Bob Wong

An interesting #PhDstudent paper by the wonderful
@shiho-ozeki.bsky.social from the fabulous research group led by @bbmwong.bsky.social. It was such a pleasure to be involved in this research on effects of pollution from the contraceptive pill on fish. more cool research will follow!

More than 100,000 reads so far. Thank you everyone for engaging with our article and this vitally important conservation issue.

Size matters. Among the great apes, human penises are unusually large. Why? Check out our new open access paper in @plosbiology.org led by @upama.bsky.social. Link here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

And read the lay article in @theconversation.com here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

3/3 None of this would have happened without THE AMAZING Chloe Tan, who collected the vast majority of data single-handedly!
A fun study done! All thanks to this awesome bunch: Chole, @mikejennions.bsky.social @bbmwong.bsky.social Rebecca Bathgate, Khandis Blake, Rob Capp, Jacob Kuek, Brian Mautz

Experimental evidence that penis size, height, and body shape influence assessment of male sexual attractiveness and fighting ability in humans Why the human penis is unusually large compared to other primates is a long-standing evolutionary question. This study shows that genital size is a cue used during male-male assessment in humans, sugg...

2/3 This paper is a COVID baby, and took 6 years into making! Read the full paper here: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Why is the human penis longer and thicker than those of other great apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas? Read our @aunz.theconversation.com piece to find out!
Full paper from @plosbiology.org below! 👇 1/3

Congrats to @shiho-ozeki.bsky.social on her PhD paper studying the potential impacts of pollution from the contraceptive pill on a marine species, the crested weedfish.

doi.org/10.1111/eth....

My uncle, my 大舅舅, passed away a few days ago. He had such a big impact on me and my career…from inspiring me with childhood stories catching fighting fishes in Singapore to driving me across Queensland to collect Pacific blue-eyes for my PhD research. I was so lucky to have had him as my 大舅舅 🥹

Wishing everyone all the best for the festive season 🎄

Image: Christmas Day (detail) by Richard Lewer, National Gallery of Australia

How is behavioural diversity affected by human-induced change? Oded Berger-Tal and co-authors review how anthropogenic disturbances can impact behavioural diversity through the evolutionary forces of selection, flow, mutation and drift. doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
@bbmwong.bsky.social

Top text: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers (Left) Image of Prof Laurent Brent, University of Exeter (Centre) Image of Prof Tim Caro, University of Bristol (Right) Image of Prof Mariella Herberstein, Leibnez Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Bottom text: 1 - 4 September 2026, Anglia Ruskin University

Top text: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers (Left) Image of Prof Andrew Radford, University of Bristol (Centre) Image of Dr Bibiana Rojas, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Right) Image of Dr Christopher Schell, University of California, Berkeley Bottom text: 1 - 4 September 2026, Anglia Ruskin University

Missed our #ECBB2026 Plenary Speaker reveals? Not to worry!

Here is a quick recap of all the excellent speakers we'll be welcoming at September's meeting!

Congrats to @katefergusson.bsky.social (cosupervised with Jake Martin and @michaelgbertram.bsky.social who submitted her PhD thesis this week 🥳🎉

Rapid self-recognition ability in the cleaner fish - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Rapid self-recognition ability in the cleaner fish

Are animals self aware? Intuitively many seem to be, but how do we experimental test this prediction? Using a novel version of the mirror-mark test we claim to have empirical evidence demonstrating self awareness in the cleaner fish. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A reminder that after #ASABSpring2026, #ECBB2026 is also happening in September! #ASABWinter2025

The pitcher on my Nepenthes tenuis has finally popped open in the office. So cute. I reckon if I wasn’t a behavioural ecologist, a carnivorous plant researcher would be a great alternative 🤔

Header: ECBB 2026 Plenary Speakers Image of Dr Bibiana Rojas, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna Text next to photo reads: Main interests in the interface between behavioural and evolutionary ecology Aspects of communication, animal colouration, predator-prey interactions, aggression, parental care, and life history trade-offs The effects of anthropogenic activities such as habitat alteration and contamination on the life history, health and behaviour of amphibians

We know you're jumping with excitement to find out the penultimate ECBB 2026 plenary speaker so we won't keep you waiting much longer!
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It's the marvellous @biobiiana.bsky.social!

It’s great to see our systematic map highted by @envevidence.bsky.social as the most read article of 2025! It was a huge amount of work, so I am glad people are seeing it. We highlighted some major gaps and issues within the field, as well as practical ways to move forward
#pollution #ecotoxicology

The ASAB medal is awarded annually for contributions to the science of animal behaviour, including teaching, writing, broadcasting, research, and work on behalf of the association.

We’re seeking nominations for the ASAB medal in 2027! Learn more:

www.asab.org/asab-medal

A new (and improved) version of the fantastic BES’s reproducible code guide is now live.

Seriously amazing resource for those wanting to produce code that enables reproducible research.

Featuring some SORTEE members and also code review!!

@sortee.bsky.social

Note that there’s a PhD position on this topic, if you found this interesting! #ASABWinter2025

Hanna posing with tthe medal with ASAB president Melissa

Congratulations to Hanna Kokko for receiving this year’s ASAB medal! Hanna has done extraordinary work and we are so pleased to honour her at #ASABWinter2025

Thank you @lifesciencestudios.bsky.social for your amazing work on our recent paper! And for any colleagues wanting to create an impactful figure for their papers, check out www.lifesciencestudios.com

Tips and tricks for writing constructive peer reviews Peer review has been the cornerstone of scientific inquiry for centuries and is considered the backbone of scientific quality and rigour (Spier, 2002). Des

#ICYMI: Our latest paper in @conphysjournal.bsky.social provides "tips & tricks" for how to write constructive peer reviews

The paper provides directed guidance on how to write effective comments and highlights additional attributes of useful reviews

doi.org/10.1093/conp...

@sebiology.bsky.social

There is still time to submit your abstract and apply for a travel award!

@behavecol.bsky.social @isbe2026.bsky.social

The congress venue - Lingotto - is an iconic industrial building: once the historic FIAT factory it’s legendary rooftop test track has been transformed into one of Europe’s largest rooftop garden and an open-air art hub. Delegates will be able to enjoy spectacular views of Turin and the Alps!

www.hfsp.org/funding/hfsp... for @asrc-gc.bsky.social researchers

Abstract (and travel award) submission deadline has been extended to the 7th of January 2026. Don’t miss the chance to submit your contribution and be part of the scientific program of ISBE2026!

Don’t be a prig in peer review Jeff C. Clements reckons with a recent set of reviewer comments that used ‘being critical’ as a justification to be mean.

Those who know me professionally know that I often gripe about issues with peer review, particularly when it comes to crummy reviewer comments (for example, here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...).

If you found this work exciting, note that there plenty of upcoming PhD opportunities at the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour in Exeter !