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My #ExE2026 conference post is now live! It was great chatting with attendees about their research and learning more about the field. Thanks again to the organisers @erikpostma.bsky.social, @btschirren.bsky.social, @blongdon.bsky.social, @ali--wilson.bsky.social, and @hansonmark.bsky.social!

Four new groups of cacao genotypes identified in indigenous Amazonian Peru, which may help to improve breeding of cacao for #chocolate production #plantscience #plantsci doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Genetic structure of traditional cacao reveals four new genetic lineages in indigenous Amazonian sites in PeruCacao genetic resources in Peru are largely uncharacterized. Knowledge of their genetic structure is needed for their conservation and use. Indigenous on-farm cacao trees (n = 390) from the Department...doi.org

Thanks! Really interesting talk and research! #ExE2026

#plantscience #plantsci

One for the #microbiome crowd at #ExE2026!

The sun is setting on another day of #ExE2026. Thanks to the organisers @erikpostma.bsky.social @btschirren.bsky.social @blongdon.bsky.social @ali--wilson.bsky.social and @hansonmark.bsky.social for a fantastic meeting!

Bonnie Fraser spoke about rapid and repeatable selection in her high- and low-predation guppy system. More on this in PLOS Genetics: doi.org/10.1371/jour... #ExE2026

Drainage-structuring of ancestral variation and a common functional pathway shape limited genomic convergence in natural high- and low-predation guppiesAuthor summary Convergent evolution is the process whereby similar phenotypes evolve in response to common selection in independent lineages, providing strong evidence of adaptation in response to nat...doi.org

Another great talk on heritable hormonal plasticity in birds from @lendvaiaz.bsky.social at #ExE2026! Here's that @plosone.org paper he mentioned: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110564

Experimental Food Restriction Reveals Individual Differences in Corticosterone Reaction Norms with No Oxidative CostsHighly plastic endocrine traits are thought to play a central role in allowing organisms to respond rapidly to environmental change. Yet, not all individuals display the same degree of plasticity in t...doi.org

Robert Bücking presented work on infant microbiomes in industrialised and non-industrialised regions. Impressive work built on #openscience and #opendata, which you can read in the preprint here: doi.org/10.64898/202... His closing request? Please clean up metadata for future dataset reuse! #ExE2026

Global analysis of infant gut microbiota revealed distinctive maturation dynamics across lifestylesThe infant gut microbiome develops during the first years of life and influences long-term health through its interaction with immune system development. However, our understanding of early-life micro...doi.org

Final #ExE2026 plenary from @danielbolnick.bsky.social! Really fantastic eco-evo story of parasite-host interactions highlighting the importance of long-term research. The deep understanding of the study system even led to unexpected implications for human health, as well as #ecology and #evolution!

Excursion day at #ExE2026! I really enjoyed our amazing guided tour of Glendurgan Garden, learning more about the beautiful plants in this subtropical "Heaven on Earth" in #Cornwall!

Another fantastic day at #ExE2026! It's been a pleasure chatting with so many of you and learning more about your research! :) If you're working on ecosystems, don't forget that our new journal PLOS Ecosystems is now welcoming submissions! journals.plos.org/ecosystems/

Really nice to hear from Liam Lachs that hope is not lost for coral reefs; natural and artificial selection may allow them to endure #climatechange. Read more in these two papers in @plosclimate.org and @plosone.org: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000453 doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309719 #ExE2026

High coral heat tolerance at local-scale thermal refugiaMarine heatwaves and mass bleaching have devastated coral populations globally, yet bleaching severity often varies among reefs. To what extent a reef’s past exposure to heat stress influences coral b...doi.org

Another great plenary at #ExE2026, this time from Trine Bilde! I'd never heard of social spiders before! Here's that @plosone.org study about inbreeding in the spiders: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029636 🕷️

Moderate Multiple Parentage and Low Genetic Variation Reduces the Potential for Genetic Incompatibility Avoidance Despite High Risk of InbreedingBackground Polyandry is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. In the absence of direct benefits of mating with different males, the underlying basis for polyandry is enigmatic because it can carry...doi.org

More on the meiotic drive of stalk-eyed flies from Andrew Pomiankowski in this recent @plos.org Genetics paper: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011816 #ExE2026

Single-cell consequences of X-linked meiotic drive in stalk-eyed fliesAuthor summary Meiotic drivers, a class of selfish gene, are frequently located on sex chromosomes and have dramatic impacts on gamete development. However, our understanding of their molecular conseq...doi.org

Excellent plenary on the evolutionary ecology of senescence in animals from Dan Nussey this morning at #ExE2026! If you liked that, you might enjoy his recent Essay on the evolutionary genetic and physiological theories of aging in @plosbiology.org: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002513

Looking forward to a brilliant week of Evolution and Ecology at #ExE2026, hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social! I'm here from @plos.org (@plosone.org) so please feel free to come chat about publishing with us, or just to show off your research! 🦔🌱🧬🦊🦠🌲

Annesha is very knowledgeable and great to talk to about all things #publishing and #OpenScience! Highly recommend stopping her for a chat at @edopenresearch.bsky.social!

Great blog post from @plosone.org Associate Editor Daniel Parkes for #WorldOceanDay! everyone.plos.org/2026/06/08/w... It features a great mix of #climate and #conservation science, with interviews from @plos.org authors and editors. Read to the end to learn how YOU can help protect our oceans! 🔬🪸🌊

World Ocean Day 2026 - EveryONEThis blog was written by Daniel Parkes, Associate Editor in PLOS One. The ocean is a huge carbon sink, storing 30% of…everyone.plos.org

Please do feel free to stop me to chat about all things science and publishing at #ExE2026! As a Cornwall native, I'm also happy to recommend places to visit or the best places to buy a pasty!