Dr Hannah M. Rowland

Interns wanted! - Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol

Want to work on biodiversity in the Alps? ⛰️

We are offering several internship positions for the upcoming spring and summer in collaboration with the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol 🕷️🦋🦇🐜🌼🦗🪱

biodiversity.eurac.edu/interns-want...

There is STILL TIME to register for the 2026 Predator-Prey Gordon Conference. It's happening in late January in Tuscany. The meeting has a single session attended by everyone, poster sessions, and encourages finding new collaborations. See the program and register below.

www.grc.org/predator-pre...

🚨A few days left to apply! 🚨

Work with us to uncover how birds evolve resistance to prey toxins, resurrect ancient proteins, and map the rules that shape molecular adaptation.

🧬 Fully funded BBSRC PhD
📅 Deadline: 7 Dec
🔗 www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/bbsr...

Box 1. Key developments in understanding the role of enzyme paralogs feeding the carotenoid pathway in tomato The steps catalyzed by DXS, GGPPS, and PSY are shown in a schematic pathway. The relative contribution of individual paralogs to carotenoid biosynthesis in different tomato organs is represented in the lower panel (the paler the color, the weaker the contribution of the corresponding isoform; no color means no contribution). The main findings of the indicated papers are also indicated in the figure.

🟠🍅 SPECIAL ISSUE EXPERT VIEW 🍅🟠

Tomato carotenoids contribute to photosynthesis, color ripe fruit and produce bioactive signals.
Rodriguez-Concepcion et al. provide an update on how paralogs of key biosynthetic enzymes control carotenoid production.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪

Democratizing protein language model training, sharing and collaboration www.nature.com/articles/s41... (read free: rdcu.be/eOikv) 🧬🖥️🧪 github.com/westlake-rep...

Evolutionary dynamics of dietary specialisation – insights from Neotropical mistletoe‐dependent frugivores Mistletoes occur worldwide, with most relying on birds to disperse their sticky seeds to suitable hosts. There has been considerable ecological research on these interactions, emphasizing those birds....

In time for the festive season, my latest paper charts the 25 million year story of how mistletoe and songbirds somersaulted across the Americas, diversifying as they went.  Strap in for an epic ecological tale #MistletoeMunchersFromWayBack 1/12
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

In this new #JRSocInterface study, researchers have unveiled key evolutionary factors influencing the surface texture of #bird eggshells by analysing 453 species: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

The sensory ecology of caterpillars - Journal of Comparative Physiology A Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...

Do you work (/want to work) with caterpillars? Or sensory systems? Or BOTH?! Well good golly do we have the paper for you! We explain the senses that caterpillars have, what they use them for, and how anthropogenic sensory pollution might be messing it all up 🐛 doi.org/10.1007/s003...

Shades of blue and red in a slice through an immuno stained brain showing some deliciously lovely looking mushroom body lobes - ripe for investigation during a funded PhD - and the central complex. Image credit: Dr Max Farnworth

🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨

Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social

- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun

Deadline: 14/1/2026

Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

📣 New paper out!
We explored how fungal infection 🍄 affects the bright warning colours of wild poison frogs 🐸. Neither melanin nor carotenoid colouration reliably signals infection status. Defensive signals may remain consistent even under pathogen pressure 👩‍🔬🧪
Thread from @biobiiana.bsky.social 👇

Common buzzard, 23 November

New super pest combines broad spectrum of microbes The reed leafhopper has evolved rapidly from a reed grass specialist into a dangerous pest that attacks important crops such as sugar beets, potatoes, carrots and onions, as well as reeds. It lives in...

The reed leafhopper has become a major crop pest targeting sugar beets & potatoes. Scientists from @kaltenpoth-lab.bsky.social et al. show that it hosts 7 bacteria, 2 of which spread plant diseases. The microbial community may be key to its success in switching hosts. www.ice.mpg.de/524703/PR_Vo...

New Yorker, 24 Nov

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

1/n We have discovered that bees can keep track of time duration!
Bees can discriminate long 🟡🟡 vs short🟡 flashes, a bit like the "dash" and "dot" of the Morse code.
Check our new paper royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... and videoclip youtu.be/hsGxU65OMQk?... @preparedmindslab.bsky.social

Medium ground finch, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos. 13 November 2025.

Darwin’s finch making an (un)natural selection.

The earliest mature debate about animal consciousness occurred around 1900 and centred on the insects. We cover this rich history in this new article, as well as some more recent developments on the topic: royalsocietypublishing.org/.../10.../rs...

2025 ISB Virtual Microbiome Symposium - Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) Symposium Schedule All presentation times are shown in Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -07:00 / UTC -07:00) Time Talk / Session 9:00 Welcoming remarks by Sid Venkatesh Session One: Neural Effects

📣 Join us for the 2025 @isbscience.org Virtual Microbiome Symposium, focused on "Gut Microbial Metabolites and Their Impact on Host Systems".

co-director - @flash-point.bsky.social 🦠💥

It's free, & we have an amazing line-up of speakers!

Dec. 12th. Please share!

isbscience.org/2025-isb-vir...

Laboratory Research Specialist - HigherEdJobs Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.

2 year position (Indiana, USA) studying the Neurobiology of insect welfare in the Barrett lab. Sort of a pre-doc position for someone with a BSc (and ideally) MSc in a relevant discipline. An excellent opportunity to gain (paid) research experience!

www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...

Darwin’s finch. 13 November, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos.

Beak adapted for popcorn.

Darwin finch, Isla Santa Cruz.

#Colsci

The University of Cambridge invites applications for a joint Assistant/Associate Professorship in Computational Biology starting April 2026. Strong research and teaching abilities are required. More info: cam.ac.uk #job

Postdoctoral fellow

🐦 EcoBird is hiring a Postdoc in animal cognition!

Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds.

📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026
🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme

More info & how to apply ↓
www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Eating Viceroy Butterfly https://stevecreek.com/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-eating-butterfly/

🐞🧬🦅 join us for a PhD position researching how birds evolve resistance to prey toxins. If you’re excited about wild chemical arms races, we’d love to hear from you. @shabmohammadi.bsky.social @livuni-ives.bsky.social @livuni-ismib.bsky.social @mpi-ce.bsky.social

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Game night was going fine until the poison dart frog killed the vibe AND the players.

Shared to me by @fprottis.bsky.social from our former teammate Oliver.

This grass moth is often invisible in still frames, but easy to see in motion. BehaveAI can use this motion to track tiny & camouflaged moving objects in complex scenes. Its semi-automated annotation workflow also means this moth-tracker took only an hour to make.

Preprint: tinyurl.com/BehaveAI

Hedgehog. Getty Images

Join us! We’re recruiting a PhD researcher to uncover how hedgehogs & other insectivores survive prey toxins. Dive into molecular evolution & protein biochemistry @shabmohammadi.bsky.social @livuni-ives.bsky.social @livuni-ismib.bsky.social @mpi-ce.bsky.social

🦔 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

The cognitive ecology of wild bumblebees

New #PhD ad alert!
Interested in wild #bee #cognition and #brains in different #bumblebees? Want to live in #Newcastle and the beautiful north-east of England?

Check out this project with me, @lenariab.bsky.social and Sarah Scott. Contact me for further information.

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

POSITIONS default description

I am looking for a postdoc to work in our long-term system of food-caching mountain chickadees in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The expected start is April 2026. Please see details here: chickadeecognition.com/positions
If interested and qualified, please contact me directly (email on the website).

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Are you an early career plant scientist with 3-5 years' post-PhD experience?

Tell the world about your research with the New Phytologist #TansleyMedal!

Time is running out - apply for the 2026 competition by 1 November 2025.

Find out more: www.newphytologist.org/grants-award...

#PlantScience