Kaiser Lab
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clocksevolution.bsky.social
Kaiser Lab
@clocksevolution.bsky.social
We explore how evolution, ecology and biological clocks interact,
with a focus on lunar rhythms in development and reproduction
of the marine insect Clunio.

+ Genomics | Biodiversity | Behaviour | NeuroBio | MolBio | SciCom

bit.ly/KaiserLab
"Chuck the gadgets, the fads and the alarm."

The importance of the #circadian #clock for human #sleep, covered in a recent News Feature in #Nature.

Must read.

#chronobiology #ScienceMatters
How to get the best night’s sleep: what the science says
Chuck the gadgets, the fads and the alarm. Circadian research reveals how important your body’s internal clock is to blissful slumber.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
How can larval #competition for space, adult #reproductive #timing and the #tides interact to produce different timing strains, aka #chronotypes, of the marine insect #Clunio?

See our latest preprint with Alec Jacobsen & @gokhalecs.bsky.social

#evolution #ecology #chronobiology #circalunar #clock
How competition can drive allochronic divergence: a case study in the marine midge, Clunio marinus
Synchronizing mating to extrinsic environmental cycles can increase the chance of successful reproduction. However, the resulting temporally-assorted mating may precipitate speciation if coupled with ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 17, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
Could humans and AI one day form a single “evolutionary individual”? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology raise this question in a new publication exploring human–AI interdependence.
www.evolbio.mpg.de/3836073/news...
September 11, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Years of work distilled to 1 minute:
Our recent paper with @kokkonut.bsky.social has made it to #youtube !

The AI illustrations do not look anything like real-life #Clunio - but they are captivating.

And the scientific content is accurate and well explained!

Original paper: tinyurl.com/28hxwree
Unglaublich: Clunio marinus & das Geheimnis des Mondes! 🌕🦟
YouTube video by Naturwunder erklärt
www.youtube.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Today @ #EBRS2025:
Session #EVOLUTION (2pm, AM4)

D Doležel: #clock gene evolution
MP Shahandeh: #circadian #plasticity
S Reece: #parasite #rhythms
A Schneider: #olfactory #membrane #clockworks
A Coric: L-Cry & #circalunar #timing
C Kyriacou: Cry & #magnetic fields

Hosts: E Nagoshi & T Kaiser
August 25, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Curious how the #moon is perceived, controls #development, and may drive #speciation in a #marine #insect?

Check our posters at #EBRS2025:

> P107 (Tue) @juleneumann.bsky.social
> P135 (Tue)
> P196 (Thu) @kokkonut.bsky.social @gokhalecs.bsky.social

#chronobiology #circalunar #evolution #ecology
August 22, 2025 at 7:44 AM
One week to go until #EBRS2025 in #Lübeck!
We are very much looking forward to exciting #chronobiology!

#circatidal #circadian #circalunar #circannual

Sessions on:
-> #Evolution
-> Short and long #clocks
-> Clocks in the #wild
-> #Seasonality

... and many more:
ebrs-online.org/index.php/ev...
August 18, 2025 at 6:19 AM
There is also a really nice thread by @kokkonut.bsky.social giving more details to our two joint papers on how #timing by the #moon allows #coexistence in a #marine #midge:

tinyurl.com/bderptbr
tinyurl.com/28hxwree

#Ecology #Evobio #Chronobiology

Click below for the full thread!
Do you like to think about temporal niches and coexistence theory? Or perhaps you want to hear some really quirky natural history of marine insects & the moon? Or both? Read on: a mystery & its potential solution in two papers!
July 21, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Happy to share that we just published two papers from an exciting and fruitful collaboration with Hanna Kokko, involving Runa Ekrem, Alec Jacobsen and Lotte de Vries!

@kokkonut.bsky.social @lottedevries.bsky.social

#Evobio #MarineEcology #Ecology #Modelling #Chronobiology

Picture by Solvin Zankl
July 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
#MarineLife … and #insects? Yes!

The #marine #midge #Clunio lives for only one low #tide
and its emergence follows the #lunar #cycle!

Read the full thread below.

#addOcean #MarineEcology #Entomology
@gettoknownature.bsky.social @wonderofscience.bsky.social
#Moonstruck #Midges: Introducing Clunio marinus
#Clunio is a midge and a truly #marine #insect. You can find it on the #European #Atlantic #coast in the #intertidal zone. This is the region between the low #tide and high tide, alternating between marine and terrestrial conditions.
(1/5)
July 11, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
3-year #postdoc position at Centre de synthèse et d'analyse de la biodiversité (CESAB) in Montpellier to work on how taking intraspecific diversity and evolutionary processes into account in translocation-based programs. Please share widely #PopGen #NbS
July 10, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Interested in (studying) biological #clocks?

Here is a brilliant and concise introduction to the field, focussing on #ciradian clocks, and stressing the #adaptive nature of clocks.

And it's #OpenAccess !

#chronobiology 🧪 @doabooks.bsky.social

doi.org/10.21827/686...
On the Essential Principles and Practice of Circadian Biology: A Road Map – Simple Book Publishing
Circadian Biology is about the adaptation of life to our rotating world, to the Earth’s 24-hour rhythm of day and night. Not surprisingly, the field has attracted considerable popular and scientific ...
doi.org
July 5, 2025 at 7:54 AM
A question to the #Naturalists 🌿 out there:

Have you ever met this strange critter at the #beach?

You should be able to find Clunio species on rocky #coasts around the world – but only around full #moon and new moon!

See full thread @clocksevolution.bsky.social

@inaturalist.bsky.social #nature
#Moonstruck #Midges: Introducing Clunio marinus
#Clunio is a midge and a truly #marine #insect. You can find it on the #European #Atlantic #coast in the #intertidal zone. This is the region between the low #tide and high tide, alternating between marine and terrestrial conditions.
(1/5)
July 2, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
Hands-on Science – at the Plön Stadtbucht Festival!
This Sunday, we invite you to our interactive booth:

🧬 Turn your first name into a personalized DNA bracelet
🔬 Discover fascinating lake microorganisms and yeast under the microscope

#Plön #Stadtbuchtfest #ScienceForEveryone #CitizenScience
July 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
#Moonstruck #Midges: Introducing Clunio marinus
#Clunio is a midge and a truly #marine #insect. You can find it on the #European #Atlantic #coast in the #intertidal zone. This is the region between the low #tide and high tide, alternating between marine and terrestrial conditions.
(1/5)
June 23, 2025 at 8:46 AM
This is really exiting work! Congratulations!
@marketa-kau.bsky.social
🧠 Missing link of synchronized skull and brain development and evolution revealed — explaining rare congenital syndromes.
🧬 Evolution meets development and medicine.
#Evolution #Development #BrainSkull #EvolutionaryInnovations

www.evolbio.mpg.de/3823787/news...
June 4, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
🎉 Today, we celebrated a major milestone: the opening of our new state-of-the-art research building!
5,650 m² of cutting-edge labs, offices, and meeting spaces — driving world-class science in Plön and beyond. 🚀
www.evolbio.mpg.de/3822418/feie...
#EvolutionaryBiology #ScienceNews #ResearchExcellence
May 8, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
This week, the Clunios @clocksevolution.bsky.social had the pleasure of hosting @clairemerot.bsky.social and hear about her awesome research on the role of inversions in adaptive evolution! We explored the baltic sea and found wrackbeds full of seaweed flies. Thanks again for visiting us, Claire!
April 11, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Kaiser Lab
🧬 Rethinking Cooperation in Biology?

New study suggests that natural growth differences – not just strategy – matter big time for cooperation in nature.
Turns out, yeast don't need to be strategic.

www.evolbio.mpg.de/3815028/news...
#evolution #ecology #cooperation #science
April 10, 2025 at 12:55 PM
A very nice study from our institute @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social @avezyrakis.bsky.social

Note the press release: "It’s a charming lesson from the humble house mouse: sometimes it’s not the loudest or boldest who breaks through — it’s the one who keeps coming back."

Does this also apply in science?
Think bold animals are the best problem-solvers? Think again. 🐭
New research shows shy mice are more persistent—and that makes all the difference.

🔍 Innovation is about showing up, not just being brave.

🔗 More Info: www.evolbio.mpg.de/3813083/mice...

#AnimalBehavior #Science
April 2, 2025 at 7:24 AM
A big thank you to the organizers of this workshop!
Great speakers, great atmosphere!
We enjoyed it a lot!
Workshop-Recap "Concepts in Evolutionary Biology"

From Feb 10–13, 2025, researchers gathered in Plön to discuss key concepts, present new findings & engage in lively debates. Big thanks to all participants—looking forward to the next edition!

#Evolution #EvoBio #Science交流 #ResearchCommunity
February 14, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Our home institution has also joined bsky -
welcome @mpi-evolbio.bsky.social !
🌱Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology! 🌱

Follow us for updates on projects, research findings, and maybe even a peek behind the scenes! 🔬✨

#EvolutionaryBiology #Research #Innovation
February 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM