New paper in @journal-evo.bsky.social and I'll be defending my thesis in a few hours! Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos

Behavioral traits are thought to be rarely or slowly lost when selection relaxes, but attempts to confirm this are rare. At the same time, behaviors can be

academic.oup.com

Sexier in the city? Urban male great bowerbirds decorate bowers with human-made objects, creating brighter and more varied displays than rural males. Males strongly prefer human-made objects over natural ones, possibly boosting their appeal to females! shorturl.at/lcNY2 @royalsocietypublishing.org

Antonson et al. show that cowbirds’ neck muscles are unusually fatigue-resistant, suggesting muscular innovation for exaggerated begging as a key driver for how brood parasites outcompete hosts. Available now ahead of print! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Now with pagination on cowbird vs. host begging muscles www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.... by incoming Asst. Prof. of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo! Congrats @nickantonson.bsky.social

🥳🥳🥳 another thesis chapter accepted, and very happy it's in @journal-evo.bsky.social

This is so, so well-articulated.

Minas Karamanis@minaskar.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...

Paul Ehrlich has died. Most will remember him for "The Population Bomb." But for many of us, Ehrlich and Raven 1964 was a foundational read that influenced our careers. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

BUTTERFLIES AND PLANTS: A STUDY IN COEVOLUTION

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

“A newly discovered form of deception is more convoluted yet: The larvae of blister beetles emit a mix of volatile scents that resemble a flower, attracting bees. The beetles then latch onto the bee, hitch a ride to its nest, and eat the eggs.” #scicomm www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Bee-hunting beetles are the first animals known to fake the smell of flowers

Study of parasitic blister beetles reveals a new form of chemical deception

science.org

NEW on #theBOUblog from Malin Klumpp At EOU2025: Using genomics to study how birds are moving and redistributing behavioural traits across geographic space bou.org.uk/blog-klum... #ornithology 🪶

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! :)

"Monk parakeets ‘test the waters’ when forming new relationships" https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0399#d1e770 interesting new study by https://bsky.app/profile/elizabethhobson.bsky.social et al. J. Manson once reminded me that not […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

Listen to Bob McDonald talking to @nickantonson.bsky.social on CBC's Quirks and Quarks about his research published in JEB into how downy woodpeckers brace themselves and grunt when pounding wood with their beaks www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.

cbc.ca

Scops owls deliver little insectivorous snakes alive to their nest, where the snakes (probably) eat ectoparasites, improving the success of the chicks!

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU)@bou.org.uk · 10mo ago

Association of nesting Otus scops (Eurasian Scops Owls) with Xerotyphlops vermicularis (worm snakes) in Türkiye | doi.org/10.1093/orni... | Ornithology | #ornithology 🪶

Funded PhD position available 🎉 Come and work with me in Helsinki to uncover the pathways producing colourful tiger moth wings. Lots of options for genomics, CRISPR, fieldwork, behaviour experiments… Email with questions! jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

Reed Warbler range expansion paper just out, led by the amazing Nora Bergman 🧬🪶 with @informedbirds.bsky.social @katjaronka.bsky.social @fishcongen.bsky.social @rytikerttunen.bsky.social @frodefossoy.bsky.social and others doi.org/10.1111/mec.70077

Thanks for inviting me to see your cool experiments @gloriamurari.bsky.social. Lots of fun despite the rain and 5 trillion mosquitoes

Gloria Murari@gloriamurari.bsky.social · last yr.

The most amazing parents a bird can ask for. Another field season is done - another year of watching flycatchers working endlessly to give these angry fluffballs as much care as possible 🤍🖤 thank you @deryktolman.bsky.social for the beautiful pictures!

Pigments concentrations don't strictly predict color in a host-mimetic brood parasite eggshell system: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10....

Pigment concentrations only partially predict avian eggshell colour mimicry in a polymorphic host–brood parasite system | Biology Letters

The precise mimicry of host eggshell colours and patterns by some obligate avian brood parasites provides a powerful study system for understanding co-evolutionary arms races. However, most attention has focused on host behaviour in response to mimicry, ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

I hope reed warbler chicks can't get seasick

The first wave of reed warbler eggs is finally upon us in Finland, the northern edge of their range🥚🪹🇫🇮

Selenius et al. Ecological contexts shape sexual selection on male color morphs in wood tiger moths academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...

Ecological contexts shape sexual selection on male color morphs in wood tiger moths

Abstract. Color polymorphisms in natural populations often reflect the interplay between various selective pressures, such as natural and sexual selection.

academic.oup.com

🚨 Postdoc opportunity! 🚨 Join @ecology-radboud.bsky.social in the #HABITRACK @horizoneu.bsky.social project, studying waterfowl movement for conservation impact 🦆🌍 📅 Apply by April 20, 2025 🔗 More info: www.ru.nl/en/working-a... Please, repost! 🙏 #postdoc #postdocjobs #ornithology #birdmigration

I haven't seen any starter packs made for behavioral ecology yet, so I decided to create one! If you are a behavioral ecologist (any career stage), please reply so I can add you to the list so we can more easily find each other. go.bsky.app/9mAuB6x

New paper by Nick Antonson et al. on niche construction in brood parasitic cowbirds: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Niche Construction Through an Optimal Host Brood Size Is Supported in Brown‐Headed Cowbirds: A Response to M. Soler

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com