Increasing predation pressure by pinnipeds through the late Cenozoic drove Nautilus into its present-day refuge in the deep tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean Above: Reconstruction of the fossil Nautilus taiwanus inhabiting deeper waters of the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean about 20 million years ago. Illustration by Cheng-Han Sun. Predator-prey interactions are important drivers of evolution. ForContinue reading “How seals made Nautilus a ‘Living Fossil’“
Author Archives: jbiogeography
ECR Feature: Yuting Vicky Lin on reef fish and climate change
Yuting Vicky Lin is a PhD student at the Institute of Oceanopgraphy at National Taiwan University. Her interests lie in the biodiversity and conservation of benthic reef communities. Vicky shares her recent work on forecasting the distribution of coral reef fish under a changing climate (left) Vicky, diving in Tawai. Photo credit: Guan Yen ChenContinue reading “ECR Feature: Yuting Vicky Lin on reef fish and climate change”
ECR feature: Tobi Oke on data synthesis as a diagnostic tool for capturing biodiversity problems
Tobi is a post-doctoral fellow at University of Saskatchewan and Wildlife Conservation Society, Canada. He is interested in assessing species distributions and vulnerability in relation to climate change and natural disturbance. Here, Tobi shares his perspetive on quantifying biodiversity change in relation to data gathering tools. Tobi during a fieldwork to explore how fish useContinue reading “ECR feature: Tobi Oke on data synthesis as a diagnostic tool for capturing biodiversity problems”
How landscape connectivity shapes genetic structure of alpine species over time
How did dispersal and habitat changes over 20,000 years shape the genetic structure of alpine species? We investigated by simulating the spatial dynamics of populations since the glaciation in combination with a large genomic data set on northern chamois. Above: Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) inhabit steep terrain slopes. They can escape predators in steep slopesContinue reading “How landscape connectivity shapes genetic structure of alpine species over time”
ECR Feature: Felipe Vieira de Freitas on bee diversity
Felipe is a postdoc at Washington State University. He uses phylogenetics to study the evolution of bees. Felipe shares his recent work on the origins and unusual antitropical diversity of Eucerinae bees. (left) Collecting bees in the Atacama Desert – Chile. (right) At the USDA bee lab in Utah, trying to understand the protocols forContinue reading “ECR Feature: Felipe Vieira de Freitas on bee diversity”
ECR feature: Waleska Elizangela dos Santos Barbosa
Waleska Barbosa is a PhD student at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Brazil. She is an ecologist interested in the evolutionary history of Amazonian birds. Here, Waleska shares her recent work on species historical demography and habitat associations along Amazonian floodplains. Waleska Barbosa on the observation tower at the Amazonian Museum (MuseuContinue reading “ECR feature: Waleska Elizangela dos Santos Barbosa”
Aridification-driven evolution: Three lineages, two data sets, one story
We tested the hypothesis that aridification of Australia during the Pleistocene promoted the isolation and divergence of three lineages of a migratory fish. We found support for this using an integrative framework of environmental and genomic modelling. Above: Golden perch, Macquaria ambigua. Photo credit: Peter Unmack. The Australian landscape has not always been so arid.Continue reading “Aridification-driven evolution: Three lineages, two data sets, one story”
Will Geogenomics change the future of Phylogeography?
Phylogeography is celebrating its 35th birthday; Geogenomics its 8th. We asked authors of papers in a recent special section of Journal of Biogeography to reflect on how these two approaches can increase our understanding of the distributions of genetic diversity. Above: Cover for the Geogenomics virtual issue . Biogeography is an integrative discipline, as isContinue reading “Will Geogenomics change the future of Phylogeography?”
Ecological traits matter
Differences in dispersal abilities and habitat specialization determine the postglacial range expansion of three high-elevation plants Above: Steep limestone cliffs in the Pre-Pyrenees, a glacial refugium for the study species. When I first visited the Pyrenees as a child from the Mediterranean lowlands, I got fascinated by the accordion-like folded landscape, the green and denseContinue reading “Ecological traits matter”
ECR feature: Leilton Willians Luna
Leilton W. Luna is a postdoc at the Pennsylvania State University. He is a biologist with a broad interest in how species adapt, diversify, and become extinct. Here, Leilton shares his recent work on birds of the Amazonian floodplains. Leilton Luna doing research or just having fun bird watching. Personal links. Twitter | Personal websiteContinue reading “ECR feature: Leilton Willians Luna”