I always had the vague feeling that Scientific Reports and Nature Communications are mainly APC business models.

A paper estimated the total APC for gold/hybrid Open Access per journal 2015–2018: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...

Surprise, surprise - there are 2 outliers at the top😐

What beautiful words honoring someone that sounds absolutely wonderful!

FINE SEMINAR
March 16th, 2026
Patrick Tkaczynski
Research Centre for Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

Menopause!!

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!

"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

Here's a really easy New Year's Resolution:
If you're sick with something contagious, you will stay home if your circumstances allow.

If you can't stay home, you will mask around others until there is no possibility you are contagious.

By making these choices, you will literally save lives.

🚨 Junior Research Fellow position (+possible PhD conversion) studying Emergent Collective Intelligence for Ephemeral Resource Tracking. Based with Akanksha Rathore at BITS Pilani (India) and including visits to Konstanz (Germany) to collaborate with us! Apply by 12 September. More info 👇

Our best bat drummer in action!

Drumming as a potential defense strategy against roost intruders in disk-winged bats - Mammalian Biology Roosting animals face frequent threats from intruders, including predators, competitors, and parasites, and have evolved a range of strategies to mitigate these risks. Here, we report the first eviden...

Small but not defenseless 🦇

In our latest paper, we describe a behavior in disc-winged bats that is endearing and a little fearsome. When threatened, these bats shake the leaf, producing a loud drumming-like sound. This display likely signals to predators that the bats are aware of their presence.

Massive tropical bat is surprisingly family oriented, rare videos show New footage reveals spectral bats “hugging,” playing, and bringing food to their young

Spent the start of my week learning all about spectral bats, huge, carnivorous creatures who are shockingly sweet.

Read (and watch!) what 3 months of monitoring a family of four showed us about the home lives of the tropical bats: www.science.org/content/arti...
@science.org

AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.

Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it

Animal Behaviour - Bielefeld University With a team of over 50 people, the different research groups study animal behaviour within the framework of the four questions of Tinbergen, both in the lab and in the field. Current model systems include laboratory studies on zebra finches (

Bielefeld University seeks a postdoc for a 6-year scientific assistant position in Animal Behaviour, starting March 2026. Apply by Sept 10, 2025. More info: www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/biologie/forschung/arbeitsgruppen/behaviour #job

Opportunities — ASAB

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

The Local Organizing Commitee welcomes behavioral ecologists from across the world and of all career stages to enjoy a five-day meeting rich in top-notch science and ample networking opportunities in Turin (Italy), 20-24 July 2026.

🧪

🧪

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join an exciting project investigating the effects of bat seed dispersal on plant microbiomes and pathogen dynamics in tropical ecosystems. With @morceglo.bsky.social. More info: jobs.apsnet.org/job/postdoct...

Bats rely on social calls to stay together, but what happens when predator recognition disrupts communication? Find out more: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #BiologyLetters #behaviour #ecology

🧪

A collaborative work with @morceglo and G. McCracken; T. tricolor is an incredible system that helps us shed some light on 🦇 anti-predator defenses and how acoustic signal recognition mediates a trade-off between predator avoidance and social communication with ecological and social implications.

The power of manuscript reviews How we craft reviews for early career researchers shapes our culture and community

One critical ingredient of diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM🧪 is being a kind and inclusive reviewer. This means regarding the authors receiving the review as valued members of our community.

scienceforeveryone.science/p/the-power-...

Why Narcissists Emerge as Leaders Even in Childhood Many children choose to follow peers with more narcissistic tendencies—and self-esteem may be part of the complex power dynamics involved

Narcissists aren’t better leaders, yet they frequently rise to positions of power. Why? A study by Nevicka et al. suggests people with low self-esteem are drawn to them—they feel more valued. Teaching kids healthy leadership matters, but we must also tackle why people choose the wrong leaders.

Torino the place To be - short 1' YouTube video by Turismo Torino e Provincia

ISBE26-the 20th International Society for Behavioral Ecology Conference will take place in Turin, Italy, from 20-24th of July 2026. We invite you to join us to enjoy a 5-day meeting rich in top-notch science and ample networking opportunities, in our beautiful city. Website out soon!
#ISBE26

It’s been a devastating 24 hours with 3 NIH grants terminated…all focused on the health and wellbeing of trans or intersex youth. If folks have any ideas of foundations that may be interested in supporting the completion of these projects so years of work aren’t wasted, please let me know. 🙏

25 February 2025 Hal Whitehead YouTube video by Seminar on Frontiers in Social Evolution

Great talk by Hal Whitehead about sperm whale clans yesterday. If you missed it, then watch it here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQbA...

FINE starts again next week with exciting free online seminars.
In its 10th season we will hear about whales, parental care, neuroethology, aging, group-living lizards and much more!

✨We are hiring!✨🧪🏛️🧬
The @nhmdk.bsky.social at the University of Copenhagen is seeking a permanent, full-time Molecular Biology Lab Manager to help us establish and run our National Facility for #Museomics in the heart of one of Europe's most beautiful cities!
Please reskeet!

International Fellowships 2025 The International Fellowships Programme enables researchers to work for two years at a UK institution with the aim of building a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce.

Have/nearly have a PhD?
≤7 years post-doc experience?
Working outside UK?
Not a UK citizen?

BA & Royal Society offering 2-yr Fellowships for early career researchers to come to the UK!
💷 Includes:
Research expenses £12k
Relocation up to £8k
🗓️ Deadline: Mar 18, 2025 (17:00 GMT)
#ResearchFunding