Devon DeRaad
@devonderaad.bsky.social
La Kretz Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. Incoming curator of ornithology at AMNH. Evolutionary genomics (usually) of birds! devonderaad.github.io
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
I’m really happy to share that my invited review on social insect genome evolution, co-authored with @corriemoreau.bsky.social, is out now in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social 🐝🐜
This is the paper I wish I’d had when studying for quals in grad school, and was a ton of fun to write.
This is the paper I wish I’d had when studying for quals in grad school, and was a ton of fun to write.
October 5, 2026 at 3:08 PM
I’m really happy to share that my invited review on social insect genome evolution, co-authored with @corriemoreau.bsky.social, is out now in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social 🐝🐜
This is the paper I wish I’d had when studying for quals in grad school, and was a ton of fun to write.
This is the paper I wish I’d had when studying for quals in grad school, and was a ton of fun to write.
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
I’m excited to share the 🌷🪻 "meadow plot" 🌻🌷, a new pop genomics visualization tool I created to ID putative selective sweeps across the genome using windowed π & FST estimates from pixy. User-friendly tutorial here: paigeduffin.github.io/meadow_plot_...
Please help spread the word by sharing! 🧬
Please help spread the word by sharing! 🧬
Meadow Plot Tutorial
A step-by-step tutorial for creating meadow plots and candidate peak summaries from pixy output.
paigeduffin.github.io
September 14, 2026 at 10:10 PM
I’m excited to share the 🌷🪻 "meadow plot" 🌻🌷, a new pop genomics visualization tool I created to ID putative selective sweeps across the genome using windowed π & FST estimates from pixy. User-friendly tutorial here: paigeduffin.github.io/meadow_plot_...
Please help spread the word by sharing! 🧬
Please help spread the word by sharing! 🧬
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
I'm hiring a postdoc to help build tools for inferring complex speciation histories with genomic data. strong computational skills are a must, but this is a training opportunity. 60K$+ salary, 2 years, details flexible. please reach out! (and repost)
ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150
ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150
September 30, 2026 at 4:02 PM
I'm hiring a postdoc to help build tools for inferring complex speciation histories with genomic data. strong computational skills are a must, but this is a training opportunity. 60K$+ salary, 2 years, details flexible. please reach out! (and repost)
ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150
ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
V happy about this one (@brentcemerson.bsky.social @biodiversitysmns.bsky.social @hernmoral.bsky.social)et al
Species have survived on oceanic islands for Mya despite occupying small geographic areas, facing environmental calamities and having low Ne. We discuss this w/ a focus on conservation.
1/2
Species have survived on oceanic islands for Mya despite occupying small geographic areas, facing environmental calamities and having low Ne. We discuss this w/ a focus on conservation.
1/2
September 22, 2026 at 5:55 PM
V happy about this one (@brentcemerson.bsky.social @biodiversitysmns.bsky.social @hernmoral.bsky.social)et al
Species have survived on oceanic islands for Mya despite occupying small geographic areas, facing environmental calamities and having low Ne. We discuss this w/ a focus on conservation.
1/2
Species have survived on oceanic islands for Mya despite occupying small geographic areas, facing environmental calamities and having low Ne. We discuss this w/ a focus on conservation.
1/2
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Come work here, it is a fun place and we would love to have you as our colleague: careers.amnh.org/postings/4923 #Lepidoptera #Insect #Entomology #AMNH
Assistant Curator/Assistant Professor, Invertebrate Zoology
The Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) seeks an outstanding tenure-track Assistant Curator/Assistant Professor with expertise in the evolution of Lepidop...
careers.amnh.org
September 11, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Come work here, it is a fun place and we would love to have you as our colleague: careers.amnh.org/postings/4923 #Lepidoptera #Insect #Entomology #AMNH
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
SO PROUD! @brynnjohnson13.bsky.social’s paper on temp dependent competition in secondary contact zones in darters is ofFISHally out in @journal-evo.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
As an extra hurrah related to this work, I had the opportunity to paint a corresponding journal cover!
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
As an extra hurrah related to this work, I had the opportunity to paint a corresponding journal cover!
September 9, 2026 at 3:59 PM
SO PROUD! @brynnjohnson13.bsky.social’s paper on temp dependent competition in secondary contact zones in darters is ofFISHally out in @journal-evo.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
As an extra hurrah related to this work, I had the opportunity to paint a corresponding journal cover!
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
As an extra hurrah related to this work, I had the opportunity to paint a corresponding journal cover!
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
New paper in Systematic Biology! We show how micro-synteny can help resolve a tricky fish #phylogenetic problem where traditional sequence-based analyses fall short. Genomes archive evolutionary history in more than just their basepairs.
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
#fish #genomics #evolution
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
#fish #genomics #evolution
September 8, 2026 at 8:46 PM
New paper in Systematic Biology! We show how micro-synteny can help resolve a tricky fish #phylogenetic problem where traditional sequence-based analyses fall short. Genomes archive evolutionary history in more than just their basepairs.
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
#fish #genomics #evolution
doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
#fish #genomics #evolution
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
My 2nd PhD chapter on the phylogeography of the Mangrove and Blue-winged Pittas is now on BioRxiv! Here we used genomic and palaeogeographic methods to show that, despite their similarities, the 2 species are strongly diverged, potentially due to differing ecologies.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
August 19, 2026 at 10:17 PM
My 2nd PhD chapter on the phylogeography of the Mangrove and Blue-winged Pittas is now on BioRxiv! Here we used genomic and palaeogeographic methods to show that, despite their similarities, the 2 species are strongly diverged, potentially due to differing ecologies.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Now with issue number etc. And we got the cover!
August 17, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Now with issue number etc. And we got the cover!
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Whatever else was wrong with the United States, we truly did have a higher education system that was the envy of the world. Now we’re lighting it on fire because some people are bored and racist.
There will probably be far fewer foreign students on college campuses nationwide this fall following the Trump administration’s crackdown on international visas.
A new report predicts international enrollment will decrease by 9.5 percent this fall.
A new report predicts international enrollment will decrease by 9.5 percent this fall.
Foreign student enrollment will fall nearly 10%, report predicts
A report released this week forecasts a decline of about 111,000 international students at U.S. colleges and universities.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 13, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Whatever else was wrong with the United States, we truly did have a higher education system that was the envy of the world. Now we’re lighting it on fire because some people are bored and racist.
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
This dude gets it @devonderaad.bsky.social #AOS26
August 6, 2026 at 1:04 PM
This dude gets it @devonderaad.bsky.social #AOS26
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
(1/4) Really excited that the first analysis of my PhD was published in Proceedings B! After analyzing half a million bird banding records across 92 species from @instbirdpop.bsky.social, we found lower female survival in 35 passerine species. doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Female North American passerine birds have lower apparent survival than males
Abstract. Survival is a fundamental organismal trait which can vary by sex, yet the extent of sex-biased survival is largely unknown across most taxa. To a
doi.org
August 1, 2026 at 1:29 AM
(1/4) Really excited that the first analysis of my PhD was published in Proceedings B! After analyzing half a million bird banding records across 92 species from @instbirdpop.bsky.social, we found lower female survival in 35 passerine species. doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Congratulations Violet Onsongo on her new #dragonfly paper! Evolution and biogeography of the widespread dragonfly genus Orthetrum (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae): Massive dispersal in the tertiary - Systematic Entomology - Wiley Online Library resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Evolution and biogeography of the widespread dragonfly genus <fi>Orthetrum</fi> (<fc>Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae</fc>): Massive dispersal in the tertiary
Ancestral range reconstruction supports an early widespread Afro–Eurasian distribution, rather than a single-region origin, reflecting connectivity among Africa, Europe and Asia during the Tertiary......
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 31, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Congratulations Violet Onsongo on her new #dragonfly paper! Evolution and biogeography of the widespread dragonfly genus Orthetrum (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae): Massive dispersal in the tertiary - Systematic Entomology - Wiley Online Library resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Y and W sex chroms are enigmatic. Compared to the rest of the genome, they show distinct structure and diversity, and are notoriously difficult to assemble. Work led by @mdalikova.bsky.social investigates these patterns for the W chromosome of silkworm, Bombyx mori
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Wrong but useful: Bombyx silkworm W chromosome assemblies are flawed but still capture strongly reduced diversity of repetitive DNA
Degenerate sex chromosomes ( e.g., the Y or W) remain among the most difficult regions of eukaryotic genomes to assemble because they are highly repetitive and structurally complex. While many recent ...
www.biorxiv.org
July 29, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Y and W sex chroms are enigmatic. Compared to the rest of the genome, they show distinct structure and diversity, and are notoriously difficult to assemble. Work led by @mdalikova.bsky.social investigates these patterns for the W chromosome of silkworm, Bombyx mori
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
grateful to have received the lab's first NSF grant to study cyclical processes of speciation with new theory and tools (applied to Melanesian birds). ad to come, but I'll be looking for a postdoc with computational biology chops—please reach out! (and repost) www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
July 29, 2026 at 3:17 PM
grateful to have received the lab's first NSF grant to study cyclical processes of speciation with new theory and tools (applied to Melanesian birds). ad to come, but I'll be looking for a postdoc with computational biology chops—please reach out! (and repost) www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
SOO excited to share this news!!!! @devonderaad.bsky.social is an amazing scientist and is going to build a stellar lab at AMNH!!
This December (2026) I'll be starting my own research lab as a curator of ornithology at @amnh.org. We will seek to understand global avian biodiversity using evolutionary and conservation genetics, with the backing of the incredible AMNH ornithology collection. devonderaad.github.io
July 17, 2026 at 4:17 AM
SOO excited to share this news!!!! @devonderaad.bsky.social is an amazing scientist and is going to build a stellar lab at AMNH!!
This December (2026) I'll be starting my own research lab as a curator of ornithology at @amnh.org. We will seek to understand global avian biodiversity using evolutionary and conservation genetics, with the backing of the incredible AMNH ornithology collection. devonderaad.github.io
July 16, 2026 at 6:59 PM
This December (2026) I'll be starting my own research lab as a curator of ornithology at @amnh.org. We will seek to understand global avian biodiversity using evolutionary and conservation genetics, with the backing of the incredible AMNH ornithology collection. devonderaad.github.io
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Interested in joining a growing lab in LA? We’re hiring a postdoc!! Please spread the word to folks in your network and feel free to get in touch with any questions recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11142
July 8, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Interested in joining a growing lab in LA? We’re hiring a postdoc!! Please spread the word to folks in your network and feel free to get in touch with any questions recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11142
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Excited to say that I will be starting as the Curator of Ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History this fall! I can't wait to work with the newly renovated collection and continue my research program back in the Great Lakes. (1/3)
July 7, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Excited to say that I will be starting as the Curator of Ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History this fall! I can't wait to work with the newly renovated collection and continue my research program back in the Great Lakes. (1/3)
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
Feeling very fortunate to begin this next chapter @smithfellows.bsky.social . Thank you to everyone who invested their time, guidance, and encouragement along the way. Looking forward to the work ahead.
www.kent.edu/esdri/news/k...
www.kent.edu/esdri/news/k...
Kent State Biological Sciences Graduate Student Selected for Prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship
Prashant Ghimire hiking towards high altitude with a long pole used for mistnetting birds (credit: Gh
www.kent.edu
June 10, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Feeling very fortunate to begin this next chapter @smithfellows.bsky.social . Thank you to everyone who invested their time, guidance, and encouragement along the way. Looking forward to the work ahead.
www.kent.edu/esdri/news/k...
www.kent.edu/esdri/news/k...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
New preprint from the last portion of my PhD! Despite low masked load, we found evidence for strong inbreeding depression in Devils Hole pupfish. The reason? A recessive lethal haplotype that causes a heart defect among developing embryos. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Long-term small effective population size, inbreeding, and a recessive lethal haplotype drive premature death in the endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis)
As anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and population decline accelerate globally, growing numbers of species face compounding demographic and genetic threats to long-term survival. Many populations a...
www.biorxiv.org
June 11, 2026 at 10:46 PM
New preprint from the last portion of my PhD! Despite low masked load, we found evidence for strong inbreeding depression in Devils Hole pupfish. The reason? A recessive lethal haplotype that causes a heart defect among developing embryos. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
📢New warbler research!📢 A phylogeny of Myioborus (the youngest genus of warblers) plus a hypothesis for how they diversified in South America and a gene causing a color difference between hybridizing species. It was great co-leading this with Laura Céspedes Arias. doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Diversification and divergence in Myioborus warblers: insights into evolutionary relationships and plumage genetics
Abstract. Genomic data can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary history of rapidly diversifying groups and the genetic basis of phenotypic trait
doi.org
May 26, 2026 at 12:02 PM
📢New warbler research!📢 A phylogeny of Myioborus (the youngest genus of warblers) plus a hypothesis for how they diversified in South America and a gene causing a color difference between hybridizing species. It was great co-leading this with Laura Céspedes Arias. doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Reposted by Devon DeRaad
I’m so excited to be able to finally share that @devonderaad.bsky.social was awarded one of the AOS Early Professional awards this year!!! He’ll be presenting one of the plenary talks at the @amornith.bsky.social meeting in Amherst! 🥳🥳🥳
Congratulations to the 2026 AOS Early-career Award winners! Our 2026 James G. Cooper Award winners are Drs Devon DeRaad & Fengyi Guo. This year, the AOS awarded a Ned K Johnson Award to Dr Olivia M. Smith. These awardees will deliver plenary talks at #AOS26.
americanornithology.org/aos-announce...
americanornithology.org/aos-announce...
May 22, 2026 at 8:36 PM
I’m so excited to be able to finally share that @devonderaad.bsky.social was awarded one of the AOS Early Professional awards this year!!! He’ll be presenting one of the plenary talks at the @amornith.bsky.social meeting in Amherst! 🥳🥳🥳