Melanie Brien

Melanie Brien

@melbrien.bsky.social

Research Fellow at University of Helsinki ~ Evolution, genomics, lepidoptera, all things colour🦋 PI helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/colourful-insect-genomics

663 followers435 following20 posts

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

A few summers ago, we individually reared 1200 wood tiger moth caterpillars with the aim to understand the associations and genetic basis of different traits; colour, chemical defences, behaviour, pheromones and more. The results are here!

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social

Independent major-effect loci and limited trait associations characterise warning colour variation across sexes and life stages in the wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.03.729769v1

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

Is wing colour polymorphism maintained by other linked traits within a supergene? It doesn't seem like it - traits are mostly controlled by independent loci. Hindwing melanisation was linked to morph colour in males though, and in females, red colour was phenotypically related to pheromone amount.

Melanie Brien reposted

Johanna Mappes
@jmappes.bsky.social

And here is the working link: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

jobs.helsinki.fiPostdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics & Ecology of Colour and PerformancePostdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics & Ecology of Colour and Performance
Johanna Mappes@jmappes.bsky.social

Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas. Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...

Melanie Brien reposted

Gloria Murari
@gloriamurari.bsky.social

Are you a bachelor's / master's student looking for a thesis project or Erasmus Internship? We’re looking for someone to come and help us collecting data! If you’re interested, feel free to contact me! :)

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

Exciting biophysics PhD and supervisor dream team 🦋

Nicola Nadeau@nicolanadeau.bsky.social

We are looking for a physics/maths graduate with an interest in biology, or a biology graduate with strong computational/mathematical skills/interests, to join us as a PhD student working on biomechanical modelling of butterfly wing scale structure formation www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

10 days left to apply! 👀

Melanie Brien@melbrien.bsky.social

Funded PhD position available 🎉 Come and work with me in Helsinki to uncover the pathways producing colourful tiger moth wings. Lots of options for genomics, CRISPR, fieldwork, behaviour experiments… Email with questions! jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

Excited to soon start my new role as Academy of Finland Research Fellow 🦋🐛I’ll later be advertising a PhD position on tiger moth colour and genomics, and will be speaking at #ESEB2025 this week if you want an idea of what’s going on!

Melanie Brien
@melbrien.bsky.social

Happy to play a small role in this nice paper, and hope to visit this region one day!

Bibiana Rojas@biobiiana.bsky.social

✴️ NEW PAPER! ✴️ In the beautiful Caucasian mountains of 🇬🇪 lives a moth whose wing colour variation (🔴🟠🟡) has intrigued us for ages. Here (doi.org/10.1111/1744...), we studied whether such variation is associated with 🧬 structure or other traits such as size. (1/3)

Melanie Brien reposted

Michal Barták
@michalbartak.bsky.social

🚨New paper on tropical moth pollination 🧵1/8 - What happens in tropical ecosystems when the day ends?🌔🦋 Our new review that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote highlights moths’ vital role in pollination and outlines research gaps, challenges and biases. Sharing valued! Link: doi.org/10.1017/S026...

doi.orgWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems | Journal of Tropical Ecology | Cambridge CoreWhen the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems - Volume 41

Melanie Brien reposted

Johanna Mappes
@jmappes.bsky.social

🧪Why does warning signal variability persist in #aposematic species? Our new @sse-evolution.bsky.social paper explores this using data from 64,741 🤯 A.plantaginis, raised over 25 generations. Spoiler: no evidence that life-history traits constrain warning colours! academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

academic.oup.comEvolutionary potential and constraints in an aposematic species: Genetic correlations between warning coloration and fitness components in wood tiger mothsAbstract. Variability in warning signals is common but remains puzzling since deviations from the most common form should result in a higher number of pred

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