Smart genetic analysis made fast and easy

Post provided by: Salvador Herrando-Pérez

If you use genetics to differentiate populations, the new package smartsnp might be your new best friend. Written in R language and available from GitHub and CRAN, this package performs principal component analysis with control for genetic drift, projects ancient samples onto modern genetic space, and tests for population differences in genotypes. The package can load big datasets and run complex stats in the blink of an eye.

In this post, Salvador Herrando-Pérez discusses the features of this new package which is fully described in the new paper “smartsnp, an R package for fast multivariate analyses of big genomic data” recently published in Methods in Ecology & Evolution.

Ben WhittakerAugust 11, 2021August 11, 2021Leave a comment

Journal Issues

August Issue Out Now!

Our August Issue is now available online! Featuring methods for monitoring deep sea benthic habitats, simulating host–symbiont evolution, measuring microclimates & many more! Read on to discover our featured articles, specially selected by Senior Editor Aaron Ellison, plus find out more about the Applications and Practical Tools articles we have in this issue. Featured Articles treeducken *open access* Cophylogenetic methods describe discordance between non-independent phylogenies. … Continue reading August Issue Out Now!

India StephensonAugust 4, 2021August 9, 2021Leave a comment

Special Interest Group

Data manipulation and statistical analysis in palaeoecology: an unexpected journey

Post provided by Midori Yajima

Midori Yajima graduated from an MSc in Ecology with a project on palaeoecology and decided to join the online workshop Data Manipulation and Statistical Analysis in Palaeoecology: A Masterclass in R, set up by the Palaeoecology Special Interest Group (PalaeoSIG). In this post, Midori discusses some highlights from the workshop and emphasises the importance of a research community when navigating the programming realm.

Chloe V. RobinsonJuly 26, 2021Leave a comment

Road to COP26

Road to COP26: Antarctic moss – an unusual tool in climate change research

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) will be held in Glasgow in November, and now more than ever before, the pressure is on for world leaders to agree on climate action to keep global warming below 1.5°c. In the lead up to the conference, we’re asking our editors and authors to share their research at the interface of climate and ecology. In this post, … Continue reading Road to COP26: Antarctic moss – an unusual tool in climate change research

India StephensonJuly 19, 2021Leave a comment

Journal Issues

July Issue Out Now!

Summer is here in London, which means it’s time for our July issue! Featuring methods for documenting predator hunting behaviour, identifying plant species, monitoring small nocturnal mammal species & many more! Read on to discover our featured articles, specially selected by Senior Editor Bob O’Hara, plus find out more about the Applications and Practical Tools articles we have in this issue. Featured Articles Protein quantification … Continue reading July Issue Out Now!

India StephensonJuly 1, 2021Leave a comment

LGBTQ+

Rainbow Research: All Colours of Pride

Post provided by Gawain Antell

To celebrate UK Pride Month, the British Ecological Society journal blogs are posting a ‘Rainbow Research’ series, which aims to promote visibility of STEM researchers from the LGBTQ+ community. Each post will be connected to a theme represented by one of the colours shown in the Progress Pride flag. In this post, Gawain Antell describes the process of sewing a Progress Pride flag with science-themed fabric, while stitching together the identities of being an aromantic asexual palaeobiologist.

Chloe V. RobinsonJune 28, 2021February 9, 20241 Comment

LGBTQ+

Rainbow Research: Transgender Pride

Post provided by Daniel Trotter

To celebrate UK Pride Month, the British Ecological Society journal blogs are posting a ‘Rainbow Research’ series, which aims to promote visibility of STEM researchers from the LGBTQ+ community. Each post will be connected to a theme represented by one of the colours shown in the Progress Pride flag. In this post, Daniel Trotter discusses his research on physics and computational neuroscience under the Progress Pride flag theme of ‘Transgender Pride’.

Ben WhittakerJune 15, 2021June 15, 2021Leave a comment

MEEin3

MEEin3 – Our New Podcast Launches Today!

We are very excited to announce the launch of our new podcast! Listen to MEEin3 to hear the latest methods in ecology and evolution in just three minutes.

Got three minutes to spare? Listen now to the pilot episode, in which Dr Chloe Robinson tells us about her method for preserving benthic arthropods for DNA metabarcoding.

India StephensonJune 4, 2021September 15, 2022Leave a comment

LGBTQ+

Rainbow Research: Harmony

Post provided by Adrian Monthony

To celebrate UK Pride Month, the British Ecological Society journal blogs are posting a ‘Rainbow Research’ series, which aims to promote visibility of STEM researchers from the LGBTQ+ community. Each post will be connected to a theme represented by one of the colours shown in the Progress Pride flag. In this post, Adrian Monthony discusses his Cannabis tissue culture research under the Progress Pride flag theme of ‘Harmony’.

Ben WhittakerJune 3, 2021June 3, 20212 Comments

Journal Issues

June Issue Out Now!

The sixth issue of the year of Methods in Ecology and Evolution is out now! This issue features four Applications and one Practical Tools article, as well as methods for standardising biologging data, marking mosquitoes, calculating heterogeneity indices and much more. And scroll down to find out the story behind the sleepy seal on this month’s cover! Featured Articles Distance sampling of high-density species Line-transect … Continue reading June Issue Out Now!

India StephensonJune 2, 2021June 2, 2021Leave a comment