michael chimento
@mchimento.bsky.social
postdoc at Uni Zurich
studying social learning, social networks and animal culture in birds 🐦 and agent-based models 🤖
https://michaelchimento.github.io
https://soundcloud.com/tek_cashay
studying social learning, social networks and animal culture in birds 🐦 and agent-based models 🤖
https://michaelchimento.github.io
https://soundcloud.com/tek_cashay
Pinned
michael chimento
@mchimento.bsky.social
· Dec 20
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
A critical consequence of joining social groups is the possibility of social transmission of information related to novel behaviours or resources. Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) has emerg...
doi.org
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
Reposted by michael chimento
Very happy to see our ice-fishing paper on the cover of @science.org this week! 🎣🎉
We tracked large groups of Finnish competitive ice-fishers to study how social foragers use social information when searching for resources. 🐟
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (contact me for open access)
We tracked large groups of Finnish competitive ice-fishers to study how social foragers use social information when searching for resources. 🐟
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (contact me for open access)
www.science.org
January 30, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Very happy to see our ice-fishing paper on the cover of @science.org this week! 🎣🎉
We tracked large groups of Finnish competitive ice-fishers to study how social foragers use social information when searching for resources. 🐟
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (contact me for open access)
We tracked large groups of Finnish competitive ice-fishers to study how social foragers use social information when searching for resources. 🐟
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (contact me for open access)
Reposted by michael chimento
Want to gain hands-on experience using STBayes?
Join our pre-conference workshop on 25/02, led by @mchimento.bsky.social 🤩
Join our pre-conference workshop on 25/02, led by @mchimento.bsky.social 🤩
New blog post!!🚨
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Studying social transmission using STbayes
Post provided by Michael Chimento. When studying animal culture, it’s important to establish whether novel behaviours or information have spread through social contact, or are rather innovated or p…
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Want to gain hands-on experience using STBayes?
Join our pre-conference workshop on 25/02, led by @mchimento.bsky.social 🤩
Join our pre-conference workshop on 25/02, led by @mchimento.bsky.social 🤩
Reposted by michael chimento
New blog post!!🚨
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Studying social transmission using STbayes
Post provided by Michael Chimento. When studying animal culture, it’s important to establish whether novel behaviours or information have spread through social contact, or are rather innovated or p…
buff.ly
January 29, 2026 at 12:02 PM
New blog post!!🚨
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Michael Chimento gives an overview of the new R package STbayes, designed for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission 🌍 🧪
Read the blog here 👇
Reposted by michael chimento
"The relationship between childhood exploration and population-level innovation in cultural evolution" with @ndersen.bsky.social @sheinalew.bsky.social @felixthehauskat.bsky.social out in Proc B
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
The relationship between childhood exploration and population-level innovation in cultural evolution
Abstract. The societal effects of children’s learning in cultural evolution have been underexplored. Here, we investigate using agent-based models how a pr
royalsocietypublishing.org
January 22, 2026 at 1:01 PM
"The relationship between childhood exploration and population-level innovation in cultural evolution" with @ndersen.bsky.social @sheinalew.bsky.social @felixthehauskat.bsky.social out in Proc B
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Reposted by michael chimento
Want to socialise ahead of the conference? Join the Early Career Researchers drinks on the evening of 25th/02! 🍻 An excellent opportunity to meet fellow researchers in a relaxed way. Contact us to join.
Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎
Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎
January 21, 2026 at 6:30 AM
Want to socialise ahead of the conference? Join the Early Career Researchers drinks on the evening of 25th/02! 🍻 An excellent opportunity to meet fellow researchers in a relaxed way. Contact us to join.
Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎
Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎
Reposted by michael chimento
There is still some time to submit for our Special Collection on social cognition and anthropogenic environments! We are looking forward to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/... Please do get in touch if you have any questions.
#openaccess #socialcognition
#openaccess #socialcognition
Excited to announce that Eli Garcia-Pelegrin and I are co-editing a special collection for Animal Cognition on "Social Cognition in a Human World". Do you study how urbanization, pollution, heat stress, fragmentation, ... affects cognition? We want to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/...
Social Cognition in a Human World
As humanity exploits and reshapes the environment to accommodate for development and population growth demands, animals need to adapt to these human-induced ...
link.springer.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM
There is still some time to submit for our Special Collection on social cognition and anthropogenic environments! We are looking forward to hear from you! link.springer.com/collections/... Please do get in touch if you have any questions.
#openaccess #socialcognition
#openaccess #socialcognition
Reposted by michael chimento
Happy New Year from the Culture Conference organisers 🎉 We wish you a year filled with kindness, curiosity, and fruitful research.
We still have a few spots available for presentations. Feel free to send us your abstract if you’d like to share your work with us in February!
We still have a few spots available for presentations. Feel free to send us your abstract if you’d like to share your work with us in February!
January 15, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Happy New Year from the Culture Conference organisers 🎉 We wish you a year filled with kindness, curiosity, and fruitful research.
We still have a few spots available for presentations. Feel free to send us your abstract if you’d like to share your work with us in February!
We still have a few spots available for presentations. Feel free to send us your abstract if you’d like to share your work with us in February!
Reposted by michael chimento
📖Published!
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
This framework can be used to infer complex transmission rules🖥️ 🧪
Read more:
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
This framework can be used to infer complex transmission rules🖥️ 🧪
Read more:
buff.ly
January 15, 2026 at 8:15 AM
📖Published!
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
This framework can be used to infer complex transmission rules🖥️ 🧪
Read more:
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
This framework can be used to infer complex transmission rules🖥️ 🧪
Read more:
Reposted by michael chimento
Happy new year! I wanted to share my new Python package called chatter that streamlines the process of applying AI/ML models to animal communication 🦜🦇🐋🐵👨🌾 masonyoungblood.github.io/chatter/
January 2, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Happy new year! I wanted to share my new Python package called chatter that streamlines the process of applying AI/ML models to animal communication 🦜🦇🐋🐵👨🌾 masonyoungblood.github.io/chatter/
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
A critical consequence of joining social groups is the possibility of social transmission of information related to novel behaviours or resources. Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) has emerg...
doi.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
Reposted by michael chimento
Great to see this one published in Molecular Ecology 🐦 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @nilomr.bsky.social @jon-slate.bsky.social
with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @nilomr.bsky.social @jon-slate.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Great to see this one published in Molecular Ecology 🐦 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @nilomr.bsky.social @jon-slate.bsky.social
with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @nilomr.bsky.social @jon-slate.bsky.social
Reposted by michael chimento
Quick post on @jonaspotthoff.bsky.social new paper! We found people looked more at novel foods at an experimental buffet, including insects that they find gross! People suppress disgust avoidance when making foraging decisions.
Blog: www.dalmaijer.org/2025/12/fora...
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
Blog: www.dalmaijer.org/2025/12/fora...
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
December 12, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Quick post on @jonaspotthoff.bsky.social new paper! We found people looked more at novel foods at an experimental buffet, including insects that they find gross! People suppress disgust avoidance when making foraging decisions.
Blog: www.dalmaijer.org/2025/12/fora...
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
Blog: www.dalmaijer.org/2025/12/fora...
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
Reposted by michael chimento
This new issue of #PhilTransB expands the field of cultural #evolution and shows why it matters for today’s biggest challenges. It highlights research funded by the @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social's Transformation Fund, which focused on #DEI: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
December 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
This new issue of #PhilTransB expands the field of cultural #evolution and shows why it matters for today’s biggest challenges. It highlights research funded by the @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social's Transformation Fund, which focused on #DEI: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
Reposted by michael chimento
if you need more frameworks for fighting this good fight, @mjcrockett.bsky.social and I have you covered: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Artificial intelligence and illusions of understanding in scientific research - Nature
The proliferation of artificial intelligence tools in scientific research risks creating illusions of understanding, where scientists believe they understand more about the world than they actual...
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
if you need more frameworks for fighting this good fight, @mjcrockett.bsky.social and I have you covered: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by michael chimento
Registrations are now open 📢 Want to join the conference and/or the workshop? Head to our website: culture-conference.com/registration/
As every year, attendance at the conference is free 🎉 (the workshop has a small fee).
Reminder: Abstract submission closes soon—submit yours before Monday!
As every year, attendance at the conference is free 🎉 (the workshop has a small fee).
Reminder: Abstract submission closes soon—submit yours before Monday!
Registration
Registrations for the conference and the pre-conference workshop are now OPEN! Register for the conference (26-27/02): Culture Conference 2026 – Registration form Register for the workshop (2…
culture-conference.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Registrations are now open 📢 Want to join the conference and/or the workshop? Head to our website: culture-conference.com/registration/
As every year, attendance at the conference is free 🎉 (the workshop has a small fee).
Reminder: Abstract submission closes soon—submit yours before Monday!
As every year, attendance at the conference is free 🎉 (the workshop has a small fee).
Reminder: Abstract submission closes soon—submit yours before Monday!
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
December 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
V proud to have worked on the editorial team for this special issue, out today 🥳 Many interesting CE papers and perspectives inside, incl. our new study on human-wildlife conflict between sulphur-crested cockatoos and residents of Sydney stemming from the bin-opening behaviour of SCC. thread soon
Today sees the publication of the Theme Issue featuring the CES Transformation Fund grant scheme. Enjoy! royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
@durhamdcerc.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social @cultevolfunding.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@durhamdcerc.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social @cultevolfunding.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
V proud to have worked on the editorial team for this special issue, out today 🥳 Many interesting CE papers and perspectives inside, incl. our new study on human-wildlife conflict between sulphur-crested cockatoos and residents of Sydney stemming from the bin-opening behaviour of SCC. thread soon
Reposted by michael chimento
The perceived embodiment of proper disgust is entirely different than that of “political disgust”, which actually closely overlaps with anger. Excellently timed preprint, with @disgust-nerds.bsky.social starting tomorrow. Hope someone brings this up in the “Is moral disgust really disgust?” debate!
December 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The perceived embodiment of proper disgust is entirely different than that of “political disgust”, which actually closely overlaps with anger. Excellently timed preprint, with @disgust-nerds.bsky.social starting tomorrow. Hope someone brings this up in the “Is moral disgust really disgust?” debate!
Reposted by michael chimento
I am pleased to announce that from Jan 1 2026 I take over as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Theory. My first act, with the support of the editorial team, is to bring the journal to BlueSky from X.
Please follow us @biologicaltheory.bsky.social. We will be posting about all our articles.
Please follow us @biologicaltheory.bsky.social. We will be posting about all our articles.
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 AM
I am pleased to announce that from Jan 1 2026 I take over as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Theory. My first act, with the support of the editorial team, is to bring the journal to BlueSky from X.
Please follow us @biologicaltheory.bsky.social. We will be posting about all our articles.
Please follow us @biologicaltheory.bsky.social. We will be posting about all our articles.
Reposted by michael chimento
Loved this idea. Reading is nowadays often practiced individually and in silence, but we learn how to read by being read aloud and reading aloud ourselves. Teaching students the different ways of reading should not stop once they can decode long sentences. #reading
“Scholarly effort is in decline everywhere as never before. Indeed, cleverness is shunned at home and abroad. What does reading offer to pupils except tears?”
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
‘Doing the Readings’
Dr Will Pooley (Associate Professor in Modern History), University of Bristol The students, we often grumble, don’t read the secondary readings we set for class. Every year, we find ourselves press…
www.history-uk.ac.uk
December 1, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Loved this idea. Reading is nowadays often practiced individually and in silence, but we learn how to read by being read aloud and reading aloud ourselves. Teaching students the different ways of reading should not stop once they can decode long sentences. #reading
Are you working on a project where you need to infer whether individuals are socially learning? pathways, correlates of, and individual variation in sensitivity to social transmission? Consider joining the hand-on STbayes workshop to learn about the latest update to the NBDA framework
⏰ Reminder: 10 days left to submit your abstract for Culture Conference 2026!
🧠 Workshop details are now live! Join us for a hands-on day on cutting-edge tools for analysing social networks & social transmission (registration opens soon).
Find all details here: culture-conference.com/workshop/
🧠 Workshop details are now live! Join us for a hands-on day on cutting-edge tools for analysing social networks & social transmission (registration opens soon).
Find all details here: culture-conference.com/workshop/
November 28, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Are you working on a project where you need to infer whether individuals are socially learning? pathways, correlates of, and individual variation in sensitivity to social transmission? Consider joining the hand-on STbayes workshop to learn about the latest update to the NBDA framework
Reposted by michael chimento
Come join this exciting workshop on social network analysis and social transmission, all within a Bayesian framework!! 💻
And many thanks to @danielredhead.bsky.social and @mchimento.bsky.social for conducting it, I'm looking forward 🤩
More information below 👇
And many thanks to @danielredhead.bsky.social and @mchimento.bsky.social for conducting it, I'm looking forward 🤩
More information below 👇
⏰ Reminder: 10 days left to submit your abstract for Culture Conference 2026!
🧠 Workshop details are now live! Join us for a hands-on day on cutting-edge tools for analysing social networks & social transmission (registration opens soon).
Find all details here: culture-conference.com/workshop/
🧠 Workshop details are now live! Join us for a hands-on day on cutting-edge tools for analysing social networks & social transmission (registration opens soon).
Find all details here: culture-conference.com/workshop/
November 28, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Come join this exciting workshop on social network analysis and social transmission, all within a Bayesian framework!! 💻
And many thanks to @danielredhead.bsky.social and @mchimento.bsky.social for conducting it, I'm looking forward 🤩
More information below 👇
And many thanks to @danielredhead.bsky.social and @mchimento.bsky.social for conducting it, I'm looking forward 🤩
More information below 👇
Reposted by michael chimento
There's still time left to apply to join us for the 2026 field season! Deadline: Dec 1 👇🏝️🏕️📊👥
#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
November 27, 2025 at 2:19 PM
There's still time left to apply to join us for the 2026 field season! Deadline: Dec 1 👇🏝️🏕️📊👥
Reposted by michael chimento
Excited to introduce the Latent Layers Framework – now out in @behavecol.bsky.social – to help think through when and why network differences confound inference in (comparative) social network analysis! 🧵
tinyurl.com/3k3yahwy
tinyurl.com/3k3yahwy
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Excited to introduce the Latent Layers Framework – now out in @behavecol.bsky.social – to help think through when and why network differences confound inference in (comparative) social network analysis! 🧵
tinyurl.com/3k3yahwy
tinyurl.com/3k3yahwy
Reposted by michael chimento
In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...