Taya de Blonk

PhD student @ NCSU studying the evolution of fish species

[Taya de Blonk @evolutionoftaya]

@BBM_Wong That looks amazing!!

[Sebastian S. Cocioba🪄🌷 @ATinyGreenCell]

A horseshoe crab couple just laid their eggs for the season. Peak evolutionary design; unchanged for a quarter-billion years.

[Fish in the News @FishInTheNews]

Conservation genomics offers new hope for the Pecos pupfish (𝐶𝑦𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠), a vulnerable species uniquely adapted to the harsh, salty springs and gypsum sinkholes of the Chihuahuan Desert in Texas and New Mexico, USA. Facing habitat loss, water scarcity, and hybridisation with invasive sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) via live bait release, this species has seen its range shrink dramatically.

🔓 https://t.co/ZQodDCppKG

Here, researchers use DNA sequencing to map the genetic diversity, population structure, and admixture of these pupfish across wild and refuge populations. The work reveals how isolated habitats have created distinct genetic groups with limited gene flow, with some populations showing signs of reduced diversity - warning signs of inbreeding and vulnerability to further decline. By documenting ongoing hybridisation threats and assessing effective population sizes, the researchers provide critical data for managers. These findings will help prioritise habitat protection, guide captive breeding programs, and support “genetic rescue” efforts to keep this desert icon swimming into the future.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
Conservation genomics of Pecos pupfish (𝐶𝑦𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠)

𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Dolan, E. P., Fields, A. T., Bean, M. G., Doege, R. L., Hatt, J. L., Conway, K. W., & Portnoy, D. S. (2026). Conservation genomics of Pecos pupfish (𝐶𝑦𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠). Journal of Fish Biology, 1–15. https://t.co/Q0Dw5cYVJO

𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
The Pecos pupfish, 𝐶𝑦𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠, is an imperilled freshwater fish found in arid regions of Texas and New Mexico (USA). The species faces multiple challenges to persistence including reductions in suitable habitat, water shortages, as well as hybridization and competition with an introduced congener (sheepshead minnow, 𝐶. 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠).

As part of the current management strategy, refuge populations, seeded with non-introgressed individuals collected from Texas, are maintained at the Fort Worth Zoo and on private property in West Texas. Therefore, assessments of standing genetic variation within and among wild and refuge populations and levels of admixture in the wild are critical for future conservation and management planning. Fin clips were acquired in 10 locations in the wild, five in Texas, five in New Mexico and from two refuge populations in Texas (one maintained by Fort Worth Zoo and another on a private property in West Texas).

In Texas, non-introgressed 𝐶. 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠 were found in the wild at only one location Upper Salt Creek (USC); all other locations were composed of admixed individuals or non-introgressed 𝐶. 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠. No admixed individuals were found in New Mexico. Significant genetic heterogeneity was detected between all locations of non-introgressed 𝐶. 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠, including the refuge populations, and estimates of divergence between Texas locations (USC and refuge populations) and New Mexico locations were relatively large (FST: 0.23–0.32). Estimates of contemporary effective population size for USC and the two refuge populations were less than 50, but greater than 500 for all New Mexico populations.

In summation, while New Mexico populations look secure, the data suggest that 𝐶. 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠 in Texas is currently imperilled by the threat of hybridization, as well as potential loss of genetic diversity on contemporary time scales. Deep divergence between Texas (including refuge populations) and New Mexico suggests that further study would be needed prior to any management plans that would involve assisted gene flow between the regions.

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
Photographs of select individuals of 𝐶𝑦𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠 (a–f, males on left, females on right), a potential hybrid between 𝐶. 𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠 x 𝐶. 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 (g), and 𝐶. 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 (h–i, male on left, female on right). (a, b) TCWC 20594.01, private ranch, Reeves Co., TX; C, D, TCWC 20596.01, Salt Creek at private ranch, Reeves Co., TX (USC); (e) F, Bitter Lake, Chaves Co., NM (AMN), not preserved; (g) TCWC 20597.01, female, Salt Creek, Reeves Co., TX (LSC); (h, i) TCWC uncat., Balmorhea Lake, Reeves Co., TX.

© 2026 the Author(s). Published in the Journal of Fish Biology. This paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) licence.

#Cyprinodon #Pupfish #Ichthyology #PecosPupfish #Biodiversity #Conservation #Hybrids #Hybridization #Freshwater #FreshwaterConservation #ChihuahuanDesert #Texas #NewMexico #USA #SaltSprings #GypsumSinkholes #IUCNRedList #VulnerableSpecies #SheepsheadMinnow #SheepsheadPuphead #LiveBait #InvasiveSpecies #Anglers #Fishing

[Taya de Blonk @evolutionoftaya]

I'm trying to win a DS-11 FX+ Spectrophotometer / Fluorometer from @denovix, recipient of the SelectScience Diamond Seal of Quality! https://t.co/Xiw1BwCKNn #DeNovix #DiamondDS11

[Fish in the News @FishInTheNews]

An interesting study on the best practices for the husbandry and breeding of Sulawesi ricefishes within lab settings, that hobbyists may find useful - Recommendation of scientific fish husbandry: Sulawesi ricefishes (Adrianichthyidae)
🔓 (direct PDF) - https://t.co/xhvWisOaab

[DNLt @dnltbing]

Ecological and social pressures drive same-sex sexual behaviour in non-human primates [Coxshall et al. 2026]

https://t.co/BJ7LPmwsOv

[Behavioral Ecology @BehavEcol]

Maternal care shapes an aposematic display and provides lifelong protection against predators
#ParentalCare #PredatorPreyInteractions #Beetle #Insect

https://t.co/ht09gdIx5i

[PNASNews @PNASNews]

How do new species form in isolation? A large-scale pond experiment with stickleback fish shows that competition with sculpin drives adaptive divergence and reproductive isolation, revealing how ecological forces can spark speciation in allopatry. In PNAS: https://t.co/ihCesFEn34

[Katy Knecht @KnechtKaty]

The NSF GRFP solicitation has been posted. Only first year graduate students are allowed to apply (and undergrads). What about all the second-year students who have been working hard on their applications for months!? And to give absolutely no notice or explanation is absurd!

[Yuto @Yuto061199]

採集人生において過去一デケエの取れたわ

[🦎Visceral🪶 (Suchian enjoyer🐊) @Visceral9000]

Kinda going under the radar but someone caught a video of a sperm whale eating a “relatively intact” giant squid

Utterly incredible

[John P. Sullivan @halooie1]

Who knew such cuteness was lurking in the eastern Pacific abyssal zone? This is the bumpy snailfish, Careproctus colliculi n. sp. described by Gerringer et al. in Ichs & Herps., sequences now in GenBank. https://t.co/HWeqaQwYMc

[Emily Troyer 🐠🐟🐡 @Fish_Fetisher]

Excited to announce that the 1st paper from my postdoc is now out in @CurrentBiology Using a large dataset of 3D preserved fossils, we explore the diversification of jaws in early bony fishes. 1/15
https://t.co/qUteZPnrRr

[Dr Alice C loves lungfish (she/her) @DrAliceClement]

"Macroevolutionary role reversals in the earliest radiation of bony fishes", led by @Fish_Fetisher Emily Troyer & Rafael Rivero-Vega (Current Biology) examines 86 species of early bony fish lower jaw shape variation, rates of evo & Mech Adv through time. https://t.co/Lfdf96xqDg

[Taylor McCoy 🦖 @TM9380]

fish and, yet, Hyneria existed at the same time and even preyed upon its more derived cousin. Overlap between more basal and more derived forms is nothing new.

[Taylor McCoy 🦖 @TM9380]

“Evolution can’t be real because chimps and humans exist at the same time!”

Regardless of the fact that no one claimed chimps are humans ancestors, allow me to introduce you to Hynerpeton, an early tetrapod, and Hyneria, a lobe finned fish. Tetrapods evolved from lobe finned-

[Fish in the News @FishInTheNews]

#NewSpeciesAlert - 𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑘𝑢 and 𝑃𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖, two new species of killifish are described from Ethiopia and coastal Kenya, respectively. #Pantanodontidae
🔗 https://t.co/6UtXRogxUs
🔒 https://t.co/ofWekPMxKG

[燕鮗 @285ne10]

ゆるコイ目(改)
Order : Cypriniformes

[Danté Fenolio, Ph.D. @DanteFenolio]

Horned Golden-line Barbel (Sinocyclocheilus rhinocerous) - 4cm long juvenile. Very cool fish - Yunnan, China 2017.

[Luiz Rocha, PhD @CoralReefFish]

It's #NastyGoby time! The Peppermint Goby (Coryphopterus lipernes) is found in the entire Caribbean Sea and was common in Curacao. However, this species is probably declining everywhere because its preferred habitat is the surface of live corals. #ClimateChange #CoralReefs