Mandy Ridley
@mandyridley.bsky.social
Behavioural Ecologist with a special focus on cooperation, cognition, vocal communication, and behavioural responses to climate change
Webpage: www.babbler-research.com
Webpage: www.babbler-research.com
An important ontogenetic perspective into the relationship between cognition and social interactions! Congrats @lizziespeechley.bsky.social!
With collaborators @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton and Leigh Simmons
With collaborators @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton and Leigh Simmons
Social Interactions Are Related to Cognitive Development in Western Australian Magpie Fledglings | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶
Social Interactions Are Related to Cognitive Development in Western Australian Magpie Fledglings
The early social environment can play a pivotal role in an individual's ability to learn, solve problems and make decisions. We find that multiple elements of an individual's social upbringing influe...
doi.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:37 AM
An important ontogenetic perspective into the relationship between cognition and social interactions! Congrats @lizziespeechley.bsky.social!
With collaborators @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton and Leigh Simmons
With collaborators @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton and Leigh Simmons
New paper alert! By tracking fledglings through development we found evidence that cognitive development is related to social interactions: this extends our research on adult magpie cognition. See below for an overview of all papers from @lizziespeechley.bsky.social’s excellent research thesis 👇🏻👇🏻
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.
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.
November 14, 2025 at 11:32 AM
New paper alert! By tracking fledglings through development we found evidence that cognitive development is related to social interactions: this extends our research on adult magpie cognition. See below for an overview of all papers from @lizziespeechley.bsky.social’s excellent research thesis 👇🏻👇🏻
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
November 14, 2025 at 6:20 AM
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
New paper out in PLoS Biology! A large international collaboration from the ManyBirds project, looking at variation in neophobia across a wide range of avian species globally. Delighted that the magpies were part of this large and diverse dataset!
🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia
Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...
journals.plos.org
October 15, 2025 at 3:19 PM
New paper out in PLoS Biology! A large international collaboration from the ManyBirds project, looking at variation in neophobia across a wide range of avian species globally. Delighted that the magpies were part of this large and diverse dataset!
Our new paper is out! @camillasoravia.bsky.social leads this research, which looks into the relationship between heat- mediated cognitive impairment and the antipredator response in wild pied babblers. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Investigating the relationship between heat-mediated cognitive impairment and antipredator response in a wild bird | Royal Society Open Science
Increasingly frequent heatwaves require animals to spend more time thermoregulating
at the expense of other fitness-related behaviours. Emerging evidence also indicates
that high temperatures can impa...
royalsocietypublishing.org
October 8, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Our new paper is out! @camillasoravia.bsky.social leads this research, which looks into the relationship between heat- mediated cognitive impairment and the antipredator response in wild pied babblers. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social on presenting her research plans for studying the causes and consequences of intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025!
Avantika Sharma showcasing her plans for her PhD on intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025. Great work Avantika! @mandyridley.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social on presenting her research plans for studying the causes and consequences of intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025!
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
Avantika Sharma showcasing her plans for her PhD on intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025. Great work Avantika! @mandyridley.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Avantika Sharma showcasing her plans for her PhD on intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025. Great work Avantika! @mandyridley.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
#AES2025 started with a blast with @brainiants.bsky.social talking about the effect of inbreeding on survivorship and fecundity in European royal families!
Keep them coming @pebblemouse.bsky.social
Keep them coming @pebblemouse.bsky.social
Great talk by Kim Wong at #AES2025 … this talk never gets old! @brainiants.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 12:36 AM
#AES2025 started with a blast with @brainiants.bsky.social talking about the effect of inbreeding on survivorship and fecundity in European royal families!
Keep them coming @pebblemouse.bsky.social
Keep them coming @pebblemouse.bsky.social
Congrats to Kim @brainiants.bsky.social on her talk at #AES2025! Kim’s research into inbreeding in European royals looked at the effect on reproductive success, offspring survival and fertility. Manuscript to be submitted soon: watch this space!
Great talk by Kim Wong at #AES2025 … this talk never gets old! @brainiants.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Congrats to Kim @brainiants.bsky.social on her talk at #AES2025! Kim’s research into inbreeding in European royals looked at the effect on reproductive success, offspring survival and fertility. Manuscript to be submitted soon: watch this space!
@dutourmylene.bsky.social ‘s talk was wonderful, so great to see her back in Perth again!
At CEB seminar today, @dutourmylene.bsky.social walked us through 10 years of her research at the crossroads of animal cognition, behavioural ecology, bioacoustics — exploring how animals code & decode information, use syntax & vocal mimicry, & engage in intra- & interspecific communication 🐦🦅🐓🐍🚶♀️
September 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
@dutourmylene.bsky.social ‘s talk was wonderful, so great to see her back in Perth again!
Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social for presenting her PhD research plans on intrasexual competition in group-living magpies!
🪶 Intrasexual Competition in Magpies
@avantikadeep.bsky.social studies female–female competition in cooperative breeders, investigating socio-ecological drivers and the implications of intrasexual competition for group dynamics.🐦🦅🗣️ 4/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social @lizziespeechley.bsky.social
@avantikadeep.bsky.social studies female–female competition in cooperative breeders, investigating socio-ecological drivers and the implications of intrasexual competition for group dynamics.🐦🦅🗣️ 4/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social @lizziespeechley.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social for presenting her PhD research plans on intrasexual competition in group-living magpies!
Congrats to Lakshani for presenting her research plan on coalitions in toque macaques for her PhD!
🐒 Male Coalition Strategies in Toque Macaques
Lakshani Weerasekara examines cooperation and conflict in macaques, focusing on how males form coalitions and what factors influence coalition success 🐵👬🥊 8/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social @cyrilgrueter.bsky.social
Lakshani Weerasekara examines cooperation and conflict in macaques, focusing on how males form coalitions and what factors influence coalition success 🐵👬🥊 8/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social @cyrilgrueter.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Congrats to Lakshani for presenting her research plan on coalitions in toque macaques for her PhD!
Congrats to @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for winning an award for her excellent poster on her PhD research!
🪶 How Magpies Learn Syntax 🏆
@stephaniellaura.bsky.social investigates the ontogeny of magpie vocalisations, showcasing how call sequences are socially learned, structured, and passed down across generations 🧠🐦🐣🔊 10/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social
@stephaniellaura.bsky.social investigates the ontogeny of magpie vocalisations, showcasing how call sequences are socially learned, structured, and passed down across generations 🧠🐦🐣🔊 10/11
@mandyridley.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Congrats to @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for winning an award for her excellent poster on her PhD research!
Super proud of PhD student @stephaniellaura.bsky.social at her exit seminar: she took us through a comprehensive journey of investigation and unveiled some truly fascinating results, only achievable through her exceptional hard work and attention to detail. Congrats Steph!
September 22, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Super proud of PhD student @stephaniellaura.bsky.social at her exit seminar: she took us through a comprehensive journey of investigation and unveiled some truly fascinating results, only achievable through her exceptional hard work and attention to detail. Congrats Steph!
Congrats @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for doing amazing PhD research on the ontogeny of magpie communication!
It's official! PhD submitted. Thanks to @mandyridley.bsky.social, @stephanielking.bsky.social and Dr Sarah Walsh for everything, particularly over the last few months as I bombarded you with manuscript drafts. Excited to share this research with the world soon!
Stay posted, but for now, sleep.
Stay posted, but for now, sleep.
September 8, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Congrats @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for doing amazing PhD research on the ontogeny of magpie communication!
Our new cognition paper is out, headed by @gblackburn.bsky.social, and one of the last chapters from her exceptional PhD thesis!
New paper alert 🚨 We test quantity discrimination in #magpies using both a cognitive task and playback experiment and find that birds can discriminate between quantities in both! Interestingly, performance in the two task was negatively correlated! 🐦
@mandyridley.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/behe...
@mandyridley.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/behe...
Response to intruder number is related to spontaneous quantity discrimination performance in a wild bird
The ability to discriminate between quantities is important for animal species. We show that wild magpies can discriminate both between different quantitie
doi.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Our new cognition paper is out, headed by @gblackburn.bsky.social, and one of the last chapters from her exceptional PhD thesis!
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
EARLY VIEW in IBIS
Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise | onlinelibrary.wiley....
Grace Blackburn, Mylene Dutour, Benjamin J. Ashton, Alex Thornton, Amanda R. Ridley | #ornithology 🪶
Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise | onlinelibrary.wiley....
Grace Blackburn, Mylene Dutour, Benjamin J. Ashton, Alex Thornton, Amanda R. Ridley | #ornithology 🪶
June 10, 2025 at 9:30 AM
EARLY VIEW in IBIS
Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise | onlinelibrary.wiley....
Grace Blackburn, Mylene Dutour, Benjamin J. Ashton, Alex Thornton, Amanda R. Ridley | #ornithology 🪶
Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise | onlinelibrary.wiley....
Grace Blackburn, Mylene Dutour, Benjamin J. Ashton, Alex Thornton, Amanda R. Ridley | #ornithology 🪶
Our new paper, led by @gblackburn.bsky.social, finds a very sharp decline in the rate of carol calls (the main territorial call) given by magpies during anthropogenic noise, but no change in the amplitude. @dutourmylene.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Our new paper, led by @gblackburn.bsky.social, finds a very sharp decline in the rate of carol calls (the main territorial call) given by magpies during anthropogenic noise, but no change in the amplitude. @dutourmylene.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Our new paper, led by Masters student Holly, finds that magpies are capable of quantity discrimination, and this ability is affected by group size.
Our new #cognition paper, led by Masters student Holly Hunter, has just been published in Animal Cognition! doi.org/10.1007/s100...
@ceb-uwa.bsky.social
@mandyridley.bsky.social
@ceb-uwa.bsky.social
@mandyridley.bsky.social
Group size affects spontaneous quantity discrimination performance in wild Western Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis) - Animal Cognition
Animals may benefit from the ability to discriminate between quantities in their environment; for example, when choosing between foraging patches differing in food availability or assessing the size o...
doi.org
May 27, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Our new paper, led by Masters student Holly, finds that magpies are capable of quantity discrimination, and this ability is affected by group size.
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
@brainiants.bsky.social discussed her PhD proposal this afternoon where she plans to study variation in intraspecific cognition & its relation to complex behaviors, specifically combat and group foraging in Western Australian ants. 🐜 @mandyridley.bsky.social @notthebestsam.bsky.social #LeighSimmons
May 21, 2025 at 7:08 AM
@brainiants.bsky.social discussed her PhD proposal this afternoon where she plans to study variation in intraspecific cognition & its relation to complex behaviors, specifically combat and group foraging in Western Australian ants. 🐜 @mandyridley.bsky.social @notthebestsam.bsky.social #LeighSimmons
Reposted by Mandy Ridley
Job opportunity for #Fire #scientists in Western Australia closing soon - 25 April!
Permanent fire-science research position Research Scientist /Senior Research Scientist (Fire Science) position.
search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pag...
Permanent fire-science research position Research Scientist /Senior Research Scientist (Fire Science) position.
search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pag...
WA Government Jobs | Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist (Fire Science)
search.jobs.wa.gov.au
April 22, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Job opportunity for #Fire #scientists in Western Australia closing soon - 25 April!
Permanent fire-science research position Research Scientist /Senior Research Scientist (Fire Science) position.
search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pag...
Permanent fire-science research position Research Scientist /Senior Research Scientist (Fire Science) position.
search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pag...
@gblackburn.bsky.social & I recently wrote this piece in Nature Climate Change about the potential conservation implications of climate-induced divergence of song. This may occur more often under a rapidly changing climate & cause greater isolation between popns.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Climate-induced divergence of song - Nature Climate Change
Vocal communication is essential for information transmission in many species, such as that related to mating opportunities or predator presence. Recent research revealing how phenotypic changes broug...
www.nature.com
February 28, 2025 at 5:05 AM
@gblackburn.bsky.social & I recently wrote this piece in Nature Climate Change about the potential conservation implications of climate-induced divergence of song. This may occur more often under a rapidly changing climate & cause greater isolation between popns.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gorgeous night skies to accompany us last night on a woylie capture-tag-release trip. Wonderful to see so many woylies hopping out in the predator-proofed reserve so close to Perth!
February 21, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Gorgeous night skies to accompany us last night on a woylie capture-tag-release trip. Wonderful to see so many woylies hopping out in the predator-proofed reserve so close to Perth!