Cornish Jackdaw Project

A new paper published in Nature introduces the Ocean Equity Index (OEI), the first global tool to measure fairness in ocean policies and projects.
It was developed by 27 leading experts in marine conservation, social justice and ocean governance.

🌊 news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-e...

Job alert! The University of Zurich is hiring a professor for Evolutionary Anthropology and Primatology. Learn more here: www.appointments.mnf.uzh.ch/auth/Apply/0...

Huge thanks to @wildanimalinitv.bsky.social and @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding! #animalwelfare #wildlife #animalbehaviour #conservation

New paper out in @animalecology.bsky.social: Social information about others' affective states in a human-altered world. Link: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
With @jackdawjordan.bsky.social, @margauxvanhussel.bsky.social, Mike Mendl, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social

A u shaped structure made out of sticks called a bower, built under a small tree. In front of the bower is a pile of grey, white and green objects that make up the display court. The whole scene is in dappled sunlight and shade created by the tree above.

New bowerbird paper out, we asked whether male great bowerbirds care about the light environment around the bower where they display to females. Short answer: not really. What they do care about is having a display arena with strong visual contrast on the ground. 🐦 tinyurl.com/2v7rycdz

Got Beef With Cowbirds? This Researcher Wants to Change Your Mind The nest parasites get a bad rap for making other birds raise their young, but study by study, Mark Hauber and his “Cowbird Lab” have revealed a species worthy of respect.

Update on some of our decades long cowbird research in @audubon.org magazine: www.audubon.org/magazine/got...

Internships are now available with the Cornish Jackdaw Project! 🐦‍⬛

Duties will include assisting with nest monitoring, bird ringing, data entry, and the potential to help with ongoing research projects.

An all black bird perched on a post is enjoying a scratch under its open bill.

Jackdaw having a scratch.
#birdoftheday
#FeathersandForm

Check out these excellent PhD opportunities, with fabulous supervisors!

Predator defence in anemonefishes

Applications closing 5th Jan for Fully funded PhD through @iapetusdtp.bsky.social

Studying behaviour and ecology of anemonefishes. Need to be happy to spend lots of time in Papua New Guinea and need to be SCUBA qualified.

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

To survive and flourish, many animal species rely on ecological knowledge. But this knowledge is not always spread across the group—it's often held by certain "keystone individuals."

Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @pbrakes.bsky.social!

Listen: disi.org/the-value-of...

Behavioural ecology in the twenty-first century - Nature Ecology & Evolution This Perspective discusses how the field of behavioural ecology has contributed to fundamental science and tackling global challenges, ranging from understanding how natural selection leads to adaptat...

In one of those days where purpose seems hard to find, nice to read: "why does the world still need behavioural ecologists?"

A reminder of how exciting it is to see the world from the eyes of a behavioural ecologist.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our newest research in @currentbiology.bsky.social:

www.cell.com/current-biol...

We find dominant baboons have more interrupted and less rest at night.

Author list and story in comments below :-)

Whee 😆 #wildlifephotography #wednesdaymotivation

Pleased to announce that @exetermarine.bsky.social will be a founding member of Marine Science UK - an umbrella organisation that will champion the ocean and communicate robust and coherent marine science evidence to government, industry and the wider community. 🌍🧪🦑
See also: marinescience.org.uk

Dr Josh Arbon out birding.

Dr Josh Arbon with a meerkat in the Kalahari, South Africa.

👋to @josharbon.bsky.social who has completed a truly outstanding #NERC-funded postdoc investigating #pre-emptive #behaviour in relation to #intergroup #conflict 👏

Loads of exciting #research, new #methods learned & an awe-inspiring level of help provided to others 🥇

Good luck in #Cambridge, Josh

Wild jackdaws recognise the contact calls of their mate - Animal Cognition Animal Cognition - In stable social environments, the ability to recognise other group members and integrate individual cues with previous experience is likely to be beneficial in mediating social...

New paper, led by our former PhD student Victoria Lee. Wild jackdaws recognise the contact calls of their mate: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@uniexecec.bsky.social @guillmcivor.bsky.social

Behavioural ecology in the twenty-first century - Nature Ecology & Evolution This Perspective discusses how the field of behavioural ecology has contributed to fundamental science and tackling global challenges, ranging from understanding how natural selection leads to adaptat...

This Perspective discusses how the field of behavioural ecology has contributed to fundamental science and global challenges, ranging from understanding how natural selection leads to adaptation to optimizing biocontrol of pest species www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Free to read: rdcu.be/eRKbv

After many years of trying to combine my 2 passions, art 🎨 and science 👩‍🔬, into something meaningful, i have created an educational #ChildrensBook! 📚

✨ Meet The Rimba🦧, a gentle, lyrical tale about a wise orangutan guardian spirit who protects her rainforest home and the creatures who depend on it.

Are you looking for a wild PhD opportunity? 🦠🧵

There are several opportunities to join the Wild Microbiome Lab in 2026! Scroll for more information, or visit the link below for full project descriptions and application information👇

xavharrison.github.io

PhD opportunity in NZ - Fabulous supervisor, exciting questions, great system! Get your applications in!

The final chapter of my thesis has just been published in Ecology and Evolution! @ecol-evol.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Here we find that the social environment, notably vocal and aggressive interactions, are linked to cognitive development in magpie fledglings.

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

Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences In many group-living birds and mammals, the formation of affiliative relationships is hypothesized to cause vocal convergence (an increase in call similarity between individuals). However, testing this causal effect can be difficult, because it requires ...

Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Turns out gulls don't like being shouted at (or stared at!) New paper led by excellent masters students @uniexecec.bsky.social with @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Huge congrats Andoni!

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

📢JOB alert
Excellent opportunity with fantastic team and study system. 🐬
What are you waiting for???

From preferences to pollination: do hummingbirds and bees differ in how they choose flowers?

#PhD position!

Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees

Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...