A huge thank you and hollow hoots to the awesome #teamBaobab Kirsty Graham, Michael Sadiakhou, Papa Ibnou Ndiaye, Landing Badji, & @jilldpruetz.bsky.social and the amazing Fongoli demounŋo (chimpanzees)..
🧪🐵🥁🌴
Now we are *not* saying that this is chimpanzee metalepsis.. but we do think that comparative studies benefit from integrating concepts beyond the nuts and bolts of signals and how they are combined… by thinking outside the baobab box we get to ask more interesting Qs about both chimps and us! 11/n
In language, metalepsis describes a narrative structure in which the author (i.e. signaller) — as compared to the audience — is directly united with their work… 10/n
The production of the highest intensity elements of the display (the drum & climax hoots) under resonant conditions could provide a powerful physical stimulus.. and raises the intriguing possibility that they are not performing for an audience but perhaps for their own experience 9/n
We already saw that some groups prefer drumming on softer wood trees (and baobab is one of the softest) - these drums are less likely to carry long distances, but perhaps these choices reflect other preferences.. software woods create warm fuzzy tones that are selected for in some human drums.. 8/n
That seems v unlikely - there is lots of evidence that chimps are sensitive to audiences’ abilities to perceive signals & they (like us) have direct opportunities to observe others calls getting quieter as they enter.. in other words this may not be about communication to an outside audience… 7/n
For the signaller it’s probably the opposite - like singing in the shower - the small enclosed space probably enhances the experience of the sound.. could it be that they simply don’t know and think that it’s the same for the recipient? 6/n
But therein lies the mystery - because for the audience outside the calls are audibly quieter & dampened.. in other words this diminishes (rather than enhances) the display for the ‘audience’ 5/n
Chimpanzees fully or partially entering the hollows in trees. Displays were as long or slightly longer than previously reported pant-hoot drum durations. Use of the hollow was associated with the high intensity climax vocals & drumming.
In other words they do it when they get loud.. 4/n
A male chimpanzee enters inside a baobab while displaying
We report Fongoli chimpanzees entering inside the hollow chambers of baobab trees as a way to modify their pant hoots and drums.. this is objectively very cool! But it’s even MORE interesting to think about why… 3/n
Many species perform elaborate displays as honest signals of physical qualities. In some cases individuals use objects & environmental features to ‘enhance’ things… cockatoos use drum sticks, frogs call in storm drains, we cup hands around our mouths (amongst *ahem* other ‘exaggerations’) 2/n
A black and white photo of a large fat baobab tree trunk with a hollow
I like ba-o-babs and I can not lie… but as it turns out I’m not the only one! Fongoli chimpanzees incorporate baobab hollows into their vocal drumming displays!!
🧪🐵🥁 Are you sitting comfortably… 1/n
#newpaper #sciencestorytelling
brill.com/view/journal...
The inimitable Amalia Bastos is accepting applications for PhD students, through @standrewspsyneuro.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
4-year funding is available for students with the right to work in the UK: www.findaphd.com/phds/program...
Awesome project, dreamy place, stellar mentor
My fieldwork breakfast for years has been oats, 2 tbl spoons of Nescafé and chocolate powder/peanut butter mixed in a mug with hot water.. nutritionally complete & caffeinated but I wouldn’t be above adding scampi fries if I could get them 🤔
#fieldwork #fieldfood 🧪
Our colleague needs your help keeping a 1,200-year dataset alive!
If you have botanical expertise or are based near Arashiyama, Kyoto — DM her or email tuna@ourworldindata.org.
I'm a data scientist @ourworldindata.org and I need help from a botanist or someone local to Kyoto, Japan! 🌸
We present one of the world’s longest climate records: 1,200 years of peak cherry blossom dates in Kyoto.
The researcher who maintained it, Prof. Yasuyuki Aono, sadly passed away last year.
Group photograph of faculty and participants of the fourth Cold Spring Harbor summer course on Genetics and Neurobiology of Language in 2022, taken as the sun was going down at the Banbury Campus, Lloyd Harbor.
Only a few days left to apply for our unique interdisciplinary course “Genetics & Neurobiology of Language” July 27-Aug 3 2026. Expert tutors, interactive talks, panel discussions, all in a beautiful setting. Fellowships & scholarships available. Apply by April 10:
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
This is so, so well-articulated.
Folks lucky enough to have lived alongside or worked with elephants : do you have 20min to check out some photos and videos for super cool science... if so please check out this study by @tapintothewild.bsky.social
Please share! 🐘🧪 tinyurl.com/55vjsbxr
😱😱😱
Forest #science peeps : does anyone have recommendations for a good budget lightsaber.. (ok fine, laser rangefinder) for distances of up to 80m in forests… 🧪🙏🤓
🚨📣 More spaces available!!! Take part & contribute to research by viewing images or videos of #elephants! Share & spread the word to help us reach more people who live or work with elephants 🐘🌍👉 Link: tinyurl.com/55vjsbxr
@uop-ccep.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social @leanneproops.bsky.social
Animal cultures ✅
Conservation science ✅
Practical toolkits ✅
Science team work makes the dream work 🧪🤓 led by the awesome @northernlimitpt.bsky.social & Crickette Sanz
🎉 New paper out in Biological Reviews! 🎉
With 19 brilliant co‑authors from the IUCN SGA's Working Group on Chimpanzee Cultures, led by Crickette Sanz and me, we provide a much needed toolkit on how animal cultures can be built into conservation.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Flyer with information about the Genetics & Neurobiology of Language summer course at Cold Spring Harbor, held on July 27th to August 3rd 2026, applications due by April 10th 2026. Instructors are Simon Fisher from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Netherlands, David Poeppel from New York University and Kate Watkins from the University of Oxford, UK. The course description is as follows: Why are children able to acquire highly sophisticated language abilities without needing to be taught? What are the neurobiological and neurophysiological processes that underpin human speech and language, and how do they go awry in developmental and acquired disorders? Which genetic factors contribute to this remarkable suite of human skills, and are there evolutionary precursors that we can study in other species? This unique CSHL course, in its sixth iteration, addresses these core questions about the bases and origins of speech and language, through talks, interactive sessions, keynotes and debates, involving leading experts from a range of disciplines. It integrates the state-of-the-art from complementary perspectives, including development, cognitive models, neural basis, gene identification, functional genomics, model systems and comparative/evolutionary studies. The invited speakers are: Jennifer Below, Vanderbilt University Elika Bergelson, Harvard University Esti Blanco-Elorrieta, New York University Jonathan Brennan, University of Michigan Karen Emmorey, San Diego State University Evelina Fedorenko, MIT Julia Fischer, Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Germany Tecumseh Fitch, University of Vienna, Austria Adeen Flinker, NYU Langone Timothy Gentner, University of California, San Diego Liberty Hamilton, UC Berkeley Catherine Hobaiter, Wild Minds Lab, University of St. Andrews, UK Sonja Vernes, The University of St. Andrews, UK Sandra Waxman, Northwestern University For funding opportunities and additional course information, please go to: meetings.cshl.edu/courses
“An absolute highlight of my career so far. Academically, I was challenged, provoked, & inspired. I loved how much discussion & thought we packed in, broadening my outlook on the study of language.” Kind words from an alumnus of our summer course. Apply by April 10: meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
New publication!
'Headbutting Behavior Between Sperm Whales Documented Using Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles'
Out in @marinemammalogy.bsky.social in collaboration with @lrendell.bsky.social, @azwhlab.bsky.social and @asociaciontursiops.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.1111/mms....
Amazing footage from @asociaciontursiops.bsky.social shows two young males and a smaller female calf - is their boisterousness part of the explanation why males leave/are isolated from the social units they were born in, because they bring threat od injury to vulnerable calves? 🐳🦑🧪
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT🚨
Out now in Cognitive Science: Exploring the Guessing-Game Experimental Paradigm
Can humans understand the meaning of novel vocalisations & ape gestures? Human performance in such tasks is definitely impressive but what does it mean? Let's dive in! 🧵⬇️ #language #linguistics 1/
Because a light iris on a dark background provides just as much contrast - and that's exactly what a chimpanzee has (which is why when you hang out with chimps it is really not at all hard to tell where they're gazing, even those without a white sclera...)
2/2
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...