(ignore the link somehow appeared from a corrected typo 😐 sorry)

Ha nice! For me the question of language is somewhat orthogonal to the physical form - although that form must be capable of the diversity and flexibility language demands - and more about meanings, intentions, grammar, syntax, infinite expression etc, sign language for example. If it makes sense?

Good question Emily, and the reason is because this research is smoke and mirrors - there is zero justification for the wholesale deployment of linguistic assumptions in this work and to be frank I'm disappointed that @whysharksmatter.bsky.social isn't using more critical thinking before sharing...

AI Studying Whale Songs Says It Thinks Whale Language Might Have Vowels Where linguists hear “vowels,” skeptics hear “clicks,” and whales hear… absolutely none of this nonsense.

Well, in brief, this paper addresses none of the original criticisms of 'vowel' and commits further egregiously wrong use of linguistic assumptions. Might as talk about the phonology of farts as far as I'm concerned! This nice satire sums it up 🤣 oddnews.com/article/ai-s...

Identifying practical pathways from animal culture theory to conservation practice Wildlife conservation has traditionally focused on the maintenance of population size, preserving genetic diversity and protecting habitats, with success typically measured through stable or increasi...

🎉 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/...

Narwhals have a single blowhole but twin nares (derived nasal passages) - sperm whale anatomy is unique in extant cetaceans in only using the left ancestral nostril - the right has evolved to become part of the echolocation click production system...

❤️

I know how you feel, Allan the teenage sperm whale, I know how you feel.

New OA paper @royalsocietypublishing.org: What can we learn from bonobos and bottlenose dolphins about the evolution of between-group cooperation?

royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Lovely collab with @lirsamuni.bsky.social Martin Surbeck and Richard Connor.

Headbutting Behavior Between Sperm Whales Documented Using Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles Click on the article title to read more.

Sperm whales have been recorded headbutting for the first time by drone!
This behavior has often been hypothesized (think Moby Dick) but never captured. Exciting news for the headbutting world! 🧪
doi.org/10.1111/mms....

Scientists saw a sperm whale giving birth. And then things got weird Sperm whales are known to socialize, but scientists were stunned when they saw a group of sperm whales gather as one of them gave birth

“Gero and his colleagues show that two “matrilines”—independent, female-led groups—of sperm whales in Unit A appeared to cooperate to assist in the calf’s birth. This behavior has never been observed in such detail before in this species.”
#Whales 🧪 #Birth
www.scientificamerican.com/article/sper...

Scientists captured female sperm whales on video working together during a birth to protect the calf Scientists have captured rare footage of a sperm whale giving birth, offering a window into the large mammals' behavior.

How incredible: “The full delivery took about 30 minutes. For hours afterward, pairs of whales held the baby above the water until it was able to swim…
What struck the researchers was how many mother, sister and daughter whales united to support the new calf, even ones that weren’t related.”

@seamammalresearch.bsky.social

*of injury 😳

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 paper - one for the headbangers! 🐳 🦑 🧪

"if you want to be able to follow someone’s gaze, then you need contrast of some kind. A dark iris on a white background broadcasts direction like a compass needle; a dark iris on a dark background tells you almost nothing"

Yes, but with one really important element missing...

1/2

Wait a Minute…What If I Don’t Want to Use AI? AI is everywhere right now. It writes summaries, explains theories, fixes grammar, and recommends playlists.But here’s the thing nobody says out loud: you’re allowed not to use it. Whether you feel…

Bless the librarians of Aberystwyth University for sending this blog out to their students: "Wait a Minute…What If I Don’t Want to Use AI?"

#LibrarySky

We saw so many ragworms during fieldwork today, bright green for the breeding season! @animalsdoingstuff.bsky.social

So much to take away from Taylor Hersh’s keynote — taking us deep into the cultural realms of sperm whale vocal clans across the oceans. 🐋 Heartfelt thanks, @taylorhersh.bsky.social!

Amazing work from @francae.bsky.social! 🐳🦑🧪

Humpback whales cast bubble nets to catch prey. They may be learning from each other Humpback whales will sometimes use an intricate strategy to catch food called bubble-net feeding. A new study suggests they're spreading the knowledge of how to do it to each other.

🐋 Loved having a chat about bubble netting humpbacks on @npr.org's Science Desk with Nate Rott! As a *major* NPR Tiny Desk fan... can someone tell me is this the scientists' equivalent?! 🤪

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...

Awesome work by @izzylangley.bsky.social 🐳🦭🦑

The Importance of Biological Theory - Biological Theory Biological Theory -

I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!

doi.org/10.1007/s137...

More coverage of ‪Éadin's paper: oceanographicmagazine.com/news/immigra... 🐳🦑

The diffusion of cooperative and solo bubble net feeding in Canadian Pacific humpback whales Abstract. Animal culture, information and behaviours acquired and shared by social learning are a form of biodiversity with intrinsic and practical value.

New paper on the social learning of bubble net feeding by humpbacks in British Columbia, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B 🐋
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

#marmam @bcwhales.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social [1/5]

A white beluga surfacing in greenish-brown waters. Overlaid is the title of a new review published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Beluga Societies: the social and cultural lives of an enigmatic odontocete.

Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵
doi.org/10.1007/s002...
@marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org

New paper!🚨 Social dynamics of group bubble net feeding in humpbacks. Congratulations Éadin for such an awesome first PhD paper!! 🐳🧪🦑

maybe the human hubris that surrounds so much of the hype yes; if 'AI' includes deep learning networks my students work on them so it's not Luddism but there work ain't clickbait bs about talking to whales...