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Reposted by Luca Hahn

ESLR @eslr.bsky.social · 7d

📢🚀 Are you an early-career researcher working on anything related to culture, behaviour or learning? 🧠🌍 Join ESLR, an interdisciplinary research community! We have a NEW website and our membership is now FREE. 👉 Sign up here to get updates and become a member: www.eslrsociety.com/membership

ESLR | Membership

www.eslrsociety.com

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Ben Kawam @benkawam.bsky.social · 8d

Are you studying animal sociality?

My (now published) first PhD chapter proposes a Bayesian + causal framework to infer the factors shaping the social relationships that animals form with one another.

journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...

A causal framework for the drivers of animal social network structure

Author summary Behavioural ecologists ask mechanistic questions about behaviour—causal questions. When studying animal societies, these questions often concern the drivers of social network structure....

journals.plos.org

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Elli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater.bsky.social · 17d

Selection Shapes Animal Minds: More completely free videos of talks from our Royal Society Discussion meeting last year. Today's highlighted talk: Dr Zegni Triki (Neuchatel) @zegnitriki.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social youtu.be/WQLjnfhSyD4?...

The fish challenge to vertebrate cognitive evolution

YouTube video by Selection shapes diverse animal minds

youtu.be

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · 15d

**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)

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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 Luca Hahn

Behavioral Ecology and Endocrinology Lab @behavecol-lab.bsky.social · 19d

Please share!🙏
🚨 PhD Oportunity in Avian Behavioural Ecology in Spain
The BirdBond Project (MNCN & IREC) studies how pair bonds form, change & affect reproduction/survival in the spotless starling 🐦

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Cornish Jackdaw Project @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social · Aug 20

New paper led by @josharbon.bsky.social. Adults jackdaws often bully youngsters, but we show they can learn to be tolerant and attend to juveniles as sources of information. @uniexecec.bsky.social. Funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk & @swbiodtp.bsky.social

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Josh Arbon @josharbon.bsky.social · Aug 20

New @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social paper out today in @royalsociety.org Biology Letters. We found adult jackdaws can learn to tolerate usually bullied or ignored juveniles when they provided information about a new foraging resource.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Wild jackdaws learn to tolerate juveniles to exploit new foraging opportunities | Biology Letters

Social tolerance can enhance access to resources and is thought to be crucial in facilitating the evolution of cooperation, social cognition and culture, but it is unknown whether animals can optimize...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

ESLR @eslr.bsky.social · Aug 18

ESLR is currently undergoing a transition, and a new committee (@alexschakowski.bsky.social, @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social, @katebonner.bsky.social, @lucahahn.bsky.social, @mariapykala.bsky.social) is working on reinstating its presence and shaping its future. Please feel free to get in touch!

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Claudia Wascher @wascherclaudia.bsky.social · Jul 18

The first papers from our special collection on vocal communication in corvids are now live. Most are still under review, stay tuned for more updates as they’re published! link.springer.com/collections/...

Vocal communication in corvids

In the field of vocal communication, research has mostly focussed on birds because of their vocal learning capacity and non-human primates due to their ...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Alizée Vernouillet @vernouilleta.bsky.social · Jul 10

Late to the party but the last paper of my PhD was published earlier this year!
Pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) can discriminate between pilfering and non-pilfering conspecifics, but not between heterospecifics link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) can discriminate between pilfering and non-pilfering conspecifics, but not between heterospecifics - Animal Cogni...

When foraging, individuals often need to assess potential risk from competitors. Within many food-caching (food-storing) species, individuals can modify their caching behavior depending on whether oth...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

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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Reposted by Luca Hahn

PEC Exeter @pec-exeter.bsky.social · Jun 26

NEW PAPER🎺
How does cognition determine an individual’s fitness? A systematic review of the links between cognition, behaviour and fitness in non-human animals

Lots of studies try to explain how cognition might evolve, by taking a behavioural ecology approach

Has this approach made any progress?🧵

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Alexandra Rosati @alexrosati.bsky.social · Jun 26

Check out our new paper comparing #socialcognition in #tolerant and #despotic #macaques, by @awad-schwob.bsky.social, Rosie Bettle, Megan Mulhinch & @zeppypearl.bsky.social!

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....

Tolerant and despotic macaques show divergent temperament but similar theory of mind | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

The social intelligence hypothesis proposes that the demands of social life shape the evolution of cognition, but different aspects of social interactions may be relevant. To test how competitive vers...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Cornish Jackdaw Project @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social · Jun 26

Part of the Phil Trans special issue "Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds", edited with @ellileadbeater.bsky.social.

Thanks to co-authors Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social & @shoalgroup.bsky.social and all the special issue contributors.

tinyurl.com/35mn84ty

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929

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tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Cornish Jackdaw Project @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social · Jun 26

Societies might shape minds, but minds can shape societies. In this new paper we discuss how this feedback changes how we think about social and cognitive evolution. Led by @lucahahn.bsky.social

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

The coevolution of cognition and sociality | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Cognition serves to resolve uncertainty. Living in social groups is widely seen as a source of uncertainty driving cognitive evolution, but sociality can also mitigate sources of uncertainty, reducing...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Luca Hahn @lucahahn.bsky.social · Jun 27

Our paper is part of a fantastic special issue on how selection shapes animal minds, published now in Philosophical Transactions Royal Society B (link: royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...).

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Luca Hahn @lucahahn.bsky.social · Jun 27

In our new paper we discuss the coevolution of cognition and sociality (link: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...). It was a pleasure to work on this project with Andoni Sergiou, @josharbon.bsky.social, @inesfuertbauer.bsky.social, @shoalgroup.bsky.social, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social!

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Elli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater.bsky.social · Jun 26

Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds: our special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B on the diverse evolutionary processes underlying cognitive evolution is out today. Thanks to all our contributors! royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Luca Hahn @lucahahn.bsky.social · Jun 12

Exciting to see this R package for bayesian NBDA models out!

michael chimento @mchimento.bsky.social · Jun 12

been a long time coming, there's now a preprint along with Will Hoppitt describing our new R package for creating, fitting and interpreting bayesian NBDA models (STBayes). www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Documentation is here michaelchimento.github.io/STbayes/inde...

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Alexis Breen @alexisjbreen.bsky.social · Jun 7

👇 New #preprint combining computational models with zebbie data: "Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalisability".

🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025...

🧵1/n

Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalisability

Animals often balance asocial and social information strategically, adjusting when and from whom they copy based on context. Yet the cognition driving this dynamic—and its broader implications—remains...

doi.org

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · May 3

Traditions of behaviour have been found to be passed on in numerous species of animals. Now, major #conservation agencies have begun to recognize that these discoveries could have big implications for conservation agendas. Explore the new #PhilTransB issue: royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Cornish Jackdaw Project @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social · May 2

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals & beyond.

New paper, led by Josh Arbon with fab collaborators Neil Jordan & @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social.

doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0136

@uniexecec.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org

The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals and beyond | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Conservation strategies seek to ensure that populations persist and are resilient to environmental change. As learning from others can shape the development of skills that help animals survive, reproduce and respond to changing conditions, understanding ...

doi.org

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Feb 27

Two extremely important articles

Why long-term field studies are rare: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

And why field studies are important:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Extinction of experience among ecologists

Fieldwork-based research and education in ecology are under multiple threats and are progressively declining. We call for greater attention to this on…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Luca Hahn

William O'Hearn @williamohearn.bsky.social · Mar 5

BEHOLD THE FLAGSHIP PAPER OF MY PHD! 🚢 I trained wild and zoo housed Guinea baboons to pull a lever for peanuts to test whether they monitored the foraging skills of others and used the information to inform their social choices 🧵 (1/9) royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

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