Josh Arbon

A white-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) decides whether to consume a warningly colored white-barred acraea butterfly (Telchinia encedon). Photo (c) Mike Rowe

📢🦋 Our paper ‘Global selection on insect antipredator coloration’ is out and featured on the cover of @science.org

We ran a huge experiment to find out how ecological context favours camouflage and warning colouration as antipredator strategies. 1/6

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Vacancy — Postdoc Position in Decision Making in Birds Are you an expert in animal behavior? Do you have experience working with birds? The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is looking for a motivated researcher to investigate the ro...

I have a job opening in my lab. If you are interested in bird behaviour and predator prey interactions please take a look! werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

White-winged choughs in Canberra, Australia - the bird species studied in the newly published work.

Interested in vocal #communication? How animals provide referential #information about danger? Then see our 🌟NEW🌟 paper by brilliant ANU #PhD student Chun-Chieh Liao out today in @asab.org Animal Behaviour. 🎉👏

#birds #choughs #fieldwork #ECR
With Rob Magrath and Rob Heinsohn
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

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...

Postdoc job alert! We are hiring a NYU-based postdoc to work on our project on the social and environmental determinants of aging. The 3 year post will be based in James Higham's lab and will focus on endocrine, immune, and inflammatory aspects of aging. Please share! apply.interfolio.com/173938

Dwarf Mongooses Lose Body Mass in Hot Weather due to Limited Behavioural Plasticity Using long-term data from wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula), we demonstrate that on hot days (≥ 35°C) compared to matched cooler ones (≤ 33°C), mongooses emerged and commenced foraging earlier ...

🚨NEW paper🚨 out now in @ecol-evol.bsky.social from the brilliant #Masters of @laurenvane.bsky.social
Hot temperature effects on behaviour & body mass.
Aided by dream #mongoose team of @josharbon.bsky.social Amy Morris-Drake & @juliekern.bsky.social
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Review in #ProcB - After the fight: post-contest acoustic signalling #OpenAccess #Behaviour @andyradford.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Great new paper led by @laurenvane.bsky.social from her masters work on the dwarf mongooses. Despite early mornings and late nights, the increasing temperatures we’re seeing are stopping the mongooses maintaining body mass. @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @andyradford.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

First paper I've read in a while that truly made me go 'woah'

Probably the best title slide I’ve ever made

Between-group competitive advantage offsets foraging costs for bigger groups in harsher seasons Larger animal groups are widely understood to require more space and travel farther to mitigate the foraging costs of within-group competition. Yet, between-group interactions and shifting resource di...

New paper from my group led by Odd Jacobson, former PhD student & current postdoc @livingingroups.bsky.social : How do animal groups simultaneously balance between- and within-group competition in dynamic environments and does this impact movement and space use? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Here’s a video of an adult that hadn’t quite got the hang of the ‘tolerate juveniles’ part! Paper here: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Work conducted during my PhD at @uniexecec.bsky.social with lovely collaborators @guillmcivor.bsky.social, Noa Truskanov and Emily Stott.

Wild jackdaws learn to tolerate juveniles to exploit new foraging opportunities | Biology Letters Social tolerance can enhance access to resources and is thought to be crucial in facilitating the evolution of cooperation, social cognition and culture, but it is unknown whether animals can optimize...

New @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social paper out today in @royalsociety.org Biology Letters. We found adult jackdaws can learn to tolerate usually bullied or ignored juveniles when they provided information about a new foraging resource.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

I learned a lot working on this new paper with this group of network scientists, sociologists, anthropologists and behavioural ecologists. We're hoping it helps anyone who feels (understandably!) lost in the animal social networks weeds.

After the fight: post-contest acoustic signalling | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Animal contests often involve acoustic signals at different stages, but empirical work has primarily focused on usage before and during antagonistic interactions. Far less attention has been paid to p...

🎉NEW PAPER🎉 out today - our review in #ProcB about post-contest acoustic signalling. Started piecemeal and alone years ago, the brilliance and energy of #ECRs @josharbon.bsky.social & Amy Morris-Drake gave it impetus. ☺️

@royalsocietypublishing.org
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Masters student Lola von Kietzell setting up a cheese trial as part of a field experiment.

Masters student Lola von Kietzell with one of her white-winged chough study groups in Canberra, Australia.

Masters student Lola von Kietzell with her field playback equipment.

Masters student Lola von Kietzell and PhD student Chun-Chieh Liao looking for their study white-winged choughs in Canberra, Australa.

🌟CONGRATULATIONS🌟 to Lola von Kietzell on completing a brilliant #Masters field season with the wonderful white-winged #choughs. 👏

Thanks to Chun-Chieh Liao & Rob Magrath (@scienceanu.bsky.social) for in-field support & @josharbon.bsky.social for additional advice. 👍

@bristolbiosci.bsky.social

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929 Can't sign in? Forgot your password?

Part of the Phil Trans special issue "Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds", edited with @ellileadbeater.bsky.social.

Thanks to co-authors Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social & @shoalgroup.bsky.social and all the special issue contributors.

tinyurl.com/35mn84ty

In our new paper we discuss the coevolution of cognition and sociality (link: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...). It was a pleasure to work on this project with Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social, @shoalgroup.bsky.social, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social!

Huge loss for @bristolbiosci.bsky.social - you’ll be sorely missed @ebablab.bsky.social!! Hope @camzoology.bsky.social know just how lucky they are! 🦋🧠🍾

I think I have been fortunate to work in an institution (and a department) that has been led by people who saw the importance of enabling flexibility between work and personal life. It was crucial when we faced a major personal family challenge some years ago, and remains a core principle

🐠💥2 year postdoc in fish sensory ecology!! 💥🐟
If you’re into animal colour, collective behaviour, predator-prey interactions, enjoy behavioural experiments and fieldwork, please apply! Based in Oxford with fieldwork in northwest Thailand (and elsewhere). Please repost! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNM294/p...

Preprint @ecoevorxiv.bsky.social arising from @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social animal welfare workshops. How can we develop a better error culture in animal biologging where we can learn from our, and others, mistakes and experiences?

ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals and beyond | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Conservation strategies seek to ensure that populations persist and are resilient to environmental change. As learning from others can shape the development of skills that help animals survive, reproduce and respond to changing conditions, understanding ...

Bit late to the party due to fieldwork, but whilst I was away this was published alongside a host of fascinating papers investigating how animals cultures interact with conservation

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

@cornishjackdaws.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

Mother Bats Shape Their Pups’ Voices
Vocal learning isn’t just about listening—it’s about interactions! Mother bats play a key role in shaping how their pups learn to communicate, showing how important early-life interactions are.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
@eLife.bsky.social
@ahanaaurora.bsky.social

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals and beyond | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Conservation strategies seek to ensure that populations persist and are resilient to environmental change. As learning from others can shape the development of skills that help animals survive, reproduce and respond to changing conditions, understanding ...

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals & beyond.

New paper, led by Josh Arbon with fab collaborators Neil Jordan & @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social.

doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0136

@uniexecec.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org

Researchers Josh Arbon and James Robertshaw watching a meerkat sentinel in the Kalahari.

Meerkat pups climbing over the fluffy outer cover (wind shield) of a microphone being used by researchers in the Kalahari.

Researcher Josh Arbon and a meerkat pondering life.

Researchers Lauren Vane and James Robertshaw enjoying the sunset after a hard day of work in the Kalahari.

The #Kalahari field season is in full swing for the team of @laurenvane.bsky.social, Josh Arbon & James Robertshaw, aided by the smallest of assistants. 😊 Not jealous of them AT ALL! Bring on the exciting #experiments and data...
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
#meerkats #fieldwork #helpers