UCPH Behavioural Ecology Group

What do we know about vocal communication of emotion between different species of terrestrial tetrapods? Investigating how animals perceive and interpret emotional signals across a variety of species is essential for deepening our understanding of the complexities underlying animal communication and soc...

My second PhD paper is out

What do we know about vocal communication of emotion between different species of terrestrial tetrapods? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

I was lucky to work on this project with Elodie Briefer (@ebriefer.bsky.social), Katarzyna Pisanski and Florence Levrero.

Media & Outreach | The Behavioural Ecology Group Explore media coverage of the UCPH Behavioural Ecology Group. Discover our research on animal behaviour & bioacoustics in international media.

🌍 We are excited to launch our new "Media & Outreach" page!

From decoding animal emotions with #AI to understanding bioacoustics, discover our group's work featured in @nytimes.com, @news.sky.com, RTS, @ndr.de and more.

#SciComm #Bioacoustics #Research #MediaCoverage #UCPH

YouTube video by Øredev Conference Elodie Mandel-Briefer - Deciphering animal emotions using machine learning and vocalisations

Can Artificial Intelligence help us understand what animals are really feeling?

Our group leader @ebriefer.bsky.social explains how we use machine learning to decode animal emotions through their vocalisations in this talk at @oredev.org.

Watch here! 👇

#Bioacoustics #AI #AnimalWelfare #Ethology

Humans can accurately categorise negative but not positive emotional facial expressions in horses Recognising emotional facial expressions plays a key role in communication, both within and between species. Many non-human animals, including horses,…

New study with collaborators from the INRAe showing that people recognise horse negative facial expressions more accurately than positive ones www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Home | The Behavioural Ecology Group The Behavioural Ecology Group of the University of Copenhagen is a research group investigating social behaviour and communication of vertebrates.

📢 Curious about our research on #AnimalBehaviour, welfare, and conservation?

Visit our dedicated website to explore more about our past and ongoing projects.

🔗 behavioural-ecology-group.com

#SciComm #Ethology #Bioacoustics #AnimalCognition #AnimalWelfare #AnimalConservation #AnimalBehavior

Kudos to our former PhD student @damaris-riedner.bsky.social for her contribution 👏

“Monkey influencers”: conservation culturomics of human-macaque (Macaca fascicularis) interactions Conservation culturomics can offer insights into the online presence of threatened primate species, such as the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicular…

New paper by MSc student Alice Fratesi showing that long-tailed macaques are often featured in unethical or exploitative content in online posts, emphasizing the need to promote responsible online engagement: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@ediminin.bsky.social @behaveco.bsky.social

How do rhinos talk to each other?

A new study suggests snorts may lack specific communicative function. However, "pant" calls triggered significant reactions, influenced by sex & social context.

www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/learning-fro...

#SciComm #Bioacoustics

© stanciuc via canva.com

YouTube video by Øredev Conference Elodie Mandel-Briefer - Deciphering animal emotions using machine learning and vocalisations

If anyone wants to learn a bit about our work on vocal expression of emotions, here is a recording of the talk I gave at @oredev.org conference last month in Malmö: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDPS...

Identifying areas of high snaring risk in Kruger National Park: A novel citizen science approach for carnivore conservation | Behavioural Ecology Group Wire snares are a frequently used method for illegal bushmeat poaching and are increasingly recognised as a global threat to biodiversity. However, studies

Can social media posts help anti-poaching teams?

A new study validates using citizen science data to predict snaring hotspots in fenced reserves: a novel approach to protect Kruger's carnivores.

Co-authored by former PhD student @damaris-riedner.bsky.social.

#WildlifeProtection #Conservation

Contact calls of zoo and wild southern white rhinoceroses do not differ acoustically Large mammal species are declining globally, and zoo populations may help support or re-establish wild populations through reinforcement or reintroduction. However, zoo environments differ from nat...

New paper out by PhD student @damaris-riedner.bsky.social, on southern white rhinoceroses, showing that zoo and wild populations do not sound too different 🦏🦏🦏 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@behaveco.bsky.social

@daryllmarie.bsky.social Sure! Thank you for this great initiative ☺️

Home | Minhjemmeside

I'm excited about IBAC next week - *the* conference for anyone interested in animal sounds http://ibac25.com/ #bioacoustics I'm especially excited because my lovely team will be presenting their work there - here's a preview!

Same data, different results? Evaluating machine learning approaches for individual identification in animal vocalisations | Behavioural Ecology Group Automated acoustic analysis is increasingly used in animal communication studies, and determining caller identity is a key element for many investigations.

In bioacoustics, our methods matter.

Using different machine learning techniques for caller ID can lead to conflicting results, making it hard to compare studies.

A new preprint asks: which analysis pipeline is the most reliable?

📈 Find more at: www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/same-data-di...

Chants across seven traditions share acoustic traits that enhance subjective relaxation | PNAS For over 5,000 y, chanting has been practiced across many Western and Eastern traditions. However, there is hardly any empirical research on 1) whe...

For over 5,000 y, chanting has been practiced across many Western and Eastern traditions. Chants share distinctive acoustic traits which have evolved culturally to optimize listener relaxation. 👇 new paper @pnas.org by ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab & Co

#bioacoustics
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

@behaveco.bsky.social

Working on inter-species communication and AI? Submit your application to the Coller-Dolittle price! Looking forward to read many interesting applications! 🤓

“Why keep your mouth shut?” Inshore South African Bryde’s whales abort lunges within feeding dives. | Behavioural Ecology Group Rorqual whales exhibit foraging plasticity to maximize their energy intake and reduce the cost of feeding manoeuvres. Bryde’s whales are known for their

New study reveals aborted lunges in inshore South African Bryde’s whales—mouths stay shut at peak speed, potentially reflecting failed attempts or strategic prey herding/energy saving.

🐋A novel insight into rorqual feeding plasticity.

Read more at: www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/why-keep-you...

Orcas rub each other’s backs with seaweed to slough off dead skin.

Learn more: scim.ag/3Gai9t6

Who knew I would be involved in a study on whales 🐋🐋🐋 😬Nice work by former PhD student Jacopo di Clemente @behaveco.bsky.social

Threatened synanthropes depend on intact forests: a critical evaluation of Moore et al. (2023). | Behavioural Ecology Group Synanthropes are known for their remarkable adaptability to coexist with humans, yet increased visibility exposes them to significant threats, such as hunting

They live among us... but are they really booming?

A new study busts the “overabundant macaque” myth, revealing population declines, flawed data, and why intact forests are still essential for these adaptable yet threatened species.

🐒 Read more at: www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/threatened-s...

Very proud of Damaris Riedner for successfully defending her PhD thesis on rhino genetics, socio-spatial behaviour and bioacoustics yesterday! Thanks to co-supervisors Rasmus Heller & Marina Scheumann and examiners @angelastoeger.bsky.social & Adrian Shrader. @behaveco.bsky.social

Size-specific strategies of sympatric cetaceans to reduce heat loss Highlighted Article: Novel aerial photogrammetry methods reveal that smaller cetaceans rely on physiological and morphological adaptations to reduce heat loss whereas larger species offset heat loss b...

How do whales and dolphins stay warm in icy seas? 🐳

New research shows small cetaceans rely on blubber quality, while giants like blue whales benefit from sheer size—lower surface-to-volume ratios mean less heat loss.

🐳 Read more at : www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/size-specifi...

If you are interested in interspecies communication, join us for the final stage of the 2024-2025 Coller-Dolittle Prize competition on May 15 at 15:00 CET for a nice list of speakers and talks (free online event): coller-dolittle-24.sites.tau.ac.il

MacaqueNet: Advancing comparative behavioural research through large-scale collaboration. | Behavioural Ecology Group There is a vast and ever‐accumulating amount of behavioural data on individually recognised animals, an incredible resource to shed light on the ecological

What can 40+ years of macaque behaviour teach us about the evolution of sociality?

Discover #MacaqueNet — a global collaboration of 100+ scientists building the first open-access, standardised database of macaque social interactions.

www.behavioural-ecology-group.com/macaquenet-a...

Transformer-based audio-visual multimodal fusion for fine-grained recognition of individual sow nursing behaviour Nursing behaviour and the calling-to-nurse sound are crucial indicators for assessing sow maternal behaviour and nursing status. However, accurately i…

2025. Transformer-based audio-visual multimodal fusion for fine-grained recognition of individual sow nursing behaviour www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Biphonation in animal vocalizations: insights into communicative functions and production mechanisms | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Biphonation, defined as the simultaneous production of two distinct, non-harmonically related fundamental frequencies, has traditionally been viewed as an anomaly or a by-product of vocal pathology. R...

Did you know many animals can produce TWO voices at once?

A new study published in @royalsociety.org and supervised by @ebriefer.bsky.social reveals that the simultaneous production of two distinct vocal frequencies plays a crucial role in animal communication.

📚 Read more: doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

🐒 Have you ever wondered how animals use gestures to communicate?

Join @kirstyegraham.bsky.social as they share open-source tools that can enhance our ability to compare bodily communication across species!

📆Saturday, February 22⏰ 5 pm GMT |1 pm EST |10 am PST🔗 Register here:https://rb.gy/fb4rer

Join @biologen.bsky.social on March 26, 2025, for a MathWorks webinar exploring how AI-powered analysis is unlocking the hidden language of animals.

🚀 Discover how #MATLAB tackles AI challenges like scalability, interpretability & deployment!

⏰ 2:00 PM GMT+1

fr.mathworks.com/company/even...

Join @biologen.bsky.social on March 26, 2025, for a MathWorks webinar exploring how AI-powered analysis is unlocking the hidden language of animals.

🚀 Discover how #MATLAB tackles AI challenges like scalability, interpretability & deployment!

⏰ 2:00 PM GMT+1

fr.mathworks.com/company/even...