Word Cloud from 2024 Members Meeting when participants were asked, "What attribute do you believe distinguishes systematic biologists from other evolutionary biologists?"
The Society of Systematic Biologists advances the science of systematic biology in all its aspects of theory, principles, methodology, and practice, for both living and fossil organisms, with emphasis on areas of common interest to all systematic biologists regardless of individual specialization.
NEW! 2024 Publisher's Award for Excellence in Systematic Research
Xiao-Xu Pang, Beijing Normal University
Xiao-Xu Pang, Da-Yong Zhang, Detection of Ghost Introgression Requires Exploiting Topological and Branch Length Information, Systematic Biology, Volume 73, Issue 1, January 2024, Pages 207–222, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syad077
Ghost introgression – introgression from an extinct or unsampled lineage into an extant species – poses a significant problem for introgression inference methods. Xiao-Xu and collaborators evaluate the efficacy of full likelihood and heuristic approaches to detect outgroup ghost introgression and distinguishing it from other type of introgression scenarios. Using theory and simulations, they find that gene tree topologies or site pattern counts alone do not provide enough information to distinguish among these models, and that full-likelihood models that make use of branch length information are required to avoid running into unidentifiability issues.
Rong Zhang, Auckland University. Current affiliation: Fudan University
Rong Zhang, Alexei J Drummond, Fábio K Mendes, Fast Bayesian Inference of Phylogenies from Multiple Continuous Characters, Systematic Biology, Volume 73, Issue 1, January 2024, Pages 102–124, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syad067
Rong and collaborators present a novel total-evidence dating (TED) approach in which the phylogenetic tree and divergence times for both extant and fossil taxa are jointly estimated, integrating the evolution of continuous and discrete morphological characters (for fossil placement in the phylogeny) as well as molecular characters (for estimating branch lengths). They validate the accuracy and precision of their method using both simulations and an empirical dataset for the order Carnivora. A particularly exciting contribution to the field of macroevolution is the inclusion of continuous morphological characters with intra-species variation. This introduces challenges such as modeling covariance among characters and addressing non-identifiability, while also enabling the possibility of estimating a morphological clock alongside the molecular clock.
2024 IDEA Award Winner - Dr. Jeremy Yoder
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2024 IDEA Award, Dr. Jeremy Yoder!
The Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Award is presented by the American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society of Systematic Biologists. Dr. Yoder was selected for his foundational work recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ professionals in STEM fields. In 2013, he spearheaded a large-scale study with the nonprofit Out to Innovate to survey more than 1,400 LGBTQA researchers around the world about their experiences in STEM fields. This work produced three papers which together have been cited almost 300 times, have inspired new projects and research, and are used as educational resources. Yoder has presented seminars on inclusion on LGBTQ inclusion and experiences in STEM, and served on panels to review policies for the advancement of LGBTQ+ people in STEM careers. In 2024, he spoke about his career studying Joshua trees in the Story Collider event at the annual Evolution meeting, where he previously helped organize LGBTQ+ meetups and mixers for several years. Learn more about his work on his lab website.
Dr. Yoder will present his work during the IDEA Award Plenary at the in-person portion of the Evolution 2025 meeting in Athens, GA in June.
Membership Renewal
It's that time of the year when we ask you to continue your membership in the Society for Systematic Biologists by renewing your dues. You can choose the length of your membership from one, two, or three years. If your membership is expiring in 2025, you would have received on December 2 a renewal notice. Please use the "My Account" tab above to log in and renew your membership. You'll also see in your account several new tabs recently added to help us collect data on the interests of our members. Take a moment to add as much information as you can.
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November Journal Now Available
The SSB Journal Team is pleased to announce that the November 2024 issue of Systematic Biology has been published. With this edition, we are now poised to remain on schedule into the 2025 schedule. The issue's Spotlight Article is: Phylogenomics and Pervasive Genome-Wide Phylogenetic Discordance Among Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Fabricio Furni and others Systematic Biology, Volume 73, Issue 6, November 2024, Pages 873–885, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae049 To view the entire edition, click the View Now button below, then click the Get Access button next to an article. This will take you to your account log-in page that will provide access to the journal to dues-paying members. |
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Evolution 2025 Update
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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 2-day virtual conference with live online workshops, talks, symposia, and networking events May 29-30, followed a few weeks later by a 5-day in-person conference in Athens, GA, USA at the Classic Center, June 20-24, 2025. The in-person conference will include plenary addresses from the three societies, concurrent sessions, posters, workshops, mixers, and special events. Early registration (to facilitate visa applications - main registration only) is expected to open in early December, with full registration to open in early February. Announcing the winning logo for Evolution 2025 - designed by E. Tuschoff "My design is inspired by the windows on the front of the Classic Center in Athens, GA where the in-person conference will be held, as well as the lush green of the Georgia landscape. I included a large variety of study systems, from DNA to cells to organisms from across the tree of life, to reflect the incredible diversity represented at Evolution." Thanks to all who participated in the logo design contest - you made the work of the judges difficult! |
Announcing the winning logo for Evolution 2025 - designed by E. Tuschoff
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Open Letter to Leadership of the California Academy of Sciences
SSB President Corrie Moreau recently wrote an open letter on behalf of SSB to leadership at the California Academy of Sciences, expressing concern about recent layoffs of curatorial staff and reiterating SSB's support for systematic biologists and scientific collections worldwide.
"The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) stands firmly in support of systematic biologists and scientific collections. As an international scientific society, in addition to advocating for diverse systematic research communities, we support collections globally and advocate for equitable access to collections resources."
"We are deeply concerned about the layoffs of curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. Such reductions in personnel disrupt important biodiversity research, reduce the accessibility of collections for researchers, and increase the gap between the public good and our biodiversity heritage."
You can read the full letter here.
"The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) stands firmly in support of systematic biologists and scientific collections. As an international scientific society, in addition to advocating for diverse systematic research communities, we support collections globally and advocate for equitable access to collections resources."
"We are deeply concerned about the layoffs of curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. Such reductions in personnel disrupt important biodiversity research, reduce the accessibility of collections for researchers, and increase the gap between the public good and our biodiversity heritage."
You can read the full letter here.
Welcome Newly Elected Officers, Council Members, Trustees, and Editors!
The SSB Council comprises the executive officers, 15 elected councilors, and two graduate student representatives. We are excited to welcome the following newly elected officers and Council members who will start their terms in January 2025! Thank you so much for your service to the Society.
President-Elect: Tracy Heath
Awards Director: Rebecca Chong
Treasurer: Lacey Knowles
Communications Director: April Wright
Council Members: Kaycee Bell, Daniel Caetano, Megan Smith, Rebecca Tarvin, Thais Vasconcelos
Trustee: Laura Kubatko
Systematic Biology Editor in Chief: Bob Thomson
President-Elect: Tracy Heath
Awards Director: Rebecca Chong
Treasurer: Lacey Knowles
Communications Director: April Wright
Council Members: Kaycee Bell, Daniel Caetano, Megan Smith, Rebecca Tarvin, Thais Vasconcelos
Trustee: Laura Kubatko
Systematic Biology Editor in Chief: Bob Thomson
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SSB Presidential Address at Evolution 2024
If you missed the SSB Presidential Address at Evolution 2024, or you simply want to hear the presentation again, we've got the link for you. Listen to current SSB President Corrie Moreau as she addresses the audience on all things related to the Society of Systematic Biologists, including information on the new Global Assistance Membership Program and announcements of the 2024 award winners, followed by the SSB Presidential Address, "Exploring some uncomfortable truths about species," featuring SSB Past President David Baum.
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Award Winners Announced at Evolution 2024
Call for Reviewers - SSB Student Awards
SSB is always looking for reviewers for student awards competitions!
These awards include Graduate Student Research Awards, Mini-ARTS awards, and the Ernst Mayr Award. Serving as a reviewer for these award competitions is a critical role in our Society and directly supports early career researchers in systematics.
Please indicate your interest by completing the form on this page Reviewing Award Applications
These awards include Graduate Student Research Awards, Mini-ARTS awards, and the Ernst Mayr Award. Serving as a reviewer for these award competitions is a critical role in our Society and directly supports early career researchers in systematics.
Please indicate your interest by completing the form on this page Reviewing Award Applications
SSB Legacy Committee
The new SSB Legacy Committee is working to create accessible content about our society's history. The founding members are Chris Simon, Michael Landis, Jim Rohlf, Gary Schnell, and Rosana Zenil-Ferguson. Go here for more information, and expect more soon.
Announcing The Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists
We are pleased to announce that the Society of Systematic Biologists launched a new journal on May 1st, 2021. The Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists (BSSB) will be published in collaboration with the Library Publishing Coalition at The Ohio State University Libraries. This innovative partnership will enable us to publish open access articles at a minimal cost to members of the Society of Systematic Biologists. Articles will be published without article processing charges (APCs) for SSB members. Stay tuned for the first issue of the Bulletin!
The Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists will publish manuscripts that advance our understanding of the Earth's biodiversity, with a special focus on investigations that describe how species are related (i.e., phylogeny), identified (e.g., species delimitation, morphometrics, taxonomic practice), or have evolved (e.g., phylogeography, biogeography, phylogenetic comparative methods). BSSB will also publish manuscripts that advance the theory or methods used in data analysis. Manuscripts will be evaluated on two criteria: the quality of the science and their contribution to our collective understanding of the focal species or clade. BSSB aims to publish investigations that utilize state of the art data analyses and high-quality data sets to achieve these goals.