Franca Eichenberger

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...

Exciting new research on drone validation for body mass in small cetaceans. #MarMam 🐬

Really excited to see this out and have contributed to a fascinating story in marine mammal science! Fab collab between SMRU and the Sable Island team, bringing together seal scientists from both sides of the Atlantic. Thanks to @oceanfrontier.bsky.social for my visiting fellowship!

🦎 Funded 4-year PhD position on Lizard Evolutionary Ecology in our lab at UCLouvain (Belgium)! Apply before 9 March! jobs.uclouvain.be/Personnelsci...

Uppsala in late autumn

Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

✨ Exciting new work on the cooperative bubble netting of humpback whales in the North Pacific by the wonderful @eadinomahony.bsky.social 🐳 @seamammalresearch.bsky.social

Holy cow! 🐄 and what a wonderful video abstract!

The ENDOW project is seeking a Research Officer in Research Data Management to be based at the London School of Economics. - Oversee and extend our database covering geospatial, demographic, economic & social network data from 50+ communities in 30+ countries! - Contribute to research on the dynamics of social and economic inequality! - Join a stellar interdisciplinary team! - funded by the ESRC and the NSF [world map showing location of ENDOW communities; photos of some of the team members and some of the ENDOW communities showing their diversity

Research Officer in Research Data Management Salary from £43,277 to £48,220 pa inclusive of London allowance Fixed-term appointment for 18 months This research officer position is to work with Eleanor Power as part of the ongoing "ENDOW" project (Economic Networks and the Dynamics of Wealth Inequality), funded by the UKRI and US National Science Foundation. The research officer will be based in the Department of Methodology, a leading centre for research and education in social science research methods. While we expect this to be a full-time appointment, we are open to considering the possibility of a part-time appointment. The post entails overseeing and extending the database of the "ENDOW" project, which includes data from over fifty communities around the world, comprising economic, demographic, and social network data characterising each community, its resident households, and the individuals within them. The research officer will be responsible for the expansion of this database to include longitudinal data from each community site, implementing a robust data infrastructure to manage and curate this information. The research officer will work closely with Dr Power and data contributors to ensure data quality, standardisation, and appropriate governance. They will contribute to core analyses of the ENDOW project and develop tools and resources that will be of wide utility for the collection, curation, and analysis of cross-cultural data. This role is central to building the data infrastructure that will enable meaningful, productive comparisons across these diverse field sites and will ultimately serve as a resource for the broader scientific community. The successful candidate will: Have a completed PhD, be close to completing a PhD, or have other research experience that demonstrates the capability to produce independent original research Have experience with database design, data management and data governance Have experience with programming in R or Python

🚨Job alert! The ENDOW project is hiring a Research Officer in Research Database Management, to be based at @lsemethodology.bsky.social.

Oversee & expand our database & contribute to research on social & economic inequality.

Deadline 15 February. Share & reach out!
jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

It's that time of year! Please reach out if you'd like to give a (paid) guest lecture (on zoom) in my Primate class this semester :) Currently looking for speakers for 20 or 23 Feb!

Job alert:
NOAA NWFSC & UW are looking for a postdoc (ASAP) in Seattle study foraging ecology of Cook Inlet beluga whales using eDNA. Genetics/ecology/eDNA experience preferred. Interested candidates reach out to kim.parsons@noaa.gov or rpkelly@uw.edu directly. #eDNA #ConsGen

My view when lying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, the book 'The evolution of cetacean societies' and my black tortoiseshell cat in front of me.

My favourite rainy Sundays. 📚🐈‍⬛☕🎶

Environmental journalism is under pressure — exactly where it’s needed most.

The Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellowship by Mongabay will support at least 16 early-career journalists from tropical countries. Paid, remote, editor-led.

Apply Dec 15–Feb 1. Learn more: buff.ly/UI8X5ur.

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.

Marine biologists are locked in what observers describe as “an academic slap fight” over whether sperm whales communicate using vowel-like patterns or whether researchers just need better microphones. Read more below...

#linguistics #Research #spermwhale #vowels #whale #OddNews

🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨

The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists

Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...

#MicroSky 🧪

#PostDoc @univie.ac.at

🌊 🐟🦭🐋🐧 I have a PhD position available (4 years, start Mid-2026) at NRM Stockholm to work on the macrogenomics of sea warming.

Apply here:

recruit.visma.com/spa/public/a...

#PhD #MarineGenomics #ClimateChange #EvolutionaryBiology #PopGen #Bioinformatics #conservationgenomics

Stockholm University's Department of Zoology seeks an Associate Professor in Animal Ecology and Evolution. Deadline: Feb 28, 2026. More info: https://su.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:883922/where:4/ #job

de Freitas Scholarship for black British students. Marine masters degree tuition and stipend. Background image shows two students smiling as the paddle in the shoreline of a beach in the south west of England. In the bottom left corner is the University of Exeter Cornwall logo.

Huge opportunity for marine scholarships! 🌊💸🧪

💸 2x £30k scholarships available
🎓 Available to black British students
🐟 Eligible courses: MSc Marine Environmental Management or MSc Marine Vertebrate Ecology & Conservation

www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
@exetermarine.bsky.social

me Eadin Oscar Gaggioti and Morton Olsen toasting in front of the SOI Xmas tree

Three people with liquorice pipes

Éadin looking happy

Eadin and I in front of the title slide of her seminar "From breath to whole genome"

So chuffed for the newly minted Dr @eadinomahony.bsky.social who crushed their viva this week at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and gave an awesome seminar to boot! Many thanks to @tangeolsen.bsky.social for years of support! 🐳🦑🧪

Great talk by @izzylangley.bsky.social of @seamammalresearch.bsky.social at #BES2025 on intraguild predation and UK seal population trends. Check the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/1365...

The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds - Yorkshire Environmental Sciences • Doctoral Training Network Project summary Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walrus) are keystone marine predators, and sentinels for marine ecosystem health. Advances in genomic technology open up the possibility to u...

New PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳 #marine #mammals
#consgen #popgen #phylo #molevol #evolution
yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...

Social bonds decrease epigenetic age in male bottlenose dolphins - Communications Biology Across 40 years of behavioural and epigenetic data, male dolphins with stronger social relationships show lower epigenetic ages and therefore appear to age slower compared to those with weaker social ...

🐬 Can friendship slow ageing?

In wild bottlenose dolphins, strong social relationships aren’t just important for social life — they may actually influence biological ageing.
@liviagerber.bsky.social
#ScienceCommunication #MarineMammals #Ageing #MAVELab

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Friendship is magic: male dolphins with close friends age more slowly Like friendship itself, the slower ageing is more than just skin deep.

If you need a happy science story today - another piece how male dolphins who bond better with their mates* age slower

@aunz.theconversation.com piece by @liviagerber.bsky.social @kjpeters.bsky.social and Lee Rollins

*Aussie dolphins, so the Aussie meaning of mates
🐳🦑🧪

📑 #NewStudy by Bizzozzero et al. combine different methods to provide a detailed location-based assessment of fish diversity at Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

👀 Read the full study: doi.org/10.1111/ddi....

PhD Fellow in Ecology/Ecosystem-Based Management (289259) | UiT The Arctic University of Norway Job title: PhD Fellow in Ecology/Ecosystem-Based Management (289259), Employer: UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Deadline: Sunday, December 7, 2025

We are hiring: #PhD fellow in Ecosystem-based management and marine connectivity🐋🧪🛰️

Want to work with tracking data from migratory species to identify ecological corridors and help inform biodiversity conservation priorities?
Apply by Dec 7th!
@bioprotectproject.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ytfmfhfc

Don't just take my word for it ... @stephanielking.bsky.social and Denise Herzing provide insightful comments in this piece: www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-n...

Exciting PhD opportunity to develop tech and software to record and understand wild animal behaviour. Fully funded by EPSRC DLA. Based at @uniexecec.bsky.social; co-supervised by Alex Thornton (@cornishjackdaws.bsky.social), @kjhockings.bsky.social and collaborators. Apply: tinyurl.com/5fr73snt

🚨Who wants to work with Kalahari meerkats? A MSc project with @mathildemartin.bsky.social at the University of Zurich.
#bioacoustics 🧪

Integrating Environmental DNA Metabarcoding and Remote Sensing Reveals Known and Novel Fish Diversity Hotspots in a World Heritage Area Aim Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Western Australia, is highly vulnerable to climate change, yet its fish biodiversity remains poorly understood at fine spatial scales. We integrated en...

🎉 Excited to share the 2nd chapter of my PhD!

From 270 eDNA samples across Shark Bay (🇦🇺), we identified 106 fish species and mapped their diversity with remote sensing — all non-invasively! 🌊🐠

A scalable framework for characterising marine biodiversity

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/ddi.70074

🐠💥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...

Open call for 3-5 month Early Career Fellowships at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin

https://www.wiko-berlin.de/en/becoming-a-fellow/wiko-early-career-calls/early-career-call-life-and-natural-sciences

deadline Nov 1