Volker Rudolf
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volkerrudolf.bsky.social
Volker Rudolf
@volkerrudolf.bsky.social
2.1K followers 490 following 300 posts
Community Ecology | Phenology | Ponds| Professor of Ecology & Evolution @ Rice University. Editor-In-Chief @ The American Naturalist. Dad, husband, polliwog wrangler, baker of Bavarian pretzels, chicken owner. Typos are my own.
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Reposted by Volker Rudolf
ecoevolab.bsky.social
Please apply to join the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Naturalists!
www.amnat.org/announcement...
Flyer that says American Society of Naturalists Diversity Committee. The DC works to promote diversity, equity, and inclusiveness to enhance the study of evolution, ecology, and behavior and to foster the career of its developing scientists. We pursue initiatives that support marginalized groups, which include helping to create an inclusive, accessible environment at the Evolution conference, the stand-alone ASN meeting, and our field in general. Apply by November 1. Seeking two new members starting Jan 2026. 3 year term
November 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Evolution in one sex is often affected by selection acting on the opposite sex. Geeta Arun et al. explore this using fruit flies and find that responses to selection are largely parallel between sexes.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Using Sex-Specific Robertson Covariances to Estimate Within- and Cross-Sex Responses to Selection on Reproductive Traits in Drosophila melanogaster | The American Naturalist
Abstract In organisms with separate sexes, the expected evolutionary change in a trait due to selection can be expressed using sex-specific Robertson covariances (RCs), that is, the additive genetic c...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 17, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Yuan et al. discover why female frogs grow larger: male competition drives size when mates are scarce. Monogamous species show the strongest link, and both temperature and predation shape this dance.

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www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
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November 17, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Pollinator and Flower Morphology Interact to Affect Pollen Receipt by Newman et al.

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www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
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November 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Do older birds claim better territories, and does this drive age biases in space over time? Woodman et al. use 45 years of data to suggest that habitat quality - not age - shapes spatial demography.

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www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
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November 17, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
patrickmckenzie.bsky.social
Available now in @asn-amnat.bsky.social ! Taking on some big-scale natural history: processed >40k @inaturalist.bsky.social images of Monarda fistulosa using computer vision to query for flower presence and phenotype flower color: doi.org/10.1086/739413
November 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
kerricrawford.bsky.social
Have thoughts for a special symposium at the Virtual Evolution meeting (May 20-22, 2026)? The @asn-amnat.bsky.social is looking for proposals! Click here to pitch your idea or find out more: www.amnat.org/announcement... #Evol2026
Call for Symposium Proposals for Evolution 2026
<p><strong>Due January 15, 2026:</strong> The ASN invites proposals for a special symposium at Evolution 2026! Have an idea? We want to hear it!</p><br/>
www.amnat.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
VP Symposium: Preservation of Genetic Diversity and Selection over a Century in a Coral Reef Fish (Taeniamia zosterophora) in the Philippines by Fitz et al.

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/suppl/10...
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
jbyoder.org
Nifty Natural History Note in @asn-amnat.bsky.social: these frogs can change color from green to brown to hide against different-colored backgrounds (Image: Hugo Claessen, Wikimedia) 🌿

buff.ly/uAr9LnZ
A waxy-looking frog with a green back and upper surfaces and a yellow belly, photographed on a green leaf
October 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
scottpegan.bsky.social
Wonderful description by @pothebug.bsky.social about our #NaturalHistory paper in @asn-amnat.bsky.social!

www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
A bug of many hats – The red-shouldered soapberry bug as a pollinating seed-predator
<p>Read about &ldquo;A New Twist on an Old Story: Pollination and Seed Predation in Jadera haematoloma&rdquo; by Mattheau S. Comerford, Scott. P. Carroll, and Scott P. Egan (August&nbsp;2025)</p><br/>...
www.amnat.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
egioxford.bsky.social
New paper from @joewoodman.bsky.social et al in @asn-amnat.bsky.social uses the long-term study of Great Tits in Wytham Woods to ask how differently aged birds are distributed in space & what consequences this has for spatial variation in reproductive output
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
November 9, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Faurby et al. analyze diversification and colonization rate in living and extinct Carnivora, finding that colonizers diversify faster and suggesting that the patterns are best explained by heritable variation in completive ability between clades.

Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Good Colonizers Diversify Faster | The American Naturalist
Abstract Variation in colonization ability (comprising the dispersal and successful establishment of lineages in new regions) and its connection to species diversification may be one of the major reas...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 13, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
ASN Address: The Study of Mutualism, Past, Present, and Future by Bronstein

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www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Study of Mutualism, Past, Present, and Future* | The American Naturalist
Abstract After a fitful start, the conceptual study of mutualism (mutually beneficial interspecific interactions) is now flourishing. In 1994, I reviewed the status of the field as reflected in the pe...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 12, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
2025 ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ ਪੇਪਰ ਅਵਾਰਡ: ਇੱਕ ਲਿੰਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਅਕਸਰ ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਲਿੰਗ 'ਤੇ ਚੋਣ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵਿਤ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਗੀਤਾ ਅਰੁਣ ਅਤੇ ਹੋਰ। ਫਲਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਮੱਖੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਸਦੀ ਪੜਚੋਲ ਕਰੋ ਅਤੇ ਪਤਾ ਲਗਾਓ ਕਿ ਚੋਣ ਪ੍ਰਤੀ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਕਿਰਿਆਵਾਂ ਲਿੰਗਾਂ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ ਵੱਡੇ ਪੱਧਰ 'ਤੇ ਸਮਾਨਾਂਤਰ ਹਨ।

ਹੁਣੇ ਛਪਾਈ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Using Sex-Specific Robertson Covariances to Estimate Within- and Cross-Sex Responses to Selection on Reproductive Traits in Drosophila melanogaster | The American Naturalist
Abstract In organisms with separate sexes, the expected evolutionary change in a trait due to selection can be expressed using sex-specific Robertson covariances (RCs), that is, the additive genetic c...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 12, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
VP Symposium: The Contributions of Microbial Interactions to Abrupt Ecosystem Changes during the Late Quaternary by Braga et al.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Contributions of Microbial Interactions to Abrupt Ecosystem Changes during the Late Quaternary* | The American Naturalist
Abstract Abrupt ecosystem shifts during the Late Quaternary coincided with major climatic changes and intensified human activities, but the precise causes of these shifts remain debated. Here, buildin...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 14, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
sse-evolution.bsky.social
The Undergraduate Community at Evolution program provides travel funding, mentoring, and a presentation opportunity at #Evol2026. Please share with undergrads in your lab! www.evolutionsociety.org/content/educ...
@asn-amnat.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social @evolmtg.bsky.social
Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Undergraduate Community at Evolution Program. Applications due January 20, 2026.
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
zacklabe.com
Another dataset confirms that last month was the warmest October on record in the #Arctic. The previous record was 2024. This is already a month with a very large increasing temperature trend (i.e., Arctic amplification). Not good.

Data from NASA/GISS GISTEMPv4 (data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/).
November 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
volkerrudolf.bsky.social
This is a reminder that @asn-amnat.bsky.social publishes abstracts in both English and your native language, using your native alphabet. You can see and read those online. Here is a screenshot of a great example. Love seeing this in my favorite journal.
November 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
ljrissler.bsky.social
NSF is open again!

A few comments:

*Please be patient.
During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails.

*Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th.

*POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
volkerrudolf.bsky.social
Fun sighting this morning on Rice campus: the black witch moth. The bat shaped moth is the largest noctuid moth in North America (about 2x palm of your hand) is part of folk lore of many cultures in Latin America.
November 13, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
scottsolomon.bsky.social
Can’t wait for this event! @riceuniversity.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
volkerrudolf.bsky.social
Wrapped up tue Halloween series with Frida
November 4, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
gerlame.bsky.social
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15

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
Reposted by Volker Rudolf
asn-amnat.bsky.social
Temporal variability in demographic rates has been viewed as detrimental to long-term fitness, but a newer idea is that it may sometimes be beneficial. Morris and Doak reassess the conditions necessary for lability to occur.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
What Is Demographic Lability and When Might We Expect to See It? | The American Naturalist
Abstract When vital rates are convex functions of environmental drivers, temporal variation in those vital rates could increase long-term stochastic fitness (so-called demographic lability). Yet no em...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 3, 2025 at 7:41 PM