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Abby Williams

@abbyevewilliams

PhD student studying bird evolution πŸ¦œπŸ¦‹πŸ§¬evolution, genomics, conservation

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23.11.2024
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Latest posts by Abby Williams @abbyevewilliams

Screenshot of the EGI seminars You-tube Channel

Screenshot of the EGI seminars You-tube Channel

We've uploaded recordings of many of our seminars over the last few months to our You-tube channel, including from @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social, Kristen Ruegg, Daniel Field, @jon-slate.bsky.social, Paul Acker, @thelabandfield.bsky.social & @kokkonut.bsky.social - Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/@EGIOxford

08.03.2026 12:58 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Island species as models for small population biology and conservation

We have published a preprint entitled β€œIsland species as models for small population biology and conservation.” 🏝️🩡🌍

1/3

ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

07.03.2026 19:25 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
seminar announcement with photos of speakers and talk titles

seminar announcement with photos of speakers and talk titles

The integration of speciation seminar series is restarting, with the first session coming up on *Tuesday March 3rd @ 5pm CET*, featuring two talks by @naturalselection.bsky.social and @andreaestandia.bsky.social + career Q&A with @markravinet.bsky.social as part of the ECR in Speciation theme.

25.02.2026 16:29 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

Yes! It will be recorded and we can share the link after the seminar.

20.02.2026 10:01 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Oxford friends! I'm giving the @egioxford.bsky.social seminar on Friday. Pop along! egioxford.web.ox.ac.uk/event/adrift...

15.02.2026 20:59 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
SMALL GRANTS FOR LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN BANDING CERTIFICATION SESSIONS

Grants are restricted to applicants from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Deadline: March 31, 2026

Apply here: www.animalecology.org/grants

Pictures: AFO and NABC logos

SMALL GRANTS FOR LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN BANDING CERTIFICATION SESSIONS Grants are restricted to applicants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Deadline: March 31, 2026 Apply here: www.animalecology.org/grants Pictures: AFO and NABC logos

Attention, Latin American community! The North American Banding Council (NABC) is soliciting applications for small grants that support the development and certification of Latin American and Caribbean bird banders.

Apply here: www.animalecology.org/grants

13.02.2026 15:07 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This week's EGI seminar will be given by Prof Jon Slate @jon-slate.bsky.social of @sheffielduni.bsky.social at 3.30 on Fri 30 Jan in LT1 in LaMB @biology.ox.ac.uk. OK, it's not quite birds, but our colleagues' work on @soaysheep.bsky.social has much in common with what we do. All welcome: details ⬇️

26.01.2026 16:56 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

I am very happy to announce that my first PhD paper has been published today at the Journal of Animal Ecology!!!

It is on how three penguin species have been shifting their breeding times in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic in response to climate change. They are the fastest birds in doing so!

20.01.2026 19:59 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Life cycle complexity shapes parasite sharing amongst migratory and resident hosts Migratory animals are potentially important parasite dispersers. However, understanding the impact of host migration on parasite distributions is challenging because variation in parasite life histori...

New preprint!

We explore how bird migration shapes parasite dispersal 🐀 🦠

Led by PhD student Sarah Nichols.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

15.01.2026 10:34 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Looking forward to an excellent series of seminars for the forthcoming term - programme now full till late March & will share programme very soon when we have a few last details. All seminars will be at 3.30 on Fridays in the Life & Mind Building (and usually streamed live)

11.01.2026 14:49 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you Arka!

10.01.2026 13:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Had a fab time this week at Pop Group @popgroup2026.bsky.social and stoked to have won a prize for my poster on hybridisation in island birds! πŸ§¬πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸοΈ #pgg59

09.01.2026 17:18 πŸ‘ 49 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

So exciting to see this out as a preprint (and proud to have played a small part during my undergrad thesis!) πŸ›

27.12.2025 15:02 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Visual stories from a bird marketplace | Current Conservation Current Conservation Visual stories from a bird marketplace

Proud to have my photo essay out in the publication Current Conservation. I got really into photography during my PhD including using a film camera. I hope it conveys some of the visual experience of being in a bird market and the sense of place. Enjoy 🐦

www.currentconservation.org/visual-stori...

20.12.2025 16:49 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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This week’s seminar will be given by Prof Daniel Field of @zoologymuseum.bsky.social & @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social on the origins of modern birds. 3.30pm Friday 28 Nov in LT1 in the Life & Mind Building @biology.ox.ac.uk - all welcome & see below for live streaming joining information

24.11.2025 09:19 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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We are delighted to announce our upcoming LGBTQ+ seminar given by Dr Ross Brooks who will be talking about his upcoming book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life! 2nd December @ 4pm in the Life and Mind Building, open to all members of Oxford university πŸ₯³πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ
@rossb-brighton.bsky.social #QueerBiology

20.11.2025 14:57 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4
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Save Geology at the University of Leicester Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

The geology department at the University of Leicester, where myself and countless others did our palaeontology PhDs, is at serious risk of closure

Please show your support by signing the below!

c.org/KtYyZB8dHk

19.11.2025 09:49 πŸ‘ 82 πŸ” 52 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 5
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1/ 🧡 I'm at #BOUasm25 A day at the museum to talk about using natural history collections to build inclusive community.
Natural history #museums are undergoing a renaissance of novel research.
However -who has access to collections? -who is being left out of biodiversity research?
#ornithology

18.11.2025 17:02 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Had a fab time at #BOUasm25 learning about how we can use avian museum collections in research and engagement πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ§¬πŸŒ±
@bou.org.uk

18.11.2025 18:29 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The tangled history of Liverpool’s White-eye bird collection illustrates the impacts of war, imperialism, and scientific legacy on museum archives and taxonomy.

πŸ”— doi.org/10.3897/nhcm...

14.11.2025 07:01 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

LGBTQ+ Journal Club is turning 1! πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆTo celebrate, here's a bit about what we've been up to over the past year: a thread of interesting papers in queer biology (1/n) β¬‡οΈπŸ§΅

11.11.2025 11:54 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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We're all looking forward to this week's seminar, being given by Kristen Ruegg from Colorado State University on the power of avian landscape genomics in the Genoscape Project. Seminar at 3.30pm on Friday 7 Nov in Lecture Theatre 1 in LaMB. Welcome in person or to join online - details ⬇️

03.11.2025 10:36 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3
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He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males

"The project that was terminated was on this hummingbird, the white-necked jacobin....I suspect that it has something to do with studying a species that doesn’t fit the binary." Researcher @jjinsing.bsky.social interviewed by @carlzimmer.com #birds #nature #science #fundscience #nonbinary πŸ§ͺ

31.10.2025 14:02 πŸ‘ 145 πŸ” 52 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4
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Now that we're properly moved in & set up in the new Life & Mind Building, we're pleased to restart our tradition of Friday afternoon seminar speakers, kicking off with Alex Thornton of @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social at 3.30pm on 31 Oct. Also live streamed: see below for details. Corvid-themed for πŸŽƒ

27.10.2025 09:28 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3
Quote card with image of Sarion Bowers, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Sanger Institute on right hand side. 
Quote says: At a time when the UK could be strengthening its global leadership through its science, we continue to deter scientists from coming to our country and we damage our global standing.

Quote card with image of Sarion Bowers, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Sanger Institute on right hand side. Quote says: At a time when the UK could be strengthening its global leadership through its science, we continue to deter scientists from coming to our country and we damage our global standing.

Immigration is critical for UK research and development. With other leading organisations, we have worked with @sciencecampaign.bsky.social to share insights about how the UK visa system impacts research.

Read the full statement, here ‡️

www.sanger.ac.uk/about/influe...

26.09.2025 14:13 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Islands Promote Diversification of the Silvereye Species Complex: A Phylogenomic Analysis of a Great Speciator Geographic isolation plays a pivotal role in speciation by restricting gene flow between populations through distance or physical barriers. However, the speciation process is complex, influenced by t...

Excited to share our new paper in Molecular Ecology! Using whole-genome and morphological data from silvereyes, we explore their evolutionary history and find that water barriers are more effective than continental distances in driving population divergence 🐀🧬
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

11.06.2025 13:35 πŸ‘ 37 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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Please share widely!
We are offering the 4th iteration of our free & online crash course in Evolutionary Biology, catered to students in the Global South! Join us this summer for an incredible line of up classes & tutorials from amazing graduate student researchers, covering a vast array of topics!

04.06.2025 08:43 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 5
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Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...

Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.

2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.

www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...

02.06.2025 16:08 πŸ‘ 50 πŸ” 76 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3
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Government digs grave for wildlife | The Wildlife Trusts New proposals on Biodiversity Net Gain from UK Government will harm whole communities so that a few can profit more.

Very disappointing to see the govt not only cut funding for nature-friendly farming schemes but ALSO lay out a consultation on changes to BNG which would reduce the requirement for the majority of developments to compensate for their impacts on nature.

www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/governm...

29.05.2025 09:37 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We're really looking forward to this seminar next week. More info and to register here: talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c1b...

@amydickman.bsky.social @wildcru.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk

13.05.2025 15:24 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0