#teamSTRANGE goes to Switzerland! @mikemwebster.bsky.social talking @ Uni Bern about sampling biases in animal behaviour research and how acknowledging them helps us improve replications and ask cool new questions! www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

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

So cool! Specific sounds attributed to 46 fish species in Curacao, linked to video of that fish www.fisheyecollaborative.org/library There's even an aggressive butterflyfish 🤗

With our thermal camera, we managed to watch the Otters feeding, sprainting and even allogrooming. From the sizes, it’s likely this is a female #otter and two of her kits from this year. #mammals #thermal-camera #ecology #fieldwork @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

We were very lucky to have a nocturnal encounter with Otters during our field course with MSc students and staff from the University of St Andrews. Stood on a bridge near the field centre at night, we used our thermal camera and watched silently as this trio approached us. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the staff and students from the University of St Andrews for making your field course so special. Thanks for your enthusiasm about local ecology, and for designing fascinating field projects. Good luck with the rest of your studies! @mikemwebster.bsky.social

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

We're pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of the Advancing Cultural Evolution Course Design Awards! This competition recognises leading educators in the field of cultural evolution and their existing efforts to advance its teaching. We have 7 winners and 2 runners up (listed below):

For our second excursion with MSc students from the University of St Andrews, we headed to the #Camargue. First exploring the freshwater reedbeds to the north, then the southern salt marshes where we saw plenty of waders and Greater Flamingos. @mikemwebster.bsky.social #birds #ornithology #ecology

Super chuffed that @mikemwebster.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social and I had our course 'The question of culture in animals' among this list! 🐳🧪

And of course hugely grateful to all contributing authors and reviewers whose efforts made this collection possible. Don't miss Stefan Schuster's opinion piece challenging the "golden rules" of cognitive testing tinyurl.com/bde3wuwy.

Big thanks to @thefsbi.bsky.social for supporting this special issue, and to my amazing co-editors Joachim Frommen, Theodora Fuss, Cait Newport, Cairsty DePasquale, @mikemwebster.bsky.social, @catarina-vp.bsky.social, Libor Závorka & Anne Gro Vea Salvanes.

🐟 Our special issue "Measuring Fish Cognition: Empirical-based Guidance for Designing Cognition Assays" is out! From acclimation protocols to automated tracking, these studies tackle a range of methodological issues. Check it out: tinyurl.com/vdprfbf4 #FishCognition #AnimalBehaviour

We spent a day with staff and MSc students from the University of St Andrews to explore the rugged uplands of the Causse Méjean. We had extraordinary views of the gorges from above the clouds, found some fantastic plants, and were lucky enough to spot 3 species of vulture. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

Day 2 with MSc students from the University of St Andrews, and they are trialling their field projects. Microphones have been placed to record meadow soundscapes, audio has been reviewed from bat detectors, and model butterflies have been deployed to investigate predation. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

A great first day with our visitors from the University of St Andrews. We’ve had a drone demonstration and toured the local habitats while looking for inspiration for field projects. Highlights included plenty of invertebrates, and some amazing #fungi. @mikemwebster.bsky.social