Dr. Elizabeth Santos
@lizmillermacroevo.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @ The Ohio State University.
Phylogenetics, biogeography, ichthyology, anglerfish toucher.
https://elizabethcmiller.weebly.com/
Phylogenetics, biogeography, ichthyology, anglerfish toucher.
https://elizabethcmiller.weebly.com/
Pinned
Distinct evolutionary signatures underlie body shape diversity across deep sea habitats
Abstract. The deep sea is known for extreme biological conditions such as high pressure, little-to-no solar light and cold temperatures. Despite these chal
academic.oup.com
New paper on deep-sea fish diversity out now in @sse-evolution.bsky.social, with @cmartinez.bsky.social and @sarahtfried.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
🚨New paper alert!🚨
Tooth replacement rates in ancient reptile clades revealed through histology
It brings tooth growth line counts from pterosaurs, dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, and mosasaurs
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Tooth replacement rates in ancient reptile clades revealed through histology
It brings tooth growth line counts from pterosaurs, dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, and mosasaurs
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
November 19, 2025 at 2:09 PM
🚨New paper alert!🚨
Tooth replacement rates in ancient reptile clades revealed through histology
It brings tooth growth line counts from pterosaurs, dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, and mosasaurs
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Tooth replacement rates in ancient reptile clades revealed through histology
It brings tooth growth line counts from pterosaurs, dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, and mosasaurs
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
The metamorphic transition of the frog mouth: from tadpole keratinized mouthparts to adult teeth: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... @garethjfraser.bsky.social @danpaluh.bsky.social #evolution
November 18, 2025 at 10:01 AM
The metamorphic transition of the frog mouth: from tadpole keratinized mouthparts to adult teeth: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... @garethjfraser.bsky.social @danpaluh.bsky.social #evolution
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
@elizabethsibert.bsky.social & @garethjfraser.bsky.social & Rubin et al's latest IOB paper has incredible figures!
Be sure to read
"Quantifying the Denticle Multiverse..."
doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
our latest #morphology work involving #Elasmobranch #Denticles
#science #sharks #biologists
Be sure to read
"Quantifying the Denticle Multiverse..."
doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
our latest #morphology work involving #Elasmobranch #Denticles
#science #sharks #biologists
November 18, 2025 at 12:39 PM
@elizabethsibert.bsky.social & @garethjfraser.bsky.social & Rubin et al's latest IOB paper has incredible figures!
Be sure to read
"Quantifying the Denticle Multiverse..."
doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
our latest #morphology work involving #Elasmobranch #Denticles
#science #sharks #biologists
Be sure to read
"Quantifying the Denticle Multiverse..."
doi.org/10.1093/iob/...
our latest #morphology work involving #Elasmobranch #Denticles
#science #sharks #biologists
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
I got to dissect a particularly neat species today - the sabertooth, Evermannella balbo. I haven’t got any great photos of them in the lab (freezer burn is no friend to the deep pelagic beasties) but I’m so excited to have a half dozen of these beautiful freakazoids in my PhD dataset!
November 15, 2025 at 12:05 AM
I got to dissect a particularly neat species today - the sabertooth, Evermannella balbo. I haven’t got any great photos of them in the lab (freezer burn is no friend to the deep pelagic beasties) but I’m so excited to have a half dozen of these beautiful freakazoids in my PhD dataset!
Has anyone written a Foundations of Evolution to follow this beauty?
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Foundations of Ecology
Assembled here for the first time in one volume are forty classic papers that have laid the foundations of modern ecology. Whether by posing new problems, demonstrating important effects, or stimulati...
press.uchicago.edu
November 16, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Has anyone written a Foundations of Evolution to follow this beauty?
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
How fishes of the deep sea have evolved into different shapes
How fishes of the deep sea have evolved into different shapes
Fish species living in the deep sea feature a surprisingly large range of body shapes that evolved in different ways and at different rates depending on where the fishes live in the ocean, new…
news.osu.edu
November 14, 2025 at 3:52 PM
How fishes of the deep sea have evolved into different shapes
Ohio State news piece on our deep-sea fish body shape study:
news.osu.edu/how-fishes-o...
news.osu.edu/how-fishes-o...
November 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Ohio State news piece on our deep-sea fish body shape study:
news.osu.edu/how-fishes-o...
news.osu.edu/how-fishes-o...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Hot off the press! From the PhD thesis of @lopezreyeska.bsky.social where we explored the connection between biogeographic processes and climatic niche dynamics in spiny lizards 👇
Interested in the biogeography of lizards?🦎
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
We studied the historical biogeography of Sceloporus lizards and the link between their dispersal and climatic niches 🌎🌦️ @fabrovillalobos.bsky.social @ndimhypervol.bsky.social @biojlinnsoc.bsky.social
Learn more here 👇:
academic.oup.com/biolinnean/a...
Historical biogeography and climatic niche dynamics in spiny lizards of the genus Sceloporus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)
Abstract. Although we now have extensive biogeographical datasets for tetrapods, unravelling the drivers of species’ distributions remains challenging, esp
academic.oup.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Hot off the press! From the PhD thesis of @lopezreyeska.bsky.social where we explored the connection between biogeographic processes and climatic niche dynamics in spiny lizards 👇
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
The Fudge Lab at Chapman University is recruiting a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the biophysics of hagfish defensive slime deployment. Please repost!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
November 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The Fudge Lab at Chapman University is recruiting a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the biophysics of hagfish defensive slime deployment. Please repost!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Apply here: tinyurl.com/4p937dn5
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
🚨🦇New paper alert! We integrate information across fields to highlight key traits associated with the diversification of #bats, their roles as evolutionary drivers, and their importance to global ecosystems:
An Integrative Perspective on Bat Evolution
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
An Integrative Perspective on Bat Evolution
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
An Integrative Perspective on Bat Evolution
Bats are one of the most widespread, species-rich, ecologically and morphologically diverse mammal lineages, and the only mammals capable of powered flight. Due to their evolution within the constrain...
www.annualreviews.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM
🚨🦇New paper alert! We integrate information across fields to highlight key traits associated with the diversification of #bats, their roles as evolutionary drivers, and their importance to global ecosystems:
An Integrative Perspective on Bat Evolution
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
An Integrative Perspective on Bat Evolution
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
New video explaining the PhD work of Fernando Melendez and research by @arciladk.bsky.social and the #fishevutionlab at @scrippsocean.bsky.social
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qnw...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qnw...
Why did some fishes evolve to be warm-blooded? - Dahiana Arcila and Fernando Melendez
YouTube video by FishEvolutionLab-Edu
m.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
New video explaining the PhD work of Fernando Melendez and research by @arciladk.bsky.social and the #fishevutionlab at @scrippsocean.bsky.social
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qnw...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qnw...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2-year (2026-2028) - 2 positions OPENAt UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in resea...
biodiversity.ubc.ca
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
New @nhm-london.bsky.social 5-day course on integrative biodiversity discovery! Learn how to collect specimens, obtain genomic data, and interpret biodiversity using cutting edge phylogenomic analysis. It's free, and aimed at early career researchers: www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/...
Integrative biodiversity discovery | Natural History Museum
An introduction to field collection, laboratory analysis and phylogenomics.
www.nhm.ac.uk
November 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
New @nhm-london.bsky.social 5-day course on integrative biodiversity discovery! Learn how to collect specimens, obtain genomic data, and interpret biodiversity using cutting edge phylogenomic analysis. It's free, and aimed at early career researchers: www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
🚨 Recruiting 12 PhD students for a new NSF-funded program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences! This program is for U.S. students who received an Honorable Mention on the NSF GRFP within the last 3 years. @uafairbanks.bsky.social
www.uaf.edu/cfos/academi...
www.uaf.edu/cfos/academi...
EMERGE Alaska | College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
www.uaf.edu
October 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
🚨 Recruiting 12 PhD students for a new NSF-funded program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences! This program is for U.S. students who received an Honorable Mention on the NSF GRFP within the last 3 years. @uafairbanks.bsky.social
www.uaf.edu/cfos/academi...
www.uaf.edu/cfos/academi...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
New Nature paper!
Vaga et al. (2025) reconstruct a time-calibrated phylogeny of stony (scleractinian) corals, which suggests that some could be resilient to climate change.
Congrats @claudiavaga.bsky.social
Link to paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Vaga et al. (2025) reconstruct a time-calibrated phylogeny of stony (scleractinian) corals, which suggests that some could be resilient to climate change.
Congrats @claudiavaga.bsky.social
Link to paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
A global coral phylogeny reveals resilience and vulnerability through deep time - Nature
The most recent common ancestor of the stony coral Scleractinia dates to about 460 million years ago and was probably a solitary, heterotrophic and free-living organism.
doi.org
October 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
New Nature paper!
Vaga et al. (2025) reconstruct a time-calibrated phylogeny of stony (scleractinian) corals, which suggests that some could be resilient to climate change.
Congrats @claudiavaga.bsky.social
Link to paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Vaga et al. (2025) reconstruct a time-calibrated phylogeny of stony (scleractinian) corals, which suggests that some could be resilient to climate change.
Congrats @claudiavaga.bsky.social
Link to paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
In Science, a new reconstruction of global sea levels spanning the past 4.5 million years reveals that oceans once stood up to 20 meters higher than today and links the waxing and waning of ancient ice sheets to shifts in Earth’s temperature and carbon dioxide cycles. https://scim.ag/42STXUm
Global mean sea level over the past 4.5 million years
Changes in global mean sea level (GMSL) during the late Cenozoic remain uncertain. We use a reconstruction of changes in δ18O of seawater to reconstruct GMSL since 4.5 million years ago (Ma) that acco...
scim.ag
October 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
In Science, a new reconstruction of global sea levels spanning the past 4.5 million years reveals that oceans once stood up to 20 meters higher than today and links the waxing and waning of ancient ice sheets to shifts in Earth’s temperature and carbon dioxide cycles. https://scim.ag/42STXUm
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Hot off the press is the final chapter of my dissertation now published in @pnas.org Here, I explore the genetic drivers of extreme body size reduction using goby fishes as a model. I'll write up a short summary thread later tonight...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Hot off the press is the final chapter of my dissertation now published in @pnas.org Here, I explore the genetic drivers of extreme body size reduction using goby fishes as a model. I'll write up a short summary thread later tonight...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Does #SexualSelection fuel #Speciation?
Our new #meta-analysis of comparative studies finds support for a positive relationship, but the rather moderate global effect suggests it’s not necessarily a dominant force.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Our new #meta-analysis of comparative studies finds support for a positive relationship, but the rather moderate global effect suggests it’s not necessarily a dominant force.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Sexual selection and speciation: a meta-analysis of comparative studies
Abstract. Understanding the drivers of biodiversity is a central goal in evolutionary biology. In particular, sexual selection has long been proposed as a
doi.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Does #SexualSelection fuel #Speciation?
Our new #meta-analysis of comparative studies finds support for a positive relationship, but the rather moderate global effect suggests it’s not necessarily a dominant force.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Our new #meta-analysis of comparative studies finds support for a positive relationship, but the rather moderate global effect suggests it’s not necessarily a dominant force.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
New phylogeny and family-level classification of Stomiiformes (viperfishes, hatchetfishes, bristlemouths)
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Genome-wide phylogeny reshapes our understanding of the evolution of deep-sea dragonfishes, bristlemouths, viperfishes, and allies (Stomiiformes) - BMC Ecology and Evolution
Background The evolutionary relationships within Stomiiformes, a diverse order of deep-sea fishes dominating the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones, remain contentious due to conflicting morphological...
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
New phylogeny and family-level classification of Stomiiformes (viperfishes, hatchetfishes, bristlemouths)
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Loss of macroevolutionary species fitness explains the rise and fall of clades - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The interplay between speciation and extinction rates shapes clade diversity dynamics. Using a novel phylogenetic model that includes living and fossil lineages, the authors estimate speciation and ex...
www.nature.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Excited to share our new paper where we find that the rise, decline and fall of clades is not explained by the usual suspects (diversity-dependence, ecological opportunities) but rather by species' insidious loss of macroevolutionary fitness: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/3
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Have been a bit silent recently as I've been working on this new version of our preprint! In this study, we present a generalizable evo-devo model to explore principles of evolutionary innovations. A thread 🧵 ahead about this, and what's new... 1/11
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A simple model reveals why complex evolutionary innovations follow predictable paths
Determining the principles underlying the origin of novel characters has been a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. Yet, key mechanisms remain poorly understood, hindered by the lack of a genera...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Have been a bit silent recently as I've been working on this new version of our preprint! In this study, we present a generalizable evo-devo model to explore principles of evolutionary innovations. A thread 🧵 ahead about this, and what's new... 1/11
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Out now in Biology Letters, my latest paper tackles an apparently simple question: how many characters are needed to reconstruct a phylogeny? TL;DR: in most cases between 100 and 500, more than a substantial portion of morphological datasets, but the story is more complex... doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
October 15, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Out now in Biology Letters, my latest paper tackles an apparently simple question: how many characters are needed to reconstruct a phylogeny? TL;DR: in most cases between 100 and 500, more than a substantial portion of morphological datasets, but the story is more complex... doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Welcome to all the new Packard Fellows- this is an incredible community. I look forward to meeting you at the reunion!
Also, huge congrats to my colleague @jameststroud.bsky.social! Can't wait to see what you discover in your long-term eco/evo experiment, Lizard Island!
Also, huge congrats to my colleague @jameststroud.bsky.social! Can't wait to see what you discover in your long-term eco/evo experiment, Lizard Island!
We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering — 20 innovative early-career scientists who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.
Meet the 2025 Packard Fellows ⬇
www.packard.org/2025fellows
Meet the 2025 Packard Fellows ⬇
www.packard.org/2025fellows
October 15, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Welcome to all the new Packard Fellows- this is an incredible community. I look forward to meeting you at the reunion!
Also, huge congrats to my colleague @jameststroud.bsky.social! Can't wait to see what you discover in your long-term eco/evo experiment, Lizard Island!
Also, huge congrats to my colleague @jameststroud.bsky.social! Can't wait to see what you discover in your long-term eco/evo experiment, Lizard Island!
Reposted by Dr. Elizabeth Santos
Toward a relational biodiversity economics: Embedding plural values for sustainability transformation 🌎🌐🧪 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Toward a relational biodiversity economics: Embedding plural values for sustainability transformation 🌎🌐🧪 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...