Max Körner
@max-evolbio.bsky.social
Evolutionary biology & Entomology, Gamer & Movie enthusiast. Enjoy critters with 4+ legs. Burying beetle researcher in Bayreuth, GER
Gotta catch em all! Some glances of catching Nicrophorus pustulatus (and friends like Necrophila americana) in wilderness preserves amongst the vast agricultural desert of the midwest in Normal, IL. Good times. Super grateful to @sakaluklab.bsky.social for hosting, and Anne for mentoring!!
🌟🌟 Postdoc position in Disease Ecology & Nature-Based Solutions 🌟🌟 We are looking for a creative and highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the UKRI @netpositivecentre.bsky.social and the @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful Cornwall, UK. careers.exeter.ac.uk/vacancies/11... 🦠🌳🏙️🌍🗺️🐝 🦌🕷️
Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow in Cornwall | University of Exeter
View details and apply for this Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow vacancy in Cornwall. Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow This UKRI funded full-time post is available from 01/1...
careers.exeter.ac.uk
#ECE2026Tours has only just wrapped up, and I've already received 2 generic invitations to submit manuscripts to *Frontiers in* journals—both clearly triggered by my already published poster abstract. If anyone still believes this isn't the behavior of a predatory publisher, I'm genuinely puzzled.
Man Holds 'No' Sign
ALT: Man Holds 'No' Sign
static.klipy.com
#ece2026tours is already drawing to a close 😥 It was a fantastic opportunity to bring together a lot of the insect parental care (IPC) community and to lay the groundwork for a future IPC conference. I'm looking forward to it and I'd like to thank everyone for coming to Tours. I had a blast! 🤩🤩🤩
What a great insect parental care symposium at #ece2026tours! Thanks to @jmeunierearwig.bsky.social, @max-evolbio.bsky.social and Jos Kramer for organizing.
Joël Meunier@jmeunierearwig.bsky.social · last mo.#ece2026tours is already drawing to a close 😥 It was a fantastic opportunity to bring together a lot of the insect parental care (IPC) community and to lay the groundwork for a future IPC conference. I'm looking forward to it and I'd like to thank everyone for coming to Tours. I had a blast! 🤩🤩🤩
Au revoir Tours! What an amazing week it was. Comfortably sitting in my TGV seat en route home. Thanks @ece2026tours.bsky.social but also @jmeunierearwig.bsky.social for a great time :)
Nice work @leo-theo.bsky.social for managing to timing the publication of the very study he just presented to the conference we're attending @ece2026tours.bsky.social ! :D
Leon Müller@leo-theo.bsky.social · last mo.Just after presenting our work about how different patterns of parental care can affect immunity in #nicrophorus offspring at the @ece2026tours.bsky.social, it's now published by @insect-science.bsky.social and you can (open) access it here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Just after presenting our work about how different patterns of parental care can affect immunity in #nicrophorus offspring at the @ece2026tours.bsky.social, it's now published by @insect-science.bsky.social and you can (open) access it here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Males are worse mothers: Comparing care patterns in a facultatively caring beetle
Why should biparental care exist if offspring fare just as well when only one parent is present? In the facultatively dependent burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides, manipulating environmental qu...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Setting the mood at ECE, nice work @irbi-tours.bsky.social Tours :) youtu.be/nnr3lqW80gQ?...
An Entomological Odyssey
YouTube video by Université de Tours (Univ Tours)
youtu.be
Beetle parents try harder under pressure, but still lose out. 🪲 This new study shows how competition reshapes cooperation. Read the story behind the paper below, featuring a comic take on stressful parenting! buff.ly/QfJUOVU
Writing on parental care and reproductive strategies? Submit to our collection! We invite studies on the diversity, function and costs of parental care; the evolution of reproductive and mating strategies; the roles of sexual selection and conflict; and the factors that drive variation in parenting.
Ever wonder how different burying beetle species vary in terms of immunity, and if the vast differences in larval dependency are reflected? I bet you did! So did we: doi.org/10.1111/eea.... Congratulations to Laura and @leo-theo.bsky.social, and big thanks to @steigerlab.bsky.social!
Offspring Dependency Is Not Reflected in the Social Immunity of Three Burying Beetle Species
Nicrophorus pustulatus, Nicrophorus vespilloides, and Nicrophorus orbicollis are three burying beetle species that differ both in their ecology and in the dependency of their offspring on parental ca...
doi.org
Excited to share our new paper @royalsocietypublishing.org This one took what felt like endless maze trials. We found that even modest warming (~1°C) changed an ectotherm's behaviour such that it affected cognitive performance. Speeding them up and reducing decision accuracy.
Increasing temperature reduces decision accuracy by shifting speed–accuracy trade-offs in slower individuals
Abstract. Cognitive responses are linked to consistent individual behavioural variation, but the potential impact of warming on this relationship remains u
tiny.cc
Writing on parental care and reproductive strategies? Submit to our collection! We invite studies on the diversity, function and costs of parental care; the evolution of reproductive and mating strategies; the roles of sexual selection and conflict; and the factors that drive variation in parenting.
New study out with @steigerlab.bsky.social! We investigated male care in a biparentally caring 🪲. Why does male contribution vary so much? Turns out there are repeatable individual differences, and how much the female does only affects some male care behaviors. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Excellent initiative!
Kate Laskowski@katelaskowski.bsky.social · 6mo agoHow do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications. My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/ academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology
Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d
academic.oup.com
Really cool stuff, congrats to Erika, Sylvia and team!
Alex Wild@alexwild.bsky.social · 8mo agoA cool story about sacrifice and social immunity in ants.
A cool story about sacrifice and social immunity in ants.
Sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to save their colony
New research shows ill pupae emit a chemical signal before ever leaving their cocoons.
popsci.com
Hmm. Preparing to post about a group member's nice new paper on the evolution of cooperation (out in a couple of days time), I feel regret we did not include the presence of Batman in any of the model versions.
Joris Frese@fresejoris.bsky.social · 9mo agoAs someone studying unexpected events of all kinds, this was a funny (and unexpected) paper to randomly stumble upon: the presence of a man in a batman costume on a train makes passengers significantly more likely to stand up for a pregnant woman: www.nature.com/articles/s44... Good to know I guess.
After some years in the making, I’m happy to share our new paper on the benefits of care. By breeding 17 carrion beetle species, we show that parental protection and feeding both promote faster offspring growth. Thanks to Anne, Madlen, and all the fantastic coauthors academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...
Parental care liberates juvenile growth: a common-garden test of the evolutionary benefits of care
Abstract. Effects on juvenile growth have long been considered an important benefit of parental care, but they have rarely been tested empirically. Protect
academic.oup.com
🌿 This Thursday: Prof. Wilfert (Uni Regensburg), explores how global change impacts pollinators and their health — from land use to climate effects. 🐝 www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/bayceer/en/a... @steigerlab.bsky.social @max-evolbio.bsky.social @uniregensburg.bsky.social #Pollinators #Ecology
Almost back home from the fantastic ecological immunity workshop. Good times, super grateful to Sophie, Jens et al for organizing - already looking forward to the next one! So much fun and science and good conversations in just a few days. Cheers guys!
Very proud and happy with @leo-theo.bsky.social and his poster presentation at the Ecological Immunity Workshop 2025 :) Excellent work Leon!
The EAE group really enjoyed #DZG2025 in Berlin — great talks, inspiring discussions, and lots of fun!
Was so nice to present our research and @unibayreuth.bsky.social at this DZG meeting! Glad to be talking about parental care and how it interacts with offspring immunity 🎉 Expect our upcoming paper that deals with this cool topic!🪲 @max-evolbio.bsky.social and I had a blast working on it #DZG2025
DZG section Behavioural Biology@dzg-behaviour.bsky.social · 11mo agoKicked off our first behaviour session with 6 fascinating talks—covering everything from spiders, electric fish, and fossil insects to sex pheromones and how parental behaviour shapes immunity. 🌍🕷️🐟🪲 #DZG2025 @janka-p.bsky.social @andifischer10.bsky.social @leo-theo.bsky.social
New study on the effect of relatedness on larval cooperation in burying beetles: sibs boost growth, strangers boost survival. doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... Congrats to Paul Huber and Daniel Wittmann!
Kinship as a double-edged sword: relatedness among burying beetle larvae enhances growth but increases mortality | Biology Letters
Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that relatedness can have complex effects on social life. While high relatedness may promote sibling cooperation and altruism through indirect fitness ...
doi.org
