Alan McElligott
@amcell.bsky.social
Associate Prof, Animal Behaviour & Welfare-Hong Kong https://www.alanmcelligott.co.uk/ Animal behaviour, cognition, welfare; research ethics & integrity; environment; science; higher education; Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) advocate. 🌈🇮🇪 he/him 🐂 🐃🐐🐥 🦆
Pinned
Alan McElligott
@amcell.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Grants - Equine Welfare Research Foundation - The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Grants - Equine Welfare Research Foundation - The Hong Kong Jockey Club
www.hkjcequinewelfare.org.hk
Hong Kong Jockey Club, equine welfare research, PhD funding support [Application Period: 1 December 2025–31 January 2026]: www.hkjcequinewelfare.org.hk/en/grants#Tr... Feel free to get in touch via email if this might be of interest.
Reposted by Alan McElligott
#ToucanButtoftheDay
Something away from Bijagua (finally!), a Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) at San Vito, Puntarenas #CostaRica
#toucans #birds #nature
Something away from Bijagua (finally!), a Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) at San Vito, Puntarenas #CostaRica
#toucans #birds #nature
November 27, 2025 at 2:35 AM
#ToucanButtoftheDay
Something away from Bijagua (finally!), a Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) at San Vito, Puntarenas #CostaRica
#toucans #birds #nature
Something away from Bijagua (finally!), a Fiery-billed Aracari (Pteroglossus frantzii) at San Vito, Puntarenas #CostaRica
#toucans #birds #nature
Reposted by Alan McElligott
Yay!! I couldn’t be there but Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring just won gold at the APA podcast awards!!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
November 27, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Yay!! I couldn’t be there but Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring just won gold at the APA podcast awards!!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Whole thing was crowdfunded by @the-citizens.bsky.social to highlight 5-year legal case to get an investigation into Russian interference in UK politics. Power to the people!
Reposted by Alan McElligott
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Riding the Autism Bicycle to Retraction Town
Does anyone *really* know their Factor Fexcectorn?
nobreakthroughs.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:25 AM
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Reposted by Alan McElligott
Perspective on #ErrorDetection and #PublicationIntegrity from the 2025 FAIRS conference @deevybee.bsky.social
"The problem of wrongly identified and non-verifiable nucleotide sequences and cell lines in research papers, or how to study things that may not exist" journals.lww.com/anesthesia-a...
🧪
"The problem of wrongly identified and non-verifiable nucleotide sequences and cell lines in research papers, or how to study things that may not exist" journals.lww.com/anesthesia-a...
🧪
journals.lww.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Perspective on #ErrorDetection and #PublicationIntegrity from the 2025 FAIRS conference @deevybee.bsky.social
"The problem of wrongly identified and non-verifiable nucleotide sequences and cell lines in research papers, or how to study things that may not exist" journals.lww.com/anesthesia-a...
🧪
"The problem of wrongly identified and non-verifiable nucleotide sequences and cell lines in research papers, or how to study things that may not exist" journals.lww.com/anesthesia-a...
🧪
Reposted by Alan McElligott
ScienceGuardians, Ghosts of Integrity
A group of anonymous activists has been working for nearly a year to
follow, or even legally threaten, detectives of scientific integrity.
Chronicles of an invisible war.
@lucileveissier.bsky.social for The MetaNews
themeta.news/les-scienceg...
A group of anonymous activists has been working for nearly a year to
follow, or even legally threaten, detectives of scientific integrity.
Chronicles of an invisible war.
@lucileveissier.bsky.social for The MetaNews
themeta.news/les-scienceg...
Les ScienceGuardians, fantômes de l’intégrité — TheMetaNews
Un groupe d’activistes anonymes s’emploie depuis près d’un an à suivre, voire à menacer juridiquement, les détectives de l’intégrité scientifique. Chroniques d’une guerre invisible.
themeta.news
November 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
ScienceGuardians, Ghosts of Integrity
A group of anonymous activists has been working for nearly a year to
follow, or even legally threaten, detectives of scientific integrity.
Chronicles of an invisible war.
@lucileveissier.bsky.social for The MetaNews
themeta.news/les-scienceg...
A group of anonymous activists has been working for nearly a year to
follow, or even legally threaten, detectives of scientific integrity.
Chronicles of an invisible war.
@lucileveissier.bsky.social for The MetaNews
themeta.news/les-scienceg...
Reposted by Alan McElligott
New blogpost. Some reflections on a @clarivate.com webinar that I attended yesterday.
deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
#evaluation #papermills #fraud
deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
#evaluation #papermills #fraud
The dangers of using bibliometrics with polluted data
This week I attended a Webinar organised by Clarivate on the topic of “ Eugene Garfield Centenary Celebration: Past, Present and Future ...
deevybee.blogspot.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:32 AM
New blogpost. Some reflections on a @clarivate.com webinar that I attended yesterday.
deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
#evaluation #papermills #fraud
deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
#evaluation #papermills #fraud
Reposted by Alan McElligott
🦇Interested in a bat-related PhD? 👇
Using genomics to understand bat population declines under global environmental change with @orlyrazgour.bsky.social , @bfraser.bsky.social and BCT, based at the University of Exeter.
Application deadline 8 January 2026: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Using genomics to understand bat population declines under global environmental change with @orlyrazgour.bsky.social , @bfraser.bsky.social and BCT, based at the University of Exeter.
Application deadline 8 January 2026: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Applying genomic approaches to understand bat population declines. NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2026 Entry at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Applying genomic approaches to understand bat population declines. NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2026 Entry at University of Exeter, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
🦇Interested in a bat-related PhD? 👇
Using genomics to understand bat population declines under global environmental change with @orlyrazgour.bsky.social , @bfraser.bsky.social and BCT, based at the University of Exeter.
Application deadline 8 January 2026: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Using genomics to understand bat population declines under global environmental change with @orlyrazgour.bsky.social , @bfraser.bsky.social and BCT, based at the University of Exeter.
Application deadline 8 January 2026: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Alan McElligott
What can researchers do if they suspect that their manuscripts have been peer reviewed using AI?
go.nature.com/4pxUNyD
go.nature.com/4pxUNyD
Major AI conference flooded with peer-reviews written fully by AI
Controversy has erupted after 21% of manuscript reviews for an international AI conference were found to be generated by artificial intelligence.
go.nature.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
What can researchers do if they suspect that their manuscripts have been peer reviewed using AI?
go.nature.com/4pxUNyD
go.nature.com/4pxUNyD
Reposted by Alan McElligott
From sweets and mulled wine to quizzes and ice skating trips, many laboratories develop traditions to show appreciation to colleagues
go.nature.com/4it9ZuK
go.nature.com/4it9ZuK
How to thank your lab mates: eight ways to show gratitude at the end of year
Alongside secret Santas and seasonal parties, many laboratories develop traditions to show appreciation to colleagues — from sweets and mulled wine to quizzes and ice-skating trips.
go.nature.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM
From sweets and mulled wine to quizzes and ice skating trips, many laboratories develop traditions to show appreciation to colleagues
go.nature.com/4it9ZuK
go.nature.com/4it9ZuK
Reposted by Alan McElligott
Nature research paper: Healthy forests safeguard traditional wild meat food systems in Amazonia
go.nature.com/4afw1ie
go.nature.com/4afw1ie
Healthy forests safeguard traditional wild meat food systems in Amazonia - Nature
Data provided by Amazonian peoples are used to estimate the value of wild animals as a source of food, including its spatial distribution and nutritional value, providing information that will be key for improved management of forest ecosystems in the region.
go.nature.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Nature research paper: Healthy forests safeguard traditional wild meat food systems in Amazonia
go.nature.com/4afw1ie
go.nature.com/4afw1ie
Finally, NATURE @nature.com has a Bluesky link on each of its articles! 👏
November 28, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Finally, NATURE @nature.com has a Bluesky link on each of its articles! 👏
2025. Why the world must wake up to China’s science leadership. The nation’s next generation of scientists and technologists will shape the coming decades. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why the world must wake up to China’s science leadership
The nation’s next generation of scientists and technologists will shape the coming decades.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:46 AM
2025. Why the world must wake up to China’s science leadership. The nation’s next generation of scientists and technologists will shape the coming decades. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
2025. Women seem to retract fewer papers than men — but why? In an analysis of nearly 900 retracted medical-research studies, the number of female authors is disproportionately low. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Women seem to retract fewer papers than men — but why?
In an analysis of nearly 900 retracted medical-research studies, the number of female authors is disproportionately low.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:46 AM
2025. Women seem to retract fewer papers than men — but why? In an analysis of nearly 900 retracted medical-research studies, the number of female authors is disproportionately low. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
2025. Weighing up the wild-meat harvest in Amazonia. An assessment of the food hunted across the Amazon rainforest reveals its crucial role and how human pressures, particularly deforestation, threaten the resource. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Weighing up the wild-meat harvest in Amazonia
An assessment of the food hunted across the Amazon rainforest reveals its crucial role and how human pressures, particularly deforestation, threaten the resource.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:45 AM
2025. Weighing up the wild-meat harvest in Amazonia. An assessment of the food hunted across the Amazon rainforest reveals its crucial role and how human pressures, particularly deforestation, threaten the resource. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Alan McElligott
We’re looking for an enthusiastic #PhD candidate to explore the resilience of sea turtle populations in a changing climate, supervised by Leo Clarke and myself. Interested in sea #turtles, #marine #biology, #conservation & #fieldwork in Cape Verde. Funded by ACCE+ NERC DLA tinyurl.com/dm573yrm
November 7, 2025 at 9:27 AM
We’re looking for an enthusiastic #PhD candidate to explore the resilience of sea turtle populations in a changing climate, supervised by Leo Clarke and myself. Interested in sea #turtles, #marine #biology, #conservation & #fieldwork in Cape Verde. Funded by ACCE+ NERC DLA tinyurl.com/dm573yrm
Reposted by Alan McElligott
#CrowCoG is hiring🚨MULTIPLE PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS 🚨for our 2026 field season (May - Sep)! Field and aviary-based positions - come help us study the remarkable tool-making New Caledonian crows. Apply here: bit.ly/3WlxxHE
October 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
#CrowCoG is hiring🚨MULTIPLE PAID RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS 🚨for our 2026 field season (May - Sep)! Field and aviary-based positions - come help us study the remarkable tool-making New Caledonian crows. Apply here: bit.ly/3WlxxHE
Reposted by Alan McElligott
@asab.org Spring, aimed at ECRs, is coming to Bristol!
Conference grant DEADLINE for Developing Country Applicants (<£2500) or anyone needing an early decision for visas (<£750) is in ONE WEEK, 1st December.
www.asab.org/conference-g...
Referee statement also needed by then! 🐝🐜🦟🦂🐠🐟🐬🦎🐸🦆🐿️🦓
Conference grant DEADLINE for Developing Country Applicants (<£2500) or anyone needing an early decision for visas (<£750) is in ONE WEEK, 1st December.
www.asab.org/conference-g...
Referee statement also needed by then! 🐝🐜🦟🦂🐠🐟🐬🦎🐸🦆🐿️🦓
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
@asab.org Spring, aimed at ECRs, is coming to Bristol!
Conference grant DEADLINE for Developing Country Applicants (<£2500) or anyone needing an early decision for visas (<£750) is in ONE WEEK, 1st December.
www.asab.org/conference-g...
Referee statement also needed by then! 🐝🐜🦟🦂🐠🐟🐬🦎🐸🦆🐿️🦓
Conference grant DEADLINE for Developing Country Applicants (<£2500) or anyone needing an early decision for visas (<£750) is in ONE WEEK, 1st December.
www.asab.org/conference-g...
Referee statement also needed by then! 🐝🐜🦟🦂🐠🐟🐬🦎🐸🦆🐿️🦓
Reposted by Alan McElligott
If you missed my talk but still want some tips for writing good code for scientists, my slides are here:
daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...
All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏
#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...
All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏
#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
November 26, 2025 at 6:12 AM
If you missed my talk but still want some tips for writing good code for scientists, my slides are here:
daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...
All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏
#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...
All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏
#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
Reposted by Alan McElligott
SEA WOLVES!!!! This is cool. After Haíɫzaqv Guardians saw damaged crab traps, video cameras were set. Great article: Tool use by wolves (Canis lupus): crab trap pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory! It has videos: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
(also here www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMSY...) 🦀🐺
(also here www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMSY...) 🦀🐺
Wolves Caught on Camera Pulling in Crab Traps in B.C.
YouTube video by The Weather Network
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:35 AM
SEA WOLVES!!!! This is cool. After Haíɫzaqv Guardians saw damaged crab traps, video cameras were set. Great article: Tool use by wolves (Canis lupus): crab trap pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory! It has videos: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
(also here www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMSY...) 🦀🐺
(also here www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMSY...) 🦀🐺
Reposted by Alan McElligott
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
Reposted by Alan McElligott
Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares and team are building Angola’s first national database to guide real, community-grounded conservation. The Angola Elasmo Project combines fishers’ knowledge with science to document sharks and rays landed on Namibe’s beaches.
saveourseas.com/update/voice...
saveourseas.com/update/voice...
Voices from the Sea: Angola’s First Sharks and Rays Database
When we think of sharks and rays, images of the open ocean and deep-sea adventures often come to mind. Rarely do we consider the vital role that small-scale fisheries play in helping us understand the...
saveourseas.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares and team are building Angola’s first national database to guide real, community-grounded conservation. The Angola Elasmo Project combines fishers’ knowledge with science to document sharks and rays landed on Namibe’s beaches.
saveourseas.com/update/voice...
saveourseas.com/update/voice...
Reposted by Alan McElligott
📣 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 👇
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 👇
November 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
📣 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 👇
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 👇
Reposted by Alan McElligott
I've been pretty agnostic about mantis colour vision given the evidence so far. This new paper makes a convincing case they have the processing to do so. Mantises (probably) see in colour folks!
Praying mantises demontrate remarkable camouflage although they had been thought to be colorblind. A new ERG study reveals that 2 of 3 tested mantises species are trichromatic highlighting a physiological capacity for color vision.
@springernature.com
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@springernature.com
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Praying mantises possess multiple spectral photoreceptor classes - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Praying mantises often display elaborate camouflage, disappearing into the shapes, textures, and colors around them. But they have largely been thought to be monochromats, unable to perceive the color...
link.springer.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I've been pretty agnostic about mantis colour vision given the evidence so far. This new paper makes a convincing case they have the processing to do so. Mantises (probably) see in colour folks!
Reposted by Alan McElligott
Very cool paper on orangutan behaviour 🦧
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials - Nature Human Behaviour
Howard-Spink et al. develop an empirically based model of orangutan diet development, which suggests that social learning is vital for orangutans to acquire varied diets.
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Very cool paper on orangutan behaviour 🦧
Reposted by Alan McElligott
🌍🦋 Across 6 continents, 21 sites & 15,000 paper moths, we joined a worldwide experiment led by @wlallen.bsky.social & Iliana Medina, showing how ecological context shapes the evolution of animal colouration.
Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...
September 25, 2025 at 6:39 PM
🌍🦋 Across 6 continents, 21 sites & 15,000 paper moths, we joined a worldwide experiment led by @wlallen.bsky.social & Iliana Medina, showing how ecological context shapes the evolution of animal colouration.
Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Proud to be part of this global team effort: doi.org/10.1126/scie...