Hyena Project

Global body adopts policy to protect Earth’s old, wise and large animals | Charles Darwin University The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recognised Charles Darwin University-led research into the Earth’s oldest animals with the adoption of the ‘Longevity Conservation’ global...

the IUCN have passed the Longevity Conservation motion put forward to them by @kellerfish.bsky.social and @pili-scotland.bsky.social and based on the paper we wrote on the value of older individuals in animal societies.
www.cdu.edu.au/news/global-...

Photo with a blue tit and information text of how to apply for the announced postdoc position.

‪📢 #Postdoc (75%) 3+2 years on identifying #West-Nile-Virus wildlife hosts and #modelling spatial risk factors.

Be part of a consortium on "Combating #WNV through an integrated #OneHealth approach" w #TUBerlin , #Charite, #FUBerlin, #UniBayreuth and health authorities

▶️ tinyurl.com/yuhfwpdr

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: snapping the world's rarest hyena Photographer Wim van den Heever got the winning shot beside an abandoned diamond mining settlement.

„Pictured: Winning entries for Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025“

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx253vrd931o

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

Please RT!

📢 #Doctoral / #PhD position available with us at Leibniz-IZW for 4 years working at the interface of #wildlife + #disease #ecology, #veterinary sciences and #modelling.
🐗🐗🐗🐦🐦🐦
Training within #DFG #RTG 3069 led by @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social

▶️Apply here for P7: tinyurl.com/j2ehtz7m

Come and work with us! Three new academic posts (including Animal Behaviour) and superb facilities in the new Life & Mind Building

🐒🕸️ New preprint! Confused about how to model animal social networks?

ASNA can be confusing—but also full of opportunity. We break down 5 common misunderstandings in animal social network analysis and share solutions from behavioural ecology, anthro, stats, & network science. Hope it helps!

A 🧵

I think this thread might be the most fascinating read on Bluesky right now!

Excited to share that we have just been awarded a NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant to work on between-group cooperation in the Shark Bay dolphins. We will soon advertise a 3 year post-doc to join the team - drop me an email if you might be interested! Pls share widely 🙏🏻

Published 📖 🥳 In a new meta-analysis @mariusgrabow.bsky.social studied whether subtle infection, traditionally often considered as relatively benign, affect phenotypic and demographic traits. Using avian blood parasites, causing #avianmalaria as an example, we performed a systematic review 🧵

Our #study finds that #male #dominance isn't the norm among #primates, and starts to unravel what shapes flexibility in intersexual power

paper (OA) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500405122

press release https://www.mpg.de/24986976/0630-evan-beyond-the-alpha-male-150495-x?c=2249

Screenshot of the online app, showing the sliders for the settings of different social parameters on the left and the result relatedness and competition patterns on the right. The settings reflect the case we found for chimpanzees.

Want to explore the expected relatedness in different social groups - and how this can affect competition? Check out the neat app L. White did for our paper: https://bsky.app/profile/drlozwhite.bsky.social/post/3lsgieizk4k2a

paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250385

Two of the scientific graphs from the linked paper. The left side shows that as female chimpanzees get older, their relatedness to the males in their community increases because they now include their sons. The relatedness to other females however stays low, because new unrelated females constantly join the community. The graph on the right shows that these age-related changes in relatedness mean that females are expected to act selfish when they are young, but care about others in the group when they are older.

We have a new paper:

"intergenerational conflict among females may play a role in the evolution of #chimpanzee #menopause"

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250385

Mucosal immune responses and intestinal microbiome associations in wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) - Communications Biology In wild spotted hyenas, the gut microbiome is shaped by mucosal immunity. Mucosal immune measures have strong associations with specific taxa of bacteria, hookworms and fungi known to establish mutual...

Whoops from within: a new study on the intestinal microbiome of wild spotted hyenas reveals complex associations with local mucosal immunity, paralleling human and rodent models.
#gutcrosstalks #amazinghyenas #OneHealth

Check out the article @commsbio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

We are delighted to introduce the first three keynote speakers
Emmanuelle Porcher cesco.mnhn.fr/fr/annuaire/...
Alexandre Courtiol www.izw-berlin.de/en/alex-cour...
Emily Shepard www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/e.l.c....
➡️For more details on their research ecobhvr2025.sciencesconf.org?lang=en
More to come!

Female solidarity keeps male bonobos in check Study on wild bonobos reveals that females team up to maintain power in their societies

Bonobo societies are famous for being “female dominant.” But females are weaker than males, so how can this be? Study by Barbara Fruth and Martin Surbeck on wild bonobos explains how.

Hint: it has to do with female solidarity.

Paper ▶️ www.nature.com/articles/s42...

www.ab.mpg.de/673281/news_...

New paper out by @mariusgrabow.bsky.social studying movement behaviour of European Starlings equipped with high resolution ATLAS tags. Some individuals were naturally infected with avian blood parasites, decreasing their movements behaviour and increasing their resting behaviour 🧵
#movementecology

Two year postdoc position to build mathematical and agent-based models to understand the role of reputation in social inequality (deadline 4 May)

Free workshop on demographic resilience - Aug 2025 in Berlin — Leibniz-IZW-Akademie Dear colleagues and friends,  We have recently developed a new approach to study the resilience of wild animals . We would like to present this approach to you during a 2-day workshop – with ...

Free Workshop on #wildlife demographic resilience 7th-8th August 2025 in Berlin, Germany - great course, great lectureres, great location!
#population #demography temporal variation #RStats #models
▶️ www.leibniz-izw-akademie.com/seminare/wor...

Scientists need more time to think

Good piece by @natureportfolio.bsky.social. The erosion of thinking time—driven by admin, bureaucracy, industry agendas, and unrealistic output targets—stifles curiosity-led science. These pressures undermine innovation and the intellectual freedom vital for real progress. 🧪🌱🌍 #ScienceIsNotBusiness

Eve Davidian ‪CNRS - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, Ngorongoro Hyena Project‬ - ‪‪Cited by 339‬‬ - ‪Behavioural ecology‬ - ‪Socio-ecology‬ - ‪Sexual conflict‬ - ‪Social dynamics‬ - ‪Dispersal...

Hi Eryn, we are Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecologists and would like to be added to the science feed. Cheers, Eve & Oliver

isem-evolution.fr/en/membre/da...

scholar.google.com/citations?us...

hyena-project.com