Alex Fraik

Escaping bottlenecks: The demographic path to genetic recovery in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Population bottlenecks can lead to evolutionary dead ends by eroding genetic diversity and intensifying inbreeding. Although theory predicts possible escape routes, direct observations of this process...

Escaping bottlenecks: The demographic path to genetic recovery in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) 🐨 🧬 #consgen #popgen

Conservation genomics and assisted introgression is saving the American chestnut from extermination by invasive non-native pathogens. #consgen

Hi @kbheinle.bsky.social would you mind if I DMed you about your Brown Trout GTSeq work?

Thank you!!

Anyone out there know of anyone using or developing #gtseq to genotype Brown Trout? #consgen #fishgen #fisheries

AmpliRAD: A New Method Combining Amplicon and RAD Sequencing We present AmpliRAD, a novel sequencing method that integrates a multiplex PCR step into traditional RAD-seq protocols to enable the simultaneous generation of genome-wide SNP data and targeted genot...

AmpliRAD: A New Method Combining Amplicon and RAD Sequencing - Thompson - 2026 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Davis Summer Population Genomics Program Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...

Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!

📣Job alert!📣 Working as a federal scientist is complicated right now, but we are actually hiring. One *permanent* stock assessment position on my team at NOAA NWFSC will open for 7 days in early-mid Feb. Will be a shared ad across several science centers. Get those usajobs resumes polished...

The Importance of Effective Population Size in Conservation and Biodiversity Monitoring Effective population size (Ne) is a key concept in biology and conservation. Stripped to its bare essentials, it reflects how much genetic drift a population experiences, expressed as a number of ind...

We have compiled a special issue for @evolappjournal.bsky.social on Effective population size in Conservation and Biodiversity Monitoring, dedicated to the late Michael W. Bruford.
This SI is a must read for everyone who struggles with what "effective population size" means.
#consgen

DDLS Research School Postdoc call 2026 Call for Academic and Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data-Driven Life Science 2026 Generic Description of the DDLS Postdoc Program The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Drive...

Interested in👇 ?

- museomics: genome erosion, adaptation 🦌 🦜 🐬
- marcogenomics of sea warming (methods dev. or empirical data)
🌊 🐟🦭🐋

Check this call (2 y. postdoc) and get in touch to discuss potential projects (deadline 31.03.26)
#popgen #consgen #evolbiol

👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...

M.S. Opportunity: Riparian restoration tools in working grasslands The Genomics, Ecology, and Modeling for Conservation Lab at North Dakota State University, led by Travis Seaborn, is recruiting for one M.S. position to join our team working on a recently funded project in collaboration with the Albert K. Ekre Grassland Preserve. Anticipated start date: Summer 2026. Stiped ~$25,000 for 2-3 years. Tuition waiver also provided. The overall project will advance our ability to understand community responses to riparian restoration. Riparian ecosystems in the Northern Great Plains have been heavily altered by anthropogenic activities. Although there are numerous restoration options for riparian ecosystems, a common and effective restoration practice, in particular in incised stream systems, are beaver dam analogs. Using streams at the Ekre Grassland Preserve and nearby public land, we will be looking to do a restoration project using invasive buckthorn woody materials. To achieve this, we are beginning to plan a Before-After-Control-Impact design to assess riparian and floodplain ecosystem responses, including geomorphology, biological community, and water quality. Much of the beaver dam analog research that has been done has occurred in the western United States, and response to these activities in the Northern Great Plains is unknown. Surveys of the biological community may include electrofishing and minnow trapping for fish, camera traps for mammals, visual and auditory surveys for birds, and plant identification along transects. The primary goals of this position include: 1. Identify the impact of beaver dam analogs. 2. Using geographic information systems, develop beaver species distribution models for the region. To apply: Please email travis.seaborn@ndsu.edu a letter of interest, which should include an explanation of fit and past relevant experience, and CV by February 20th.

Kind of a late breaking MS opportunity in my lab - please share! Hoping to have someone this summer for some of the before data collection prior to a restoration project. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions.

Job alert:
NOAA NWFSC & UW are looking for a postdoc (ASAP) in Seattle study foraging ecology of Cook Inlet beluga whales using eDNA. Genetics/ecology/eDNA experience preferred. Interested candidates reach out to kim.parsons@noaa.gov or rpkelly@uw.edu directly. #eDNA #ConsGen

Inbred source populations result in genetic rescue of imperiled trout populations Genetic rescue—assisted translocation to reduce inbreeding and increase population viability—is a promising conservation strategy for mitigating the e…

Work by Bell, Kovach, Whiteley and colleagues demonstrates that even inbred trout source populations can be used for genetic rescue. Great news for folks considering translocation efforts, but are faced with the challenge of identifying suitable (genetically diverse) donor populations #ConsGen

Evaluating inbreeding and assessing the risk of outbreeding depression in genetic rescue using whole-genome sequence data
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Putting Structural Variants Into Practice: The Role of Chromosomal Inversions in the Management of Marine Environments Major threats to marine species and ecosystems include overfishing, invasive species, pollution and climate change. The changing climate not only imposes direct threats through the impacts of severe ....

Putting Structural Variants Into Practice: The Role of Chromosomal Inversions in the Management of Marine Environments. New @marine-omics.bsky.social paper by Nadja Schneller with @janstrugnell.bsky.social, @mattfield100.bsky.social and Kerstin Johannesson out today doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Multispecies pangenomes reveal a pervasive influence of population size on structural variation Structural variants (SVs) are widespread in vertebrate genomes, yet their evolutionary dynamics remain poorly understood. Using 45 long-read de novo genome assemblies and pangenome tools, we analyze S...

www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Join our Tree of Life Programme as a Group Leader in Biodiversity Genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Lead ambitious, large-scale genomics research to understand life’s diversity on Earth.

🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026

Flathead Lake Biological Station @umflbs.bsky.social searches for a new director following @drlimnology.bsky.social end of 2026. See details 👇

Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!

The value of structural variants to conservation genomics in the pangenome era Abstract. Structural variants (SVs) comprise an axis of genetic diversity with strong consequences for phenotype and fitness, making them a potentially imp

The value of structural variants to conservation genomics in the pangenome era
academic.oup.com/jhered/advan...

Carnivore Translocations and Conservation: Insights from Population Models and Field Data for Fishers (Martes pennanti) Translocations are frequently used to restore extirpated carnivore populations. Understanding the factors that influence translocation success is important because carnivore translocations can be time...

This doesn't seem to be a unique outcome, as fishers translocated into OR appear to have also more or less stayed put and kept to themselves. It would be great to see an updated synthesis of these historic translocation efforts, building off this great paper!

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Interestingly, although significant time has passed, we observed no evidence of admixture between the Rocky Mountain and ancestors of the translocated, Midwestern fishers. In fact, we only identified one animal with midwestern genetic ancestry.

Using >30 years of data opportunistically collected by @usfs.bsky.social, state and tribal co-authors and partners (mostly from hair/poop), we were able to characterize the genetic ancestry of the endemic Rocky Mountain and translocated fishers distinctly across the landscape.

The genetic implications of translocations on Fisher (Pekania pennanti) populations in Montana and Idaho Genetic structure of fishers in the US Northern Rocky Mountains is influenced by translocation history. Fishers in Northern Idaho and Montana are derived f

Ancestors of Fishers translocated decades ago into the Rockies in northern ID and MT persist! #consgen #fishers

academic.oup.com/jmammal/adva...

Hybrids Along a Natural‐Anthropogenic Gradient: Improving Policy and Management Across All Levels of Biodiversity Hybridization has long been a central topic in evolution and conservation. Recent developments in genomics have increased the ability to detect hybridization, defined here as breeding between species....

We have another publication out! 🎉🎉🎉
“Hybrids along a natural–anthropogenic gradient: improving policy and management across all levels of biodiversity.”
We explore how to deal with hybrids in conservation — scientifically and practically. A thread 🧵
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

NEW pub in @science.org 🥳

Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life?

For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided.

We provide new evidence suggesting that...

🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Genetic offset and vulnerability modeling under climate change scenarios: common misinterpretations and violations of evolutionary principles Abstract. Genetic offset models have become a popular component of the landscape genetics toolbox, with over 600 peer-reviewed publications applying these

I'm excited to read this paper: "Genetic offset and vulnerability modeling under climate change scenarios: common misinterpretations and violations of evolutionary principles" doi.org/10.1093/evol...

The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds - Yorkshire Environmental Sciences • Doctoral Training Network Project summary Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walrus) are keystone marine predators, and sentinels for marine ecosystem health. Advances in genomic technology open up the possibility to u...

New PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳 #marine #mammals
#consgen #popgen #phylo #molevol #evolution
yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...

Neat opportunity at George Mason University for #consbio #consgen undergrads. Paid NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

smconservation.gmu.edu/nsf-reu/

Inbreeding reduces fitness in spatially structured populations of a threatened rattlesnake | PNAS Small and fragmented populations are at high risk of local extinction, in part because of elevated inbreeding and subsequent inbreeding depression....

Thrilled to have a new paper out where we use 12+ years of monitoring data to document the impacts of inbreeding on fitness in eastern massasauga rattlesnakes! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...