Kara Layton
@molluscular.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto interested in molluscan systematics, evolution & genomics
laytonlab.com
laytonlab.com
We’re so excited to welcome you all to CSEE 2026 in Toronto!
🚨CSEE 2026: Call for Symposium & Workshop Proposals!
Got a great idea for a session? Now's your chance to shape the CSEE 2026 program!
🗓️ Deadline: Nov 3, 2025 @ 9:00 PM
📋 Submit via: event.fourwaves.com/csee2026
Full instructions + selection criteria on the site.
Got a great idea for a session? Now's your chance to shape the CSEE 2026 program!
🗓️ Deadline: Nov 3, 2025 @ 9:00 PM
📋 Submit via: event.fourwaves.com/csee2026
Full instructions + selection criteria on the site.
2026 Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution
Fourwaves - 2026 Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution
event.fourwaves.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:26 PM
We’re so excited to welcome you all to CSEE 2026 in Toronto!
Very excited to share this paper from PhD student Ethan Ross demonstrating the utility of ONT for generating barcode reference libraries in seagrass invertebrates. A second congratulations to Ethan for submitting his PhD thesis today! 🎉🧬🐚
A Comprehensive DNA Barcode Reference Library for the Macroinvertebrates of Scottish Seagrass Beds Using Oxford Nanopore Flongle Flowcells
In this study we use ONT Flongle Flowcells to produced DNA barcodes for 146 seagrass associated marine invertebrate OTUs collected from four seagrass beds in Scotland, targeting COI and 18S V4 region....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Very excited to share this paper from PhD student Ethan Ross demonstrating the utility of ONT for generating barcode reference libraries in seagrass invertebrates. A second congratulations to Ethan for submitting his PhD thesis today! 🎉🧬🐚
Reposted by Kara Layton
Victoria Gillman's talk on "Local adaptation and forecasting response in the endangered Scottish freshwater pearl mussel" was really insightful! 🤩 #ESEB2025
August 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Victoria Gillman's talk on "Local adaptation and forecasting response in the endangered Scottish freshwater pearl mussel" was really insightful! 🤩 #ESEB2025
Reposted by Kara Layton
I've had a wonderful 1st day at @eseb2025.bsky.social Here are the sketches from some of the talks I attended today. My highlights include Tristan on the adaptive genomics of colour spots on owls, Vicky on pearl mussel's response to climate change & Rebekah on firefly TEs & TE-induced mutations
August 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I've had a wonderful 1st day at @eseb2025.bsky.social Here are the sketches from some of the talks I attended today. My highlights include Tristan on the adaptive genomics of colour spots on owls, Vicky on pearl mussel's response to climate change & Rebekah on firefly TEs & TE-induced mutations
I am beyond sad to be missing #ESEB2025 but please check out this talk by my brilliant PhD student @vicgillman.bsky.social this afternoon!
Excited to give the final talk of my PhD at #ESEB2025 - don’t miss it! It’s at 4pm, room 114
August 18, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I am beyond sad to be missing #ESEB2025 but please check out this talk by my brilliant PhD student @vicgillman.bsky.social this afternoon!
Visiting the collections at the Museu de Zoologia was a highlight of the trip, topped off with a visit to a street named after a nudibranch legend
August 11, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Visiting the collections at the Museu de Zoologia was a highlight of the trip, topped off with a visit to a street named after a nudibranch legend
The #WCM2025 meeting was a huge success! Thanks to the LOC in São Paulo and all of our fantastic presenters in the heterobranch symposium 🙌
August 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
The #WCM2025 meeting was a huge success! Thanks to the LOC in São Paulo and all of our fantastic presenters in the heterobranch symposium 🙌
Excellent start to day 2 of #WCM2025 with a killer plenary by @sigwartae.bsky.social - 📣taxonomy is key for conservation!
August 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Excellent start to day 2 of #WCM2025 with a killer plenary by @sigwartae.bsky.social - 📣taxonomy is key for conservation!
Arrived in São Paulo for the World Congress of Malacology - all things mollusc for the next four days. What a dream! 🐌 🐚 🦪 🧬
August 5, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Arrived in São Paulo for the World Congress of Malacology - all things mollusc for the next four days. What a dream! 🐌 🐚 🦪 🧬
Reposted by Kara Layton
More bad news for butterflies. Our new paper led by Wendy Leuenberger shows common species are declining even more rapidly than rare ones. @ZipkinLab
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS
Insects are declining worldwide. These declines have been documented across taxonomic
groups and are worrisome given ecosystem services provided by...
www.pnas.org
August 4, 2025 at 10:10 PM
More bad news for butterflies. Our new paper led by Wendy Leuenberger shows common species are declining even more rapidly than rare ones. @ZipkinLab
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122
Come join us!
My department @utoronto.ca (www.utm.utoronto.ca/biology/) is hiring a molecular biologist in any field (e.g., ecology, evolutionary biology, etc.). Please encourage any excellent finishing PhD students, postdocs or assistant professor to apply here:
jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Mississa...
jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Mississa...
www.utm.utoronto.ca
July 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Come join us!
Back to my roots on the Thames River yesterday! We participated in some FW mussel sampling with DFO in a beautiful spot in Ontario 🌿
July 23, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Back to my roots on the Thames River yesterday! We participated in some FW mussel sampling with DFO in a beautiful spot in Ontario 🌿
It’s been such a pleasure to meet and work with this wonderful group of people. I’ve learned so much from them and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be involved! Led by the amazing @cristinaruedau.bsky.social
Happy to be part of this effort led by CrisRuedas and the caminos network, which has just been published today. In it we review what has been done on pollination research in the tropical Andes and propose new lines of research. Pollination onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:55 PM
It’s been such a pleasure to meet and work with this wonderful group of people. I’ve learned so much from them and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be involved! Led by the amazing @cristinaruedau.bsky.social
A huge win for Northern Arizona University! @chamberea.bsky.social is one of the most talented and lovely academics I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Congrats Anne 🎉🥂
Incredibly excited to announce that I will be starting as an assistant professor and curator of vertebrate collections at Northern Arizona University! I feel very fortunate to be joining such a wonderful department and also to live in a southwestern mountain town like Flagstaff — a dream come true!
July 17, 2025 at 12:32 AM
A huge win for Northern Arizona University! @chamberea.bsky.social is one of the most talented and lovely academics I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Congrats Anne 🎉🥂
Reposted by Kara Layton
I've been waiting for this, an update on the beautiful slug #caterpillars (Limacodidae)
academic.oup.com/isd/article-...
academic.oup.com/isd/article-...
Phylogeny and reclassification of Limacodidae worldwide, with emphasis on the ontogeny of larval defenses (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea)
Abstract. Limacodidae (Zygaenoidea), a mostly pantropical family of 1,800+ species, is known for sluglike caterpillars with suckers below rather than typic
academic.oup.com
July 12, 2025 at 9:23 PM
I've been waiting for this, an update on the beautiful slug #caterpillars (Limacodidae)
academic.oup.com/isd/article-...
academic.oup.com/isd/article-...
Reposted by Kara Layton
Check out our recent paper “Tracing the evolution of key traits in dorid nudibranchs”! 🧬🐌 dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Nudibranchs are a fascinating and diverse group of molluscs, unique and interesting systems in ecology and evolutionary biology.
@molluscular.bsky.social
Nudibranchs are a fascinating and diverse group of molluscs, unique and interesting systems in ecology and evolutionary biology.
@molluscular.bsky.social
Tracing the evolution of key traits in dorid nudibranchs
Reconstructing trait evolution is critically important for elucidating the processes generating biodiversity. However, this work is in its infancy in non-model clades for which we lack a basic underst...
dx.plos.org
July 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Check out our recent paper “Tracing the evolution of key traits in dorid nudibranchs”! 🧬🐌 dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Nudibranchs are a fascinating and diverse group of molluscs, unique and interesting systems in ecology and evolutionary biology.
@molluscular.bsky.social
Nudibranchs are a fascinating and diverse group of molluscs, unique and interesting systems in ecology and evolutionary biology.
@molluscular.bsky.social
It’s been one hell of an awful week but I’m sailing into the long weekend with this guy 💙
June 27, 2025 at 7:41 PM
It’s been one hell of an awful week but I’m sailing into the long weekend with this guy 💙
Summer fieldwork mode has begun 💪 Just returned from a super productive trip w/ @mollusksatamnh.bsky.social & our stellar PhD students Anahy Garza & Lina Raubold. Lots of colour pattern analysis & sequencing to come on these Felimida nudibranchs & flamingo tongues (Cyphoma) 🎨🧬
May 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Summer fieldwork mode has begun 💪 Just returned from a super productive trip w/ @mollusksatamnh.bsky.social & our stellar PhD students Anahy Garza & Lina Raubold. Lots of colour pattern analysis & sequencing to come on these Felimida nudibranchs & flamingo tongues (Cyphoma) 🎨🧬
Reposted by Kara Layton
And always will
a black background with the words trans people have always existed
ALT: a black background with the words trans people have always existed
media.tenor.com
January 29, 2025 at 1:14 AM
And always will
A fantastic few days at the museum collections in Bergen 🐚 (with a trail or two snuck in there)
December 17, 2024 at 5:03 PM
A fantastic few days at the museum collections in Bergen 🐚 (with a trail or two snuck in there)
A great few days in Bodø with some beautiful views (thanks again to @joostraeymaekers.bsky.social for the trip to Saltstraumen!) Now off to Bergen ✈️
December 14, 2024 at 12:09 PM
A great few days in Bodø with some beautiful views (thanks again to @joostraeymaekers.bsky.social for the trip to Saltstraumen!) Now off to Bergen ✈️
What a difference a week makes:
Southern Florida -> Northern Norway
Southern Florida -> Northern Norway
December 12, 2024 at 4:01 PM
What a difference a week makes:
Southern Florida -> Northern Norway
Southern Florida -> Northern Norway
I’m very sad to miss the #MolluscanForum this year, but excited that @brack1sh.bsky.social will talk about her wonderful mussel work!
I’m presenting my PhD chapter on Scottish freshwater pearl mussel genomics at the #MolluscanForum in London next week. Excited to hear from others and get fresh ideas! Let me know if you'll be there! 🧬🦪 Sneak peek below.
November 13, 2024 at 4:11 PM
I’m very sad to miss the #MolluscanForum this year, but excited that @brack1sh.bsky.social will talk about her wonderful mussel work!
Reposted by Kara Layton
I'm at the American Malacological Society meeting in LA this week. So far it's been an amazing conference! We started with a workshop on kleptoplasty and it's just kept going from there. #Invertebrate
August 6, 2024 at 1:53 PM
I'm at the American Malacological Society meeting in LA this week. So far it's been an amazing conference! We started with a workshop on kleptoplasty and it's just kept going from there. #Invertebrate