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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · 1d

And so it begins!! 💥💥💪

Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Sam Matchette @sammatchette.bsky.social · 1d

And a new chapter begins! I'm thrilled to have started a PDRA role at @biology.ox.ac.uk with @rjpheathcote.bsky.social. Stay tuned for more fish content 🐟

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Greg Albery @gfalbery.bsky.social · 5d

I'm v excited to be recruiting a PhD student to work on badger behaviour and ecology! Starting date is March 2026; see the ad here, or message me for more details: www.gregalbery.me/s/March-2026...

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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · 12d

And welcome to the other place!!

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Sam Matchette @sammatchette.bsky.social · 12d

The sun did briefly shine in Cambridge today on my last day in @camzoology.bsky.social. It has been a monumental 5.5 years, both professionally and personally. Words can't express my gratitude towards both the Department and the @marinebehavecol.bsky.social group for making me feel so at home 🐠

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Will Allen @wlallen.bsky.social · 13d

📢🦋 Our paper ‘Global selection on insect antipredator coloration’ is out and featured on the cover of @science.org

We ran a huge experiment to find out how ecological context favours camouflage and warning colouration as antipredator strategies. 1/6

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A white-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) decides whether to consume a warningly colored white-barred acraea butterfly (Telchinia encedon). Photo (c) Mike Rowe

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

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 Rob Heathcote

Steve Portugal @sjportugal.bsky.social · 19d

We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below!

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · Sep 8

Oh wow yes a Pituophis I think! Assumedly an escaped pet.

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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · Sep 7

Where was this Steve?? Hard to tell due to image downsampling by Bluesky but that looks like a North American gopher/pine/bull snake (Pituophis sp) from here!

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Claudia Wascher @wascherclaudia.bsky.social · Sep 1

Celebrating 10 years @aru-biology.bsky.social, now as Professor of Behavioural Biology! Endlessly grateful to the students and collaborators whose curiosity, mentorship, and teamwork made this journey so rewarding, whilst navigating and challenging academia's systemic hurdles #WomenInSTEM #ARUproud

Claudia holding an ARU branded glas of blubbly and a pin saying 'It's Prof actually' and smiling into the camera

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Animal brains don’t think in a vacuum, they think in heatwaves & hypoxia, and around predators, parasites, and social groups. Our new review maps mechanisms, timescales, and gaps for understanding animal cognition in changing environments: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lau5Esvgs...

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Marina Papadopoulou @marinapapa.bsky.social · Jul 27

I ll be giving a workshop on our new swaRmverse package at #Behaviour2025, come to learn more about quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of animal groups, practical tips on analysis, and discussion on next new features 😁 💻

Package info👇
doi.org/10.1111/2041...

& 🙏 to @asab.org for the travel grant🥰

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Sam England @samjakeengland.bsky.social · Jul 24

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity | PNAS

The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...

doi.org

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Sam Matchette @sammatchette.bsky.social · Jul 23

🔴New #trumpetfish content!🔴 This species is colour #polymorphic so we dove (pun intended) into how the relative abundance and saliency of each morph influences the #behaviour of their prey. Find out more via the link below! 🎺🐠
🔗 tinyurl.com/39vn5skp #behavioralecology

Antagonistic effects of predator color morph abundance and saliency on prey anti-predator responses

Predators can have different color morphs, but whether morph abundance or saliency is more influential in shaping antipredator behavior in prey remains unc

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Benito Wainwright @benitoexplains.bsky.social · Jul 16

So very excited for the magnum opus of my #PhD to finally be out in @pnas.org. 🎉🎉 We demosntrate that mutualistic co-mimicking tropical butterflies not only converge in light microhabitat but, as a consequence, have also converged in visual system morphology! 1/n😀
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Dr Christopher Taylor @mimicryin3d.bsky.social · Jul 2

Why do imperfect mimics (such as many hoverflies) exist? We created 3D printed replicas of flies, wasps and our own custom intermediates and then "asked" various predators what they thought of our 3D stimuli. Read all about it here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mapping the adaptive landscape of Batesian mimicry using 3D-printed stimuli - Nature

Birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate harmless insects from those that they mimic on the basis of subtle differences in appearance.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

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 Rob Heathcote

Alexander Kotrschal @kotrschal.bsky.social · Jun 25

How does predation shape evolution? We tested this with guppies, exposing them to real predators over 3 generations. Survivors evolved fast: bigger females with earlier broods, males with shorter tails and gonopodia. But...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Jun 22

Deadline tomorrow!!!

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Jun 3

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www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...

PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.

**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**

Details below! Please RT

(AI-generated image)

AI generated image showing flock of sheep, shoal of fish, flock of birds and swarm robots

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Katie Dunkley @14katie41.bsky.social · Apr 22

Honoured to be joining the next cohort of @ukri.org BBSRC Fellows! Excited to kick off my project asking whether signalling promotes cooperative cleaner-client interactions (with the help of robotic fish 🐟🤖)!

Hugely grateful for all the support, advice, and encouragement that’s helped me get here!

Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · Apr 17

Congratulations to @14katie41.bsky.social and Samuel Fabian, who've been awarded 2025 BBSRC Fellowships!

Katie will focus on mutualistic partnerships in fish and how they are maintained. Sam will focus on insects' aerial chases and what makes them successful 👇
bit.ly/3EqMBOG

Two researchers awarded BBSRC Fellowships 2025

bit.ly

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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · Jun 13

Just in time for the opening of the sparkly new building: lifeandmind.web.ox.ac.uk

Home

lifeandmind.web.ox.ac.uk

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Rob Heathcote @rjpheathcote.bsky.social · Jun 13

🐠💥2 year postdoc in fish sensory ecology!! 💥🐟
If you’re into animal colour, collective behaviour, predator-prey interactions, enjoy behavioural experiments and fieldwork, please apply! Based in Oxford with fieldwork in northwest Thailand (and elsewhere). Please repost! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNM294/p...

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Jun 3

1/3

www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...

PhD studentship! Comparative Analysis and Modelling of Collective Behaviour in Natural and Artificial Systems.

**this scholarship for UK residents only, as defined by UKCISA regulations**

Details below! Please RT

(AI-generated image)

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Reposted by Rob Heathcote

Andrew King @shoalgroup.bsky.social · Jun 3

New paper in @behavecol.bsky.social (link: academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...)
led by PhD student @marcofele.bsky.social using hard-won data from our amazing baboon team. Our @swanseauni.bsky.social press release:
www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office...
We introduce the idea of a "social spandrel".....

Baboons walk in line for friendship, not survival, new study finds

Researchers at Swansea University have discovered that baboons walk in lines, not for safety or strategy, but simply to stay close to their friends.

www.swansea.ac.uk

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