Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
@rucouwes.bsky.social
Evolutionary ecologist, doing a PhD on phylogenetics and evolution of sex-determination in the Hawaiian Wikstroemia genus of flowering plants 🌿 At Lund University, Sweden.
Ever disappointed in the non-existence of dragons 🐉🐉🐉
He/him/they/them ~ 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Ever disappointed in the non-existence of dragons 🐉🐉🐉
He/him/they/them ~ 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Pinned
Hello all new followers! Writing "Hi, I'm Ruben" feels redundant and uninteresting given that it says so on my profile already.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
A new study from Anthropic finds that gains in coding efficiency when relying on AI assistance did did not meet statistical significance; AI use noticeably degraded programmers’ understanding of what they were doing. Incredible.
The latest from Anthropic: using Anthropic's products makes you worse at your job
How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills
Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.
www.anthropic.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:47 PM
A new study from Anthropic finds that gains in coding efficiency when relying on AI assistance did did not meet statistical significance; AI use noticeably degraded programmers’ understanding of what they were doing. Incredible.
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
The Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social has two open PhD positions, help us spread the word! 📣
We are looking for a PhD student in Lichen Biology, and one in Ecology & Evolution. Find more information and apply by 1 February below!
We are looking for a PhD student in Lichen Biology, and one in Ecology & Evolution. Find more information and apply by 1 February below!
Work with us - Stockholms universitet
www.su.se
January 21, 2026 at 1:29 PM
The Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social has two open PhD positions, help us spread the word! 📣
We are looking for a PhD student in Lichen Biology, and one in Ecology & Evolution. Find more information and apply by 1 February below!
We are looking for a PhD student in Lichen Biology, and one in Ecology & Evolution. Find more information and apply by 1 February below!
Wikipedia celebrates 25 years this year! Sending some love today to (arguably) the best source of knowledge in the world.
From dial-up days to now, travel through Wikipedia's history. wikipedia25.org/en/twenty-fi...
From dial-up days to now, travel through Wikipedia's history. wikipedia25.org/en/twenty-fi...
25 years of Wikipedia
wikipedia25.org
January 19, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Wikipedia celebrates 25 years this year! Sending some love today to (arguably) the best source of knowledge in the world.
From dial-up days to now, travel through Wikipedia's history. wikipedia25.org/en/twenty-fi...
From dial-up days to now, travel through Wikipedia's history. wikipedia25.org/en/twenty-fi...
"Quick and easy" roadmap to finished paper. If I do two things per week I'll be done in no time... It's fine if I don't do anything else the coming three months, right?
January 16, 2026 at 8:38 AM
"Quick and easy" roadmap to finished paper. If I do two things per week I'll be done in no time... It's fine if I don't do anything else the coming three months, right?
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
One of my concerns with AI-assisted research in biology is that we're already looking only in the lamplight and AI incentivizes us to narrow the beam. Seems like it's happening...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Artificial intelligence tools expand scientists’ impact but contract science’s focus - Nature
Artificial intelligence boosts individual scientists’ output, citations and career progression, but collectively narrows research diversity and reduces collaboration, concentrating work in data-rich a...
www.nature.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:08 PM
One of my concerns with AI-assisted research in biology is that we're already looking only in the lamplight and AI incentivizes us to narrow the beam. Seems like it's happening...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
My co-conspirator and fellow PhD student Lila writes for The Conversation about how plants have separate sexes, sometimes. Ever wondered something about plant sexual systems? How to start learning about it? I'd say start with this.
Plant sex life is more complicated than you probably imagine
The amazing variety of plant reproductive systems.
theconversation.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:49 AM
My co-conspirator and fellow PhD student Lila writes for The Conversation about how plants have separate sexes, sometimes. Ever wondered something about plant sexual systems? How to start learning about it? I'd say start with this.
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
Folks, this can compromise the confidentiality of the review process, as well as authors’ intellectual property rights. Doing it is a breach of peer review ethics.
Just decline the peer review invitation.
What are you people even doing?
What are you people even doing?
More than half of researchers now use AI for peer review — often against guidance
A survey of 1,600 academics found that more than 50% have used artificial-intelligence tools while peer reviewing manuscripts.
www.nature.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Folks, this can compromise the confidentiality of the review process, as well as authors’ intellectual property rights. Doing it is a breach of peer review ethics.
"Phylophytobiogeography" I type. I hesitate... is there no way I can be a bit more... specific?
#academicenglish
#academicenglish
October 23, 2025 at 9:02 AM
"Phylophytobiogeography" I type. I hesitate... is there no way I can be a bit more... specific?
#academicenglish
#academicenglish
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
We’re hiring! 📣
DEEP at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social is looking for a tenured Associate Professor in Plant Ecology. Join a vibrant research & teaching community in the heart of Sweden’s capital.
Learn more and apply below by 16 Nov.👇
DEEP at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social is looking for a tenured Associate Professor in Plant Ecology. Join a vibrant research & teaching community in the heart of Sweden’s capital.
Learn more and apply below by 16 Nov.👇
DEEP seeks Associate Professor in Plant Ecology – apply now! - Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences
DEEP seeks Associate Professor in Plant Ecology – apply now! - Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences
www.su.se
September 25, 2025 at 10:17 AM
We’re hiring! 📣
DEEP at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social is looking for a tenured Associate Professor in Plant Ecology. Join a vibrant research & teaching community in the heart of Sweden’s capital.
Learn more and apply below by 16 Nov.👇
DEEP at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social is looking for a tenured Associate Professor in Plant Ecology. Join a vibrant research & teaching community in the heart of Sweden’s capital.
Learn more and apply below by 16 Nov.👇
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
Botanist or poet? For National Poetry Day, we discovered poetry hidden amongst the personal papers of botanists - from J. Fraser’s 1919 poem on poppies to H.M Ward’s critique’s on his mother’s poetry!
#KewLA
#KewLA
![Handwritten poem by J Fraser, titled ‘The Corn Poppy’ with a sentence crossed out then four stanzas reading:
“The scarlet poppy reddens daily, Amongst the cornfields blossoms gaily, Makes comely neighbours wanton palely, and dazzles all beneath the skies, But beckons me with swanting [sic] eyes.
Uh! Could I like the gliding swallow, Explore the vale and upland follows, No more in smoky dens I’d swallow, No longer breathe the air that falls Midst crowded streets and staring walls.
Then would I bid adieu to collow, And scour the…height and hollow, Un…the downs and blithely follow, along the fields where bright corn rose – The glorious flaming poppy – glows.
To-day would have no room for sorrow, No boding thoughts to gloom to-morrow, And each day after fair would borrow Another glide along the plain, to search amongst the bended grain’”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h2nzrepsboow5qu42xtebgn/bafkreig675ogx354npeaj4qewlpu4trssdkkdzlshvqieumvfs4juji3w4@jpeg)
October 2, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Botanist or poet? For National Poetry Day, we discovered poetry hidden amongst the personal papers of botanists - from J. Fraser’s 1919 poem on poppies to H.M Ward’s critique’s on his mother’s poetry!
#KewLA
#KewLA
If that sounds appealing, or if you simply hope to see more pictures from Hawai'i: stick around. There will be more of all this later ~ 🌿
September 17, 2025 at 8:46 PM
If that sounds appealing, or if you simply hope to see more pictures from Hawai'i: stick around. There will be more of all this later ~ 🌿
I am also constructing a phylogeny of the wider Wikstroemia genus, hoping to 1. Determine the within genus relationships of the clades, 2. Assess the validity of the many widespread and overlapping, seemingly cryptic species, and 3. Biogeographically analyse how the Wikstroemia dispersed to Hawai'i.
September 17, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I am also constructing a phylogeny of the wider Wikstroemia genus, hoping to 1. Determine the within genus relationships of the clades, 2. Assess the validity of the many widespread and overlapping, seemingly cryptic species, and 3. Biogeographically analyse how the Wikstroemia dispersed to Hawai'i.
My job is to suss out how the Hawai'ian Wikstroemia species are related, how they spread across the islands, what their population structure is like across various habitats, and how the gene trees of the sex-determining regions line up with the evolutionary history of the taxa we recognise today.
September 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
My job is to suss out how the Hawai'ian Wikstroemia species are related, how they spread across the islands, what their population structure is like across various habitats, and how the gene trees of the sex-determining regions line up with the evolutionary history of the taxa we recognise today.
We investigate these emergent sexual systems through field sampling, greenhouse crosses, hybridisation trials, GWAS, and various other genomic methods for identifying sex chromosomes. However, we also use phylogenetics, biogeographic analyses, and population genetics. This is where I come in.
September 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
We investigate these emergent sexual systems through field sampling, greenhouse crosses, hybridisation trials, GWAS, and various other genomic methods for identifying sex chromosomes. However, we also use phylogenetics, biogeographic analyses, and population genetics. This is where I come in.
Since the Wikstroemia colonised Hawai'i less than 10 mya, several lineages have (seemingly independently) made the transition from ancestral hermaphroditism to dioecy. This makes these plants a perfect system for study of recent evolution of sex – a subject we still know surprisingly little about.
September 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Since the Wikstroemia colonised Hawai'i less than 10 mya, several lineages have (seemingly independently) made the transition from ancestral hermaphroditism to dioecy. This makes these plants a perfect system for study of recent evolution of sex – a subject we still know surprisingly little about.
In Hawai'i we find a dozen endemic species of the Wikstroemia genus of flowering plants. Traditionally, native Hawaiians used the tough bark to make cordage, the red berries to decorate lei, and the pulped flesh to make a fish-stunning toxin to be dropped into tide pools.
September 17, 2025 at 8:25 PM
In Hawai'i we find a dozen endemic species of the Wikstroemia genus of flowering plants. Traditionally, native Hawaiians used the tough bark to make cordage, the red berries to decorate lei, and the pulped flesh to make a fish-stunning toxin to be dropped into tide pools.
Hello all new followers! Writing "Hi, I'm Ruben" feels redundant and uninteresting given that it says so on my profile already.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
September 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Hello all new followers! Writing "Hi, I'm Ruben" feels redundant and uninteresting given that it says so on my profile already.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
To introduce myself, I will instead introduce my study system and project. And to do this, I will post 16 images from 16 days of Hawai'i island fieldwork.
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
🚨 We're hiring!
PhD position in Evolutionary Systems Biology at Stockholm University & SciLifeLab
🎓 Focus: evolution, development, computational & mathematical modeling, prediction
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
🕒 4 years, fully-funded
🔍 Details: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Please share!
PhD position in Evolutionary Systems Biology at Stockholm University & SciLifeLab
🎓 Focus: evolution, development, computational & mathematical modeling, prediction
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
🕒 4 years, fully-funded
🔍 Details: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Please share!
August 25, 2025 at 9:01 AM
🚨 We're hiring!
PhD position in Evolutionary Systems Biology at Stockholm University & SciLifeLab
🎓 Focus: evolution, development, computational & mathematical modeling, prediction
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
🕒 4 years, fully-funded
🔍 Details: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Please share!
PhD position in Evolutionary Systems Biology at Stockholm University & SciLifeLab
🎓 Focus: evolution, development, computational & mathematical modeling, prediction
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
🕒 4 years, fully-funded
🔍 Details: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Please share!
Come work in our division!
Lund University is seeking a postdoc/researcher for an ERC project on gene expression in hybrid Italian sparrows. One-year position with potential extension. Apply here: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:833332/ #postdoc
Researcher in hybridization induced changes to gene expression
Researcher in hybridization induced changes to gene expression
lu.varbi.com
August 23, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Come work in our division!
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
Aurelien Tellier presenting the details of #eseb2027 which will be a hub meeting, with connected and local sessions in 4 hubs (Gothenburg, Munich, London, Istanbul) eseb2027.org #eseb2025
August 22, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Aurelien Tellier presenting the details of #eseb2027 which will be a hub meeting, with connected and local sessions in 4 hubs (Gothenburg, Munich, London, Istanbul) eseb2027.org #eseb2025
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
Thanks to Sofia and May Sheday for the courageous and inspiring talks! The scientific world cannot remain silent @eseb2025.bsky.social #ESEB2025 #inclusivity 🏳️🌈 #transrights 🏳️⚧️ #freepalestine 🇵🇸
August 22, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Thanks to Sofia and May Sheday for the courageous and inspiring talks! The scientific world cannot remain silent @eseb2025.bsky.social #ESEB2025 #inclusivity 🏳️🌈 #transrights 🏳️⚧️ #freepalestine 🇵🇸
Including a full house of evolutionary biologists!
August 21, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Including a full house of evolutionary biologists!
Festa de Gràcia!
August 21, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Festa de Gràcia!
Reposted by Ruben Cousins-Westerberg
The follow-up in ESEB Barcelona! :)
August 19, 2025 at 9:16 PM
The follow-up in ESEB Barcelona! :)
Great first three days of ESEB @eseb2025.bsky.social
Many great talks, many great posters, lots and lots of great evolutionary biology.
Also many new followers! I will post a proper introduction once the conference is over, but for now: hello!
Many great talks, many great posters, lots and lots of great evolutionary biology.
Also many new followers! I will post a proper introduction once the conference is over, but for now: hello!
August 21, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Great first three days of ESEB @eseb2025.bsky.social
Many great talks, many great posters, lots and lots of great evolutionary biology.
Also many new followers! I will post a proper introduction once the conference is over, but for now: hello!
Many great talks, many great posters, lots and lots of great evolutionary biology.
Also many new followers! I will post a proper introduction once the conference is over, but for now: hello!