Abby Williams
@abbyevewilliams.bsky.social
PhD student studying bird evolution 🦜🦋🧬evolution, genomics, conservation
Reposted by Abby Williams
This week’s seminar will be given by Prof Daniel Field of @zoologymuseum.bsky.social & @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social on the origins of modern birds. 3.30pm Friday 28 Nov in LT1 in the Life & Mind Building @biology.ox.ac.uk - all welcome & see below for live streaming joining information
November 24, 2025 at 9:20 AM
This week’s seminar will be given by Prof Daniel Field of @zoologymuseum.bsky.social & @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social on the origins of modern birds. 3.30pm Friday 28 Nov in LT1 in the Life & Mind Building @biology.ox.ac.uk - all welcome & see below for live streaming joining information
Reposted by Abby Williams
We are delighted to announce our upcoming LGBTQ+ seminar given by Dr Ross Brooks who will be talking about his upcoming book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life! 2nd December @ 4pm in the Life and Mind Building, open to all members of Oxford university 🥳🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
@rossb-brighton.bsky.social #QueerBiology
@rossb-brighton.bsky.social #QueerBiology
November 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM
We are delighted to announce our upcoming LGBTQ+ seminar given by Dr Ross Brooks who will be talking about his upcoming book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life! 2nd December @ 4pm in the Life and Mind Building, open to all members of Oxford university 🥳🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
@rossb-brighton.bsky.social #QueerBiology
@rossb-brighton.bsky.social #QueerBiology
Reposted by Abby Williams
The geology department at the University of Leicester, where myself and countless others did our palaeontology PhDs, is at serious risk of closure
Please show your support by signing the below!
c.org/KtYyZB8dHk
Please show your support by signing the below!
c.org/KtYyZB8dHk
Save Geology at the University of Leicester
Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?
c.org
November 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
The geology department at the University of Leicester, where myself and countless others did our palaeontology PhDs, is at serious risk of closure
Please show your support by signing the below!
c.org/KtYyZB8dHk
Please show your support by signing the below!
c.org/KtYyZB8dHk
Reposted by Abby Williams
1/ 🧵 I'm at #BOUasm25 A day at the museum to talk about using natural history collections to build inclusive community.
Natural history #museums are undergoing a renaissance of novel research.
However -who has access to collections? -who is being left out of biodiversity research?
#ornithology
Natural history #museums are undergoing a renaissance of novel research.
However -who has access to collections? -who is being left out of biodiversity research?
#ornithology
November 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
1/ 🧵 I'm at #BOUasm25 A day at the museum to talk about using natural history collections to build inclusive community.
Natural history #museums are undergoing a renaissance of novel research.
However -who has access to collections? -who is being left out of biodiversity research?
#ornithology
Natural history #museums are undergoing a renaissance of novel research.
However -who has access to collections? -who is being left out of biodiversity research?
#ornithology
Had a fab time at #BOUasm25 learning about how we can use avian museum collections in research and engagement 🐦⬛🧬🌱
@bou.org.uk
@bou.org.uk
November 18, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Had a fab time at #BOUasm25 learning about how we can use avian museum collections in research and engagement 🐦⬛🧬🌱
@bou.org.uk
@bou.org.uk
Reposted by Abby Williams
The tangled history of Liverpool’s White-eye bird collection illustrates the impacts of war, imperialism, and scientific legacy on museum archives and taxonomy.
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
November 14, 2025 at 7:02 AM
The tangled history of Liverpool’s White-eye bird collection illustrates the impacts of war, imperialism, and scientific legacy on museum archives and taxonomy.
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...
Reposted by Abby Williams
LGBTQ+ Journal Club is turning 1! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈To celebrate, here's a bit about what we've been up to over the past year: a thread of interesting papers in queer biology (1/n) ⬇️🧵
November 11, 2025 at 11:54 AM
LGBTQ+ Journal Club is turning 1! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈To celebrate, here's a bit about what we've been up to over the past year: a thread of interesting papers in queer biology (1/n) ⬇️🧵
Reposted by Abby Williams
We're all looking forward to this week's seminar, being given by Kristen Ruegg from Colorado State University on the power of avian landscape genomics in the Genoscape Project. Seminar at 3.30pm on Friday 7 Nov in Lecture Theatre 1 in LaMB. Welcome in person or to join online - details ⬇️
November 3, 2025 at 10:37 AM
We're all looking forward to this week's seminar, being given by Kristen Ruegg from Colorado State University on the power of avian landscape genomics in the Genoscape Project. Seminar at 3.30pm on Friday 7 Nov in Lecture Theatre 1 in LaMB. Welcome in person or to join online - details ⬇️
Reposted by Abby Williams
"The project that was terminated was on this hummingbird, the white-necked jacobin....I suspect that it has something to do with studying a species that doesn’t fit the binary." Researcher @jjinsing.bsky.social interviewed by @carlzimmer.com #birds #nature #science #fundscience #nonbinary 🧪
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"The project that was terminated was on this hummingbird, the white-necked jacobin....I suspect that it has something to do with studying a species that doesn’t fit the binary." Researcher @jjinsing.bsky.social interviewed by @carlzimmer.com #birds #nature #science #fundscience #nonbinary 🧪
Reposted by Abby Williams
Now that we're properly moved in & set up in the new Life & Mind Building, we're pleased to restart our tradition of Friday afternoon seminar speakers, kicking off with Alex Thornton of @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social at 3.30pm on 31 Oct. Also live streamed: see below for details. Corvid-themed for 🎃
October 27, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Now that we're properly moved in & set up in the new Life & Mind Building, we're pleased to restart our tradition of Friday afternoon seminar speakers, kicking off with Alex Thornton of @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social at 3.30pm on 31 Oct. Also live streamed: see below for details. Corvid-themed for 🎃
Reposted by Abby Williams
Immigration is critical for UK research and development. With other leading organisations, we have worked with @sciencecampaign.bsky.social to share insights about how the UK visa system impacts research.
Read the full statement, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/about/influe...
Read the full statement, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/about/influe...
September 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Immigration is critical for UK research and development. With other leading organisations, we have worked with @sciencecampaign.bsky.social to share insights about how the UK visa system impacts research.
Read the full statement, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/about/influe...
Read the full statement, here ⤵️
www.sanger.ac.uk/about/influe...
Reposted by Abby Williams
Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! Using whole-genome and morphological data from silvereyes, we explore their evolutionary history and find that water barriers are more effective than continental distances in driving population divergence 🐤🧬
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Islands Promote Diversification of the Silvereye Species Complex: A Phylogenomic Analysis of a Great Speciator
Geographic isolation plays a pivotal role in speciation by restricting gene flow between populations through distance or physical barriers. However, the speciation process is complex, influenced by t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! Using whole-genome and morphological data from silvereyes, we explore their evolutionary history and find that water barriers are more effective than continental distances in driving population divergence 🐤🧬
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Abby Williams
Please share widely!
We are offering the 4th iteration of our free & online crash course in Evolutionary Biology, catered to students in the Global South! Join us this summer for an incredible line of up classes & tutorials from amazing graduate student researchers, covering a vast array of topics!
We are offering the 4th iteration of our free & online crash course in Evolutionary Biology, catered to students in the Global South! Join us this summer for an incredible line of up classes & tutorials from amazing graduate student researchers, covering a vast array of topics!
June 4, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Please share widely!
We are offering the 4th iteration of our free & online crash course in Evolutionary Biology, catered to students in the Global South! Join us this summer for an incredible line of up classes & tutorials from amazing graduate student researchers, covering a vast array of topics!
We are offering the 4th iteration of our free & online crash course in Evolutionary Biology, catered to students in the Global South! Join us this summer for an incredible line of up classes & tutorials from amazing graduate student researchers, covering a vast array of topics!
Reposted by Abby Williams
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Abby Williams
Very disappointing to see the govt not only cut funding for nature-friendly farming schemes but ALSO lay out a consultation on changes to BNG which would reduce the requirement for the majority of developments to compensate for their impacts on nature.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/governm...
www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/governm...
Government digs grave for wildlife | The Wildlife Trusts
New proposals on Biodiversity Net Gain from UK Government will harm whole communities so that a few can profit more.
www.wildlifetrusts.org
May 29, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Very disappointing to see the govt not only cut funding for nature-friendly farming schemes but ALSO lay out a consultation on changes to BNG which would reduce the requirement for the majority of developments to compensate for their impacts on nature.
www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/governm...
www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/governm...
Reposted by Abby Williams
We're really looking forward to this seminar next week. More info and to register here: talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c1b...
@amydickman.bsky.social @wildcru.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk
@amydickman.bsky.social @wildcru.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk
May 13, 2025 at 3:21 PM
We're really looking forward to this seminar next week. More info and to register here: talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c1b...
@amydickman.bsky.social @wildcru.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk
@amydickman.bsky.social @wildcru.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk
Reposted by Abby Williams
My NSF PRFB on the genetics of female polymorphism in hummingbirds was terminated yesterday.
I don't have much to say, I'm just sad. We've discovered so much, and could have gone so much further.
If anyone else is in the same boat, esp postdocs, please reach out, it would be good to connect.
I don't have much to say, I'm just sad. We've discovered so much, and could have gone so much further.
If anyone else is in the same boat, esp postdocs, please reach out, it would be good to connect.
April 26, 2025 at 12:06 PM
My NSF PRFB on the genetics of female polymorphism in hummingbirds was terminated yesterday.
I don't have much to say, I'm just sad. We've discovered so much, and could have gone so much further.
If anyone else is in the same boat, esp postdocs, please reach out, it would be good to connect.
I don't have much to say, I'm just sad. We've discovered so much, and could have gone so much further.
If anyone else is in the same boat, esp postdocs, please reach out, it would be good to connect.
Reposted by Abby Williams
Brilliant news! At last, confirmation that the Govt *will* go ahead with the #NaturalHistoryGCSE 🎉 We have to get to know our fellow travellers on this planet again. Young people who know & love nature are far more likely to protect & restore it - as well as enjoying better physical & mental health
Department for Education confirms launch of natural history GCSE
Campaigners have been calling for the qualification for years but plan stalled despite a curriculum being drawn up
www.theguardian.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Brilliant news! At last, confirmation that the Govt *will* go ahead with the #NaturalHistoryGCSE 🎉 We have to get to know our fellow travellers on this planet again. Young people who know & love nature are far more likely to protect & restore it - as well as enjoying better physical & mental health
Highly recommend!
Happy to see my former @nbis.se advisory program student Zach Nolen's new pipeline PopGLen for analyses of short-read data using genotype-likelihood based methods out!
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
PopGLen—A Snakemake pipeline for performing population genomic analyses using genotype likelihood-based methods
AbstractSummary. PopGLen is a Snakemake workflow for performing population genomic analyses within a genotype-likelihood framework, integrating steps for r
academic.oup.com
March 20, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Highly recommend!
Reposted by Abby Williams
Studies of domestic pigeons have taught us lots about cognition, navigation, and genetics. If you’d like to learn why their wild cousins are also worthy of scientific attention, I’ve written a Rock Dove @currentbiology.bsky.social ‘quick guide’: doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.065
March 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Studies of domestic pigeons have taught us lots about cognition, navigation, and genetics. If you’d like to learn why their wild cousins are also worthy of scientific attention, I’ve written a Rock Dove @currentbiology.bsky.social ‘quick guide’: doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.065
Reposted by Abby Williams
Thrilled to share that this paper is out now in Development! journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
March 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Thrilled to share that this paper is out now in Development! journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Abby Williams
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The demographic drivers of cultural evolution in bird song
Social learning can give rise to shared behavioral patterns that persist as culture within animal communities,1,2 such as bird and whale songs and cet…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Abby Williams
Do you use Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) genomes for your work or grant applications? If so, can you please fill out this form? docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... We are gathering info on how DToL genomes are used. It will help us raise money to continue producing publicly available high-quality genomes.
Darwin Tree of Life Impact Assessment
This form is used to share information within DToL about case studies, ongoing research, and funding awards that demonstrate the impact the Darwin Tree of Life consortium project has had on Global and...
docs.google.com
February 24, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Do you use Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) genomes for your work or grant applications? If so, can you please fill out this form? docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... We are gathering info on how DToL genomes are used. It will help us raise money to continue producing publicly available high-quality genomes.