Research Fellow at University of Helsinki
~ Evolution, genomics, lepidoptera, all things colour🦋
helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/colourful-insect-genomics
Melanie Brien
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The groups first field trip is underway! @paulinea73.bsky.social got the first caterpillar of her PhD 🥳 @michalbartak.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!
And here is the working link: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
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
Melanie Brien
Johanna Mappes
Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics & Ecology of Colour and Performance
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! :)
Arctic plants, ichthyosaurs and more! We received funding from Nordforsk for a Nordic network for convergent evolution #NCEN! It is led by @siribirkeland.bsky.social and me, hosted at the Natural History Museum @uio.no and include researchers with amazing work🥳 www.nordforsk.org/projects/nor...
Exciting biophysics PhD and supervisor dream team 🦋
10 days left to apply! 👀
Happy to report a successful trip for the scarlet tiger moth team 🐛🐛
So varying selection pressures, rather than genetic associations, are contributing to the maintenance of the wing colour polymorphism in this species. Thanks for a big group effort @aplantaginis.bsky.social in Jyväskylä, and Eva and co. at the University of Cambridge 🐛
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
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...
