Jamie Thompson
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jamiet-42.bsky.social
Jamie Thompson
@jamiet-42.bsky.social
FLS. Lecturer in evolution and ecology at the University of Reading. Recipient of the Irene Manton Prize for best botany PhD 🌵. Studies plants mostly. Ex chef 🧑‍🍳
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Had a great evening at Burlington House to collect the @linneansociety.bsky.social Irene Manton prize for botany 🌵. It was amazing to be in the place where the theory of evolution was announced. Thanks once again to The Linnean Society, and congrats to the other medal winners!
Reposted by Jamie Thompson
In our new article just out we examine the current extinction event in the context of the longer fossil record. We conclude it is likely the greatest event in the last 66 million years

doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
The Greatest Extinction Event in 66 Million Years? Contextualising Anthropogenic Extinctions
Species and ecosystems are changing rapidly in response to human actions, but how does this compare with the deeper past? We review and compare the current extinction event to those over the last 66 ...
doi.org
September 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Our new pre-print (with @erichagen.bsky.social, @latinorchidbot.bsky.social, @jameswclark.bsky.social , Elizabeth Forward and Nick Priest) reveals rapid pollinator evolution in orchids, but no clear impact on diversification. Perhaps pollinator specialisation is not such a powerful force. 🐝🌱
August 28, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Trait rate is more important than trait state 🌵
Fast evolving flowers drive cactus diversification doi.org/10.32942/X2P...
August 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM
New database of traits and other variables for the cactus family 🌵this involved an awesome team, lots of work, and funding from the BCSS. We hope that CactEcoDB will facilitate future macro scale analyses of evolution and ecology in cacti 🏜️ @uor-research.bsky.social
June 30, 2025 at 1:52 AM
So happy to announce that a few weeks ago I was offered a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship! And it seems they picked my proposal title to promote the scheme. 🌵 Looking forward to working on new questions, with new methods and even bigger data than before. Thank you @leverhulme.ac.uk
From untangling the evolutionary roots of plant variation to how medieval nuns mastered the art of credit, we’ve had some fascinating applications for this year’s Early Career Fellowship scheme. The Trust is pleased to announce 152 Fellowships in this round. Congratulations to the 2025 cohort!
June 1, 2025 at 5:55 PM
New paper: we used phylogenetics and ethnomedicinal data to predict Fabaceae lineages with undiscovered aphrodisiac and fertility properties. These “hot nodes” are enriched for phytoestrogens, plant compounds with hormonal, menopausal and neurological effects. 🫘
🔗 doi.org/10.3389/fpha...
May 27, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Had a great evening at Burlington House to collect the @linneansociety.bsky.social Irene Manton prize for botany 🌵. It was amazing to be in the place where the theory of evolution was announced. Thanks once again to The Linnean Society, and congrats to the other medal winners!
May 23, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by Jamie Thompson
Our 2025 Irene Manton Prize winner is Dr Jamie B Thompson! His research into the diversification of flowering plants is revolutionising our understanding of biodiversity, showing that they weren't wiped out by the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. @jamiet-E442.bsky.social
www.linnean.org/the-...
April 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Absolutely mind blown to have won the Irene Manton Prize this year for the best PhD in botany. 🌵 Thanks to all my collaborators and mentors! @milnerevolution.bsky.social @uor-research.bsky.social
We’re thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2025 Medals and Awards. We’ll be spotlighting each of our amazing awardees from across science, conservation and the arts over the coming days. www.linnean.org/news...
Please like, share and join us in congratulating them all!
April 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM