We just released a new open resource for studying evolution, ecology, colour, behaviour & biodiversity. OzButterflies 🦋 ✨ 4,000+ individuals 🌈 Visible + UV images 🧬 CO1 barcodes 📈 Spectral reflectance data 🏞️ 125 species doi.org/10.1093/data... @mherberstein.bsky.social @livuni-ives.bsky.social

Ever wondered what mosquito pupae do when they get flushed out of their aquatic habitat? The answer surprised us - and might surprise you too. 🦟 📍Room 500 | 🕓 4:45 pm | #ISBE2026 @isbe2026.bsky.social

Our new paper is out in @nature.com! We uncovered how a naked mole-rat queen 👑 controls an entire colony: a natural contraceptive scent that suppresses reproduction in other females! A remarkable mammalian parallel to bees and ants! 🐝🐜 @garyrlewin.bsky.social youtu.be/enfv3zJrWKM?...

Naked mole-rats are ruled by a queen: this chemical puts her in power

YouTube video by nature video

youtu.be

Thanks to our colleagues from around the world who signed the Open Letter against redundancies in CRAB. The letter surpassed 700 signatures in just over 1 wk. We hope execs will now see the harm they are doing to the University of Exeter's global reputation. sites.google.com/view/save-cr...

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As of 2026-07-14, this open letter has been signed by 754 people Signatories include 198 Professors and members of 11 National Academies, including 12 Fellows of the Royal Society (FRS) Signatories a...

sites.google.com

We have funding for SWARM-E, a long-term group at @zif-bielefeld.bsky.social! I'll be leading with co-leads @marinapapa.bsky.social @joefresna.bsky.social to better understand collective behaviour across biological and artificial systems. First workshop 2027... www.shoalgroup.org/swarm More soon!

Interested in a postdoc position? Olfaction in poison frog tadpoles! Based in Germany with some field work in Costa Rica (bilateral funding, 3 years). Please share with your froggie and neuro/behavior contacts 🐸 www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...

2026. The secret language behind animal cooperation. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202... via @asab.org #AnimalBehaviour

The secret language behind animal cooperation

Animals from different species often rely on surprisingly sophisticated communication to work together, whether finding food, cleaning parasites, or gaining protection. New research suggests these int...

sciencedaily.com

@crab-exeter.bsky.social are a fantastic group of researchers, and a real beacon of excellence for Exeter. What a huge and deeply sad act of self sabotage this would be. Please consider signing their open letter👇🏻

Stu West@stuwest.bsky.social · last mo.

The University of Exeter have announced a programme of academic staff cuts, including all of www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro... Sign the open letter of support at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... @crab-exeter.bsky.social

The University of Exeter have announced a programme of academic staff cuts, including all of www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro... Sign the open letter of support at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... @crab-exeter.bsky.social

Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour (CRAB) | Research Groups | University of Exeter

exeter.ac.uk

The WISDOM OF CROWDS emerges in flocks of thousands of migrating songbirds! Excited to share our work published by @aaas.org in Science Advances! doi.org/10.1126/scia...

The wisdom of crowds emerges in flocks of thousands of migrating songbirds

Larger flocks of migrating songbirds orient more accurately toward their population’s migratory direction than smaller flocks.

doi.org

"Barn owl color morphs hunt differently in moonlight" Learn more in Current Biology: www.cell.com/current-biol... Kim Schalcher, @pbecciu.bsky.social, @owlsforpeace.bsky.social & colleagues @currentbiology.bsky.social

Excellent opportunity here: a 5 year senior research fellowship in Life Sciences (broadly defined) at All Souls College Oxford. Many opportunities to work with the diverse & inclusive community here in @biology.ox.ac.uk here in the brand new Life & Mind Buiilding www.asc.ox.ac.uk/post-doctora...

Leaf-mimicking katydids don’t just use their funky camouflage to survive, they’re using it to find love too! 🥰🍃💘 New paper out now in #ProcB @royalsocietypublishing.org (Photo cred: Christian Ziegler): doi.org/10.1098/rspb... 1/n

🎦 I’ve had the pleasure of working with Chris Perrins lately. He has been a monumental figure within avian ecology for nearly 70 years. He is also a very nice and pleasant person. So, I sat down and chatted to him about his life in science. Here is the result. ⬇️ m.youtube.com/watch?v=W-7F...

A life in science- Chris Perrins

YouTube video by Naturalist Pod

m.youtube.com

New mechanism for magnetic sensing in pigeons 🧭 Homing pigeons use magnetically responsive immune cells in their livers to sense Earth’s magnetic field, helping them navigate without visual cues like the sun. Published in Science: doi.org/10.1126/scie... @unibonn.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social

Very excited to announce the publication of our new article on evolutionary biology, cognitive sciences and beauty, with @tamramendelson.bsky.social Dave Shuker and @gilrosenthal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Out today in @royalsocietypublishing.org - we show that crab spiders (the ones you usually see ambushing pollinators on flowers 🕷️🌸) get worse at hunting if their eyes are covered!🫣 Sounds obvious? It's actually quite surprising, here's why... 👀 (1/8) royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...

Our recent paper on human-induced trait shifts and predator–prey interactions is on the cover of the May issue of Trends in Ecology & Evolution 😭😵‍💫 The paper is available open access here -> www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Well this is a big one the largest paper from my PhD is finally out! We show how direct lighting influences optimal camouflage! With shadows promoting the evolution of darker, striped patterns and countershading!! journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Shining a light on camouflage evolution: Using genetic algorithms to determine the effects of geometry and lighting on optimal camouflage

Visual camouflage evolution in animals depends on both light’s interaction with its surroundings and the limits of what the natural observers of the camouflage can see. Changes in lighting – such as t...

journals.plos.org

BBSRC, NERC and Future Leaders fellowships are fantastic opportunities for ECRs to transition to independence. My institute (IVES) at Liverpool Uni is keen to support applicants (vet/ecol/evol/infection/omics etc.). Get in touch with me (ives.fellowships@liverpool.ac.uk) if you're interested!

I am hiring a postdoc for scRNA-seq research in Lund, Sweden on the visual systems of non-model inverts as part of an ERC project on the evolution and ecology of advanced color and polarization vision. Apply here or share the link with someone who may be interested! 🧪 lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

🚨 Please share: PhD opportunity 🐾 Mapping the Manor: How are the lives of meerkats shaped by their sleeping & breeding burrows? 🐾 💡 Big ecological Qs 📡 Geophysical scanning 🌍 Field ecology & behaviour 📊 Big data & code with me & @geophysics-adam.bsky.social APPLY www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Join me & @olliepadget.bsky.social at @livuninews.bsky.social! #postdoc #seabird movement & navigation in response to environmental cues @ukri.org. Developing new loggers w/ micro-engineers & computer scientists @yorkuniversity.bsky.social. Job tinyurl.com/2zuzktv5 Press release tinyurl.com/2zuzktv5

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

Our BehaveAI paper has just come out! Easy & effective tracking & behavioural classification, even with tiny (2px), fast moving, camouflaged objects. Paper: doi.org/10.1371/jour... Download: github.com/troscianko/B... @uniexecec.bsky.social @kevinjgaston.bsky.social @jimamclgalloway.bsky.social

Eye-opening findings on how light suppresses moth activity. Light attracts moths, but what if we've been missing a much more pervasive effect where even sky-glow light levels make them freeze? Paper: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... @uniexecec.bsky.social @esbriolat.bsky.social @kevinjgaston.bsky.social

Just over a week left to apply for this PhD project (unfortunately UK students only). If you're interested then please get in touch!

Matthew Silk@mattjsilk.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New (competition funded) PhD opportunity with me, @iaciac.bsky.social and @dralgernon.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Higher-order networks and animal communication. Suited to someone keen on network science theory/computational modeling and keen to adapt this to ecology & evolution.

5 days, 5 reasons to apply for a Lectureship @bristolbiosci.bsky.social (Day 1): Evolutionary Biology & Understanding the Evolution of Life This theme includes origins of life, evolution of complexity & drivers of biodiversity www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/rese... Advert: tinyurl.com/3ebphy34

Are Great Tits becoming Not So-Great Tits? New preprint from @davididiaquez.bsky.social et al. documenting decline in mass of adult Great Tits in @wythamwoods.bsky.social of ~1 s.d. over 47 years - results from carry-over effect of increased population density during the nestling period. Thread ⬇️

David López-Idiáquez@davididiaquez.bsky.social · 6mo ago

We have published a new pre-print showing a decline in great tit adult and nestling mass of around 1 gram in 47 y. [rate of approx. -0.040 Hadanes] With @ellafcole.bsky.social, @devisatarkar.bsky.social, Sam. Crofts, @mcmahok.bsky.social & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

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