Scientific conferences can be a bore. Can jokes liven them up? Science speaks with ecologist Stefano Mammola about the power of humor to enhance science communication

Scientific conferences can be a bore. Can jokes liven them up?

Science Careers speaks with ecologist @stefanomammola.bsky.social about the power of humor to enhance science communication. https://scim.ag/4uCVf1N

We are seeking a talented postdoctoral fellow working on Tick Chemical Ecology and Neurology at the Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre (CTRIC), Acadia University! #tickresearch #postdoctoralposition

Last year, J. Endler published an inspiring essay in @behavecol.bsky.social on what we should be doing as behavioral ecologists 👉 doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf029. According to him, "we need to put Ecology back into Behavioural Ecology: we need to make a lot more use of Natural History" (1/5)

Preprint: Dishonesty can be based on honesty.
Increased pheromonal attractiveness despite reduced pheromone production in a aging female spider.
Senescent widow spiders are poor mates but remain attractive to mate-seeking males through deceptive signalling.
doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.04.709482

#rstats Here's a useful guide to creating publication-ready #ggplot figures to journal specifications, which is often quite fiddly.

jaquent.github.io/2026/02/crea...

Our BehaveAI paper has just come out!

Easy & effective tracking & behavioural classification, even with tiny (2px), fast moving, camouflaged objects.

Paper: doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Download: github.com/troscianko/B...

@uniexecec.bsky.social @kevinjgaston.bsky.social @jimamclgalloway.bsky.social

@arachnology.bsky.social

Review on The Chemical Ecology of Arachnids - Morphology, Behaviour and Semiochemicals now out as PREPRINT
doi.org/10.32942/X22...
with Kirk Hillier, Lise Roy and @nicolettafaraone.bsky.social
We are grateful for any feedback to improve the review during the submission process

Job advertisement

I am looking for a PhD working on tracking trait changes in insects/spiders at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity change @leibnizlib.bsky.social and the University of Hamburg.
Apply here: www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenan...

An ancient genome duplication event drives the development and evolution of spinnerets in spiders A genome duplication event during the Silurian played a crucial role in the evolutionary emergence of spinnerets in spiders.

Chromosome-scale #genomes from newly sequenced spiders & the whip scorpion, the genetic basis of spinneret emergence in spiders & the complex history & functional importance of arachnid genome #evolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #biodiversity #genomics

3-year PhD position in insect ecophysiology and land-use intensity with PD Dr. Florian Menzel (@unimainz.bsky.social) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitt ( #Würzburg ). Application deadline: February 4th, 2026. More info here: www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb10-evoluti... #insects #ecophysiology #land-use #CHCs

The long-held belief that only female mosquitoes bite may not be true after all.

Very excited to have had the opportunity to contribute to this study showing that male mosquitoes can also bite and feed on blood.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Evaluation of statistical approaches for differential metaproteomics Metaproteomics characterizes and compares molecular phenotypes of organisms in communities by comprehensively analyzing their protein expression profiles using statistical methods. However, not all st...

Super excited to have this paper out. We developed a complex set of ground truth samples to test more than 110 statistical approaches for differential #metaproteomics
We can now give clear guidance on what tests perform well. Thank you Tjorven Hinzke and
@benoitkunath.bsky.social for the leadership

This is such an important, rigorous, and beautiful paper by Rochelle - light pollution impacts both the "normal" visual cues of detecting sunset to trigger activity AND the polarised visual cues of the sky used for navigation...in two completely different animal species! 🦋🕷️🌌 Such amazing work!

A screenshot of the abstract of a paper titled, "Evaluating Large Language Models in Scientific Discovery."

Been saying this for a while that LLMs can't create new scientific knowledge simply because they use a predictive model.

This paper by Chinese and American researchers shows this limitation of LLMs.

Good for brainstorming research questions and hypotheses, but can't create new knowledge.

xcms in Peak Form: Now Anchoring a Complete Metabolomics Data Preprocessing and Analysis Software Ecosystem High-quality data preprocessing is essential for untargeted metabolomics experiments, where increasing data set scale and complexity demand adaptable, robust, and reproducible software solutions. Modern preprocessing tools must evolve to integrate seamlessly with downstream analysis platforms, ensuring efficient and streamlined workflows. Since its introduction in 2005, the xcms R package has become one of the most widely used tools for LC-MS data preprocessing. Developed through an open-source, community-driven approach, xcms maintains long-term stability while continuously expanding its capabilities and accessibility. We present recent advancements that position xcms as a central component of a modular and interoperable software ecosystem for metabolomics data analysis. Key improvements include enhanced scalability, enabling the processing of large-scale experiments with thousands of samples on standard computing hardware. These developments empower users to build comprehensive, customizable, and reproducible workflows tailored to diverse experimental designs and analytical needs. An expanding collection of tutorials, documentation, and teaching materials further supports both new and experienced users in leveraging broader R and Bioconductor ecosystems. These resources facilitate the integration of statistical modeling, visualization tools, and domain-specific packages, extending the reach and impact of xcms workflows. Together, these enhancements solidify xcms as a cornerstone of modern metabolomics research.

Out now! xcms in Peak Form: Now Anchoring a Complete Metabolomics Data Preprocessing and Analysis Software Ecosystem doi.org/10.1021/acs....
with Phillipine and @jorainer.bsky.social (EURAC), @metabomichael.bsky.social, Hendrik and Norman from @ipbhalle.bsky.social, @janstanstrup.bsky.social, et al.

🕷️🥬The discovery of chemosensory sensilla with different distributions on the body appendages and between the sexes of a cursorial spider, combined with evidence of olfactory mate attraction, provides insights into chemical communication in spiders. @uhl-lab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Experimental setup for testing the effect of different winter temperatures on survival, physiology and gene expression in the wasp spider.

Here comes Carolina's first paper on the effects of winter temperatures on survival, physiology and gene expression in wasp spiders. Thanks go to all coauthors for their various contribution that made this work possible!🧪🕷
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#climatechange

Zwei Männer pflanzen einen Baum in einer sehr trockenen Region. Im Hintergrund ist die Fahne von MV zu sehen.

Die Antisemitismusbeauftragten der Universitäten Greifswald und Rostock pflanzten mit weiteren Teilnehmenden aus den 16 deutschen Bundesländern im Kibbuz Nahal Oz 16 Bäume. Die Bäume sollen an die Opfer des Angriffs auf Israel am 7. Oktober 2023 erinnern. 🌳
#Antisemitismus #Israel #Baumpflanzung

Come and work with us in our new home @bristolbiosci.bsky.social ! This fully funded PhD opportunity is open to anyone interested in spiders/eyes/light pollution/evolution/development! 🕷️👀

⏰Deadline 15th December, online info event TODAY @2pm! Link in the PhD advert👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Net-casting spider stretching it net

enlarged forward facing eyes of Asianopis subrufa

🚨Good news, everyone!
1) I'm thrilled to be joining the behavior powerhouse that is Indiana University!! So stoked, starting Jan 2026.
2) I'm recruiting grad students! Are you (or your trainee) interested in sensory ecology? behavior? evolution? fieldwork? spiders? Drop me a line Jstafstr(at)iu.edu

🚨 Uh-oh!!! A suuuper hot #PhD opportunity just dropped! My friend and collaborator Massimo De Agrò is looking for someone to explore jumping spider vision and neurophysiology! #psychophysics #jumpingspiders #greatPI - apply!!!! (Deadline December 17th) 🚨

Socially parasitic ant queens chemically induce queen-matricide in host workers Taku Shimada and colleagues show that socially parasitic queens of two ant species spray their respective host queens with chemical signals that trigger host workers to kill the resident queen.

Very cool study: matricide in ants as a maniputing behaviour favouring social parasitism! 🤯🤯

->Socially parasitic ant queens chemically induce queen-matricide in host workers. Current Biology. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Photo of Maitry Jani in the lab, smiling, showing a large live spider sitting on her hand.

@maitryjani.bsky.social from my lab @evoimec.bsky.social talks about her scientific journey and newest paper in @jexpbiol.bsky.social ERC Spotlight:
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Parental care liberates juvenile growth: a common-garden test of the evolutionary benefits of care Abstract. Effects on juvenile growth have long been considered an important benefit of parental care, but they have rarely been tested empirically. Protect

After some years in the making, I’m happy to share our new paper on the benefits of care. By breeding 17 carrion beetle species, we show that parental protection and feeding both promote faster offspring growth. Thanks to Anne, Madlen, and all the fantastic coauthors academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

If your porch lights are on this spooky season, you may be attracting spiders! 🕷️🕸️🎃 Grad student extraordinaire Wes Walsh just published his work in @animbehsociety.bsky.social . Check it out!

nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Reposting for the Monday morning scrollers! Funded PhD opportunity with me @multipleye-lab.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social - spiders, their eyes, and their babies under long- and short-term light pollution!

Atmospheric evening view of Bristol and the Clifton suspension bridge. Adobe Stock c Stephen Davies

🎉 Big news! 🎉

We will be moving to @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social in 2026!!

We're so excited to be joining such a dynamic and thriving department, university, and city - thank you to everyone who has already been so welcoming!

📢 But that's not all - come and join us! 👇

🚨🚨Job! 🚨🚨Permanent (75% time) job! We are a pretty awesome research group & seek a manager who deals with everything: personnel tasks, organizing retreats, preparing code for teaching / data structures for research... Fluency in German & English essential. stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de#/jgu/job/51527

A truly impressive photo! Thank you for sharing. I love seeing the silk line on the leg that swings the bolas