Lizard genetics provide new perspective on evolution

University of Queensland

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Some colourful lizards and a mathematical formula from the finance sector have been used to build a new framework to model evolution.

Developed by Dr Simone Blomberg from The University of Queensland’s School of the Environment, it is the first mathematical model to combine short-term natural selection (microevolution) with the way species evolve over millions of years (macroevolution).

“There has been a big debate about whether microevolution can explain all of macroevolution,” Dr Blomberg said.

“We can now resolve the debate with a model that incorporates both, while tracking the way traits within a species change together over time.

“The model will allow researchers to study how traits and their genetic relationships evolve over both short and long timescales.”

The new evolutionary model borrows mathematics developed to illustrate share portfolios and how the share prices of different companies are related to each other over time.

“Economics has been a source of ideas in evolutionary biology since the time of Charles Darwin more than 160 years ago,” Dr Blomberg said.

In this study a dataset of the genetic traits and evolution of a genus of Central American lizard, called Anolis, was applied to the share portfolio equations.

“There are 7 species of these colourful and small Anolis lizards with data on the variations in 8 traits, including leg bone lengths, jaw size and head width,” Dr Blomberg said.

“We fitted the business mathematical model to the lizard data, which was very exciting.

“For the first time, the relationship between the traits as they evolved together into the different species of Anolis can be expressed in a mathematical model.

“We were able to use advanced geometrical methods to trace the evolution of the Anolis species, keeping true to the genetic relationships among traits.

“This area of mathematics is not well known among biologists, but it proved essential in uniting the micro- and macro-evolutionary frameworks.”

Dr Blomberg wants other scientists to now use the model and explore its possibilities.

“I want this mathematical model to be tested with datasets of more species,” she said.

“It can be used to test theories about trait convergence and the role of natural selection in shaping the evolutionary history of organisms.”

The research has been published in Evolution Letters which also published the Anolis lizard dataset collated by a team led by Virginia Tech.

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Journal

Evolution Letters

DOI

10.1093/evlett/qraf037 

Article Title

Multivariate Trait Evolution: Models for the Evolution of the Quantitative Genetic G-Matrix on Phylogenies.

Article Publication Date

8-Oct-2025

 

Method to assess the status of wild reindeer may help with conservation efforts

Wiley

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Reindeer are iconic in the Arctic and subarctic, but their numbers are declining. As described in research published in Wildlife Monographs, investigators developed an environmental quality standard, or norm, for reindeer populations to evaluate their overall status, and gave them simple status categories of poor, medium, and good.

The standard has indices for the status of population performance, lichen resources, and human-related habitat loss and fragmentation. The scientists implemented their environmental quality standard for 10 national and 14 smaller wild reindeer areas in Norway. They found that only 1 population had a good status; 11 populations were ranked as medium and 12 as poor.

The research team hopes that the environmental quality standard can be used in management efforts aimed at securing the long-term conservation of wild reindeer.

“We are at a critical moment for reindeer conservation, and we hope that the quality standard will clearly convey the urgency of the situation and provide both incentive and guidance for action,” said corresponding author Atle Mysterud, PhD, of the University of Oslo.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wmon.70005

 

Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
Wildlife Monographs focuses on comprehensive syntheses of topics in wildlife science, management, and conservation. Research topics include wildlife biology and ecology, habitat use, demographics, genetics, behavior, quantitative analyses, and more areas relevant to wildlife management and conservation. Our emphasis is on aligning research with contemporary conservation and management issues and informing practitioners. We welcome extensive reviews, meta-analyses, interdisciplinary studies, and special topics. Wildlife Monographs is a journal by The Wildlife Society.

About Wiley
Wiley is a global leader in authoritative content, data-driven insights, and knowledge services that advance science and learning. For more than 200 years, we’ve empowered researchers, learners and institutions worldwide to drive progress and solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Visit us at Wiley.com and Investors.Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Journal

Wildlife Monographs

DOI

10.1002/wmon.70005 

Article Title

A quality standard for conservation of wild reindeer

Article Publication Date

8-Oct-2025

 

Record-breaking 2024 Amazon fires drive unprecedented carbon emissions and ecosystem degradation

European Geosciences Union

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image: 

Pan-Amazon map showing newly detected large-scale forest degradation in 2024, primarily driven by fires, along with country-level trends in deforestation, forest degradation, and forest fires from 2022 to 2024 (source: Bourgoin et al., 2025)

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Credit: Bourgoin et. al

A new study by researchers at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre reveals that the Amazon rainforest has just undergone its most devastating forest fire season in over two decades, which triggered record-breaking carbon emissions and exposed the region’s growing ecological fragility despite a slowing trend in deforestation. The 2024 fires released an estimated 791 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which roughly equates to the annual emissions of Germany. This marks a sevenfold increase from the average of the previous two years.

According to the study published today in Biogeosciences, 3.3 million hectares of Amazon forest were impacted by fires last year alone. This extraordinary surge in fire activity is likely driven by a combination of extreme drought stress exacerbated by climate change, forest fragmentation, and land-use mismanagement (e.g., escape fires or criminal fires by land grabbers), leading to significant forest degradation. For the first time in the analysis covering 2022–2024, fire-induced degradation has overtaken deforestation as the primary driver of carbon emissions in the Amazon.

This research draws on a sophisticated satellite-based methodology that overcomes many of the limitations of previous global fire datasets. By combining data from the Tropical Moist Forest monitoring system with the Global Wildfire Information System and filtering out false signals caused by agricultural fires or cloud cover, scientists were able to detect and verify fire-driven forest degradation with a novel level of precision.

The geographical spread of the fires was equally alarming. In Brazil, 2024 marked the highest level of emissions from forest degradation on record. In Bolivia, fires affected over 9% of the country’s remaining intact forest cover, which is a dramatic blow to a region that has historically served as a vital biodiversity reservoir and carbon sink.

To ensure scientific rigor and transparency, the researchers used a Monte Carlo simulation framework to estimate carbon emissions and their uncertainties. across variables such as above-ground biomass density, combustion completeness, and the percentage of forest cover affected by fire. The resulting confidence intervals adhere to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) best practices and offer a robust benchmark for tracking the carbon consequences of forest fires in tropical regions.

While past reports have highlighted the dangers of deforestation, this study spotlights a more insidious threat: fire-driven degradation that erodes forest integrity without necessarily clearing it. Degraded forests may look intact from above, but they lose a significant portion of their biomass and ecological function. Unlike clear-cut areas, these degraded forests often fall through the cracks of national accounting systems and international policy frameworks.

The study calls for immediate and coordinated action to reduce fire use, strengthen forest protection policies, and support local and Indigenous stewardship efforts. It also highlights the need for enhanced international climate finance mechanisms that recognize and address forest degradation, not just deforestation.


Press contact:
EGU Media and Engagement Manager Asmae Ourkiya      
Email: media@egu.eu

About the EGU

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU publishes a number of diverse scientific journals that use an innovative open access format and organises topical meetings plus education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting more than 20,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources.

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Journal

Biogeosciences

DOI

10.5194/bg-22-5247-2025 

Article Title

Extensive fire-driven degradation in 2024 marks worst Amazon forest disturbance in over 2 decades

Article Publication Date

8-Oct-2025

Does prior incarceration contribute to poor health later in life?

Wiley

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A recent analysis reveals that older adults with prior incarceration report worse physical and mental health than their peers, even if they were incarcerated in the distant past. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Among the 1,318 US adults aged 50 years and older who responded to the Family History of Incarceration Survey, 21% had been incarcerated. Formerly incarcerated older adults were more likely to be men, non-Hispanic Black or “other” race/ethnicity, meet criteria for disability, be unmarried, and have lower income and education compared with those never incarcerated.

After adjusting for potentially confounding factors like demographics and socioeconomics, prior incarceration was associated with an approximately 90% higher odds of reporting “fair” or “poor” physical health. Length of time since incarceration did not moderate the association, meaning that even those incarcerated more than 10 years ago had equally poor self-reported health. The association with mental health was explained in part by income and employment.

The findings suggest that clinicians could consider screening for incarceration history and connecting formerly incarcerated patients to services and organizations that serve this community.

“Mass incarceration began in 1973, so older adults have spent most of their adult lives in this era and millions have been incarcerated in the past. It is critical to understand how incarceration—even in the distant past—may affect the health of older adults and what we can do to improve their health,” said corresponding author Louisa W. Holaday, MD, MHS, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.70069

 

 

Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) is the go-to journal for clinical aging research. We provide a diverse, interprofessional community of healthcare professionals with the latest insights on geriatrics education, clinical practice, and public policy — all supporting the high-quality, person-centered care essential to our well-being as we age.

About Wiley
Wiley is a global leader in authoritative content, data-driven insights, and knowledge services that advance science and learning. For more than 200 years, we’ve empowered researchers, learners and institutions worldwide to drive progress and solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Visit us at Wiley.com and Investors.Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Journal

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

DOI

10.1111/jgs.70069 

Article Title

The long shadow of incarceration: the association of incarceration history with self-reported health among older adults

Article Publication Date

8-Oct-2025