The Molecular Ecologist is a website for people interested in the applications of population genetic data in studies of evolution, ecology, and diversity. Our contributors are mostly scientists working in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior, and we often write about the technical details of research in our fields — but we hope that much of what we cover here is also interesting to members of the general public. The ready availability of genome-scale genetic data is rapidly reshaping conservation biology, public health, and personal medicine, and the evolutionary processes that shape genetic diversity are more relevant to everyday life than ever before.
The Molecular Ecologist was founded particularly as an online presence for the community of scientists who read and contribute to the journal Molecular Ecology. When the site launched in 2010, founding editor Tim Vines wrote:
Molecular Ecology Resources is rapidly becoming a leading methods journal in ecology and evolution, and its sister journal Molecular Ecology is one of the main outlets for high quality research in the field.
However, we’d like to do more to support the molecular ecology community as a whole. This blog is a step in that direction- a forum for readers and contributors to the journal to discuss the latest papers and trends in the field. Future additions include a comprehensive, searchable list of computer programs and other code (e.g. R packages) useful for analysing genetic data and a site where novel lab methods can be posted and discussed.
Today, The Molecular Ecologist continues as a forum for readers of Molecular Ecology, and its editor, Jeremy Yoder, is an Associate Editor with that journal in part to maintain this connection. However, The Molecular Ecologist is not a blog exclusively for the journal — the site is self-supporting, and covers research and news reported in venues beyond Molecular Ecology, and with an eye to the interests of people who are not necessarily experts in the field.
Past contributors
The Molecular Ecologist has a diverse community of current contributors and regularly seeks out new talent. We’ve been lucky to have a long list of accomplished scientists writing for us over the years. Here’s where they can be found (as of last tweeting/website updates):
- Tim Vines, Founding Editor — @TimHVines
- Dilara Ally
- Holly Bik — @hollybik
- Reid Brennan — @reidbrennan
- Mark Christie
- Nick Crawford
- Melissa DeBiasse — @MelissaDeBiasse
- Katie Everson — @km_everson
- Peter Fields — @peterdfields
- Kim Gilbert — @kj_gilbert
- Karen James — @kejames
- Ethan Linck — @ethanblinck
- Bryan McLean — @_RealMcLean
- Noah Snyder-Mackler — @hesheatingup
- Elin Videvall — @ElinVidevall
Legal information
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This Disclaimer is effective as of May 2011, and is based on the one given here