In their recent Commentary, Ken Lohmann & colleagues discuss magnetoreception, suggesting there are multiple mechanisms which animals may use to detect the Earth's magnetic field and use it for navigation doi.org/10.1242/jeb....
Robyn Grant
@robyngrant.bsky.social
Comparative biologist, anatomy and behaviour. Sensory Biologist. Whisker scientist, all views my own.
Do all rodents, like cloud rats (shown here), spiny mice, or dormice, use their whiskers in the same way? @robyngrant.bsky.social and Msc student are busy testing hypotheses about whisker sensory behaviour at Lakeland Wildlife Oasis this week!
Congratulations to our newly minted PhDs! Dr Michal Zatrak's thesis worked with seals in rescue & rehabilitation centres, using cutting edge lab-on-a-chip methods to assess and monitor health. Supervisors: @robyngrant.bsky.social Kirsty Shaw and @mattgeary.bsky.social doi.org/10.83056/mmu...
Katie Todd is a PhD student with me at @sbac-manmetuni.bsky.social. She researches whisker growth and layout in pinnipeds, working with many zoos across the world. Her work is featured on the Pairi Daiza website. They have been a fab collaborator in our studies! www.pairidaiza.eu/en/together-...
Project seals | Pairi Daiza
pairidaiza.eu
We absolutely loved doing this study, and the data from @oceannetworks.ca are incredible!
Ocean Networks Canada@oceannetworks.ca · 4mo agoPublished this year & building on previous research by University of Miami Rosenstiel School, University of Victoria, & ONC scientists, this study by Manchester Metropolitan University sheds new light on the remarkable hunting strategies of northern elephant seals! Full paper 🔗 bit.ly/4ahAsZj
Excited to share our new paper "Head and Whisker Behaviours Observed During Foraging in Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga angustirostris)" lnkd.in/e-sXgZkA @wileyecology.bsky.social The first description of infrasound and whisker movements occurring together! Check out the video: lnkd.in/ef6mRSTx
Head and Whisker Behaviours Observed During Foraging in Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga angustirostris)
We observed a range of behaviours during foraging, including forward swimming, vertical diving, swooping, dabbing, sweeping and rotations. Head dabbing was also sometimes accompanied by the seal prod...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Excited to share our new paper on otter whiskers: academic.oup.com/jmammal/adva... This was a paper led by Amisha, and the second paper from her MSc at Manchester Met, in collaboration with the Wildwood Trust, Kent. Fab job Amisha!
Describing the whiskers of a semi-aquatic caniform: the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra)
Studying the whiskers of the semi-aquatic Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) has revealed interesting adaptations similar to what we have previously observed in
academic.oup.com
We are calling for Reviews, Commentaries or research papers for our upcoming Special Issue: The Integrative Biology of Reproduction, covering the reproductive process, from mate selection, mating pregnancy/egg-laying through parental care deadline 30 June bit.ly/3ZT42hY
I had a fabulous day yesterday filming spinifex hopping mice, cloud rats, pygmy dormice and steppe lemmings with MSc student Georgia at Lakeland Wildlife Oasis in Cumbria. A beautiful sunny day, filled with science 🔆
The "bags of science-ing" are packed and ready to go for a week of data collection! Exciting!
The first paper of our Mammal Review @mammalsociety.bsky.social Special Issue is published! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... by David Lindenmayer
Lessons From Long‐Term Research and Monitoring Programs on Mammals
Ten key lessons for designing, running and sustaining long-term mammal monitoring programs, distilled from 30 years of research in south-eastern Australia.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
We’re interested in folks applying from all manner of disciplinary backgrounds. Biology, zoology of course. But also computer science, remote sensing, architecture. If you’re keen to work with LiDAR and point clouds, we’d like to hear from you!
Robyn Grant@robyngrant.bsky.social · 8mo agoWe are advertising a Sensory Ecology, Zoo Biology funded PhD opportunity, led by @cbrassey.bsky.social in partnership with Chester Zoo. Using some super-cool 3D scanning techniques and thinking about visual fields and enclosure design. Send round all your friends! www.mmu.ac.uk/study/postgr...
We are advertising a Sensory Ecology, Zoo Biology funded PhD opportunity, led by @cbrassey.bsky.social in partnership with Chester Zoo. Using some super-cool 3D scanning techniques and thinking about visual fields and enclosure design. Send round all your friends! www.mmu.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Doctoral scholarships
Find out what doctoral research scholarships are available at Manchester Met and sign up for vacancy alerts.
mmu.ac.uk
Just as well I kept my super old laptop, which is now the only computer that can run my highspeed video camera! My old faithful! I feel there are many weird old computers littered around universities that are kept around to run that one machine or one programme!
I spent a fabulous afternoon at Stroud Green Primary School in London, chatting about all things whiskery and what I do as a scientist.
Absolutely thrilled to be a part of this awesome special issue on Sensory Perception in a Changing World. And if you are interested in how whisker sensing might be affected in a changing world, then do check out my contribution: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Vibrissal sensing in mammals in a changing world
Summary: The mammalian vibrissal system is precise, sensitive and involved in multimodal sensing. This Review considers the important implications of environmental change for vibrissal sensing.
journals.biologists.com
Journal of Experimental Biology@jexpbiol.bsky.social · 8mo agoRead our new Special Issue, Sensory Perception in a Changing World, guest edited by Almut Kelber, Kathleen Gilmour and Sanjay Sane, featuring Reviews & Commentaries discussing the impact of environmental change on how animals perceive their surroundings tinyurl.com/5t3mkrny
Our new paper studying cortisol and behaviour during seal pup rehabilitation. Another fabulous output from Michal Zatrak's PhD. authors.elsevier.com/c/1mOZQcF2O~...
authors.elsevier.com
I am having an amazing time observing the grey seals in Norfolk this week. There is a lot going on here, lots of young shedding their white coats and growing up!
Have a great winter break, and a nice Christmas to anyone who celebrates.
Don't worry; it's not all doom -- the seals are amazingly resilient, and the story also features an adorable ginger albino pup called Golden Boy & a team of scientists at the top of their various games, including Jody Weir, Wendi Roe @jemmageoghegan.bsky.social & @robyngrant.bsky.social 👩🔬🦭🧪
Photographer Richard Robinson & I spent the spring documenting the toughest time of year for Kaikōura's fur seals. In the last 2 years they've faced starvation and a new virus -- now, as bird flu looms, what will this breeding season hold? nzgeo.com/stories/silent-spring 🧪🦭 @nzgeo.bsky.social
Silent Spring
Last year, they were hit with a deadly virus. The year before that, starvation. What will this breeding season bring for the thousands of fur seals hauled up on our coasts?
nzgeo.com
I watched the online premier of the @beavertrust.bsky.social #BalancingTheScales yesterday. It was beautifully filmed and lovely to see such a complex story summarised.
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Catching the end of #SuperSeabirdSunday to show you a pic from our recent Albatross tour in Kaikoura, New Zealand. Amazing!
I am reviewing all my new kiwi footage wearing my new kiwi t-shirt... which quite exciting :)
Applications for Winter 2025 conference attendance grants are trickling in, awarding up to £500 with a high success rate (if eligible). Deadline isn't until 1st October, but don't forget to get referee statements in by then too! All the info you need is here: www.asab.org/conference-g... @asab.org
ASAB Spring 2027@asab-meetings.bsky.social · last yr.ICYMI : #ASABWinter2025 will take place from December 15-16, once again in lovely Edinburgh! Registration is now open 🎉 Abstract submission deadline for posters and talks is August 29 🏃♀️🏃🏃♂️ More information here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/
*****EVERY EPISODE OF COUNT DUCKULA IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON ITVX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*****
I had such a great time at Orana Wildlife park yesterday planning our first research projects together. Exciting :)
Join us for #ASABWinter2025 in Edinburgh Dec 15-16 🏴 Abstracts for posters/talks due Aug 29 More details here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/
