Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Mandy Ridley @mandyridley.bsky.social · 2d

Our new paper is out! @camillasoravia.bsky.social leads this research, which looks into the relationship between heat- mediated cognitive impairment and the antipredator response in wild pied babblers. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Investigating the relationship between heat-mediated cognitive impairment and antipredator response in a wild bird | Royal Society Open Science

Increasingly frequent heatwaves require animals to spend more time thermoregulating at the expense of other fitness-related behaviours. Emerging evidence also indicates that high temperatures can impa...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Martin How @drmartinjhow.bsky.social · 7d

Prof Tim Caro and I both feature in this BBC World Service radio show about why zebra have stripes. Catch it at 8:30pm GMT on Fri 3rd Oct or replay on the link below. @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @ecologyofvision.bsky.social

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Why are some animals black and white?

Why are zebras so stripy? Why do penguins wear tuxedos?

www.bbc.co.uk

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Thomas Gorochowski @chofski.bsky.social · 15d

🥳Excited to share our latest collaborative work using whole-cell models and #AI to design genomes!🦠🧬 What a time to be alive! Project led by Ioana Gherman, with Kieren Sharma, Joshua Rees-Garbutt, Claire Grierson, Lucia Marucci, Wei Pang & Zahraa Abdallah #synbio authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

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Dr. Walter Veit @walterveit.bsky.social · 17d

My new book 'Modelling Evolution' is now published! Please share. Available for free download for 2 weeks with this link: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Modelling Evolution

Cambridge Core - Philosophy of Science - Modelling Evolution

www.cambridge.org

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Vengamanaidu Modepalli @venky-vnm.bsky.social · 24d

Exciting news to share! I have started my new role as a Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology / Director of MSc Bioinformatics program at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

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NetLogo @netlogo.bsky.social · 29d

NetLogo 7 is here!!

✨New modern UI with dark mode
🔧Performance improvements & new features

👉Download: www.netlogo.org/download
📣 Full announcement: www.netlogo.org/announcements/

#NetLogo #AgentBasedModeling #ABM #ComplexSystems

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Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Sep 9

Arthur Yambayamba's first PhD chapter is out today @biotropica.bsky.social 🍾

Using NFI data from Zambia we explore how climate and competition shape the crown allometries of Miombo woodlands 🌳📐

📜 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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RES Publications @respublications.bsky.social · Sep 8

Only one week left for active and enthusiastic researchers to join two of our Editorial Board teams! 🪲

📢 Vacancies are open! Why not consider applying?

#RESAgForestEnt Commissioning Editor: buff.ly/kCN1Fah

#RESPhysEnt Reviews Editor: buff.ly/SJ8h79l

Deadlines: 15 September 2025 ⏰

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Harry Siviter @harrysiviter.bsky.social · Sep 8

New paper (first work from Bristol!)

'Sulfoxaflor impairs bumblebee memory across moderate and extreme temperatures'

@bristolbiosci.bsky.social

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

Sulfoxaflor Impairs Bumblebee Memory Across Moderate and Extreme Temperatures

Bumblebees rely on their memory to navigate a complicated landscape and floral marketplace. When foraging, bees are often exposed to a multitude of anthropogenic stressors, but how these stressors in...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Lauren Vane @laurenvane.bsky.social · Sep 5

☀️New Paper!☀️ In @ecol-evol.bsky.social

Dwarf mongooses lose body mass in hot weather due to limited behavioural plasticity

With top co-authors: @josharbon.bsky.social, Amy Morris-Drake, @juliekern.bsky.social, @andyradford.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71963
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social

🧵⬇️

Dwarf Mongooses Lose Body Mass in Hot Weather due to Limited Behavioural Plasticity

Using long-term data from wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula), we demonstrate that on hot days (≥ 35°C) compared to matched cooler ones (≤ 33°C), mongooses emerged and commenced foraging earlier ...

doi.org

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Sinead English @englishse.bsky.social · Feb 20

To be, or not to be, part-time in academia?
This is a tricky question that has faced many of us and in @elife.bsky.social we discuss the benefits and challenges of being part-time. With @emiliapsantos.bsky.social and a fantastic, interdisciplinary team!
elifesciences.org/articles/106...

Point of View: To be, or not to be, part-time in academia

Part-time working can be beneficial for individual academics, and also for academia as a whole.

elifesciences.org

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Sean Rands @seanrands.bsky.social · Aug 20

Genuinely looking forwards to seeing this one..

Mark Hampton @markhampton.bsky.social · Aug 20

Nice bit of local press coverage in the Cambridge Independent for Unlicensed!

A two-page spread is a fantastic and I’m pleased they included so many of the cast in the photos.

Also, spot the name error on the main photo!😂😂

#movies #featurefilm #presscoverage
#publicity #cambridge #independentfilm

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Stephanie L King @stephanielking.bsky.social · Jul 31

Excited to share that we have just been awarded a NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant to work on between-group cooperation in the Shark Bay dolphins. We will soon advertise a 3 year post-doc to join the team - drop me an email if you might be interested! Pls share widely 🙏🏻

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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Jul 16

Delighted to see this work out in PNAS. The idea that got me into butterflies, started on it in 2011 but took the intellectual energy of @benitoexplains.bsky.social, and the support of a great team, to develop it and put it all together.

Thanks to #NERC @ukri.org for funding 🙏🏻

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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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Jul 10

New from @gadusmo.bsky.social’s PhD thesis 👐🏼 with @dickmerrill.bsky.social, Jake Morris, Camilo Salazar and Carolina Pardo-Díaz

‘Repeated evolution of reduced visual investment at the onset of ecological speciation in high-altitude #Heliconius butterflies’ 1/n 🧪

academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

Repeated evolution of reduced visual investment at the onset of ecological speciation in high-altitude Heliconius butterflies

Abstract. Colonization of new habitats is typically followed by divergent selection acting on traits that are immediately important for fitness. For exampl

academic.oup.com

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Sean Rands @seanrands.bsky.social · Jul 4

I still despise Oasis.

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Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · Jul 4

“Keep your voice down…”

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Oxford Biology @biology.ox.ac.uk · Jun 30

The Animal Vibration Lab @ox.ac.uk will be at the @royalsociety.org summer science exhibition this week!

Sense elephant vibrations, face off with a tarantula, and handle seismic monitoring tools to uncover how vibrations help animals communicate and sense their environment 👇
bit.ly/3FYIhqX

Animal Vibration Lab showcased at the 2025 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

bit.ly

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Ash Whiffin @ashwhiffin.bsky.social · Jun 30

Very excited to say that we are seeking an Assistant Curator to join our entomology team! 😁🪲

For full details on this 2 year fixed-term post, head to our website:
➡️ careers.nms.ac.uk/job/727783

#Entomology #InsectCollection #EntoJobs #MuseumJobs

A close up of hands using pinning forceps to transfer an Emperor moth specimen to the main drawer which can be seen in the background.

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Sinead English @englishse.bsky.social · Jun 25

#InsectWeek event @bristolbiosci.bsky.social was a huge success - over 200 visitors across all ages, some who had even cycled here from other cities, and there was lots of enthusiasm and fascination for the mini-beasts (woodlice, spiders, and ticks also featured!). Thanks to all who came & helped!

high up view of people visiting insect week event

child with insect face mask by the craft table

child looking at microscope by insect stall

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Sean Rands @seanrands.bsky.social · Jun 19

This is an awesome idea (www.93percent.club), aimed at fostering state-educated professional networks both in university and beyond - and, I didn't realise it had aptly started here in Bristol. #StateSchoolProud

If you went to state school, do you ever feel British life is rigged against you? Welcome to the 93% Club | Alastair Campbell

The civil service, judiciary and media are still dominated by the privately educated 7%. Lasting change is not a pipe dream – but it’s up to us, says writer and podcaster Alastair Campbell

www.theguardian.com

Sean Rands @seanrands.bsky.social · Jun 18

Great news, but we'll be sad to lose Steve here in Bristol!

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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge @camzoology.bsky.social · Jun 18

🎉We are delighted to announce that Professor Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social‬ will be the 3rd Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolution.

We look forward to welcoming him next year!

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University of Bristol Biological Sciences @bristolbiosci.bsky.social · Jun 17

For #InsectWeek head over to us here in the LSB on Tuesday 24 June to discover the amazing world of insects!

See these creatures up close, learn about the research, and do some awesome crafting!

All are welcome, and it's FREE admission!

12-6pm, Tues 24 June!

bristentnet.weebly.com/insect-week

Insect Week

BRISTOL ENTOMOLOGY RESEARCH NETWORK

bristentnet.weebly.com

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Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Jun 14

So proud of Beibei Zhang for leading this paper in @newphyt.bsky.social showing how soils & topography shape variation in canopy dynamics across tropical forest landscapes 🌳🔃🌐

Link to 📃: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A short 🧵

Soils and topography drive large and predictable shifts in canopy dynamics across tropical forest landscapes

Tropical forests can vary enormously in their 3D structure and dynamics across surprisingly small spatial scales. However, the drivers that underpin this local-scale variation in forest structure an.....

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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