Sexual dimorphism in pollen foraging and sensory traits in Heliconius butterflies Male and female butterflies often face different ecological and sensory demands, yet how this shapes their foraging behaviour remains unclear. In Heliconiu

Excited to share our new paper on pollen foraging in Heliconius himera @behavecol.bsky.social! 🦋🌼
academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
We explored how female and male H. himera differ in pollen foraging & sensory traits. 1/6🧵👇

Also interested in applying for a #MSCA PF #researchopportunity @ Tampere that builds on #indoorairpollution, #mathematicalmodelling, #urbanplaning, #datascience #researchthemes? Get in touch with our @atmopolis.bsky.social PI Jonathon Taylor 🏙️🙂 More info here: www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at Tampere University | Tampere universities Tampere University welcomes applicants to jointly prepare successful applications for the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship program. The program is targeted for researchers ...

Hey #MSCA #MSCAPF applicants, come & work with us for your #Postdoc #Fellowship! We have a fantastic #masterclass for applying researchers (with a confirmed supervisor at Tampere) starting May 5th. More info 👉 www.tuni.fi/en/research/... #ResearchFunding #PostdocLife #Postdoctoral #Fellowship ☀️

Experimental evidence supports gradual evolution of alkaloid sequestration in poison frogs Abstract. The evolution of alkaloid sequestration and modification in poison frogs provides an opportunity to explore the emergence of complex traits, part

Cool paper from Jeckel et. Al explaining how some dart frogs are spicier than others… 😝 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Have a look at this great #PhD opportunity on Road Ecology at Aarhus University, Denmark 👇 Timely topic, and a great supervisor! 📅DL: 30.04 phd.tech.au.dk/for-applican...

(📸: coloradosun.com/2025/12/07/p...)

Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects | Helen Pilcher According to new research, distinguishing between the UK’s 2,500 species could halt cognitive decline – so my brain could not be happier, or healthier, says science writer Helen Pilcher

Even @theguardian.com knows that it's #YearOfTheMoth!

Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects | Helen Pilcher | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🐸 🧪🍄🌎New Preprint alert!
Our study on how habitat disturbance + deadly fungus (Bd) mess with the skin bacteria of Amazonian poison frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius).

🔗 ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

#Conservation #Microbiome #MolBiol #evobio @biobiiana.bsky.social @f-hoelzl.bsky.social #LiaSchlippe

What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.

What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Cambridge University Library, University Museum of Zoology and the University of Cambridge - Collections Connections Communities

Here’s a great PhD opportunity in the crossover between humanities and natural history- please repost 🙏 www.ccc.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/...

What's My JND? Find your Just Noticeable Difference in colour perception. How small a colour difference can you actually see?

For those who want to test their perception of colour, I made a little game called "What's My JND"

www.keithcirkel.co.uk/whats-my-jnd...

Why do gulls steal our food? Scientists experimented with French fries to find out. Gulls are often seen as intruders in our daily lives. But researchers are discovering what really motivates them—and strategies to keep them away from your lunch.

Nice article by the wonderful Marlene Zuk in National Geographic, featuring my and @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social research on Cornish herring gulls, and how kids got us into gulls 😊 @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

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)

Congrats for the position! And enjoy beautiful Finland 🇫🇮❄️

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

The Map butterfly differs in wing size and color between seasons. We tested how these differences influence body temperature dynamics, revealing potentially optimized thermal performance between seasons. 🦋☀️

The study, led by Dani and Irča, is in preprint version: doi.org/10.64898/202...

Artificial nighttime lighting is suppressing moth activity Moths move significantly less when exposed to artificial nighttime light, new research shows. Moths’ attraction to artificial light, such as streetlights, is common knowledge and has been much studied...

Moths move significantly less when exposed to artificial nighttime light, new research from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, Cornwall shows.
Read More: news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-e...

@uniexecec.bsky.social #ExeterEcology

Hedgehog. Getty Images

Join us! We’re recruiting a PhD researcher to uncover how hedgehogs & other insectivores survive prey toxins. Dive into molecular evolution & protein biochemistry @shabmohammadi.bsky.social @livuni-ives.bsky.social @livuni-ismib.bsky.social @mpi-ce.bsky.social

🦔 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

(1) Really happy to share our recent review "Speciation in ants: unlocking ant diversity to study speciation". 😀
doi.org/10.25849/myr...

Ants are ecologically diverse and abundant organisms with strong potential to advance the study of speciation. Despite extensive research on their taxonomy, ...

Butterfly Conservation's Butterflies and Moths to see in January: Red Admiral, The Satellite, Comma, Winter Moth, Red-green Carpet, Twenty-plume moth, Small Tortoiseshell, Pale Brindled Beauty, Peacock

Happy New Year! Butterflies and moths are often seen as a symbol of hope and new beginnings 🦋

Keep an eye out for these species in your gardens and local green spaces this month, and let us know what you see.

Male of Spodoptera frugiperda, recorded on 26.VI.2021 in a small valley in the vicinity of Velyki Dmytrovychi, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. (Photo: V. Voronov)

First report of the invasive pest species Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Eastern Europe

Free download: doi.org/10.18476/202...

#pest #moth @braconidae-ua.bsky.social @smnstuttgart.bsky.social @bioone.bsky.social

The collision of two genomes threatens global food security Human activity alters selection pressures and species' ranges, creating opportunities for hybridisation through secondary contact. Ancient hybridization has enabled adaptive radiation, but its role in...

Excited about our new preprint showing bidirectional adaptive introgression between invasive and native crop pests over ecological timescales www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Thrilled to announce a Postdoc opportunity in our group on the evolutionary genetics and ecology of colour. Wonderful system, great collaborators, and room to shape your own ideas.
Apply by 7 Jan: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/13477181...

You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:

Resource limitation reveals that high acetate levels in Heliothis subflexa sex pheromone blend are associated with reduced fitness Abstract. Sexual communication allows individuals to find and choose a mate, but also to avoid hybridization with individuals from different species. Sexua

A bit later due to personal chaos but our latest paper is now out in JEB! In it we show that under diet stress female moths that produced higher amounts of a specific pheromone component had longer development times and lower fertility academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

🚨Two funded PhDs on the evolutionary ecology of antipredator colouration 🦋 with myself and Iliana Medina.

One in Swansea tinyurl.com/4thtbph6 deadline Jan 12th @crocus-dla.bsky.social

The other in Melbourne - deadline Jan 1st

Please share among potential students!

Very happy to see our opinion article out in @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social today. 🥳 We ask whether sexual signals can influence the evolutionary trajectory of naturally selected adaptations, such as protective colouration, for better or for worse 🧐 1/n
doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Join us Opportunities Below are the positions currently open in our lab. Fully-funded PhD position The project aims to understand rapid evolution and adaptation in white butterflies flying at high elevatio…

New PhD position: Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️
The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations.
DEADLINE: January 11, 2025
More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/

📣 New paper out!
We explored how fungal infection 🍄 affects the bright warning colours of wild poison frogs 🐸. Neither melanin nor carotenoid colouration reliably signals infection status. Defensive signals may remain consistent even under pathogen pressure 👩‍🔬🧪
Thread from @biobiiana.bsky.social 👇

New super pest combines broad spectrum of microbes The reed leafhopper has evolved rapidly from a reed grass specialist into a dangerous pest that attacks important crops such as sugar beets, potatoes, carrots and onions, as well as reeds. It lives in...

The reed leafhopper has become a major crop pest targeting sugar beets & potatoes. Scientists from @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social et al. show that it hosts 7 bacteria, 2 of which spread plant diseases. The microbial community may be key to its success in switching hosts. www.ice.mpg.de/524703/PR_Vo...

Effective, efficient, and fair peer reviewing 2023 Effective, efficient, and fair peer reviewing Ben Bond-Lamberty Based on a presentation at the AGU Early Career Scientist Workshop, 2019 1

Scientists are expected to do peer reviewing but no one tells you HOW. After talking with several folks about this today at #AGU24 , it seems a good time to link to this presentation I made several years ago -- feel free to use/share! docs.google.com/presentation...