Ned Dochtermann
@neddochtermann.bsky.social
Evolutionary ecology, quantitative genetics of behavior, evolutionary implications of trait covariance. he/him http://neddochtermann.com
Very proud of the special issue of Animal Behaviour I worked on with @wascherclaudia.bsky.social and @nicolakoyama.bsky.social on addressing biases in animal behaviour. Thanks to all authors- plenty of cool papers to read. Here's our editorial: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @asab.org
sciencedirect.com
I’m probably one of the few people that read this book (and series). The answers are all hilarious(ly wrong). Solid book focused on Herbert’s central question of what happens to people and a people when under pressure.
Premee Mohamed@premeemohamed.com · 3w agoToday seems like a good day to discover that Frank Herbert wrote a book called THE JESUS INCIDENT and I cannot stop laughing at that title, perhaps the best I've ever seen The INCIDENT What HAPPENED I'm not looking up a synopsis you guys, what was The Incident, wrong answers only
ALERT #SICB members The Office of Management and Budget (#OMB) www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... The public comment period closes July 13, 2026. Submit your comment directly www.regulations.gov/document/OMB... Strong, individualized comments carry far more weight than form letters.
I am excited to tell you about our new study led by Tyler Audet and in collaboration with Stefan Lüpold's group. Below you see two species. On the right is Drosophila melanogaster. On the left, Drosophila prolongata. Notice the highly exaggerated legs of the males in D.p! doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Periodic reminder that publishing papers is not the goal in and of itself. The paper is a mechanism for sharing what you have learned--sharing processes and outcomes that others should be aware of/should think about too. 1/3
Louise Seamster@louiseseamster.bsky.social · last mo.I’m reading another post about “I just wrote 10 papers and a grant and three books in a week with AI, academic work is over" and I’ll just say I’m still waiting to find the post from an academic that describes the time they spent happily **reading** AI-generated content vs spewing it out.
That we live in a world where fantastic artists can’t do their art is a sad indictment of our world. The devaluing of arts and science is a devaluing of humanity.
Premee Mohamed@premeemohamed.com · 2mo agoNo one here is having a good time tbh! (I've done the math and I'm going to start jobhunting in July -- assuming it's going to take several months to land something again -- my last contracted book is due Nov 1 and then after that I think it may be The End for ye olde publishing experiment!)
Some of the news coverage from our latest paper in @animalecology.bsky.social! We used a meta-analytic approach to understand whether and how behavioral change is associated with urban environments. Dream collaboration with @neddochtermann.bsky.social and @annecharmantier.bsky.social!
🇺🇦 paul q. brussée@paulbrussee.bsky.social · 3mo ago„Dieren met flexibel gedrag, die nieuwsgieriger zijn en makkelijker omgaan met verstoringen en onvoorspelbaarheid, zijn in de stad in het voordeel.” @ttburk.bsky.social Marcel aan de Brugh @nrcwetenschap.bsky.social #ethologie www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...
I generally don't go for formality but getting referred to as Mr. Dachtermann in an email from a student submitting a late assignment... I guess it's good they got the second n into the last name. Not sure if that's better or worse than "Dr. Man"
I think the National Academies are damaging their reputation in an attempt to curry favor from political figures or to appease funders. I am disappointed and hope (and will try to insist) that they will take different approaches in the future. 30/30
a man with a beard says i expected better from you with his eyes closed
ALT: a man with a beard says i expected better from you with his eyes closed
media.tenor.com
This is a figure from a text book. This was not produced with "AI" (predates it). The book's author, editor, and copy editor all were okay with this. (you may have to click on the thumbnail to see the problem)
I’ve no idea why but I have TONS of horseshoe crab art showing up. How delightful! I quite like this viridis one.
franz@franzanth.bsky.social · 6mo agoWe're horseposting post your horses.
Rep. Delia Ramirez to DHS officials: "I have as much respect for you as I do for the last white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color. I have no respect for the inheritors of the Klanhood and the slave patrol. Those activities were criminal and so are yours."
DAVE MATTHEWS: “I don’t want my taxes to pay for masked thugs to roam our streets & terrorize our communities... She was trying to get away. He shot her 3x in the head. Murdered in cold blood. They’re trying to tell us not to believe what we see. FUCK ICE.” (H/T @marcofoster.bsky.social )
Some hope in the world, and animals send us a message of peace and play: when the big one respects the small one, it’s a win-win situation.
Rav@rvbdrm.com · 7mo agoBIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!
Last spring, I was asked to give carreer advice to grad students. And the one thing I told them was: our best skill is our ability to learn difficult things -- it's also the first skill you will lose unless you intentionally don't let yourselves go.
Apparently the early peak is assumed in some fields but how sad is that? One of the best things about my job is I get to keep learning new things and get better at the things I want to improve. (I also get to choose where I invest that effort which is an amazing luxury)
Timothée Poisot@ctrlalttim.com · 7mo agoVery early in my position, someone I met at a conference told me "you know, you've peaked, and now you're going go start losing skills - it's normal, we all do". It's not normal, we don't all do, and I certainly did not. I'd run circles, technically speaking, around my postdoc self.
We are pleased to announce the inaugural Gordon Research Conference on Urban Evolution and Ecology which will be held from Jan. 31 - Feb. 5, 2027. Please save the dates, and we look forward to welcoming you to beautiful Ventura Beach, California!
This is one of my wife and I's favorite movies. We watch it regularly. In addition to Rickman, every performance is amazing. Rockwell's "DO I?" and Weaver's "Hold please" get repeated far more often than they probably should.
John Bull@garius.bsky.social · 8mo agoParisot (the Director) tells a story about how Tim Allen just started crying after a scene one day "I don't like these feelings i'm having." Says Tim. "I'm going back to my trailor" and walks off. There's silence for a second. "Oh my god." Says Rickman. "I think Tim just experienced acting."
I'm working on something that requires a lot of professional puffery. Unfortunately, I default to extreme self-deprecation and my colleague on the project is, well, Dutch. I suspect the outcome might look something along the lines of: "Dochtermann is just okay but we would really like the money"
I am looking for a postdoc to work in our long-term system of food-caching mountain chickadees in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The expected start is April 2026. Please see details here: chickadeecognition.com/positions If interested and qualified, please contact me directly (email on the website).
POSITIONS
default description
chickadeecognition.com
I had been trying to adopt universal design approaches. However, given LLMs, I now think I have to move back to in person, paper and pen, for any exams. Similarly, LLM use is forcing a move back to other, more rigid, assessment methods.
Angus Johnston@angus.bsky.social · 8mo agoI have shifted away from timed tests, but when I gave them, I'd always offer way more time than students would need. If it's a one-hour final, and it's scheduled for a three-hour block, then you don't need to worry about anyone "gaming the system."
Over the last two years I’ve seen “Yet, …” surge in use in place of “However, …”. This seems increasingly the case regardless of field, publication, or country of author. Is this LLM driven or just an emerging norm? (I also don’t like it so it could be biased detection but I don’t think so)
