Manuel Hernández Fernández
@hdezfdez.bsky.social
Paleobiólogo, profesor en la UCM e investigador en el CSIC; interesado en los cambios climáticos y la evolución de las faunas de vertebrados cenozoicos
Pinned
Biome specialization in squirrels: phylogenetic and geographic patterns doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
1️⃣ Not all squirrels are generalists.
Many species are biome specialists, restricted to a single habitat (rainforest, steppe, etc.)
Many species are biome specialists, restricted to a single habitat (rainforest, steppe, etc.)
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
1️⃣ Not all squirrels are generalists.
Many species are biome specialists, restricted to a single habitat (rainforest, steppe, etc.)
Many species are biome specialists, restricted to a single habitat (rainforest, steppe, etc.)
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
2️⃣ According to the resource-use hypothesis (Elisabeth Vrba), specialists should generate more species during climate change, because their populations fragment more easily.
👉 But does this actually happen in nature? We tested it using squirrels.
👉 But does this actually happen in nature? We tested it using squirrels.
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
2️⃣ According to the resource-use hypothesis (Elisabeth Vrba), specialists should generate more species during climate change, because their populations fragment more easily.
👉 But does this actually happen in nature? We tested it using squirrels.
👉 But does this actually happen in nature? We tested it using squirrels.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
3️⃣ 📊 The key result:
👉 There are far more specialist squirrels than expected by chance.
This supports the idea that specialization is not (only) an evolutionary dead end.
👉 There are far more specialist squirrels than expected by chance.
This supports the idea that specialization is not (only) an evolutionary dead end.
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
3️⃣ 📊 The key result:
👉 There are far more specialist squirrels than expected by chance.
This supports the idea that specialization is not (only) an evolutionary dead end.
👉 There are far more specialist squirrels than expected by chance.
This supports the idea that specialization is not (only) an evolutionary dead end.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
4️⃣ 🌱 But not all biomes behave the same.
Tropical rainforests and steppes host more specialists than expected.
Deserts and tundra do not (partly because they host very few species).
Tropical rainforests and steppes host more specialists than expected.
Deserts and tundra do not (partly because they host very few species).
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
4️⃣ 🌱 But not all biomes behave the same.
Tropical rainforests and steppes host more specialists than expected.
Deserts and tundra do not (partly because they host very few species).
Tropical rainforests and steppes host more specialists than expected.
Deserts and tundra do not (partly because they host very few species).
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
5️⃣ 🗺️ Where are the main hotspots?
Southeast Asia — especially Borneo — stands out with extremely high species richness… and most species there are endemic specialists.
Southeast Asia — especially Borneo — stands out with extremely high species richness… and most species there are endemic specialists.
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
5️⃣ 🗺️ Where are the main hotspots?
Southeast Asia — especially Borneo — stands out with extremely high species richness… and most species there are endemic specialists.
Southeast Asia — especially Borneo — stands out with extremely high species richness… and most species there are endemic specialists.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
6️⃣ 🌳 Interestingly, these species-rich regions show low phylogenetic diversity:
many species, but closely related 👉 a signal of rapid past speciation.
many species, but closely related 👉 a signal of rapid past speciation.
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
6️⃣ 🌳 Interestingly, these species-rich regions show low phylogenetic diversity:
many species, but closely related 👉 a signal of rapid past speciation.
many species, but closely related 👉 a signal of rapid past speciation.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
8️⃣ 🚨 Conservation message:
Regions like the Sunda Shelf are top priorities:
✔️ Many specialists
✔️ High endemism
✔️ High sensitivity to climate change
Regions like the Sunda Shelf are top priorities:
✔️ Many specialists
✔️ High endemism
✔️ High sensitivity to climate change
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
8️⃣ 🚨 Conservation message:
Regions like the Sunda Shelf are top priorities:
✔️ Many specialists
✔️ High endemism
✔️ High sensitivity to climate change
Regions like the Sunda Shelf are top priorities:
✔️ Many specialists
✔️ High endemism
✔️ High sensitivity to climate change
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
9️⃣ 📄 Open-access paper in Journal of Biogeography:
“Biome Specialisation in Squirrels: Phylogenetic and Geographic Patterns”
👉 doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
🐿️🌍 If you’re interested in how climate, evolution, and biodiversity connect… this paper is for you.
“Biome Specialisation in Squirrels: Phylogenetic and Geographic Patterns”
👉 doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
🐿️🌍 If you’re interested in how climate, evolution, and biodiversity connect… this paper is for you.
Biome Specialisation in Squirrels: Phylogenetic and Geographic Patterns
Aim
Habitat breadth shapes species' responses to environmental change and influences large-scale biodiversity patterns. According to Vrba's resource-use hypothesis, biome specialists (inhabiting a s.....
doi.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
9️⃣ 📄 Open-access paper in Journal of Biogeography:
“Biome Specialisation in Squirrels: Phylogenetic and Geographic Patterns”
👉 doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
🐿️🌍 If you’re interested in how climate, evolution, and biodiversity connect… this paper is for you.
“Biome Specialisation in Squirrels: Phylogenetic and Geographic Patterns”
👉 doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
🐿️🌍 If you’re interested in how climate, evolution, and biodiversity connect… this paper is for you.
Biome specialization in squirrels: phylogenetic and geographic patterns doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
January 29, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Biome specialization in squirrels: phylogenetic and geographic patterns doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
by @paleoiris.bsky.social et al.
Do marine mammals diversify more slowly than non-marine mammals? doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
Do Marine Mammals Diversify More Slowly Than Non‐Marine Mammals?
Aim Species richness is generally lower in marine than in terrestrial ecosystems, but the reasons behind this disparity remain unclear. This study examines whether marine mammals diversify at a slow...
doi.org
January 12, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Do marine mammals diversify more slowly than non-marine mammals? doi.org/10.1111/jbi....
Agradecemos a @sepaleontologia.bsky.social la noticia sobre nuestro último trabajo en paleoclimatología del Cuaternario, publicado en doi.org/10.5194/cp-2...
December 29, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Agradecemos a @sepaleontologia.bsky.social la noticia sobre nuestro último trabajo en paleoclimatología del Cuaternario, publicado en doi.org/10.5194/cp-2...
Agradecemos a @sepaleontologia.bsky.social la noticia sobre nuestro último trabajo "a la sombra de los Andes" en doi.org/10.1111/1749...
December 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Agradecemos a @sepaleontologia.bsky.social la noticia sobre nuestro último trabajo "a la sombra de los Andes" en doi.org/10.1111/1749...
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
¡Nueva publicación de soci@s! 🗣️
Un nuevo estudio liderado por @fernandoblancos.bsky.social explora cómo los cambios ambientales impactaron en los grandes #mamíferos y sus ecosistemas durante el Neógeno 🐘🌍
👉 Léelo aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/?p=1423
#SEPsocios #Paleontología #CambioClimático
Un nuevo estudio liderado por @fernandoblancos.bsky.social explora cómo los cambios ambientales impactaron en los grandes #mamíferos y sus ecosistemas durante el Neógeno 🐘🌍
👉 Léelo aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/?p=1423
#SEPsocios #Paleontología #CambioClimático
60 millones de años en movimiento: cómo los cambios ambientales transformaron a los mayores herbívoros del planeta—y cómo sus ecosistemas resistieron - sepaleontologia
Leer más
sepaleontologia.es
June 6, 2025 at 9:32 AM
¡Nueva publicación de soci@s! 🗣️
Un nuevo estudio liderado por @fernandoblancos.bsky.social explora cómo los cambios ambientales impactaron en los grandes #mamíferos y sus ecosistemas durante el Neógeno 🐘🌍
👉 Léelo aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/?p=1423
#SEPsocios #Paleontología #CambioClimático
Un nuevo estudio liderado por @fernandoblancos.bsky.social explora cómo los cambios ambientales impactaron en los grandes #mamíferos y sus ecosistemas durante el Neógeno 🐘🌍
👉 Léelo aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/?p=1423
#SEPsocios #Paleontología #CambioClimático
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
¡Nueva publicación de soci@s! 🗣️
Una investigación liderada por @nebreda.bsky.social sugiere que la evolución del vuelo en dinosaurios 🦅 ya estaba condicionada desde el embrión.
👉 Descúbrela aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/portfolio-item/macroevolucion-y-embriologia/
#SEPsocios #Dinosaurios #Aves
Una investigación liderada por @nebreda.bsky.social sugiere que la evolución del vuelo en dinosaurios 🦅 ya estaba condicionada desde el embrión.
👉 Descúbrela aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/portfolio-item/macroevolucion-y-embriologia/
#SEPsocios #Dinosaurios #Aves
La huella evolutiva que los dinosaurios no avianos dejaron a las aves: una historia de extremidades, macroevolución y embriología - sepaleontologia
Leer más
sepaleontologia.es
May 14, 2025 at 7:03 PM
¡Nueva publicación de soci@s! 🗣️
Una investigación liderada por @nebreda.bsky.social sugiere que la evolución del vuelo en dinosaurios 🦅 ya estaba condicionada desde el embrión.
👉 Descúbrela aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/portfolio-item/macroevolucion-y-embriologia/
#SEPsocios #Dinosaurios #Aves
Una investigación liderada por @nebreda.bsky.social sugiere que la evolución del vuelo en dinosaurios 🦅 ya estaba condicionada desde el embrión.
👉 Descúbrela aquí:
https://sepaleontologia.es/portfolio-item/macroevolucion-y-embriologia/
#SEPsocios #Dinosaurios #Aves
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
Great new paper on the evolution of birds - showing how changes in forelimbs (becoming wings) and legs were linked together. I LOVE research like this which reveals the secrets of how evolution works - how development, genetics, form are all joined up: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Macroevolutionary integration underlies limb modularity in the origin of avian flight | Biology Letters
The origin of flight in avian dinosaurs has been historically an ideal framework for
proposing the evolutionary relationship between form and function in limb proportions
under the hypothesis of speci...
royalsocietypublishing.org
May 10, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Great new paper on the evolution of birds - showing how changes in forelimbs (becoming wings) and legs were linked together. I LOVE research like this which reveals the secrets of how evolution works - how development, genetics, form are all joined up: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
Hoy en Madrid hay huelga en defensa de la Universidad pública/ today in Madrid we go on strike to defend public univerities
("Today I wake up and strike", writing on a wall, Bologna, some years ago)
("Today I wake up and strike", writing on a wall, Bologna, some years ago)
November 26, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Hoy en Madrid hay huelga en defensa de la Universidad pública/ today in Madrid we go on strike to defend public univerities
("Today I wake up and strike", writing on a wall, Bologna, some years ago)
("Today I wake up and strike", writing on a wall, Bologna, some years ago)
Body size regulates niche overlap asymmetry in the subtropical Andes rain shadow: Isotopic paleoecology of Oligocene South American ungulates
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by @dasanz.bsky.social et al.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by @dasanz.bsky.social et al.
Body Size Regulates Niche Overlap Asymmetry in the Subtropical Andes Rain Shadow: Isotopic Paleoecology of Oligocene South American Ungulates
This study provides the first isotopic analysis of Oligocene mammals from Quebrada Fiera, Mendoza, Argentina, filling a major gap in South American paleontology. It reveals a latitudinal gradient in ....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Body size regulates niche overlap asymmetry in the subtropical Andes rain shadow: Isotopic paleoecology of Oligocene South American ungulates
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by @dasanz.bsky.social et al.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by @dasanz.bsky.social et al.
Late Pleistocene temperature patterns in the Western Palearctic: insights from rodent associations compared with general circulation models
cp.copernicus.org/articles/21/...
cp.copernicus.org/articles/21/...
Late Pleistocene temperature patterns in the Western Palearctic: insights from rodent associations compared with general circulation models
Abstract. Since rodent fossils are preserved in many low- and high-latitude archaeological and paleontological sites from a wide variety of environments, their associations are a commonly useful proxy...
cp.copernicus.org
October 24, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Late Pleistocene temperature patterns in the Western Palearctic: insights from rodent associations compared with general circulation models
cp.copernicus.org/articles/21/...
cp.copernicus.org/articles/21/...
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
Thrilled that our paper “The division of food space among mammalian species on biomes” has been selected as October’s Editor’s Choice in @ecography.bsky.social ! 📰✨👇 sl1nk.com/AG7BC
Huge thanks to Rafa Barrientos for the pic (I mean, Rafa is the photographer, not the stunning monkey 🐒)
Huge thanks to Rafa Barrientos for the pic (I mean, Rafa is the photographer, not the stunning monkey 🐒)
October 3, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Thrilled that our paper “The division of food space among mammalian species on biomes” has been selected as October’s Editor’s Choice in @ecography.bsky.social ! 📰✨👇 sl1nk.com/AG7BC
Huge thanks to Rafa Barrientos for the pic (I mean, Rafa is the photographer, not the stunning monkey 🐒)
Huge thanks to Rafa Barrientos for the pic (I mean, Rafa is the photographer, not the stunning monkey 🐒)
Diez datos que sitúan a Madrid como la comunidad que peor trata a su universidad pública www.eldiario.es/1_c07aac?utm...
Diez datos que sitúan a Madrid como la comunidad que peor trata a su universidad pública
La región que preside Isabel Díaz Ayuso es la que más estudiantes y personal está trasvasando de la pública a la privada, la que peores salarios tiene en relación al coste de vida, la que menos fondos...
www.eldiario.es
September 22, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Diez datos que sitúan a Madrid como la comunidad que peor trata a su universidad pública www.eldiario.es/1_c07aac?utm...
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
Desprendimiento de rocas ocurrido ayer en el Cirque du Fer à Cheval, Francia. Se derrumbaron 12.000 metros cúbicos de rocas
September 8, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Desprendimiento de rocas ocurrido ayer en el Cirque du Fer à Cheval, Francia. Se derrumbaron 12.000 metros cúbicos de rocas
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
En cuestión de semanas, los primeros brotes verdes emergen entre las cenizas, transformando el paisaje devastado en un mosaico inesperado de vida.
¿Puede la vegetación recuperarse por sí sola después de un gran incendio?
Mientras que algunos incendios abren oportunidades para que la vida renazca con fuerza, los de alta intensidad pueden iniciar una degradación irreversible si no actuamos con inteligencia.
theconversation.com
August 22, 2025 at 5:50 PM
En cuestión de semanas, los primeros brotes verdes emergen entre las cenizas, transformando el paisaje devastado en un mosaico inesperado de vida.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
New paper out!
This review looks at 30 years of stable isotope studies on South American fossil mammals, exploring research trends, paleoecological insights, and future directions.
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @igeociencias.bsky.social @hdezfdez.bsky.social
🔗 www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15...
This review looks at 30 years of stable isotope studies on South American fossil mammals, exploring research trends, paleoecological insights, and future directions.
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @igeociencias.bsky.social @hdezfdez.bsky.social
🔗 www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15...
July 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM
New paper out!
This review looks at 30 years of stable isotope studies on South American fossil mammals, exploring research trends, paleoecological insights, and future directions.
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @igeociencias.bsky.social @hdezfdez.bsky.social
🔗 www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15...
This review looks at 30 years of stable isotope studies on South American fossil mammals, exploring research trends, paleoecological insights, and future directions.
@mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social @igeociencias.bsky.social @hdezfdez.bsky.social
🔗 www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15...
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
Stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ¹⁵N) have revolutionized paleoecology studies. But how have these tools been applied in South America, one of the world’s richest fossil archives? ⚛️🌎
This is the first bibliometric and conceptual review to answer that question.
This is the first bibliometric and conceptual review to answer that question.
July 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, δ¹⁵N) have revolutionized paleoecology studies. But how have these tools been applied in South America, one of the world’s richest fossil archives? ⚛️🌎
This is the first bibliometric and conceptual review to answer that question.
This is the first bibliometric and conceptual review to answer that question.
Reposted by Manuel Hernández Fernández
🖥️We analyzed 80 studies (1994–2024) to explore:
•Temporal and taxonomic biases
•Research trends, gaps and emerging topics
•Collaboration networks and gender equity
•Temporal and taxonomic biases
•Research trends, gaps and emerging topics
•Collaboration networks and gender equity
July 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM
🖥️We analyzed 80 studies (1994–2024) to explore:
•Temporal and taxonomic biases
•Research trends, gaps and emerging topics
•Collaboration networks and gender equity
•Temporal and taxonomic biases
•Research trends, gaps and emerging topics
•Collaboration networks and gender equity