The paper experiments on two sea urchin species to show sperm competition reduces fertilization success and increases F50, indicating antagonistic effects under sperm limitation.

bioRxiv · Oct 10, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology

A haplotype-resolved bluethroat (Luscinia s. svecica) genome assembly uncovers the complex MHC region

Marius A. Strand, Emily Louise Gilbert Enevoldsen, Ole K. Tørresen, Morten Skage, Giada Ferrari, Ave Tooming‐Klunderud, Erica H. Leder, Jan Terje Lifjeld, Arild Johnsen, Kjetill S. Jakobsen

The paper presents a haplotype-resolved genome assembly of a bluethroat, revealing structural complexity in the MHC region.

bioRxiv · Mar 30, 2026 · PreprintGenomics

Independent evolution of atypical sperm morphology in a passerine bird, the red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis temporalis)

Melissah Rowe, Daniel M. Hooper, Antje Hofgaard, Laura Leilani Hurley, Callum S. McDiarmid, Ioanna Pataraia, Jan Terje Lifjeld, Simon Charles Griffith

The paper reports an evolutionary shift in sperm morphology in the red-browed finch, similar to bullfinches, and suggests relaxed sexual selection may explain this change.

Journal of Evolutionary Biology · Jul 4, 2025Peer-reviewedEvolutionary Biology

Assessing reliability and accuracy of qPCR, dPCR and ddPCR for estimating mtDNA copy number in songbird blood and sperm cells

Laima Bagdonaitė, Erica H. Leder, Jan Terje Lifjeld, Arild Johnsen, Quentin Mauvisseau

This study compares qPCR, dPCR, and ddPCR for mtDNA copy number estimation in songbird blood and sperm, finding ddPCR most reliable for low-abundance samples.

bioRxiv · Nov 8, 2024 · PreprintMolecular Biology