Madeline Eppley

I am still actively looking for postdoc positions — please lmk if you (or your friends and colleagues) need a hardworking postdoc with field, lab, and bioinformatic skills!

I am broadly interested in evolution in the ocean, conservation and population genetics, and rapid evolution.

Eppley et al (2026) "We believe that acknowledging limitations and assumptions of current definitions of sex will lead to more accurate science." 🧪

Basically what we've been saying about using gender in human research, too!

Very proud of this perspective that came out of some really interesting and difficult conversations with friends and colleagues!

TLDR: how do scientists define sex? why does it matter??
#EcoEvo #Ecology #Evolution 🧪

thanks for reading! the doi link isn’t live yet -- should work in ~48 hours.

here’s the journal link for now: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

V. important perspective piece by @madeline-eppley.bsky.social & @andylee.bsky.social on biological sex and why a lack of scientific consensus should not be used to dictate human rights doi.org/10.1111/ele.... 🧪

Further, we contend a lack of unanimity on how to define sex is not inherently problematic and a universal definition is not necessary to pursue. No matter what definitional choices are used, we provide actionable recommendations to improve accuracy when describing sex.

There is No Consensus on Biological Sex At this critical moment when misinformation about sex is being applied to policy globally, scientific clarification on the definition of biological sex is valuable. Here, we evaluate the primary appr...

New paper out in ecology letters! with @andylee.bsky.social @allydefduf.bsky.social

We synthesized the active debate on how scientists define sex, including limitations and assumptions. We believe this discussion will lead to more accurate science.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

omg another paper with @madeline-eppley.bsky.social and @allydefduf.bsky.social accepted!!!

Extra proud of this one (and also really nervous for it to come out). We thought a lot about how biologists define sex in our research. Out soon in Ecology Letters!

Paper accepted!!! Beyond honored to have worked with fellow queer ECRs (@madeline-eppley.bsky.social, @allydefduf.bsky.social and others not on bsky) to critically examine our field's relationship with the queer community, and how we can leverage Queer perspectives to conduct more accurate science!!

Can’t wait to share this one soon!!! This paper was a collective effort of nearly two years of work with queer ECRs from across the US. It was a dream co-leading this project with Andy & Ally - writing a paper with your best friends is the best. Excited for it to be out in the world!!

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

Please apply to join the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Naturalists!
www.amnat.org/announcement...

This infographic describes the main results from a survey of members of 14 scientific societies. There is a pie chart showing that both academic (58%) and non-academic (42%) responded to the survey. It lists statistics: 85% of respondents reported uncertainty about the future; 71% reported federal training programs were "very" or "extremely important"; 83% reported negative impacts or irreparable harm on their field of science. There is a word cloud summarizing open-ended responses with the largest words "student research fund federal grant". Eight major themes in the responses are listed: disruption of research with societal important; concerns of closure of the USGS Bird Banding Lab; Early Career Bottleneck; Restricted Freedoms including travel and speech; Decline in Government Efficiency and Expertise; Concerns about Biased/Removed Data and Data Gaps; Concerns about the Ability to Meet Legal Mandates; and From Positive Impact to Irreparable Harm. There are icons for each participating society and a QR code for website and data availability.

Today 14 scientific societies in #ecology #evolution and #marineScience are publishing the results of a survey that finds negative impacts of federal policies on food security, flood mitigation, infectious disease preparedness, and wildlife conservation: 🧪👩‍🔬 www.firsthandaccounts.org/impacts/2025...

Researchers found that 10.5% of shark and swordfish products from species listed as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, or Endangered (IUCN) in New England seafood markets were mislabeled.

#DNABarcoding #Biodiversity #Conservation #Seafood

‘Highly‐Informative’ Genetic Markers Can Bias Conclusions: Examples and General Solutions High-grading bias is the overestimation power in a subset of loci caused by model overfitting. Using both empirical and simulated datasets, we show that high-grading bias can cause severe overestimat...

New paper with @birdpicsandscience.bsky.social out TODAY!!

We found that choosing "highly informative loci" (aka high fst loci) may bias results in common population genetic analyses

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Explainer thread to come! #PopGen #PopulationGenomics #Evolution

Congrats Anika!! 🦪

Come learn about some cool new coral disease research from my friend and (honorary) new lab mate Emily! #Evol2025 🪸 Will be a great talk.

I’ll be chatting about oysters today at #Evol2025! 🦪 Drop by the Ecological Genetics III session in Olympia 2 at 3:00 pm to hear about some unexpected and exciting genetic results.

If you are a person who cares about the future of science in the US, please take actions this week to #SaveNSF. @asn-amnat.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social are leading a week of action - here is a Media Support Tool from the societies docs.google.com/document/d/1... 🧪🧑‍🔬🧬🖥️🦑

#SaveNSF #WithoutNSF #ISupportScience #SupportNSF

Thank you to the @sse-evolution.bsky.social Public Policy Committee for funding my participation at the AIBS Congressional Visits Day!

Yesterday I met with PA Senator Dave McCormick and the offices of Rep. Scott Perry and @fetterman.senate.gov to discuss the importance of federal funding for biological research with at least $9.9 billion for @NSF in FY2026. @aibsbiology.bsky.social #AIBSCVD2025

This week AIBS helped organize meetings between scientists and congressional offices in Washington, DC. Congrats to all the participants in the 2025 Congressional Visits Day. #AIBSCVD2025

Action Alert: Ask Your U.S. Representative to Support Investment in NSF Congress has begun debating funding levels for federal programs for fiscal year (FY) 2026. Please show your support for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by asking your Representative to

Ask your Representative to sign the bipartisan Neguse-Fitzpatrick Dear Colleague Letter in support of $10.2 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation in 2026. #aibs #policynews #scipol takeaction.io/aibs/action-...

Small Populations, Large Conservation Challenges:
Turgeon et al. evaluate the relative influence of density-dependence, environmental conditions, and sporadic events on annual ungulate population growth. Summary & Analysis by Madeline Eppley!

www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...

Happy to see our tools being used in a wide variety of conservation applications.

Thank you!!! Looking forward to the research highlight :)

thank you Samina!! 🫶🏻

thank you so much Kylea!! ☺️

Thank you! It really is such a validating and exciting feeling to see the published version.