Jamie C. Weir

New evidence? No problem. Chimps can weigh conflicting clues, just like humans Study is first to suggest our closest relatives think about their own thoughts

“Andrews adds that researchers adapting the task to other species would need to think carefully about what constitutes strong evidence: Dogs, for instance, might consider scent to be a stronger source of evidence than visual cues.”

#scicomm

www.science.org/content/arti...
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G. moholi posing. Image Credit: Jamie Weir. All rights reserved.

In summer, when insects are most abundant, they are a dominant part of the diet of G. moholi.

Understanding the kinds of insects eaten by bushbabies and how they find them is key for their #conservation, and for unpicking their functional role in tropical/sub-tropical forest food-webs.

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Sound may act as an important proxy for prey size in nocturnal feeding behaviour.

Bushbaby vocalisations are usually confined to social contexts, but I also made novel observations of vocalisations associated with solo foraging 🗣️👇

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Furthermore, manipulative experiments using Male Driver Ants 🐜 -- a popular prey item -- suggested that while visual movement was a key driver of prey-finding behaviour in G. moholi, sound made prey items particularly attractive and increased the incidence of targeting for feeding.

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Previous evidence is mixed, with some reports emphasising a primary role for Lepidoptera in the diet, others suggesting Coleoptera and Orthoptera are most important (e.g. Harcourt, 1986).

I observed G. moholi easily catch Lepidoptera mid-flight, including strong fliers such as hawk-moths.

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Observing/testing predation of different prey items, I found that:

• Moths were always consumed
• Insects with distasteful or noxious secretions (Shield/Stink Bugs) were avoided
• Beetles were closely examined before consumption, and only some eaten

--> clear, species-level prey choice 🐒🐞🦋

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While recording moths at a UV light trap in South Africa during Oct/Nov 2024, I was able to closely observe the Southern Lesser Bushbaby (G. moholi) foraging and predating insects drawn to the light.

The fieldwork was generously supported by @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social Davis Expedition Fund.

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Much remains unknown about our #primate relatives.

E.g./ Though #insects are a key dietary component for many #nocturnal species, we still have little idea of:

• which taxa are eaten, and why
• individual/population/seasonal variation in preferences
• the #sensory stimuli used to find them

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G. moholi posing. Image Credit: Jamie Weir. All rights reserved.

In my **new paper**, out now in Folia Primatologica, I shed light on the nocturnal feeding habits of the Southern Lesser Bushbaby (Galago moholi), documenting observations and experiments made during fieldwork in South Africa.

tinyurl.com/bushbaby-diet

...Scroll for more #bushbaby pics 👀👇

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Excellent! When are we bringing pith helmets back to fieldwork? ⛏️

many thanks to @soerinegerlich.bsky.social for leading this study into phenological limits in Arctic communities. For me this collaboration was a real eye-opener into the potential for species to reach limits to their ability to respond plastically. Who knows what the consequences will be.

Will food chains break as seasons become more unpredictable? In variable environments, like temperate woodlands, species are not equally at risk.

Read more about my work in @uk.theconversation.com: theconversation.com/will-food-ch...

Or, have a look at our recent perspective piece in @globalchangebio.bsky.social: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Hot on the heels of receiving the @linneansociety.bsky.social's Marsden Medal, very pleased to announce that my PhD thesis also came in as runner up for the @royentsoc.bsky.social's Alfred Russel Wallace Award! 🌿🐛

Thanks to @eastbio.bsky.social and my supervisor @allyphillimore.bsky.social

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Look who turned up in the moth trap this morning...
We've been expecting a Jersey Tiger for a while, being located just north of its current range. What stunning moths they are!

#mothsmatter #teammoth

YouTube video by Linnean Society Is Timing Everything and How Can Spring-feeding Caterpillars Get it Right? | Jamie Weir

3. Hear the fantastic talk from this year's John C. Marsden Medal Winner, @jamiecweir.bsky.social gave us on timing and spring-feeding caterpillars. #insectweek www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7mh...

Buffering and phenological mismatch: A change of perspective Climate change can shift the seasonal timing of many species, and potentially disrupt feeding interactions between species that were formally synchronized in time. We identify a variety of mechanisms...

You can find many of the key ideas discussed in my recent @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper:

'Buffering and phenological mismatch: a change of perspective'

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It was a real delight to go down to Burlington House the other week, to tour the @linneansociety.bsky.social collections and receive this year's John C. Marsden medal, for the best biology PhD thesis in the UK.

It was, and remains, a tremendous honour.

Interested in my thesis? 👇

Employing one of my lesser-used mugs today!

Lord Palmerston not looking impressed by my work...

History enthusiasts: any thoughts on who might be the most important British prime minister of the nineteenth century?

Some highlights from the last few warm nights here in the central belt of Scotland...

A pair of puss moths, ermines, and several poplar hawks.

Poplars sit with hindwings resting *in front* of the forewings, breaking up the classic moth outline and giving them a more ragged, leaf-life appearance 🦋🌿

Buffering and phenological mismatch: A change of perspective Climate change can shift the seasonal timing of many species, and potentially disrupt feeding interactions between species that were formally synchronized in time. We identify a variety of mechanisms...

If ephemeral consumer-resource interactions are more buffered than we may have feared, are we overestimating climate-driven mismatch risks? Or, worse, could we be worried about the wrong species?

Follow the link 👇 and read our paper for more!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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We call for a shift in focus: not just measuring mismatches, but understanding when, how, and why these mismatches actually matter for population persistence.

Resilience is an underappreciated part of this story, but vital for evaluating responses to climate change 🌍🌡️

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From caterpillar dispersal via 'ballooning', to bet-hedging through considerable variation in egg hatch times, and a broad diet and host-plant switching — this species has a range of insurance policies against bad timing 🐛

And analogous buffering mechanisms can be found in many other species.

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However, in this perspective piece we argue that winter moths — poster species in the world of phenology, forest entomology, and pop. ecology — possess a suite of mechanisms that #buffer the effects of mismatch, from egg-laying bet-hedging to caterpillar dispersal.

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Phenological #mismatch arises when distinct phenological responses to climate change drive a #consumer species and its #resource species out of temporal synchrony...

🌳>🐛>🐦 🕜

It's generally considered a widespread phenomenon contributing to #ecosystem fragility.

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Although species vary in their #phenological response to #climate change, some food-chains and webs are surprisingly resilient...

On the anniversary of my @globalchangebio.bsky.social paper with @allyphillimore.bsky.social, I wanted to revisit some of the key ideas 👇

tinyurl.com/BufferCater

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I think it's interesting how the policemen are standing with their backs to the crowd. They certainly do not do that now.

Hand-drawn feathers

Birch twigs adorned with colourful feathers are a traditional Swedish Easter decoration, brightening up the dinner table.

Illustration by J. Terrier from 'Faune de la Senegambie' by Alphonse Trémeau de Rochebrune, 1883-1884.

www.magnoliabox.com/...

Thank you!

Insect Net, Cages, and Traps | Ento Nets Welcome to Ento Nets. We make a great range of insect cages and traps.

I'd recommend having a look at www.insectcage.co.uk. They have a range of traps with mesh bodies which make them extremely light and portable. I own a few of these and they've been great for trapping abroad. Of course, you have to make sure it's dry and they're secured down if it's windy.

Thanks Richard! Much appreciated!