Alexander Kotrschal

Rapid and repeated evolution of pigmentation patterns in reef fishes - BMC Biology Background Pigmentation patterns are central to animal biology—shaping camouflage, signaling, and mate selection—and uncovering the mechanisms driving their diversification is key to understanding the...

Rapid and repeated evolution of pigmentation patterns in reef fishes

#ichthyology

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

This is an endemic from Mauritius that I thought I would have to leave the island without seeing: the Mauritius ornate day gecko. I managed to find quite a few in the end and I think that their upright posture complements their smiley face perfectly!

Open PhD position - please share with potential candidates.
🐟🐟🐠🐟🐟

We are looking for a PhD student to help us improve welfare of farmed fish. Behaviour, Cognition, Welfare, Fish - join us at Wageningen University and Research!

www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...

I am looking for a PhD student to join my new Socio-Eco-Evo group, hosted in Katie Peichel's Evolutionary Ecology Division @ University of Bern. We're offering a fully funded 4-year position, studying social plasticity and behavioral adaptation among stickleback in Greenland. Please share around!

Another endemic from Mauritius: the Mauritius kestrel. The only bird of prey on the island. I had never been that close to a raptor in the wild!

I have recently visited Mauritius, where I was constantly looking for animals that I had never seen before (both in the water and on land). The pink pigeon is one of the few endemic birds that you can see there. They were almost extinct in the '90s and are still pretty rare in the wild.

We did similar things with GoPros last summer. Worked well.

Job alert! The University of Zurich is hiring a professor for Evolutionary Anthropology and Primatology. Learn more here: www.appointments.mnf.uzh.ch/auth/Apply/0...

📣 Interested in a 4-year postdoc in the movement ecology group? @univie.ac.at is recruiting outstanding female researchers through the E-STEEM programme. @pesumas.bsky.social is a registered host and welcomes applications from potential candidates.
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...

Stockholm University seeks a PhD student for a 4-year project on female sexual selection in pygmy halfbeaks. Strong interest in evolutionary and behavioral research needed. Apply by Feb 15, 2026: https://su.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:893229/ #phd

I have been breeding those guys for years as fish food. Feels bad now as we are rearing them with the kids and it turns out they are very cute pets. 24h old Artemia, let's see how they develop.

Editorial: Accountability, voice, and trust - responsible use of GenAI in scientific publishing Over the last few years, the development and rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatG

Thanks @judithmank.bsky.social for this thoughtful piece on GenAI in scientific writing!

academic.oup.com/evlett/artic...

Associate Professor in Zoology with focus on ecology and evolution Department of Zoology  at Stockholm University includes ca. 80 employees counting researchers, PhD students, and administrative staff. Research and education at the department occurs in an internatio

We're looking for a new colleague at Asssoc Prof level! Come join us in the Zoology Department at Stockholm University. A teaching profile in ecology, faunistics and/or physiology is beneficial. Find the full job advertisemnt here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

I'm recruiting a PhD student to study how predation shapes animal cognition and the conservation opportunities of animal cognition. Lots of fun field work in beautiful places : )

Please share !!

www.eifwooster.org/opportunities

Summer school:<br> Evolutionary Biology in Guarda Information about the annual summer school Evolutionary Biology in Guarda

The 2026 Guarda Summer Course in Evolutionary Biology is now accepting applications. Amazing place, amazing course, amazing opportunity for early grad students.

tb.ethz.ch/education/gu...

Photo of the coastline of Rota by Asch Nighthawk with inset photo by Lauren Helton of two people banding a Mariana Kingfisher and inset of bander handling a Mariana Fruit-dove for photo documentaion by Kristin Attinger.

🪶🌎🧪 WE'RE HIRING!!! Want to band fabulous birds on a far-flung island in the Western Pacific? We need to fill this position ASAP. More information here: birdpop.org/docs/jobs/Ro...

Come and join our lab! We have TWO fully funded PhD positions AND a paid field assistant opportunity in our Behavioral Ecology group @uni-goettingen.de & @primatenzentrum.bsky.social. Projects will be part of @rtg2906-curiosity.bsky.social & @sfb1528.bsky.social!!
Details in thread. Please re-post!

Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!

editors usually request cover art image submissions from authors or use stock imagery (journal publishers don't usually pay artists for cover art which is weird)

Tecumseh Fitch, the editor of this special issue, chose to generate AI slop instead. He should know better

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter, list...

*PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social* How does antimicrobial resistance spread through ecosystems?

Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪
Please repost!

Individual recognition in guppies does not require large brains - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abstract It is often assumed that group-living animals require larger brains in order to deal with the various social challenges they encounter. One such key challenge is the need to recognize and dis...

New🐟🧠 paper! To better understand what aspects of group-living are cognitively demanding, we tested whether individual recognition depends on relative brain size in guppies. Spoilers: guppies recognized and preferred familiar fish, regardless of brain size!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Award alert! 🎖️🚨 Every other year, the Ethologische Gesellschaft awards the Niko Tinbergen Award to outstanding post-doc level researchers in Behavioural Biology (<=6yrs post PhD exam).
...and this year is one of these years! Please send us your nominations! 🫵 Infos: www.etho-ges.de/wordpress/aw...

The cognitive ecology of wild bumblebees

New #PhD ad alert!
Interested in wild #bee #cognition and #brains in different #bumblebees? Want to live in #Newcastle and the beautiful north-east of England?

Check out this project with me, @lenariab.bsky.social and Sarah Scott. Contact me for further information.

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

🧬✨ It’s official!
EMPSEB31 is coming to Germany, June 2026!
Europe’s friendliest evolution meeting returns, organized by PhD students, for PhD students.
Expect inspiring research, new connections, and a mix of science + fun, the EMPSEB way!
📍Save the date & follow us for updates! Link in Bio 🌍

📢4-year fully funded #PhD on seasonal timing of egg overwintering insects 🦋🦗🪳
🔬Identify universal mechanisms underlying #insect egg developmental time under #ClimateChange
📌@niooknaw.bsky.social @animalecol-nioo.bsky.social

ℹ️ vacatures.knaw.nl/job-invite/2...
❗Application deadline: 7 December 2025

Special Issue: Measuring fish cognition: Empirical based guidance for designing cognition assays: Journal of Fish Biology: Vol 107, No 4 The <em>Journal of Fish Biology</em> is a leading international ichthyology journal, addressing all aspects of fish biology, their exploitation and importance to human society.

🐟 Our special issue "Measuring Fish Cognition: Empirical-based Guidance for Designing Cognition Assays" is out! From acclimation protocols to automated tracking, these studies tackle a range of methodological issues. Check it out: tinyurl.com/vdprfbf4 #FishCognition #AnimalBehaviour

I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...

Zebra finches produce soft laryngeal whistles during thermal panting that are not adaptive vocal signals Zebra finch heat calls are suggested to have close-range communicative relevance in the global temperature rise context. Anttonen et al. identify the biophysical mechanism underlying these vocalizatio...

www.cell.com/current-biol...