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Category Archives: selection
Free to go but required to stay: contrasting views on mitochondrial relationships
Ever since a bacterium found itself mysteriously engulfed in our eukaryotic ancestor, things have been, uh, complicated regarding our two genomes. One is big, one is small. One is circular, one is linear. One is numerous in each cell, the … Continue reading
Humans, selection, evolution and ecological timescales … a potent cocktail
It’s been awhile since I last was able to write for TME. But, finally, I’ve stolen away some time to write about a recent study in Ecology Letters that I couldn’t put down once I started reading it. Yes, it’s about mating … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, evolution, natural history, plants, population genetics, selection, theory
Tagged Evolution, mating system, pesticide, selection
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Still ruffling feathers after all these years: Darwin's finches and a molecular view of adaptive radiation
One of the many lovely things about molecular ecology is its ability to shine new light on old stories. The well-known case of Darwin’s finches is a classic example of adaptive radiation. These finches demonstrate a clear instance where over time, … Continue reading
Conifer convergence
Convergent local adaptation is typically studied within a species or between closely related species. In these cases, it is perhaps not unexpected to observe parallel evolution due to common genetic variation, constraints, etc. Convergence between species is somewhat less studied, … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, association genetics, genomics, plants, selection, Uncategorized
Tagged adaptation, convergence, Evolution
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Divergence and Linked Background Selection
We have widely discussed the reduction in neutral diversity due to demography and linked selection effects (e.g. selective sweeps and hitchhiking, or background selection) in several previous posts (e.g see here, here, and here). However, how linked selection affects neutral divergence … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, genomics, methods, selection, speciation, theory
Tagged ecological speciation, Evolution, genomics, Homo sapiens, natural selection, population genetics
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The Genomics of Rapid Adaptation
Phenology (the timing of life cycle events such as growth, breeding, or migration) is among the most sensitive organismal traits to climate and environmental change. In recent years, phenological shifts have been documented in numerous taxa, in traits such as … Continue reading
New insight into the genetic basis of industrial melanism
The evolution of coloration in peppered moths during the industrial revolution is one of the most well known examples of natural selection in action. Part of the appeal of the system is the apparent simplicity. The once-abundant light colored morph … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, association genetics, genomics, mutation, selection
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Catching evolution in the act with the Singleton Density Score
A recent study led by Jonathan K. Pritchard at Stanford University brought a media storm with catchy headlines in both of the flagship scientific outlets Nature and Science News. Aside from highlighting the question of preprints without peer review being … Continue reading
Posted in methods, mutation, population genetics, selection
Tagged human evolution, methods, SDS, selection
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Ice-Age Euro-trips
Recent works that attempt to get at human migrations inside Europe paint a complex portrait of migratory events, admixture with archaic hominids, and adaptive evolution to new geographies, and a changing global climate. Analyzing whole genomes of 51 ancient humans … Continue reading