Skip to Main Content
Search

Close
Search
Advanced Search
Search Menu
AI Discovery Assistant

Editor's Choice

Parallel and convergent evolution in genes underlying seasonal migration
Luz E Zamudio-Beltrán and others
Seasonal migration has fascinated scientists and natural historians for centuries. While the genetic basis of migration has been widely studied across different taxa, there is little consensus regarding which genomic regions play a role in the ability to migrate and whether they are similar across ...

Most read

Genetic structure and common ancestry expose the dingo-dog hybrid myth
Andrew R Weeks and others
The evolutionary history of canids has been shown to be complex, with hybridization and domestication confounding our understanding of speciation among various canid lineages. The dingo is a recent canid lineage that was completely isolated from other canids for over 5000 years on the Australian mainland, but the ...
Parallel and convergent evolution in genes underlying seasonal migration
Luz E Zamudio-Beltrán and others
Seasonal migration has fascinated scientists and natural historians for centuries. While the genetic basis of migration has been widely studied across different taxa, there is little consensus regarding which genomic regions play a role in the ability to migrate and whether they are similar across species. Here, we examine ...
Hiding in plain sight: the Y chromosome and its reinvigorated role in evolutionary processes
Wouter van der Bijl and Judith E Mank
Recent methodological approaches have expanded our understanding of Y chromosome sequence, revealed unexpected Y diversity, and sparked a growing realization of its importance in evolutionary processes. To fully understand the diversity and importance of the Y chromosome, we suggest the need to move from a holotype Y ...
Drosophila melanogaster pigmentation demonstrates adaptive phenotypic parallelism over multiple spatiotemporal scales
Skyler Berardi and others
Defining the predictability and pace of adaptation in wild populations are key aims of evolutionary biology, and we explored these dynamics using Drosophila melanogaster abdominal pigmentation as a model phenotype. We sought to understand whether pigmentation patterns vary in a consistent manner across three independent spatiotemporal axes: wild populations sampled over a latitudinal cline, wild populations sampled across seasons, and experimental populations sampled across seasons in field mesocosms. We measured abdominal melanization patterns following common garden treatment and found that pigmentation evolves as a parallel response across all scales, in which reduced melanization is associated with warmer temperatures. These patterns were also associated with variation in known pigmentation genes. The parallel shifts in pigmentation across shared environmental axes provide strong evidence that this complex trait is evolving adaptively; thus, we demonstrate for the first time that pigmentation adapts predictably to environmental variation over ecological timescales.
Reproductive output of old males is limited by seminal fluid, not sperm number
Krish Sanghvi and others
What causes an old male to reproductively fail? Is it his sperm or seminal fluid? In fruit flies, old males produce fewer offspring than young males. But surprisingly, old males are not sperm limited. Instead, the reproductive decline is caused by females storing fewer sperm of old males. But why do females store fewer sperm of old males? Possibly because old males lack high-quality seminal fluid, which we demonstrate by rescuing the fertility of old males after supplementing the female with a young male’s seminal fluid.

Latest Articles

Replicate geographic transects across a hybrid zone reveal parallelism and differences in the genetic architecture of reproductive isolation
Georgy Semenov and others
Published: 07 May 2025
Determining the genetic architecture of traits involved in adaptation and speciation is one of the key components of understanding the evolutionary mechanisms behind biological diversification. Hybrid zones provide a unique opportunity to use genetic admixture to identify traits and loci ...
Correction to: Positive correlations in susceptibility to a diverse panel of viruses across Drosophilidae host species
Published: 11 April 2025
This is a correction to: Ryan M Imrie, Megan A Wallace, Ben Longdon, Positive correlations in susceptibility to a diverse panel of viruses across Drosophilidae host species, Evolution Letters , 2025, qraf002, https://doi.org/10.1093/evlett/qraf002 In the originally published version of this ...
Drosophila melanogaster pigmentation demonstrates adaptive phenotypic parallelism over multiple spatiotemporal scales
Skyler Berardi and others
Published: 08 April 2025
Defining the predictability and pace of adaptation in wild populations are key aims of evolutionary biology, and we explored these dynamics using Drosophila melanogaster abdominal pigmentation as a model phenotype. We sought to understand whether pigmentation patterns vary in a consistent manner across three independent spatiotemporal axes: wild populations sampled over a latitudinal cline, wild populations sampled across seasons, and experimental populations sampled across seasons in field mesocosms. We measured abdominal melanization patterns following common garden treatment and found that pigmentation evolves as a parallel response across all scales, in which reduced melanization is associated with warmer temperatures. These patterns were also associated with variation in known pigmentation genes. The parallel shifts in pigmentation across shared environmental axes provide strong evidence that this complex trait is evolving adaptively; thus, we demonstrate for the first time that pigmentation adapts predictably to environmental variation over ecological timescales.
Landscape structure as a driver of eco-evolution in host–parasite systems
Jhelam N Deshpande and others
Published: 01 April 2025
Spatial network structure of biological systems drives ecology and evolution by distributing organisms and their genes. The ubiquitous host–parasite systems are no exception. However, past theoretical work has largely focused on simple spatial structures, such as grids, hampering the translation of ...
Do the “big four” orders of insects comprise evolutionarily significant higher taxa with coherent patterns of selection on protein-coding genes?
Pierre J Février and Timothy G Barraclough
Published: 06 March 2025
Higher taxa are normally considered to be arbitrary levels in the branching tree of life, with no level having greater or lesser significance for evolutionary processes than any other. But are some higher taxa more significant than others for evolution? This article asks whether the big four orders of holometabolous insects comprise evolutionarily significant units showing divergent but internally conserved patterns of selection on protein-coding genes.
Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief
Judith Mank, University of British Columbia, Canada
Editorial Board

-

Impact Factor

3.4

5 year Impact Factor

4.8

SI: Evolutionary Biology

14 out of 54

Find out more

Publish with Us

Submit your paper to Evolution Letters today! Benefits include:

  • Streamlined submission

  • High quality peer review

  • Global readership

  • Rapid publication times

  • Open access waivers

Find out more

Find out more

Special Issue: Evolutionary Adaptation to Climate Change

Through the contributions in this Special Issue, we explore the major factors influencing how populations adapt to climate change adaptation and provide a roadmap for future research that will help us predict adaptive responses to a changing world.

Find out more

Editorial board
Meet the Evolution Letters Editorial Board

Meet the Editorial Board

Learn more about the team behind the journal.

Editorial board

Find out more
Open Access

Open access

All articles published by Evolution Letters are fully open access: immediately freely available to read, download and share. Find out more about our publication fees, waivers and discounts in preparation for submission. 

Find out more

Submit to Evolution Letters

Submit your work

Submit your manuscript for consideration to be included in a 2023 issue of Evolution Letters.  

 Review Author Guidelines

Submission Site

Sign up
Alerts in the Inbox

Email alerts

Register to receive table of contents email alerts as soon as new issues of Evolution Letters are published online.

Sign up

 

More from ESEB

Visit the conference website

ESEB 2025

Join us from 17-22 August 2025, in Barcelona, Spain, for the 2025 Congress of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology.

Visit the conference website

Visit the JMS Prize website
Prize winner

John Maynard Smith Prize

Every year the European Society for Evolutionary Biology distinguishes an outstanding young evolutionary biologist with the John Maynard Smith (JMS) Prize.  In 2023, the winner is Dr Paul Jay, postdoctoral fellow at Copenhagen and Berkeley. Paul will give the 2023 JMS prize lecture at the ESEB Congress in 2025.

Visit the JMS Prize website

ESEB logo

ESEB Social Media

Never miss a call, deadline or news announcement from the Society! 

Join now!
Join now

Join our society!

ESEB brings together thousands of evolutionary biologists worldwide via our initiatives and international congresses.

Being an ESEB member qualifies you for benefits such as:

  • Reduced registration fee at ESEB congresses
  • 30% discount on the Article Publication Charge for Evolution Letters
  • ESEB travel awards, mobility grants, and prizes

Join now!

More from SSE

Find out more 
EELS program

EELS program

The Evolution English Language Support (EELS) Program from SSE offers free, light touch editing for authors submitting to Evolution for whom English is not their preferred language.

Find out more 

Evolution 2025

Evolution 2025 is the joint meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the Society for the Study of Evolution. The meeting is one of the premiere international opportunities for sharing research on evolutionary biology.  The conference will be held in 2 parts:  A virtual conference May 29-30, and an in-person conference in  Athens, GA, USA on June 20-24, 2025. Registration is now open!

Find out more

SSE logo

Become an SSE member

Join the Society for the Study of Evolution today and benefit from: 

  • Free traditional publication in Evolution 

  • Free online access to Evolution 

  • 50% discount on open access publication fees for SSE members when publishing in Evolution 

  • 30% discount on open access publication fees for SSE members when publishing in Evolution Letters

Find out more

Learn more
International Symposia Series

International Symposia Series

Connect with local evolutionary biologists in our International Symposia Series. Each symposium is geared toward an evolutionary biology community in a particular region of the world and features local early career researchers and senior researchers.

Learn more

Find out more

Student Research Grants

SSE offers research grants for early and advanced PhD students. Deadlines are in the spring and fall. Awards are up to $2500 for early PhD students and $3500 for advanced PhD students.

Find out more

Read more
Student Research Grants

SSE Presidents' Award for Outstanding Dissertation Paper in Evolution

Congratulations to Michael Itgen for his winning paper, “Genome size drives morphological evolution in organ-specific ways." 

Read more

Visit the blog
Evolution Letters Editor's Blog

Editor's Blog

Explore the Evolution Letters editors’ blog, where you will find regular updates on our journal content, news and discussion, and posts from our editors.

Visit the blog

Find out more
Author resources

Author resources

Learn about how to submit your article, our publishing process, and tips on how to promote your article.

Find out more

Altmetrics
Altmetric logo

Altmetrics

Discover a more complete picture of how readers engage with research in Evolution Letters through Altmetric data. Now available on article pages.

Find out more about SSE and ESEB

A journal of the ESEB and SSE

Evolution Letters is jointly owned by the European Society of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) and the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). 

Find out more about ESEB
Find out more about SSE

Related Titles

Cover image of current issue from EvolutionEvolution Cover image of current issue from Journal of Evolutionary BiologyJournal of Evolutionary Biology Cover image of current issue from Molecular Biology and EvolutionMolecular Biology and Evolution Cover image of current issue from Systematic BiologySystematic Biology Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean SocietyEvolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society Cover image of current issue from Journal of HeredityJournal of Heredity Cover image of current issue from G3 Genes|Genomes|GeneticsG3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics Cover image of current issue from Botanical Journal of the Linnean SocietyBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society Cover image of current issue from Behavioral EcologyBehavioral Ecology Cover image of current issue from Integrative and Comparative BiologyIntegrative and Comparative Biology
  • Online ISSN 2056-3744
  • Copyright © 2025 European Society for Evolutionary Biology and Society for the Study of Evolution

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close