Museum Genomics Reveals the Hybrid Origin of an Extinct Crater Lake Endemic.

Crater lake fishes are common evolutionary model systems, with recent studies suggesting a key role for gene flow in promoting rapid adaptation and speciation. However, the study of these young lakes can be complicated by human-mediated extinctions. Museum genomics approaches integrating genetic data from recently extinct species are, therefore, critical to understanding the complex evolutionary histories of these fragile systems.

Racial discrepancy in pulse oximeter accuracy in preterm infants.

Objective: Pulse oximetry is commonly used in Neonatology, however recent adult data suggest racial disparity in accuracy, with overestimation of oxygen saturation for Black patients.

Study Design: Black and White infants <32 weeks gestation underwent simultaneous arterial blood gas and pulse oximetry measurement. Error by race was examined using mean bias, A, Bland-Altman, and linear/non-linear analysis.

The evolution of egg colour and patterning in Australian songbirds.

To understand why avian eggs are so variable in colour and patterning, we investigated the characteristics of extant bird species that provide insight into the evolutionary transitions that occurred during the early radiation of the songbirds. We quantified egg colour and patterning from museum collections of 269 species of Australian passerine and collated it to nest type data (cup- or dome-nesting species). Using phylogenetically reconstructed trait data, we showed that the ancestral passerine egg was likely to be white, and to have been laid inside a domed nest.

Phylogeny-based conservation priorities for Australian freshwater fishes.

Conservation scientists are increasingly interested in the question of how extinction prunes the tree of life. This question is particularly important for Australian freshwater fishes because there is a broad mix of ∼300 old and young species, many of which are severely threatened. We used a complete species-level phylogeny of Australian freshwater fishes to examine phylogenetic nonrandomness of extinction risk.

A fossil-calibrated time-tree of all Australian freshwater fishes.

Australian freshwater fishes are a relatively species-poor assemblage, mostly comprising groups derived from older repeated freshwater invasions by marine ancestors, plus a small number of Gondwanan lineages. These taxa are both highly endemic and highly threatened, but a comprehensive phylogeny for Australian freshwater fishes is lacking. This has hampered efforts to study their phylogenetic diversity, distribution of extinction risk, speciation rates, and rates of trait evolution.