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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · 15d

A killer whale PostDoc! 🤯😍

Darren Croft @darrencroft.bsky.social · 15d

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

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Reposted by Anna Selbmann

Anna N Osiecka 🍉 @aosiecka.bsky.social · 23d

🔊 This the season! Looking or two MSc students to tackle
1. vocal efficiency across pipit species
and, surpsingly,
2. vocal tract anatomy of the great cormorant (bonus: I also have the heads to model hearing!)

Drop me a line! I love people! :)

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

MSc project

MSc thesis projects in animal communication Laws of brevity across pipit (Anthus) species Across many human languages, there are several general principles in temporal patterning: most frequent word...

docs.google.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jul 23

Can you add me? 🙂

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jun 23

Looks like some cool postdoc options here - including one on "Acoustic possibilities for Southern Ocean management dilemmas" 🎧🌊🚢🐳

#bioacoustics #MarineMammals

HIFMB @hifmb.de · Jun 23

The call for our 2026 Postdoc Cohort is now open. We offer 4 full-time positions. Apply until August 24th. hifmb.de/jobs
Please spread the word.
#postdoc #jobsinscience #marinebiodiversity #antarctica
@awi.de @hillebr1.bsky.social @ibaums.bsky.social @thilogross.bsky.social @merenbey.bsky.social 🦑

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · May 15

Thanks Bettina! Who would have thought that there is such a big overlap between marine mammal scientists and Asterix lovers! 🤓🐳

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · May 15

Thanks Andrew! And nice to meet you today!

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

Thanks to @cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social for putting all of this together! And to Heleen Middel, @jnschulze.bsky.social, Giulia Bellon and @fipsamarra.bsky.social for the great collaboration and fun we had on this!

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

So, what is going on? Play? Practice hunting? Caregiving? We did not observe either interaction from start to end, so we can only speculate 🤷 But, as scientists, we love a good puzzle, so we’ll keep investigating! 🕵️‍♀️

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

The pilot whale calves were seen in echelon position, but also swimming away from the killer whales, and even being lifted out of the water. You can read all about it in our new publication: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interactions Between Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Neonate Long‐Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) off South Iceland

This study documents two encounters off south Iceland where neonate pilot whales were observed in the company of killer whale groups, with no other pilot whales in the vicinity. The interactions invo...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

Two weeks after the paper came out, we had a puzzling encounter with a group of killer whales that swam with a pilot whale calf 🤯 No other pilot whales were seen. And then, almost exactly a year later we observed another, different group of killer whales again with a pilot whale calf 🤯🤯🤯

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

In 2022 we published a paper describing interactions between pilot whales and killer whales in Icelandic waters. In all interactions, the pilot whales approached the killer whales and the killer whales avoided the pilot whales, sometimes in high speed chases.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Occurrence of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) and killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Icelandic coastal waters and their interspecific interactions - acta ethologica

Long-finned pilot whales and killer whales are widely distributed across the North Atlantic, but few studies have reported their occurrence in Icelandic coastal waters. Here, we use sightings data fro...

link.springer.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Apr 25

Pilot whales and killer whales – it get’s weirder! 🐳🤓
#MarineMammals

cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social @cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social · Apr 24

New paper about unusual encounters in Icelandic waters…

In June 2022 and 2023, neonate pilot whales were observed swimming alone among groups of killer whales off south Iceland - with no other pilot whales in sight.
🧶⬇️

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interactions Between Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Neonate Long‐Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) off South Iceland

This study documents two encounters off south Iceland where neonate pilot whales were observed in the company of killer whale groups, with no other pilot whales in the vicinity. The interactions invo...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Mar 12

Join us at the University of Iceland! They are hiring an assistant professor in marine and freshwater ecology! 🤓

Lots of water available in and around the country, plenty of cool nature and a volcanic eruption every now and then!
🌊🐟🐳🌿🌋

english.hi.is/about-ui/wor...

Vacancies

The University of Iceland is one of the largest employers in Iceland. The university's mission is to conduct academic research and education, a goal that can only be achieved through the continuous en...

english.hi.is

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Feb 6

Killer whale vocalisations adhere to Menzerath's law, meaning that longer sequences are composed of shorter elements, but only in their call sequences, not in elements within calls.
➡️ Call sequences may be more relevant level of analysis for communication. 🤓

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Feb 6

Check out this cool meta-analysis on whale vocalisations and whether they might adhere to similar laws as human language. Including some of our data on killer whales! 🐳🎵
#MarineMammals #bioacoustics #animalcommunication

Mason Youngblood @masonyoungblood.bsky.social · Feb 5

Do whales optimize their vocalizations for efficiency, just like human language? 🐋🎶 My latest study in
Science Advances (@science.org) suggests they do—following linguistic laws seen in human speech. 🧵 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Language-like efficiency in whale communication

Whale vocalizations follow efficiency rules seen in human language, revealing striking similarities in communication systems.

www.science.org

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jan 30

Haha! It looks amazing! 🤩 Glad you like it and congratulations again Dr. Theresa!

Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jan 27

Recently finished 'The good whale'. Beautifully told, well researched and balanced podcast about the crazy story of Keiko returning to the ocean. Featuring our field site in the Westman Islands, South Iceland! 🐳🌊🇮🇸

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The Good Whale

This is the story of a wildly ambitious science experiment to return Keiko to the ocean — while the world watched. A new limited podcast series from Serial Productions and the New York Times.

www.nytimes.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jan 24

Check out @cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social new paper on gene flow in killer whales from Iceland, Greenland and Norway. Super cool stuff! 🐳🧬🤓

cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social @cherinebaumgartner.bsky.social · Jan 23

🧬 New Paper 🧬
Together with Eve Jourdain, @andrewfoote.bsky.social, @fipsamarra.bsky.social et al. we investigated how ecological & spatio-temporal factors shape gene flow in killer whales from Greenland to Norway. 🧶⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Kinship clustering within an ecologically diverse killer whale metapopulation - Heredity

Heredity - Kinship clustering within an ecologically diverse killer whale metapopulation

www.nature.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jan 14

Thanks to @fipsamarra.bsky.social for getting this started and to Rodrigo Martínez Catalan for making the videos!

Find out more on: www.icelandic-orcas.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Jan 14

Recently, the Icelandic Orca Project started a video series about our research and the tools we use. First up was me on acoustic research and interactions between killer whales and pilot whales. 🎵🐳 More cool videos to come soon! 🤓

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBEf...

Acoustics & Interspecific interactions

YouTube video by Westman Islands Research Centre (WIRC)

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Anna Selbmann

Dr Julia Sutherland @jcqsutherland.bsky.social · Jan 8

📢 Webinar alert! I'll be presenting my PhD research as part of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Winter Webinar series on Weds 22th Jan.

Sign up here on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/e/killer-wha...

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Reposted by Anna Selbmann

Xavier Mouy @xaviermouy.bsky.social · Dec 23

Introducing "Sonic Connexions", a series of online meetups designed for casual conversations about animal bioacoustics. It is open to anyone, so join us and become part of this vibrant community!

First meetup on January 29th, 2025!

Sign up here: forms.office.com/r/qhPcMUKz6w

🧪🔉🐟🐋🦜🪳

Microsoft Forms

forms.office.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Dec 16

Amazing! 🐳 Congratulations! 🥳

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Dec 12

Check out this new paper on acoustic occurrence of killer whales around Iceland! 🎵🐳🇮🇸

Filipa Samarra @fipsamarra.bsky.social · Dec 11

🔔 NEW PAPER 🔔
Our latest paper is out, led by our student Giulia Bellon, using passive acoustic monitoring to investigate the occurrence of killer whales in Icelandic waters. You can read all about it (open access) here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Killer whale (Orcinus orca) occurrence in Icelandic waters revealed by passive acoustic monitoring

The distribution and occurrence of killer whales around Iceland are primarily studied in coastal herring grounds, with limited knowledge beyond these areas. This study employed opportunistic passive ...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · Dec 2

Hello Bluesky!
My name is Anna and I’m a PhD researcher at the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Orca Project. I like whales 🐳 and sound 🎵 and all things marine 🌊. I am very happy that the science community seems to have found a new platform and am looking forward to connecting with you all!

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