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Franca Eichenberger

@francae.bsky.social

2.5K followers 760 following 40 posts

Molecular & behavioural ecologist studying reproductive tactics & population structure in baleen whales. 🐋🧬 Postdoc at Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at University of St Andrews. https://linktr.ee/franca.eichenberger

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Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · Jan 8

New paper on "Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales." 🐋🧬
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

@emma-carroll.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social 1/8

Graphical abstract of the methods and main results of the publication. It includes a photograph of a group of several humpback whales competing to be closest to the female of the group.

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Reposted by Franca Eichenberger

Dieter Lukas @dieterlukas.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 13d

Open call for 3-5 month Early Career Fellowships at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin

https://www.wiko-berlin.de/en/becoming-a-fellow/wiko-early-career-calls/early-career-call-life-and-natural-sciences

deadline Nov 1

Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin: Early Career Call Life and Natural Sciences

www.wiko-berlin.de

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Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · 27d

@solenederville.bsky.social somehow yours didn't get linked properly.

Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · 27d

For I am never able to fit it all in the character count of one post, @jeannemrdl.bsky.social, here's your very own. Very happy you were part of this multi-generational dream team.
🐳📷: Magali Boussion

Two whales are swimming sideways and slapping their large pectorals into the water. Picture taken by Magali Boussion.

Silhouette of trees against a sky that's slowly turning dark with a few stars already visible.

The beautiful view of the sea on a sunny day from up on the hill at Cap N'Dua in the South Lagoon.

The land-based team at the lighthouse at Cap N'Dua is helping to spot whales. The view shows a pair of binoculars, shoes coloured orange from the red soil, and the sea.

Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · 27d

It's been nothing short of amazing helping Opération Cétacés & @ird-fr.bsky.social collect data on humpback whales in New Caledonia these past two months.🧬🎵@solenederville.bsky.social @clairenea.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social (🐳📷) @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

A humpback whale leaps out of the water. Its body is almost entirely out of the water. Picture taken by Ellen Garland.

Me on a boat taking pictures with the cliffs of Walpole Island in the background.

Me, Claire, and Solène with the cliffs of Walpole behind us.

A typical scenery of the landscape in the South Lagoon with its red soil and green vegetation of palm trees and mangroves.

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Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · Aug 19

Better late than never but had such a great time last month helping Whitehead lab collect body condition and photo id on northern bottlenose whales in the Gully MPA - see 🧵 for cool whale videos!🐳🦑⛵

Me at the navigation/science station on r/v Balaena with galley also in view

Me in r/v Baleana's cockpit with sunset and field crew behind

Me and whole crew for 2 weeks in cockpit of r/v Balaena

Two fieldworkers on the bow of r/v Balaena can no longer take ID shorts because northern bottlenose whales are too close!

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Evolutionary Ecology Group, Cambridge @eegcam.bsky.social · Aug 18

3 exciting job opportunities at the new "HUMAN ORIGINS" Cluster of Excellence at Tübingen, for which I am an external PI. We are looking for early career researchers ready to launch their independent group and ask some exciting questions!

Katerina Harvati @katharv.bsky.social · Aug 7

Job Alerts!🚨 We are looking to fill three Independent Junior Research Group Leader positions in the 'HUMAN ORIGINS' Cluster of Excellence at the University of Tübingen
Application deadline: Sept. 10, Starting Jan. 1, 2026

1. Genotype-Phenotype interactions:
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Independent Junior Research Group Leader (m/f/d, 100%)

uni-tuebingen.de

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Ellen Garland @ellengarland.bsky.social · Aug 14

Spotting whales for the boat team at the lighthouse in the Southern Lagoon, New Caledonia 🐳 🎶 @solenederville.bsky.social @francae.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social

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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · Aug 12

The University of Calgary seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Freshwater Ecology, starting 2026. Candidates must have a PhD and focus on research and teaching-related aquatic ecology. Apply by Sept 5, 2025. More info: https://ucalgary.ca. #job

Top Degree Programs and Research in Canada

Transform your inspiration into impact!

ucalgary.ca

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Grant Hamilton 🐨 @ecologygrant.bsky.social · Aug 12

Conservation postdoc in Brisbane, Australia 🧪

Diana Fisher @dianafisher1080.bsky.social · Aug 12

Thee-year full time postdoc positions in Brisbane, Australia. Conservation metrics, Nature Positive. Deadline 21st August jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...

Research Fellow Grade 1

Company Description: Every institution values excellence. What matters most is why. Griffith was created to be a different type of university. You’ll find we’re about leading research, academic excel...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

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Ellen Garland @ellengarland.bsky.social · Aug 11

Humpback whale fieldwork 2025: the season is well underway in the Southern Lagoon, New Caledonia @solenederville.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social @francae.bsky.social

Sitting on the side of our research boat

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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · Jul 26

Bielefeld University seeks a postdoc for a 6-year scientific assistant position in Animal Behaviour, starting March 2026. Apply by Sept 10, 2025. More info: www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/biologie/forschung/arbeitsgruppen/behaviour #job

Animal Behaviour - Bielefeld University

With a team of over 50 people, the different research groups study animal behaviour within the framework of the four questions of Tinbergen, both in the lab and in the field. Current model systems include laboratory studies on zebra finches (

www.uni-bielefeld.de

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Johannes Larsch @jlarsch.bsky.social · Jul 21

Become our colleague! Tenure-track Assistant Professor position at The Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. unil.ch/cig/en/home....
More details for how to apply are here:
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

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Vlad Demartsev @animal-sounds.bsky.social · Jul 18

🚨Research assistant position in the Kalahari Research Centre!

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Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · Jul 17

I would love to join too. :)

Reposted by Franca Eichenberger

Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · Jul 15

#ProcB - Early-life paternal relationships predict adult female survival in wild baboons - find out more about the study from the authors #Behaviour @archielab.bsky.social royalsociety.org/blog/2025/06...

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National Oceanography Centre @noc.ac.uk · Jul 14

@metoffice.gov.uk ‘s 'State of the UK Climate' report is out today, with some key findings:

🌊UK sea level is rising faster than the global average
🌡️extremes are becoming the norm
🥇record breaking weather events are becoming more frequent
🔥the last 3 yrs have been in the UK's top 5 warmest on record

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Royal Holloway @royalholloway.bsky.social · Jul 14

Why are there wildfires in Scotland?

This summer's heatwaves are triggering destructive wildfires across Europe.

Beyond climate change, Dr Catherine Smith gives a reason why Scotland, often associated with 'cooler' weather, is suffering damage.

"In many parts of Scotland the amount of grazing, especially with cattle, and the controlled use of fire in the winter and early spring (known as muirburn) have decreased in recent decades. This means that there is lots of old and drier vegetation on many moorlands, which, again, is fuel for larger wildfires." (Dr Catherine Smith, Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, Royal Holloway, University of London)

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · Jul 11

More grist for my thesis that car dependency is corrosive to democratic societies www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Britons lacking good public transport more likely to feel lonely, UK study finds

Research finds correlation between car dependency and loneliness, particularly in rural towns

www.theguardian.com

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Rochelle Constantine @rconstantine.bsky.social · Jul 12

🧪 Great work on Hector’s & Māui genomes with @laninsky.bsky.social @emma-carroll.bsky.social

phys.org/news/2025-07...

Innovative DNA assembly process produces high-quality reference genomes for endangered dolphins

Creating genomes from DNA is hugely important for managing threatened species—understanding their past and how they have adapted to their environment helps conservationists protect them.

phys.org

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Nicholas Wu @nicholaswu.bsky.social · Jul 13

🚨 Lecturer in Animal Ecology position @jcuofficial.bsky.social. Candidates with expertise in terrestrial animal ecology are encouraged.

📍 Townsville, AU
Closes: 8th Aug 2025
🔗 careers.jcu.edu.au/jobs/lecture...

Lecturer, Animal Ecology - Townsville, QLD, Australia

James Cook University (JCU) is creating a brighter future for life in the Tropics and beyond, through education and research that makes a difference locally and globally. We now have an opportunity a...

careers.jcu.edu.au

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Kathelijne Koops @kathelijnekoops.bsky.social · Jul 3

Join us!!! 2 (!) PhD positions on wild chimpanzees and bonobos in the Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group and Wildminds Lab!!! 🤩🤩🤩

Cat Hobaiter @nakedprimate.bsky.social · Jul 2

📣 Join the K/Creative Ape Team 🤓 2 PhDs on Creativity in Wild Chimpanzees & Bonobos; w myself & the v awesome @kathelijnekoops.bsky.social

@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪

two 4-year PhD positions in the Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich, and the Wild Minds Lab of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, to study wild chimpanzees and bonobos.
The PhD candidates will work within the Creative Ape Project. The overall goal of the project is to enhance our understanding of the evolution of creativity, and to shed light on whether humans are a uniquely 'creative ape'. To do so we will apply a comparative approach, quantifying the creative capacities of wild non-human apes to investigate the underlying drivers that shape creative expression across species. The project explores four interconnected topics: i) Making mavericks, ii) Funny guys and arty-types, iii) Lone ape geniuses, and iv) Creative ape economies. We employ a comprehensive approach that leverages long-term datasets, new field data, detailed manual video-coding, bespoke automated deep-learning models, and advanced modelling, to extract rich information on the ways in which apes solve problems in their daily lives.

Excellent collaborative, independent working and time management skills are essential. Previous field experience (incl. behavioural data collection) is required, and experience working in remote places under difficult living conditions is highly recommended. The project will require strong data management and data analysis skills, and 12-18 months of field work split into 2-3 periods.

Please submit your application in a single PDF to kathelijne.koops@iea.uzh.ch and clh42@st-andrews.ac.uk – by 4th of August 2025. Feel free to get in touch if you have any inquiries about the positions. Applications should include: 1) cover letter stating your motivation and how your expertise fits the project (max. 1 page), 2) Curriculum Vitae, 3) copy of the highest degree obtained, 4) names and contact details of two referees, and 5) reprints of 1-2 selected publications

A tiny chimpfant looks at the camera with surprise

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Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · Jul 7

How do we talk about pain that doesn’t go away? How do people live in bodies that society isn’t built for? And how can we shift the narrative from individual burden to collective responsibility?

ICYMI: Prof @tomshakespeare.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social helps answer these questions in this podcast.

Academy of Social Sciences @acadsocsciences.bsky.social · Jul 7

“If we can make space to talk about pain, that is helpful.”

ICYMI: The latest episode of the We Society podcast sees @tomshakespeare.bsky.social, of @lshtm.bsky.social, join Will Hutton to discuss his research into the link between social science & disability.

➡️ podfollow.com/the-we-society

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Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · Jul 7

talking about barriers... is this available online or just in person at the CSEE? 😇

Reposted by Franca Eichenberger

Dr Eve Holden (she/her) @chimpanzeve.bsky.social · Jul 4

Want a summary of our new paper on the impact of delayed ADHD diagnosis in women?

Well I have just the ticket! Perfect for people who don't have an academic background, or those looking for a lighter read :)

otherprimates.wordpress.com/2025/07/04/u...

#ADHD #DelayedDiagnosis #WomensHealth

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Chloe Cargill (She/Her) @meta-kittiwake.bsky.social · Jul 2

Using #genetics to sex #Seabirds? 👉 New #openaccess #Methods note published today (optimize don't reinvent👍). No PhD student is an island: huge thanks to co-authors, collaborators and funders. #ornithology @ukri.org @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social doi.org/10.1007/s126... @springernature.com

A modified primer-pair designed for the molecular sex identification of black-legged Kittiwake (Laridae: Rissa tridactyla) - Conservation Genetics Resources

In studies of avian populations accurate sex identification facilitates the study of sex-linked behaviour, ecology, social structure, decision-making, and life histories. To improve molecular sex iden...

doi.org

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