Jon Waters
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jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Jon Waters
@jonwatersnz.bsky.social
140 followers 100 following 17 posts
Professor of biology @Otago NZ. Genetics, ecology, evolution. Dad, lover of nature & music.

https://www.otago.ac.nz/zoology/staff/professor-jon-waters

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_0w6ZS0AAAAJ&hl=en
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jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Jon Waters @jonwatersnz.bsky.social · Jun 24
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jon Waters
bou.org.uk
EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Convergent mutations underpin the repeated evolution of brown plumage in seabirds | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Shanshan Shen, Graham A. McCulloch, Tania M. King, Nicolas J. Rawlence, Martyn Kennedy, Jonathan M. Waters | #ornithology 🪶
October 6, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
jcorush.bsky.social
Cool new paper finding lower diversification
rates in diadromous salmonid lineages relative to non-migratory lineages. By Burridge, Simpson, Wilson, & @jonwatersnz.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/evol...
August 29, 2026 at 5:08 PM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
June 24, 2026 at 2:54 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Alpine adaptation drives rapid colour evolution in a Batesian mimic royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...
June 24, 2026 at 2:47 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Several important native NZ freshwater species nominated for fish of the year! My favourite is the kōaro: www.mountainstosea.org.nz/fish-of-the-...
Fish of the Year | Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust
www.mountainstosea.org.nz
February 28, 2026 at 5:31 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner
Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered
www.theguardian.com
February 19, 2026 at 10:57 PM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Thanks @universityofotago.bsky.social and @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social for supporting my sabbatical visit to UCB-Integrative Biology in 2024!
- this new synthesis paper is one of the key outputs:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Geological processes shaping freshwater biodiversity: a synthesis of global evidence
Recent genomic data highlight the key roles of geological processes in shaping the diversification and biogeography of freshwater lineages. Specifically, physical processes such as tectonic uplift, e....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:28 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Excited to see our new genomics/oceanography study published @natcomms.nature.com
@universityofotago.bsky.social
Genomics of rafting crustaceans reveals adaptation to climate change in tropical oceans - Nature Communications
Rafting dispersal can facilitate responses to environmental change. Here, authors integrate dispersal simulations, ecological genomics, and salinity stress experiments to elucidate the rafting dynamic...
apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:15 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
scienmag.com/rafting-crus...
Rafting Crustaceans’ Genomes Reveal Climate Adaptation
In a groundbreaking study published recently in Nature Communications, Liu, Waters, Huang, and their colleagues have unveiled the extraordinary genomic adaptations of rafting crustaceans that enable
scienmag.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:19 PM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Our new paper reviewing physical processes shaping freshwater biodiversity: doi.org/10.1002/brv....
February 7, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
geneticsaus.bsky.social
Catherine Collins walking with us through the tāhuhu kōrero in DNA.

#GSA2025 #AotearoaGSA2025
July 7, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
geneticsaus.bsky.social
Amazing talks in the Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics, and the Human Genetics concurrent sessions today.

Emma Carroll, Isabelly de Lima, Graham McCulloh, Amara Shaukat, Kathleen McLay, & some excellent lightning talks!

#GSA2025 #AotearoaGSA2025
July 7, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
envdna.bsky.social
Do freshwater insect assemblages in exotic plantations resemble those from native forest? Evidence from environmental DNA

#eDNA #environmenalDNA

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Do freshwater insect assemblages in exotic plantations resemble those from native forest? Evidence from environmental DNA
Widespread deforestation has impacted biodiversity patterns globally, but the potential for forest plantations to restore biodiversity remains unclear. Here we used environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
felixvaux.bsky.social
Iguanas rafted more than 8,000 km from North America to Fiji: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

#biogeography #phylogenetics #genomics #ecology #evolution
March 19, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
jonathanslater.bsky.social
April 6, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
felixvaux.bsky.social
Great example of targeted eDNA for population genetics and biodiversity management! Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range-Limited Stonefly: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

@grahammccullochnz.bsky.social @jonwatersnz.bsky.social
#eDNA #popgen #ecology #genetics #biodiversity
On the left: a map of stream eDNA detections for stoneflies, on the right: a phylogenetic tree of COI haplotypes, which reveals several distinct clades distributed along the streams from north to south.
April 6, 2025 at 8:52 PM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
There’s still time to vote for our amazing #stonefly in NZ Bug of the Year 2025

bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-2025/
January 31, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
gcbias.bsky.social
Congrats to @jeffgroh.bsky.social et al on publication of "Ancient structural variants control sex-specific flowering time morphs in walnuts and hickories"

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Science magazine front cover. Picture of a walnut in its opened shell. The text reads "All about timing. Mating type evolution in walnuts and pecans" graphical abstract: "In Juglans (top left) and Carya, two morphs show complementary temporal separation between male and female flowering (heterodichogamy). Mating types are controlled by two nonhomologous single-locus mechanisms that arose in the common ancestor of each genus, respectively. (Bottom left) Simplified schematic of a putative functional regulatory element at the Juglans locus. (Bottom right) Strong genotypic correlations across the Carya locus indicate a lack of recombination between two colinear haplotypes with similar gene content."
January 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
rdcu.be/d5ojj
High-resolution genomic history of early medieval Europe
Nature - Twigstats, a method for ancestry reconstruction, provides high-resolution genetic histories and movement patterns of people living in Europe during the first millennium ce.
rdcu.be
January 2, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
jencross.bsky.social
Good morning! This is your periodic reminder that earwigs have wings.

(Carcinophora sp.)
Tatama National Park, Colombia
An insect with a reddish-brown abdomen that ends in pinchers, large translucent wings with gold elytra, and a reddish brown head. It is standing at the end of a leaf.
December 19, 2024 at 11:26 AM
jonwatersnz.bsky.social
Congrats to Anran Fan on her first publication: doi.org/10.1111/ecog...
December 18, 2024 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
danielheringude.bsky.social
A starter pack on aquatic insects: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera. go.bsky.app/3irKfNa
November 19, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Jon Waters
knhannah.bsky.social
This is the statement regarding Marsden Fund from the sector peak body, Universities NZ: www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/latest-news-...
Statement on cuts to Marsden Funds for Humanities and Social Sciences | Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara
Today's announcement from Government disbanding the humanities and social sciences panels from the Marsden Fund is very concerning. Whilst investment in STEM disciplines is important for shorter-term ...
www.universitiesnz.ac.nz
December 4, 2024 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
jopabinia.bsky.social
Wow! The complex genomic and epigenetic variation that builds the tasty diversity of Brassica oleracea (the single species that forms broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts)

🧪🥦🥬
Large-scale gene expression alterations introduced by structural variation drive morphotype diversification in Brassica oleracea - Nature Genetics
De novo genome assemblies of 22 Brassica oleracea accessions and pan-genome analyses highlight the effects of structural variations on gene expression and their contributions to morphotype diversifica...
www.nature.com
February 19, 2024 at 1:07 AM
Reposted by Jon Waters
chris-byrne.bsky.social
Sea life on the Oregon Coast. Starfish, sea anemones and kelp photographed at low tide.
December 6, 2024 at 7:04 PM