Summary
Dear sedaDNA enthusiasts,
Hello and welcome to the June newsletter! The past month has seen the publishing of two papers, six preprints and two still open job positions. There are no new conference sessions to announce (see the Events tab for other events previously announced).
We hope that you have a lovely June,
The organising board
New papers
Barbara von Hippel et al., (2025) published "Postglacial bioweathering, soil nutrient cycling, and podzolization from palaeometagenomics of plants, fungi, and bacteria" in Science Advances.
Lennart Schreiber et al., (2025) published the paper "Holocene shifts in marine mammal distributions around Northern Greenland revealed by sedimentary ancient DNA" in Nature Communications.
Preprints
Martina Cappelletti et al., (2025) wrote the preprint "Onsite microbiome analysis of stromatolite-like silica structures in a remote subterranean analog martian environments" available on EGUsphere preprint repository.
Ying Liu et al., (2025) wrote the preprint "Woody plant encroachment enhances negative interactions in Arctic plant communities over the last 24,000 years" available on BioRxiv.
Bradley Alex Paine et al., (2025) wrote the preprint "A 9,000 Year Marine Diatom Assemblage Reconstruction Off Eastern Tasmania, Australia, Using Microfossil and Molecular Methods" available on SSRN.
Vikki Lowe et al., (2025) wrote the preprint "Rhizarian High-Rank Assemblage Change Through Time in the Scotia Sea: A Paleo-Genomics Approach (Iodp Exp. 382)" available on SSRN.
Kadir Toykan Özdoğan et al., (2025) wrote the preprint "Towards an Archaeological Workflow for Sedadna Sample Collection: Methods and Best Practices for Minimizing Surface Contamination" available on SSRN.
New Positions
A fully funded PhD position on the historical changes in microalgal communities in coastal Aotearoa, New Zealand at Lincoln University, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Applicants must meet the Lincoln University entry requirements.
"We're looking for a motivated PhD student to join a multi-institutional team investigating historical changes in marine microalgal communities in coastal Aotearoa-New Zealand. This exciting project uses sediment cores, eDNA and paleoecological tools to uncover how human impacts and environmental change have shaped our coastal ecosystems over time. You'll work with researchers from Lincoln University, Cawthron Institute, and GNS Science, alongside international experts and in partnership with hapori Māori."
Supervisors: Prof. Susie Wood, Assoc. Dr Kyle Bland (GNS Science), Dr Kirsty Smith (Cawthron).
Application deadline is the 29th of June 2025. For more information and to apply, see here.
A Master's thesis scholarship to study microbial genetics in lakes at Lincoln University, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Applicants must meet the Lincoln University entry requirements.
This scholarship is only available to New Zealand citizens or residents. We’re offering a funded Master’s project investigating microbial metagenomes from over 150 lakes across Aotearoa New Zealand. This project is part of the MBIE-funded Smart Idea initiative: "Applying a functional evidence approach to prioritise lake restoration initiatives."
You'll explore how microbial functions (e.g., carbon fixation, antimicrobial resistance) vary with environmental conditions.
Stipend: $15,000 plus tuition fees.
Start: early 2026.
Ideal background: eDNA analysis, R coding skills.
Supervision: Prof. Susie Wood (Lincoln Uni) & Dr John Pearman (Cawthron Institute).
Apply by emailing Prof. Susie Wood with a copy of your CV, academic transcript, motivation letter, and two referee contacts.
Get in touch with Maïlys Picard if you would like to announce something to the society, or if you have a recent paper that you would like to advertise in the newsletter.