariate trait evolution: models for the evolution of the quantitative genetic G-matrix on phylogenies
Abstract. Genetic covariance matrices (G-matrices) are a key focus for research and predictions from quantitative genetic evolutionary models of multiple t
academic.oup.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM
How do genetic variances and covariances evolve over deep time? This paper unifies quantitative genetics and macroevolution with analytical models for G-matrix evolution on phylogenies, enabling new tests of multivariate trait evolution.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Do extra chromosome sets mask bad mutations? Simulations show tetraploids often carry higher genetic load than diploids, depending on dominance, demography, and drift—with important implications for fitness and conservation.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
The hidden threat: genetic load dynamics in tetraploids and diploids
Polyploid organisms often display unique evolutionary dynamics compared to diploids. One unresolved question is how polyploidy affects the accumulation of
academic.oup.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Do extra chromosome sets mask bad mutations? Simulations show tetraploids often carry higher genetic load than diploids, depending on dominance, demography, and drift—with important implications for fitness and conservation.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Reposted by Evolution Letters
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
So exciting to see a new method to model the evolution of G (and P) matrices on phylogenies. Another step in the direction of trying to bridge micro and macroevolution
So exciting to see a new method to model the evolution of G (and P) matrices on phylogenies. Another step in the direction of trying to bridge micro and macroevolution
Multivariate trait evolution: models for the evolution of the quantitative genetic G-matrix on phylogenies
Abstract. Genetic covariance matrices (G-matrices) are a key focus for research and predictions from quantitative genetic evolutionary models of multiple t
academic.oup.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:58 AM
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
So exciting to see a new method to model the evolution of G (and P) matrices on phylogenies. Another step in the direction of trying to bridge micro and macroevolution
So exciting to see a new method to model the evolution of G (and P) matrices on phylogenies. Another step in the direction of trying to bridge micro and macroevolution
Reposted by Evolution Letters
A bit late, but really happy to see my first PhD paper out!
We studied trait-elevation relationships in multiple traits spanning growth, size (both above and belowground) and leaf economics to understand whether these align at within- and among-species scales.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
We studied trait-elevation relationships in multiple traits spanning growth, size (both above and belowground) and leaf economics to understand whether these align at within- and among-species scales.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Alignment across taxonomic levels in strategies rather than in traits along elevational gradients
Abstract. Trait variation along environmental gradients can indicate the different strategies that organisms have evolved in response to environmental hete
academic.oup.com
September 3, 2025 at 2:13 PM
A bit late, but really happy to see my first PhD paper out!
We studied trait-elevation relationships in multiple traits spanning growth, size (both above and belowground) and leaf economics to understand whether these align at within- and among-species scales.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
We studied trait-elevation relationships in multiple traits spanning growth, size (both above and belowground) and leaf economics to understand whether these align at within- and among-species scales.
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
We are continuously reviewing our AI policy as tools and capabilities evolve. This editorial outlines broad guidelines: accountability for content, preserving author voice, and maintaining trust in peer review. We welcome questions from authors, reviewers and readers academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .
ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter .
media.tenor.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
We are continuously reviewing our AI policy as tools and capabilities evolve. This editorial outlines broad guidelines: accountability for content, preserving author voice, and maintaining trust in peer review. We welcome questions from authors, reviewers and readers academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Surprisingly, sperm length is not linked to sperm storage traits. Instead, vagina length emerges as a key—yet overlooked—player in post-copulatory sexual selection in birds. academic.oup.com/evlett/article/9/6/686/8271462
Relative testis size is associated with vagina length but not sperm storage traits in Galliformes
Abstract. Post-copulatory sexual selection, comprised of sperm competition and cryptic female choice, is a powerful evolutionary force that can drive the r
academic.oup.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Surprisingly, sperm length is not linked to sperm storage traits. Instead, vagina length emerges as a key—yet overlooked—player in post-copulatory sexual selection in birds. academic.oup.com/evlett/article/9/6/686/8271462
Reposted by Evolution Letters
Elegant experiment-theory mix, showing increasing returns from helping in a cooperative wasp
Early-season helping in Polistes wasps shows increasing returns - more helpers lead to convex gains in sexual productivity, resolving a key paradox in the origins of eusociality.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
December 17, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Elegant experiment-theory mix, showing increasing returns from helping in a cooperative wasp
Maternal age matters beyond early survival. This study shows persistent effects on male—but not female—offspring fitness in a wild mammal population. academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
December 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Maternal age matters beyond early survival. This study shows persistent effects on male—but not female—offspring fitness in a wild mammal population. academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Early-season helping in Polistes wasps shows increasing returns - more helpers lead to convex gains in sexual productivity, resolving a key paradox in the origins of eusociality.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
December 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Early-season helping in Polistes wasps shows increasing returns - more helpers lead to convex gains in sexual productivity, resolving a key paradox in the origins of eusociality.
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
@ricaliari.bsky.social @twenseleers.bsky.social
Reposted by Evolution Letters
In our new study we were the first to experimentally simulate the origin of sociality! By controlling how many wasp 🐝daughters could help their mom, we found that early helpers don't just add to colony success—they multiply it!
October 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
In our new study we were the first to experimentally simulate the origin of sociality! By controlling how many wasp 🐝daughters could help their mom, we found that early helpers don't just add to colony success—they multiply it!
Seasonal adaptation leaves genome-wide signatures across all traits, while food quality drives narrower, oligogenic responses—showing populations can track multiple environmental axes at once. Now out in Evolution Letters academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...
Variation in the resource environment affects patterns of seasonal adaptation at phenotypic and genomic levels in Drosophila melanogaster
Abstract. Natural populations often experience heterogeneity in the quality and abundance of environmentally acquired resources across both space and time,
academic.oup.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Seasonal adaptation leaves genome-wide signatures across all traits, while food quality drives narrower, oligogenic responses—showing populations can track multiple environmental axes at once. Now out in Evolution Letters academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...