Cornish Jackdaw Project

Our latest blog post focuses on the Caribbean Spiny Lobster Project, talking about aquaculture, fisheries and the importance of community engagement.

Read the full story here - sites.exeter.ac.uk/exetermarine...

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‪Come join us at the @asab.org Winter Conference 2025: how sensory info affects behaviour.

15th & 16th Dec, abstracts due end Aug. More info and registration asabwinter.github.io/2025

Co-hosted with @jtroscianko.bsky.social and Innes Cuthill

Image description: figure from review titled Map and compass navigation: the mechanism and ontogeny of animal maps. The figure shows how environmental cues can vary in predictable gradients through space, generating unique cue combinations at each location. The second part of this figure shows how animals may respond to these cue combinations, either treating them as discrete cue-location associations, or as continuous gradients. These differences may lead to differences in navigational strategies and performance.

Ever wondered how animals know where they are? Or how they find where they need to be?

The answer is that they have maps and compasses built into their heads! Excited to see this new review of map-and-compass navigation led by Joe Morford out in Animal Behaviour @asab.org

doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds Cognitive evolution: the mechanisms may be simple but their fine-turning may not be

Today's highlighted talk is a great contribution by Arnon Lotem, discussing the evolution of learning mechanisms and their fine-tuning to fit different species' needs youtu.be/At9uqrPNz5Y @royalsocietypublishing.org @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social

Beyond the alpha male Primate studies challenge male-dominance norms

Challenging alpha male’ norms: new study across #primates reveals that power relationships between males and females are less clear-cut than expected. An intl. team including D. Lukas @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social shows that context matters for which sex has power www.mpg.de/24986976/063...

Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) can discriminate between pilfering and non-pilfering conspecifics, but not between heterospecifics - Animal Cogni... When foraging, individuals often need to assess potential risk from competitors. Within many food-caching (food-storing) species, individuals can modify their caching behavior depending on whether oth...

Late to the party but the last paper of my PhD was published earlier this year!
Pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) can discriminate between pilfering and non-pilfering conspecifics, but not between heterospecifics link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Opportunities — ASAB

🚨JOB alert🚨 Full-time Managing Editor role for @asab.org journal Animal Behaviour. Applicants must have animal #behaviour background; previous editorial experience would be ideal.
Apply by 31st July 2025.
#publishing #editor #job

More details: www.asab.org/opportunities

PLEASE share widely.

two 4-year PhD positions in the Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich, and the Wild Minds Lab of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, to study wild chimpanzees and bonobos. The PhD candidates will work within the Creative Ape Project. The overall goal of the project is to enhance our understanding of the evolution of creativity, and to shed light on whether humans are a uniquely 'creative ape'. To do so we will apply a comparative approach, quantifying the creative capacities of wild non-human apes to investigate the underlying drivers that shape creative expression across species. The project explores four interconnected topics: i) Making mavericks, ii) Funny guys and arty-types, iii) Lone ape geniuses, and iv) Creative ape economies. We employ a comprehensive approach that leverages long-term datasets, new field data, detailed manual video-coding, bespoke automated deep-learning models, and advanced modelling, to extract rich information on the ways in which apes solve problems in their daily lives. Excellent collaborative, independent working and time management skills are essential. Previous field experience (incl. behavioural data collection) is required, and experience working in remote places under difficult living conditions is highly recommended. The project will require strong data management and data analysis skills, and 12-18 months of field work split into 2-3 periods. Please submit your application in a single PDF to kathelijne.koops@iea.uzh.ch and clh42@st-andrews.ac.uk – by 4th of August 2025. Feel free to get in touch if you have any inquiries about the positions. Applications should include: 1) cover letter stating your motivation and how your expertise fits the project (max. 1 page), 2) Curriculum Vitae, 3) copy of the highest degree obtained, 4) names and contact details of two referees, and 5) reprints of 1-2 selected publications

A tiny chimpfant looks at the camera with surprise

📣 Join the K/Creative Ape Team 🤓 2 PhDs on Creativity in Wild Chimpanzees & Bonobos; w myself & the v awesome @kathelijnekoops.bsky.social

@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪

@royalsociety.org talk, outlining some of the ideas in our Phil Trans paper "The Coevolution of Cognition and Sociality", featuring fab research by jackdaw team members past and present @lucahahn.bsky.social, @josharbon.bsky.social, @guillmcivor.bsky.social & Mike Kings.

tinyurl.com/yc7zccb4

YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds A circuit view of evolving cognition by Dr Stephen Montgomery

Selection shapes diverse animal minds: We recorded the talks at our @royalsocietypublishing.org discussion meeting last year to share with those who couldn’t be there. Our first speaker is Stephen Montgomery (Bristol University) @ebablab.bsky.social. youtu.be/BzmRZlhTcrc?...

In our new paper we discuss the coevolution of cognition and sociality (link: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...). It was a pleasure to work on this project with Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social, @shoalgroup.bsky.social, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social!

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929 Can't sign in? Forgot your password?

Part of the Phil Trans special issue "Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds", edited with @ellileadbeater.bsky.social.

Thanks to co-authors Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social & @shoalgroup.bsky.social and all the special issue contributors.

tinyurl.com/35mn84ty

The coevolution of cognition and sociality | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Cognition serves to resolve uncertainty. Living in social groups is widely seen as a source of uncertainty driving cognitive evolution, but sociality can also mitigate sources of uncertainty, reducing...

Societies might shape minds, but minds can shape societies. In this new paper we discuss how this feedback changes how we think about social and cognitive evolution. Led by @lucahahn.bsky.social

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Tolerant and despotic macaques show divergent temperament but similar theory of mind | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences The social intelligence hypothesis proposes that the demands of social life shape the evolution of cognition, but different aspects of social interactions may be relevant. To test how competitive vers...

Check out our new paper comparing #socialcognition in #tolerant and #despotic #macaques, by @awad-schwob.bsky.social, Rosie Bettle, Megan Mulhinch & @zeppypearl.bsky.social!

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....

very interesting collection, expertly compiled by @ellileadbeater.bsky.social & @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social!

Featuring Hodge*, Alcalde Anton et al! ‘Modality specific long term #memory enhancement in #Heliconius butterflies’ 🧪

*Elizabeth’s 1st paper 🍾

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

It was wonderful to work with @ellileadbeater.bsky.social on this special issue! Huge thanks to her and to all our contributors.

Huge congratulations @ebablab.bsky.social! Cambridge are lucky to have you.

Deadline tomorrow!!!

Virus Craft - wooden virus interface for game about virus host shifts

Charlie D cardboard cutout

School kids playing the game

Dan trying to reach the top of the leader board

Fun morning playing our virus outreach game #VirusCraft with local school children as part of @uniexecec.bsky.social @exeter.ac.uk Festival of Science (organised by @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social) - game made by fantastic @thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy

Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise Anthropogenic noise is considered one of the most serious forms of pollution globally and has been shown to have negative effects on the distribution, behaviour, cognition and reproductive success of...

Another #PhD chapter out in the world! We investigate the impact of anthropogenic #noise on the territorial song of WA magpies 🔊🐦🔊
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@mandyridley.bsky.social @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social @dutourmylene.bsky.social

Great PhD project with fabulous supervisors! Get your applications in!

Baboons walk in line for friendship, not survival, new study finds Researchers at Swansea University have discovered that baboons walk in lines, not for safety or strategy, but simply to stay close to their friends.

New paper in @behavecol.bsky.social (link: academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...)
led by PhD student @marcofele.bsky.social using hard-won data from our amazing baboon team. Our @swanseauni.bsky.social press release:
www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office...
We introduce the idea of a "social spandrel".....

Mother Bats Shape Their Pups’ Voices
Vocal learning isn’t just about listening—it’s about interactions! Mother bats play a key role in shaping how their pups learn to communicate, showing how important early-life interactions are.
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
@eLife.bsky.social
@ahanaaurora.bsky.social

Jackdaws' flexible behaviour helps them live alongside people, but sometimes they do some odd things! This guy decided a fork would make good nest material, but later changed his mind and chucked it out again. @uniexecec.bsky.social

What an interesting paper! I'd never thought about this before.

Kultur im Tierreich - Voneinander lernen - Die ganze Doku | ARTE Bei Menschen wie bei Tieren beruht die Weitergabe von Kultur auf sozialem Lernen. Vier Arten geben Einblicke in die Kulturvermittlung im Tierreich: Kohlmeisen und Grünmeerkatzen lernen die Tricks der ...

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Voneinender lernen: www.arte.tv/de/videos/11...

Episode 3: Kollective Anpassung: www.arte.tv/de/videos/11...

For our 🇫🇷 & 🇩🇪-speaking friends, these great @artefr.bsky.social films showcase animal culture research by group members past & present. #jackdaws #meerkats @uniexecec.bsky.social

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Apprendre des Autres: www.arte.tv/fr/videos/11...

Transmettre pour s'adapter: www.arte.tv/fr/videos/11...

Happy birthday, David Attenborough! 99 ways he has inspired us, by Barack Obama, Billie Eilish, Morgan Freeman – and many more This week the presenter turns 99. To celebrate, we asked 99 nature lovers – including Margaret Atwood, Jane Fonda, Bono, Kate Winslet and Michael Palin – how he has helped us see the world with fresh ...

Happy 99th birthday to David Attenborough. Thanks for inspiring generations of animal behaviour researchers! 🐘🐬🐵🐸🐝🦅

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

three people in formal wear stand in front of a banner which says 'ocean' for the premiere of the Ocean film by Sir David Attenborough. The people are holding the book associated with the film.

We're proud that our researchers played a role in giving scientific advice for ‘Ocean’, the new film/book by Sir David Attenborough.
Here's some of the team at the film's premiere last night! Huge congratulations to all involved.
Read more in our press release - news.exeter.ac.uk/top-stories/...
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A cryptic role for reciprocal helping in a cooperatively breeding bird - Nature A study of the cooperative breeding behaviour of superb starlings during 40 consecutive breeding seasons over 20 years reveals long-term reciprocal helping between both related and unrelated individua...

Our latest superb starling work in @nature.com. We observe long-term reciprocal helping relationships, and suggest reciprocity is an underappreciated mechanism promoting the stability of cooperatively breeding societies. Led by Alexis Earl and @gerrycarter.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...