Neuroactive Pollution Disrupts Cognition in Fish by Causing Sex-Specific Effects on Spatial Learning Cognition underpins how animals perceive, navigate, and respond to their environment, yet these fundamental processes are increasingly threatened by environmental pollutants. Neuroactive pharmaceutica...

Exposure to an antidepressant can affect spatial learning in male guppies pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
@jackmanera.bsky.social @bbmwong.bsky.social

Neuroactive Pollution Disrupts Cognition in Fish by Causing Sex-Specific Effects on Spatial Learning Cognition underpins how animals perceive, navigate, and respond to their environment, yet these fundamental processes are increasingly threatened by environmental pollutants. Neuroactive pharmaceuticals are now routinely detected in aquatic ecosystems, raising concern about their potential to disrupt key cognitive functions in wildlife. Here, we tested whether exposure to the antidepressant amitriptyline, a widespread pharmaceutical pollutant, impairs spatial learning in wild-caught guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Using a repeated-trial maze assay, we quantified learning performance across 12 trials following an 11-d exposure to either a freshwater control (0 ng/L) or ecologically relevant low (52 ng/L) or high (496 ng/L) concentrations of amitriptyline. We found strong evidence of spatial learning across all treatment groups, with maze solve times and navigational errors declining over trials. However, males exposed to low and high concentrations of amitriptyline made 26% and 34% more errors, respectively, compared to control males. Female learning, by contrast, was unaffected by amitriptyline exposure, revealing sex-specific cognitive effects. Control males were more accurate than females, yet this advantage was lost under exposure and ultimately reversed at high concentrations, where males performed worse than females. These results emphasize the need to consider sex differences in cognitive responses when assessing the ecological impacts of environmental contaminants.

Congrats to @jackmanera.bsky.social on his PhD paper investigating impacts of neuroactive pollution on cognition in fish.

Open access here: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Congratulations Tom 🥳👏

When it’s important to support social enterprise but also limit yourself to what you can carry home on public transport. Amazing indigenous plant nursery run by First Nations people at Willum Warrain.

Amazing immersive First Nations cultural experience for our Master of Environment and Sustainability students today at Willum Warrain on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. We got to learn about sustainability practices and even sample some bush tucker 🖤💛❤️@monashuniversity.bsky.social

Filming the new marketing campaign today with staff and students for our flagship Master of Environment and Sustainability @monashuniversity.bsky.social @monashscience.bsky.social

How do organisms maintain fitness in a fluctuating environment? @upama.bsky.social and colleagues found that trade-offs in reproductive allocation in mosquito fish depend on sex and age. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
@bbmwong.bsky.social @mikejennions.bsky.social

An interesting #PhDstudent paper by the wonderful
@shiho-ozeki.bsky.social from the fabulous research group led by @bbmwong.bsky.social. It was such a pleasure to be involved in this research on effects of pollution from the contraceptive pill on fish. more cool research will follow!

More than 100,000 reads so far. Thank you everyone for engaging with our article and this vitally important conservation issue.

Size matters. Among the great apes, human penises are unusually large. Why? Check out our new open access paper in @plosbiology.org led by @upama.bsky.social. Link here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

And read the lay article in @theconversation.com here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

3/3 None of this would have happened without THE AMAZING Chloe Tan, who collected the vast majority of data single-handedly!
A fun study done! All thanks to this awesome bunch: Chole, @mikejennions.bsky.social @bbmwong.bsky.social Rebecca Bathgate, Khandis Blake, Rob Capp, Jacob Kuek, Brian Mautz

Experimental evidence that penis size, height, and body shape influence assessment of male sexual attractiveness and fighting ability in humans Why the human penis is unusually large compared to other primates is a long-standing evolutionary question. This study shows that genital size is a cue used during male-male assessment in humans, sugg...

2/3 This paper is a COVID baby, and took 6 years into making! Read the full paper here: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Why is the human penis longer and thicker than those of other great apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas? Read our @aunz.theconversation.com piece to find out!
Full paper from @plosbiology.org below! 👇 1/3

Congrats to @shiho-ozeki.bsky.social on her PhD paper studying the potential impacts of pollution from the contraceptive pill on a marine species, the crested weedfish.

doi.org/10.1111/eth....

My uncle, my 大舅舅, passed away a few days ago. He had such a big impact on me and my career…from inspiring me with childhood stories catching fighting fishes in Singapore to driving me across Queensland to collect Pacific blue-eyes for my PhD research. I was so lucky to have had him as my 大舅舅 🥹

Wishing everyone all the best for the festive season 🎄

Image: Christmas Day (detail) by Richard Lewer, National Gallery of Australia

How is behavioural diversity affected by human-induced change? Oded Berger-Tal and co-authors review how anthropogenic disturbances can impact behavioural diversity through the evolutionary forces of selection, flow, mutation and drift. doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
@bbmwong.bsky.social

Top text: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers (Left) Image of Prof Laurent Brent, University of Exeter (Centre) Image of Prof Tim Caro, University of Bristol (Right) Image of Prof Mariella Herberstein, Leibnez Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Bottom text: 1 - 4 September 2026, Anglia Ruskin University

Top text: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers (Left) Image of Prof Andrew Radford, University of Bristol (Centre) Image of Dr Bibiana Rojas, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Right) Image of Dr Christopher Schell, University of California, Berkeley Bottom text: 1 - 4 September 2026, Anglia Ruskin University

Missed our #ECBB2026 Plenary Speaker reveals? Not to worry!

Here is a quick recap of all the excellent speakers we'll be welcoming at September's meeting!

Congrats to @katefergusson.bsky.social (cosupervised with Jake Martin and @michaelgbertram.bsky.social who submitted her PhD thesis this week 🥳🎉

Rapid self-recognition ability in the cleaner fish - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Rapid self-recognition ability in the cleaner fish

Are animals self aware? Intuitively many seem to be, but how do we experimental test this prediction? Using a novel version of the mirror-mark test we claim to have empirical evidence demonstrating self awareness in the cleaner fish. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A reminder that after #ASABSpring2026, #ECBB2026 is also happening in September! #ASABWinter2025

The pitcher on my Nepenthes tenuis has finally popped open in the office. So cute. I reckon if I wasn’t a behavioural ecologist, a carnivorous plant researcher would be a great alternative 🤔

Header: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers Image of Dr Bibiana Rojas, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna Text next to photo reads: Main interests in the interface between behavioural and evolutionary ecology Aspects of communication, animal colouration, predator-prey interactions, aggression, parental care, and life history trade-offs The effects of anthropogenic activities such as habitat alteration and contamination on the life history, health and behaviour of amphibians

We know you're jumping with excitement to find out the penultimate ECBB 2026 plenary speaker so we won't keep you waiting much longer!
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It's the marvellous @biobiiana.bsky.social!

It’s great to see our systematic map highted by @envevidence.bsky.social as the most read article of 2025! It was a huge amount of work, so I am glad people are seeing it. We highlighted some major gaps and issues within the field, as well as practical ways to move forward
#pollution #ecotoxicology

The ASAB medal is awarded annually for contributions to the science of animal behaviour, including teaching, writing, broadcasting, research, and work on behalf of the association.

We’re seeking nominations for the ASAB medal in 2027! Learn more:

www.asab.org/asab-medal

A new (and improved) version of the fantastic BES’s reproducible code guide is now live.

Seriously amazing resource for those wanting to produce code that enables reproducible research.

Featuring some SORTEE members and also code review!!

@sortee.bsky.social

Note that there’s a PhD position on this topic, if you found this interesting! #ASABWinter2025

Hanna posing with tthe medal with ASAB president Melissa

Congratulations to Hanna Kokko for receiving this year’s ASAB medal! Hanna has done extraordinary work and we are so pleased to honour her at #ASABWinter2025

Thank you @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social for your amazing work on our recent paper! And for any colleagues wanting to create an impactful figure for their papers, check out www.lifesciencestudios.com

Tips and tricks for writing constructive peer reviews Peer review has been the cornerstone of scientific inquiry for centuries and is considered the backbone of scientific quality and rigour (Spier, 2002). Des

#ICYMI: Our latest paper in @conphysjournal.bsky.social provides "tips & tricks" for how to write constructive peer reviews

The paper provides directed guidance on how to write effective comments and highlights additional attributes of useful reviews

doi.org/10.1093/conp...

@sebiology.bsky.social