Come work with us! The Schell Lab is looking for a new postdoc to work on urban biodiversity initiatives in the Bay Area and throughout California. The future postdoc will also be an integral partner of the California Urban Nature Alliance. aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04719

Please spread the word on our paid research program for recent biology graduates at #okstate. The ON-RaMP program provides a year-long biology research experience with tons of resources. More info here: cas.okstate.edu/onramp/ Apply here (by Feb 28!): etap.nsf.gov/award/475/oppo…

"Sexual reproduction, by its very nature, generates diversity. The different pathways by which bodies develop as male, female, both or neither are perhaps as numerous as species themselves." from the amazing Donna L Maney scientificamerican.com/article/a-back…

Special feature in AOS journals, "Ecology and Conservation of Cavity Nesters in the Neotropics." Seven field studies, a perspective, & a review contribute to understanding the ecology & conservation of cavity-nesting birds through a Neotropical lens. academic.oup.com/aosjournals/pa…

t’s not easy to be a (present) mum and an (effective) academic, but we can manage both if we have supportive teams, welcome flexibility, and lead with kindness. In Nature Human Behaviour about my experience with this balancing act 🤹🏻‍♀️ nature.com/articles/s4156…

Huge thank you to Gary S. May and our wonderful UC Davis donors for choosing me as a Chancellor’s Fellow! Our School of Veterinary Medicine UC Davis Veterinary Medicine did a lovely write up if you are interested in learning more about me and this award! vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/crystal-r…

New from #TheScientificNaturalist: Hummingbird chick...or stinging caterpillar? A new study makes the case for a rare form of mimicry in birds 📄Potential caterpillar mimicry in a tropical hummingbird esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

Upcoming deadlines: March 21 is the deadline for applications to the ASN Graduate Student Travel Award, and for Volunteer Travel Awards. More information here: evolutionmeetings.org/participation-… @ASNAmNat SSE Society of Systematic Biologists #Evol2025

ornithologyexchange.org/jobs/board/pos…

Really excited to say that my lab's paper on color transitions in Mimulus sect. Erythranthe is out! We found that some traits demonstrate evolutionary convergence in phenotype & genotype, while others are divergent, & that this matters for bee choice! nature.com/articles/s4146…

🐦Do some birds have #PrettyPrivilege? New paper! 💫We show that ~half the variation in research effort on 293 bird species in US+Canada is explained by just 3 factors: 1)visual appeal, 2)range size, & 3)# of universities w/in ranges. Here’s what we did: 🧵royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…

Preprint alert: "Mating signal energy gradient mediates gene flow in the early stage of avian speciation". We studied 109 pairs of hybridizing bird species & unveiled some hidden roles of their magical mating rituals. #birds #evolution

We are hiring a postdoc to work on our NSF-funded project on suboscine bird diversification! Rough goal is to build phylogenies from massive dataset (data are incoming!) and analyze diversification. Posting: shorturl.at/RkYkE

“Get off my lawn!” It's not just grumpy neighbors—female birds nesting in cavities fiercely defend their homes too. Duke biologist Sara Lipshutz Sara Lipshutz & team uncover why some species are ready to fight for prime real estate. trinity.duke.edu/news/many-path…

🎉🎉🎉

A study in NatureEcoEvo identifies convergent patterns of gene expression associated with aggression and nesting behaviour in obligate cavity-nesting birds. go.nature.com/3YEPZww 🔒

New in PNAS! More social baboon mothers are thought to have improved infant survival. But we show this link is confounded: females shift social behavior depending on reproductive state & infant presence. Once accounted for, the effect disappears. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

This is an excellent summary of the different ways that biologists define, operationalize, and categorize sex. Importantly, neither of these frameworks are sex-essentialist. Thanks iviceronsouza.bsky.social for such a clear explanation!

Congratulations to Jean-Philippe Gibert, Joanne W. Markman and A. Morris Williams Jr Associate Professor of Biology, who was honored with a named professorship in recognition of his leadership and commitment to excellence in scholarship and research. trinity.duke.edu/news/eight-tri…