Let me get this straight: * blood is made of iron * some blood cells are made for killing enemies * these defense cells also eat old blood cells, and become 🔮superparamagnetic🔮 et voila, magnetic navigation I love biology so much 😭😭😭 🧪

Science Magazine@science.org · 2mo ago

Researchers have identified superparamagnetic macrophages in the livers of rock pigeons to be crucial for magnetic sensing. The finding uncovers an unexpected role for immune cells in sensory perception and may fundamentally change our understanding of animal navigation. https://scim.ag/4nTQ3nq

Together with AI-INTERVENE, Crocus are accepting applications for NERC-funded undergraduate research experience placements. Six exciting projects are available spanning across ecology and biodiversity, climate change, volcanology, and marine sciences: blogs.reading.ac.uk/crocus-dla/c...

Attenborough’s black-eyed satyr - Euptychia attenboroughi Today I am examining a PhD thesis on animal eyespots because 35 years ago Sir Attenborough spoke to a kid in urban London about the world of nature. Happy 100th birthday!

In April the first cohort of Crocus students got together in south Wales to learn learn about effective collaboration and careers with environmental regulators and policy makers.

New PhD alert! We'll be applying animal welfare ideas to look at how stress affects bees, looking at the effect on bee brains with @lenariab.bsky.social, and working with @sensibee.bsky.social developing new monitoring methods. Please spread the word! #bees #PhD 🧪 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - The effect of stress on pollinator behaviour at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Faculty #job alert - come and join our lovely friendly School! The School of Environmental and Life Sciences @uniofhull.bsky.social are recruiting a #Lecturer in Marine Conservation. Closing date 19 Feb - see details below. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQF022/l...

Lecturer in Marine Conservation at University of Hull

An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer in Marine Conservation is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

jobs.ac.uk

Urban camouflage.

Celebrating a campaigning win today - after months of emails, calls, protests and meetings, Swansea Council backed down and decided to not to cover this beautiful historic bridleway in tarmac. Congrats to everyone who got involved - a victory for people power 🎉.

Having a final sweep of followers who've moved here from the other place with SkyFollowerBridge before deactivating my account.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m recruiting a funded PhD student at Nottingham Trent University to study the cognitive mechanisms underlying individual differences in parenting in rhesus macaques! Deadline: 2 February | Start date: April 2026

@primatesocietygb.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Fully funded PhD project available at Nottingham Trent University. Linked to a BBSRC funded grant, this project will investigate how primates perceive and respond to infants, combining cutting-edge cognitive testing with behavioural data. See 🧵

Our paper is published today in Current Biology and is featured on the cover! We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.

New PhD position: Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️ The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations. DEADLINE: January 11, 2025 More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/

Join us

Opportunities Below are the positions currently open in our lab. Fully-funded PhD position The project aims to understand rapid evolution and adaptation in white butterflies flying at high elevatio…

pavelmatos.wordpress.com

The serenity of rolling over crunchy snow on my commute this morning was shattered when I opened my office door and saw water damage everywhere. All my books, artwork, photos ... feeling pretty devastated right now.

Matt Sparks presenting his PhD research on fly visual ecology in urban environments #ASABWinter2025

Currently recruiting PhD students to follow up on this result - please come to have a chat if interested #ASABWinter2025

ASAB Spring 2026@asab-meetings.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Compared to warning colouration, camouflage is more affected by the sensory enviro 👀 🦋 #ASABWinter2025

Application portal for 59 Crocus PhD project is now open - deadline 12th Jan. Two studentships also available to BAME candidates.

Crocus-DLA@crocus-dla.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The Crocus DLA will soon be open for applications to our Autumn 2026 intake for #PhD research across the environmental sciences with the University of Reading and Swansea University. www.findaphd.com/phds/program...

More evidence of the benefits of lottery elements in funding.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8mo ago

'The new procedure required applicants to submit only an expression of interest...before 500 were selected, via lottery, to submit a full proposal for peer review....the number of female applicants increased 10 per cent, while the number of funded projects by women rose by 23 per cent.' 2/2

We decided to put this one out before the end of the year "Gene expression and structural differences underpinning black and white colouration in spiders" ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

First publication! 🥳 Very excited that my Master’s research project from @royalholloway.bsky.social is out in @ecol-evol.bsky.social this week. Big thank you to @sjportugal.bsky.social for all the support from start to finish. Please don’t come for me Britney…

Steve Portugal@sjportugal.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New paper out today in Ecology and Evolution! Link below. Congrats PhD student @smthmpsn.bsky.social, on your first paper. All about how wild birds learn to avoid a novel aposematic warning signal. And a nice nod to Britney Spears in the paper title.

🚨Two funded PhDs on the evolutionary ecology of antipredator colouration 🦋 with myself and Iliana Medina. One in Swansea tinyurl.com/4thtbph6 deadline Jan 12th @crocus-dla.bsky.social The other in Melbourne - deadline Jan 1st Please share among potential students!

Thank you bringing your knowledge, enthusiasm, and hope to this year's Winter Meeting at National Museum Cardiff. We hope to see you all next year!

Postdoc Caitlin Hawley sharing results from our work on Primate natal colouration at #PSGBCardiff2025

PhD opportunity: MOVE Details: blogs.reading.ac.uk/crocus-dla/c... Deadline: 12/01/26 Supervisors: @shoalgroup.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social, @wlallen.bsky.social, @nhcooper123.bsky.social, @marinapapa.bsky.social Apply: blogs.reading.ac.uk/crocus-dla/p...

If you like genomics, speciation, and primates, this PhD position is for you! Unraveling the genomic architecture of speciation and gene flow in guenons, a diverse group of African monkeys. Funding through DTP. Do reach out with questions! #genomics #genome_assembly evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

📢🦋 Our paper ‘Global selection on insect antipredator coloration’ is out and featured on the cover of @science.org We ran a huge experiment to find out how ecological context favours camouflage and warning colouration as antipredator strategies. 1/6 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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...

Postdoc job alert! We are hiring a NYU-based postdoc to work on our project on the social and environmental determinants of aging. The 3 year post will be based in James Higham's lab and will focus on endocrine, immune, and inflammatory aspects of aging. Please share! apply.interfolio.com/173938

Matt Sparks, my PhD student, and Roger Santer wrote a very interesting article for The Conversation on fly vision, and why understanding it better can help prevent human disease. theconversation.com/how-a-fly-se...

How a fly sees the world – and why understanding its vision can help prevent disease

Flies see things differently.

theconversation.com

Super happy to share the first chapter of my PhD, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface ✨🐀 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... Iridescence in mammals is not as rare as we thought, but it’s all created in the same way!

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.