Bonfire night is here! Sending love to those sheltering with animal companions @wascherclaudia.bsky.social and I have new research out about the impacts fireworks have on urban corvids: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... And as video: youtu.be/dCfHEqJfx2A #BonfireNight #birds #crows #urbanwildlife

As Bonfire Night approaches, new research lnkd.in/epBXK8Tu by @distrustful-dinos.bsky.social and me shows that fireworks significantly disturb urban corvids. OA: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/d... #BonfireNight #Wildlife #AnimalWelfare #Corvids 📸 Photo: @distrustful-dinos.bsky.social

Looking for a PhD? 🦜 Interested in ornithology, animal behaviour, bioacoustics? I am advertising a PhD on vocal communication in ring-necked parakeets tinyurl.com/44a3hcnz Eligible candidates are encouraged to apply for University of Salford Widening Participation Scholarships tinyurl.com/4wtzzh3z

‼️ Thrilled to share my first article on the Kalahari meerkats ‼️, in @animalecology.bsky.social! Group membership strongly influences gut microbiomes & especially the co-occurrence of beneficial bacteria, beyond animals' age or sex, disease status, or environmental exposure doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Out 🌟TODAY🌟 in the #new volume of @asab.org #AnimalBehaviour, is latest #PhD chapter from the fantastic #Chun-ChiehLiao: Functionally referential communication about danger in cooperatively breeding white-winged choughs #fieldwork #experiments With #RobMagrath #RobHeinsohn doi.org/10.1016/j.an... 1/

Very happy to see this collaboration with @babeheim.bsky.social published in Animal Cognition: 'Vocal mimicry in corvids'. Since posting the first preprint, we have identified evidence for vocal mimicry in 8 more species, thanks to the community highlighting additional sources #communityscience

Our special collection is growing nicely, already featuring six published papers and more under review/in production #animalcognition #vocalcommunication

New #PhD ad alert! Interested in wild #bee #cognition and #brains in different #bumblebees? Want to live in #Newcastle and the beautiful north-east of England? Check out this project with me, @lenariab.bsky.social and Sarah Scott. Contact me for further information. iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

1/6 The Cooperative-Breeding Database (Co-BreeD) is alive! Co-BreeD covers key biological parameters relevant to cooperative breeding research in birds and mammals. Get your copy of this updateable & open-access database: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @animalecology.bsky.social

🚨Fully-funded PhD opportunity in my group🚨 🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾 Find out by studying meerkats! 🧪Epigenetic clocks ✨Bioinformatics 📊Long-term data 🌍Kalahari fieldwork 💡Big evolutionary questions Get in touch or APPLY NOW Please share! www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...

Social relationships are powerful predictors of fitness across social animals. But *why*? In our new @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social paper, we outline testable predictions for why relationship quality and quantity adaptively vary across socio-ecological contexts. tinyurl.com/55dnkeh7

Job alert: want to be my boss? 😁 The School of Life Sciences @ARU is looking for a new Head of School. It’s a great place to work with brilliant colleagues, students, and partners. Please share widely! #AcademicJobs #Leadership #LifeSciences #HigherEducation jobs.aru.ac.uk/vacancy/head...

Last hours for this - deadline is midnight tonight, 1st October, UK time. That's for both the application (online form) and the referee statement (emailed direct to me). All info here: www.asab.org/conference-g...

**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)

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

Don't be this editor. I can't believe we still have to put up with this exclusionary sh*t in academic publishing.

👇 interview on collaborative (research 🧪) cultures Thanks to @humboldt-foundation.de for funding my work on cooperative subsistence across cultures, w/ @sheinalew.bsky.social, and my network at @durhamdcerc.bsky.social: @mandolinguist.bsky.social @amandinevisine.bsky.social @chimpanzeve.bsky.social

How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go! 400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!

New paper on precise tool use learning in carrion crows @currentbiology.bsky.social. We show that—like New Caledonian crows—expert carrion crows pay close attention to the working end of their tool, suggesting tool integration into their peripersonal space. 🧵 & vids! 👇 www.cell.com/current-biol...

@durhampsych.bsky.social current has 5 (FIVE!!) PhD studentships being advertised! 3 to work with me on children as agents of cultural evolution 2 to work with @drboothroyd.bsky.social on examining school-based body image interventions. Please share and apply! www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...

Primate Society of Great Britain (PSGB) Meeting National Museum Cardiff, 27-28 November www.psgb.org/pages/14-mee... Registration and abstract submission coming soon! Please share! @mckinneymonkey.bsky.social @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social @willallennz.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social

Interested in animal welfare, education policy & social research? Fully funded PhD (UK home) on dog welfare in schools. Get in touch & apply: www.cam-dtp.ac.uk/students/cur... (Dog photo purely for attention and moral support) #PhDopportunity #AnimalWelfare #DogsInSchools #CamDTP #SocialResearch

Celebrating 10 years @aru-biology.bsky.social, now as Professor of Behavioural Biology! Endlessly grateful to the students and collaborators whose curiosity, mentorship, and teamwork made this journey so rewarding, whilst navigating and challenging academia's systemic hurdles #WomenInSTEM #ARUproud

A fantastic Day 2 on #psgbfieldskills2025 #zsl workshop: vegetation and wildlife surveys @pintsizedprimate.bsky.social bioacoustics @wascherclaudia.bsky.social tracking, camera traps @lizallo.bsky.social and mental health in the field with Praneetha Monipi @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @asab.org

As field researchers, we can support disclosure choices with confidential protocols, pre-fieldwork conversations and ensuring allies are visible

Why talk about LGBTQIA+Inclusion in the field? 45% of those participating in fieldwork have faced gender discrimination 👇 #psgbfieldskills2025 workshop @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @asab.org @zslscience.bsky.social @ljmuimpact.bsky.social @wascherclaudia.bsky.social

Our #psgbfieldskills2025 workshop has started! Great to hear Kat @pintsizedprimate.bsky.social talk on different perspectives in the development of animal behaviour methods @primatesocietygb.bsky.social Thanks to @asab.org @zslscience.bsky.social @ljmuimpact.bsky.social for their amazing support

This week’s edition of #BirdsAreAwesome: A genetically male laughing kookaburra laid an egg. Nature: 1, binary: 0 #NatureIsQueer

Very happy to share this article, coauthored with @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social and Clark Barrett, on the contemporary relevance of the human sociobiology debate, 50 years after publication of Wilson's landmark book.

Our new review on numerical cognition in birds, just out in Nature Reviews Psychology! 🐦🧠 Behavior, neurobiology & field studies across avian species Very fond of the neurobiology part :) 📖 Read it here: rdcu.be/eyErI

How much does it cost to caw? @wascherclaudia.bsky.social @masonyoungblood.bsky.social report that in 3 crow species, there is a strong negative relation b/t call sequence length & call duration --> they obey Menzerath's law of efficiency 1/2 #prattle 💬 #bioacoustics

Science and society thrive through collaboration! Meet our Feodor Lynen Research fellow @fhillemann.bsky.social ‬ and her host @sheinalew.bsky.social, as they reflect on the importance of shared learning in both indigenous communities and academia. www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/explore/n...

Winter ASAB @asab.org on *Sensory Ecology* register and submit your abstracts now (abstract deadline just a month away)! I'm organising the conference this year with @lauraakelley.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill Register & get more info here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/

Chattering in your territory: Eurasian magpies vary in their response to chatter calls at different durations and rates. How do magpies perceive this alarm and terrritorial defence signal from intruders in their territory? Out now📜 link.springer.com/10.1007/s100... #openAccess #Communication #Corvid

This looks brilliant topic wise- Though it's a pity that only 2 of the 10 speakers are women. There are so many great women scientists who could have provided excellent contributions for a more balanced programme - @asab.org

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/...

Happy gotcha-day to our precious princess Mellori! 11 years of unmatched chaotic energy, yet the gentlest soul when it comes to people. These days, toys are safe. Not food though, nor lip balm or chewing gum or hand cream -- will. eat. everything. @wascherclaudia.bsky.social

We are seeking a full-time Managing Editor for our journal Animal Behaviour. This editor will be involved in all stages of the publication process & must have a general understanding of the topics covered. Position starts Oct 1, application deadline July 31. More details: www.asab.org/opportunities

1/3 First evidence of anxiety in snails They exhibit fear responses hours after the source of their anxiety is removed. These responses can be reduced with an anxiolytic, such as alprazolam. They have also demonstrated high-level learning. (paper) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Happy birthday to our greying gent, Sir Siro! (the shelter set this former stray's birthday to 1 July 2011, but when we adopted him in 2013, we were told he was 3–4. whatever his true age, he’s still up to mischief with partner in crime Madame Mellori) @wascherclaudia.bsky.social

Originally posted on Twitter in 2023—reposting after a chat with a colleague about possibly publishing in an MDPI journal (whose review practices are similar to Frontiers). Not sure if either has since addressed the issues raised, but I feel process should be public knowledge.

We're compiling a list of all our collaborators, staff & partners in one place. Check out our StarterPack to connect with some of the key voices in animal communication, AI, bioacoustics & ethology👇🏽 Let us know if we missed anyone & please share to help us grow the community 🔊 🌎 go.bsky.app/AdivEXH

Birds as pride flags, meticulously researched by my wonderful student Griffin ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Rainbow flag: Eastern Rosella 📷 David Irving, eBird

Applications are now open for our 2025 Field Skills Workshop! The Field Skills Workshop is a 3-day workshop aimed to develop theory and practice in field skills. See 🧵

Very pleased that our online course about how to learn and thrive in an online world (thebullshitmachines.com) is mentioned in @johnthornhill.bsky.social's latest Financial Times piece.

Ever wondered what life is like for a crow or magpie? Check out our new paper on corvid consciousness doi.org/10.1007/s100...

Postdoc job alert! I'm hiring a 3-yr postdoc to work on our Social Modifiers of Primate Lifespans grant. Job info and how to apply below. Deadline June 1. Pls share! jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals & beyond. New paper, led by Josh Arbon with fab collaborators Neil Jordan & @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0136 @uniexecec.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org