Our new paper offers an explanation for the universal law that "under carefully controlled conditions.... an animal behaves as it damn well pleases." We explore how stochastic mechanisms may play an underappreciated role in generating individuality. (1/7 🧵) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#PhD position! Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

The more complex three or four component calls are social calls produced by the Soprano Pipistrelle to communicate with other bats. Great recordings by the students from St Andrews! Analysed using Kaleidoscope from @wildlifeacoustics.com #acoustic #ecology #bats #echolocation #fieldwork

The Pipistrelle is echolocating at about 55 kHz and has a wingspan of roughly 20cm, while the Free-tailed Bat is huge, with a wingspan of 45cm. It’s echolocating at a much lower frequency: 10-16 kHz, within the range of human hearing. @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

While on their field course with us, MSc students from the University of St Andrews carried out independent research projects. One group studied bat behaviour using ultrasonic recorders. Here, they’ve managed to record a Soprano Pipistrelle and a European Free-tailed Bat. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

Humans perceive but animals don’t: pitfalls in using plasticine models for assessing biotic interactions buff.ly/7hcLYXx | #ProcB #Ecology

Check out this fascinating special edition of the Journal of Fish Biology @thefsbi.bsky.social focussed on how we study cognition in fishes- led by lab alumnus @nickarjones.bsky.social

City lizards are more social. In a new paper in #BiologyLetters, social network analysis revealed that urban lizards have more social connections and stronger bonds than their non-urban counterparts. buff.ly/kqf2YfZ | #Behaviour #UrbanEcology

super cool study found human artifacts in Bearded vulture nests, incl. "weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot....a shoe made from twigs and grass is ~675-years-old." link to paper: doi.org/10.1002/ecy..... www.popsci.com/environment/... 🧪🌍🦉

In a world bursting with colour, why go monochrome? I joined Tim Caro & Martin How on the BBC World Service’s Crowdscience to explore why some animals stand out in stark contrast. From 🦓🐼🐧 it turns out the answers aren’t always so black & white 😉 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🆕 in the ESA Bulletin's Photo Gallery: A deep-sea fight between a fish & a sea lily, previously speculated but not actually observed, caught on camera and described in @ESAEcology's #TheScientificNaturalist series See more 📸: doi.org/10.1002/bes2... Read the study: doi.org/10.1002/ecy....

Animal brains don’t think in a vacuum, they think in heatwaves & hypoxia, and around predators, parasites, and social groups. Our new review maps mechanisms, timescales, and gaps for understanding animal cognition in changing environments: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lau5Esvgs...

Join us for #ASABWinter2025 in Edinburgh Dec 15-16 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Abstracts for posters/talks due Aug 29 More details here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/

Interesting new paper on color "rules" in terrestrial mammals, suggesting that Gloger's rule actually holds: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🔴New #trumpetfish content!🔴 This species is colour #polymorphic so we dove (pun intended) into how the relative abundance and saliency of each morph influences the #behaviour of their prey. Find out more via the link below! 🎺🐠 🔗 tinyurl.com/39vn5skp #behavioralecology

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Happy to share our new paper introducing the Animal Culture Database in Scientific Data: We’re putting together a resource consolidating primary research on cultural behaviors in wild animal populations and how they’re affected by human activity (1/5) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is how it looks when a Sea Anemone runs away from a Starfish.

The first papers from our special collection on vocal communication in corvids are now live. Most are still under review, stay tuned for more updates as they’re published! link.springer.com/collections/...

A little moon jelly at the rockpools today🪼 @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

Fish are smarter than you think! They can distinguish and remember individuals, navigate with mental maps, cooperate and communicate with one another, build complex structures, use tools, and keep track of quantities.

I really enjoyed presenting some preliminary results from my PhD work at the St Andrews Biology PGR conference today! It was great to see all the cool work coming out of our community as well 🦀🐟🔊 (thanks to @mikemwebster.bsky.social and @lrendell.bsky.social as always)

Another bright morning at the rocky shore with some members of 'Team Fish'🐟🦀☀️🌊 @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

A very eventful five seconds 🦀🐟🫧