Dom Cram
@domcram.bsky.social
Lecturer in Ecology at the University of East Anglia. Views my own.
Delighted to see our paper featured on the cover of the Journal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org
Thanks Pam Hurkens for the lovely image of a heavily pregnant meerkat being weighed at our field site.
Thanks Pam Hurkens for the lovely image of a heavily pregnant meerkat being weighed at our field site.
February 5, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Delighted to see our paper featured on the cover of the Journal of Animal Ecology @animalecology.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org
Thanks Pam Hurkens for the lovely image of a heavily pregnant meerkat being weighed at our field site.
Thanks Pam Hurkens for the lovely image of a heavily pregnant meerkat being weighed at our field site.
🚨 New paper 🚨
(1/8) In meerkats, pregnancy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some mothers gain weight steadily, others delay all growth until the final weeks 📈
What drives this striking variation, and how does it affect the (adorable) pups?
OA PAPER: doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Details (+cute pics!) below👇
(1/8) In meerkats, pregnancy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some mothers gain weight steadily, others delay all growth until the final weeks 📈
What drives this striking variation, and how does it affect the (adorable) pups?
OA PAPER: doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Details (+cute pics!) below👇
February 5, 2026 at 12:57 PM
🚨 New paper 🚨
(1/8) In meerkats, pregnancy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some mothers gain weight steadily, others delay all growth until the final weeks 📈
What drives this striking variation, and how does it affect the (adorable) pups?
OA PAPER: doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Details (+cute pics!) below👇
(1/8) In meerkats, pregnancy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some mothers gain weight steadily, others delay all growth until the final weeks 📈
What drives this striking variation, and how does it affect the (adorable) pups?
OA PAPER: doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Details (+cute pics!) below👇
Reposted by Dom Cram
Cooperation, the foundation of life.
"Positive interactions—where one microbe's growth promoted another's—were much more common than negative interactions like competition or predation"
phys.org/news/2026-01...
"Positive interactions—where one microbe's growth promoted another's—were much more common than negative interactions like competition or predation"
phys.org/news/2026-01...
Positive interactions dominate among marine microbes, six-year study reveals
A six-year analysis of marine microbes in coastal California waters has overturned long-held assumptions about how the ocean's smallest organisms interact.
phys.org
January 22, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Cooperation, the foundation of life.
"Positive interactions—where one microbe's growth promoted another's—were much more common than negative interactions like competition or predation"
phys.org/news/2026-01...
"Positive interactions—where one microbe's growth promoted another's—were much more common than negative interactions like competition or predation"
phys.org/news/2026-01...
Strongly recommend you watch the video Abstract for this @currentbiology.bsky.social paper about Veronika the tool-using cow 🐮🧹
The last 30 seconds is particularly heart-warming.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
The last 30 seconds is particularly heart-warming.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
January 19, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Strongly recommend you watch the video Abstract for this @currentbiology.bsky.social paper about Veronika the tool-using cow 🐮🧹
The last 30 seconds is particularly heart-warming.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
The last 30 seconds is particularly heart-warming.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Reposted by Dom Cram
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...
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...
Predator defence in anemonefishes
iapetus.ac.uk
December 30, 2025 at 10:32 AM
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...
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...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Lovely piece on how meerkats deal with climate change by @chameauleon.bsky.social in National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti... I had the pleasure to chat with Camille about the importance of understanding how extreme heat changes food availability 🐛 for meerkats
Why matriarchs reign supreme in the meerkat world
As a corner of Africa heats up, new research shows how the future of the species rests with powerful matriarchs making tough choices for survival.
www.nationalgeographic.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Lovely piece on how meerkats deal with climate change by @chameauleon.bsky.social in National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti... I had the pleasure to chat with Camille about the importance of understanding how extreme heat changes food availability 🐛 for meerkats
Reposted by Dom Cram
Please share 📢
We have a Postdoc position available here @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social to develop innovative genetic control strategies for insect agricultural pests in collaboration with @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/19...
We have a Postdoc position available here @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social to develop innovative genetic control strategies for insect agricultural pests in collaboration with @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/19...
December 15, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Please share 📢
We have a Postdoc position available here @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social to develop innovative genetic control strategies for insect agricultural pests in collaboration with @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/19...
We have a Postdoc position available here @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social to develop innovative genetic control strategies for insect agricultural pests in collaboration with @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/19...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Delighted to see our work picked up by @theguardian.com this is a real window of opportunity for us to reduce carbon emissions to give the bears a hope at survival before it really is too late.
Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds
Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds
Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjust
Changes in polar bear DNA that could help the animals adapt to warmer climates have been detected by researchers, in a study thought to be the first time a statistically significant link has been found between rising temperatures and changing DNA in a wild mammal species.
Climate breakdown is threatening the survival of polar bears. Two-thirds of them are expected to have disappeared by 2050 as their icy habitat melts and the weather becomes hotter. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Delighted to see our work picked up by @theguardian.com this is a real window of opportunity for us to reduce carbon emissions to give the bears a hope at survival before it really is too late.
Reposted by Dom Cram
Interesting new paper in Nature on how sterilization and castration increases lifespans across vertebrates. Accords with life history theory, which says that there is a trade off in investing in survival and in reproduction.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Sterilization and contraception increase lifespan across vertebrates - Nature
Data collected from zoos and aquariums worldwide show that hormonal contraception or permanent surgical sterilization in mammals increase life expectancy, with different mechanisms in males and female...
doi.org
December 13, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Interesting new paper in Nature on how sterilization and castration increases lifespans across vertebrates. Accords with life history theory, which says that there is a trade off in investing in survival and in reproduction.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Dr Alice Godden from @biouea.bsky.social has been the lead researcher on a study that has found that polar bears may be adapting to climate change.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3YmeMVg
#PolarBears #ClimateChange #ResearchMatters #ThisIsUEA
Read more: https://bit.ly/3YmeMVg
#PolarBears #ClimateChange #ResearchMatters #ThisIsUEA
December 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Dr Alice Godden from @biouea.bsky.social has been the lead researcher on a study that has found that polar bears may be adapting to climate change.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3YmeMVg
#PolarBears #ClimateChange #ResearchMatters #ThisIsUEA
Read more: https://bit.ly/3YmeMVg
#PolarBears #ClimateChange #ResearchMatters #ThisIsUEA
Reposted by Dom Cram
Very happy to share this large-scale study from my postdoc with @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social. Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load. Many thanks to our collaborators @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis and Hanne Carlsson.
1/6 New preprint!
Do changes to insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) that extend lifespan also protect the germline, or do they come with a mutational cost?
led by @eduxbury.bsky.social with @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis Hanne Carlsson
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Do changes to insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) that extend lifespan also protect the germline, or do they come with a mutational cost?
led by @eduxbury.bsky.social with @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis Hanne Carlsson
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load
Reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) robustly extends lifespan and enhances somatic stress resistance across taxa, yet its consequences for germline genome integrity remain unclear. Here we combine ...
www.biorxiv.org
December 11, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Very happy to share this large-scale study from my postdoc with @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social. Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load. Many thanks to our collaborators @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis and Hanne Carlsson.
Reposted by Dom Cram
Controlled settings may offer limited insight into the complexities of ageing in natural and variable ecosystems, and why (and how) ageing patterns vary so widely across individuals, populations, and species.
We call for more research on ecology of ageing!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We call for more research on ecology of ageing!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Ecological Perspectives on Aging
Controlled settings may offer limited insight into the complexities of aging in natural and variable ecosystems. Artwork by Zahida Sultanova.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Controlled settings may offer limited insight into the complexities of ageing in natural and variable ecosystems, and why (and how) ageing patterns vary so widely across individuals, populations, and species.
We call for more research on ecology of ageing!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We call for more research on ecology of ageing!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
⚠️Please share: Deadline 2 Dec⚠️
Funded PhD in my group:
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?
🐾Find out by studying meerkats!
This PhD combines:
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Ecological data
🌍African fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
⏬APPLY⏬
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
Funded PhD in my group:
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?
🐾Find out by studying meerkats!
This PhD combines:
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Ecological data
🌍African fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
⏬APPLY⏬
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
November 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM
⚠️Please share: Deadline 2 Dec⚠️
Funded PhD in my group:
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?
🐾Find out by studying meerkats!
This PhD combines:
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Ecological data
🌍African fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
⏬APPLY⏬
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
Funded PhD in my group:
🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?
🐾Find out by studying meerkats!
This PhD combines:
🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Ecological data
🌍African fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions
⏬APPLY⏬
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Behavioural ecology in the 21st century..... www.nature.com/articles/s41... @asgriffin.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...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Behavioural ecology in the 21st century..... www.nature.com/articles/s41... @asgriffin.bsky.social
Reposted by Dom Cram
PhD opportunity!
Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change
But how do we measure & conserve these processes?
This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change
But how do we measure & conserve these processes?
This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM
PhD opportunity!
Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change
But how do we measure & conserve these processes?
This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Focusing on ecological processes offers an adaptive approach to conservation at a time of rapid environmental change
But how do we measure & conserve these processes?
This PhD will explore the use of species traits to assess ecosystem condition
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Dom Cram
📢 JOB ALERT!
Interested in #Bioacoustics, #Linguistics and the #Evolution of #Language? We are seeking a #ResearchAssistant to join our project 'Convergent Evolution of Vocal Communication: Exploring the Parallels between #Birdsong and Human Speech'.👇 www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Interested in #Bioacoustics, #Linguistics and the #Evolution of #Language? We are seeking a #ResearchAssistant to join our project 'Convergent Evolution of Vocal Communication: Exploring the Parallels between #Birdsong and Human Speech'.👇 www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
The University of Salford hiring Research Assistant in Bioacoustics in Manchester, England, United Kingdom | LinkedIn
Posted 10:02:26 AM. Research Assistant in BioacousticsUniversity of Salford, School of Science, Engineering &…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:15 AM
📢 JOB ALERT!
Interested in #Bioacoustics, #Linguistics and the #Evolution of #Language? We are seeking a #ResearchAssistant to join our project 'Convergent Evolution of Vocal Communication: Exploring the Parallels between #Birdsong and Human Speech'.👇 www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Interested in #Bioacoustics, #Linguistics and the #Evolution of #Language? We are seeking a #ResearchAssistant to join our project 'Convergent Evolution of Vocal Communication: Exploring the Parallels between #Birdsong and Human Speech'.👇 www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Reposted by Dom Cram
A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...
Historical genomics of the declining red squirrel in Britain | Aries
Dr Anders Bergström, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Professor Cock van Oosterhout, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Dr Selina Brace…
aries-dtp.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:12 PM
A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Two weeks ago now @jennytung.bsky.social and I published a new review in Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, entitled “Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A thread below...
A thread below...
Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems
Immune genes show remarkably consistent evidence of selection, modification, and diversification across the tree of life. Parasites are a key force in…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Two weeks ago now @jennytung.bsky.social and I published a new review in Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, entitled “Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A thread below...
A thread below...
Reposted by Dom Cram
Why do whales and elephants have much lower rates of cancer than expected?
"Species with a lower cancer prevalence and mortality
risk are those with a higher presence of cooperative and caring habits, while the opposite is found....:"
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Species with a lower cancer prevalence and mortality
risk are those with a higher presence of cooperative and caring habits, while the opposite is found....:"
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Coevolution of cooperative lifestyles and reduced cancer prevalence in mammals
While cooperative mammals evolve reducing cancer prevalence, oncogenes can be maintained by selection in competitive species.
www.science.org
November 15, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Why do whales and elephants have much lower rates of cancer than expected?
"Species with a lower cancer prevalence and mortality
risk are those with a higher presence of cooperative and caring habits, while the opposite is found....:"
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Species with a lower cancer prevalence and mortality
risk are those with a higher presence of cooperative and caring habits, while the opposite is found....:"
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Dom Cram
ASN Address: The Study of Mutualism, Past, Present, and Future by Bronstein
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
The Study of Mutualism, Past, Present, and Future* | The American Naturalist
Abstract After a fitful start, the conceptual study of mutualism (mutually beneficial interspecific interactions) is now flourishing. In 1994, I reviewed the status of the field as reflected in the pe...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 12, 2025 at 10:45 PM
ASN Address: The Study of Mutualism, Past, Present, and Future by Bronstein
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Reposted by Dom Cram
*PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social* How does antimicrobial resistance spread through ecosystems?
Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪
Please repost!
Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪
Please repost!
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Gamebirds: A One Health Approach to Understanding and Mitigating the Risk of AMR Evolution and Spread through Ecosystems at University of Exeter, list...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
*PhD opportunity @uniexecec.bsky.social* How does antimicrobial resistance spread through ecosystems?
Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪
Please repost!
Combine fieldwork (rodent trapping 🐭, habitat surveys 🌳, pheasant sampling 🦤), molecular techniques, GIS, and spatial modelling to understand AMR evolution and spread. 🔬🦠🧪
Please repost!
Reposted by Dom Cram
🐞🧬🦅 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...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
November 12, 2025 at 4:28 PM
🐞🧬🦅 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...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Dom Cram
New funded PhD projects with @marius-somveille.bsky.social, myself and collaborators. Examining migratory connectivity for seabirds www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d... and and the dynamics of seasonal migration www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK742/p...
#ornithology
@ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
#ornithology
@ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
Vorläufige Ergebnisse des 8. Internationalen Weißstorchzensus 2024
Der 8. Internationale Weißstorchzensus fand 2024 wieder als ein gemeinsames Projekt von NABU (BirdLife Germany) und BirdLife International statt. Der NABU koordiniert die länderübergreifenden Zählunge...
bergenhusen.nabu.de
November 12, 2025 at 11:53 AM
New funded PhD projects with @marius-somveille.bsky.social, myself and collaborators. Examining migratory connectivity for seabirds www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d... and and the dynamics of seasonal migration www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK742/p...
#ornithology
@ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
#ornithology
@ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
Reposted by Dom Cram
#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...
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...
From preferences to pollination: do hummingbirds and bees differ in how they choose flowers?
iapetus.ac.uk
November 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
#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...
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...
Reposted by Dom Cram
🚨Who wants to work with Kalahari meerkats? A MSc project with @mathildemartin.bsky.social at the University of Zurich.
#bioacoustics 🧪
#bioacoustics 🧪
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
🚨Who wants to work with Kalahari meerkats? A MSc project with @mathildemartin.bsky.social at the University of Zurich.
#bioacoustics 🧪
#bioacoustics 🧪